snail mail | summerplayshouse

This past weekend I received an incredible package in the mail. My blogger swap package!

I was so excited to see what I had received and from whom. I was so delighted when I opened up the box and found a menagerie of lovely handmade, incredibly beautiful gifts from this wonderful blogger. In fact, I was touched by the genuine thoughtfulness of the whole package.

She sent a lovely handwritten card, two beautifully made wash cloths, two bars of soap, peppermint honey lip balm (which I’ve used every day since, it’s wonderful!), an incredibly lovely shawl for cooler days and my two favorite articles, the nature bags. There’s the beautiful oatmeal colored one for Mama and the darling sherbet colored one for Ellie! It was so fun presenting Ellie with her very own nature bag. We took them both down to the beach for a bit of nature collecting right away!

This bag will surely be treasured for years to come. As you can see, it’s already become one of her favorite things. (We even brought it to the library yesterday morning). We also received some artifacts of nature from across the country to add to our collection. I’ve never gotten anything like that before and it’s an extra special kind of gift to receive.

My goodness, I was surprised by how generous my blogger swap partner was. This whole swap filled my heart with gladness and joy. It’s made me want to really start sending mail to friends and family, something I long got away from doing. I’m trying my best to keep up this simple joy and pass it on to others who may need a bit of cheering up or even a little note to remind them of how much they mean to me. I’m thankful I participated in this lovely blogger swap. Thank you Amanda for hosting and ten million thank you’s to my swap partner! It’s as if we’ve been friends for a long time. Your handmade treasures will be well-loved in this home.

I am hoping the recipient of my handmade items enjoys them as much as I enjoyed my things. Before sending my package off (it should have already arrived or arrive this week, I hope), I ended up making a couple more things. I found a recipe for citrus salts a while back and wanted to send something “Californian” her way. So, I plucked one of our backyard lemons and made her some Lemony Salt to rub on meat or sprinkle on top of salad or a baked potato. I also added a hand-drawn beach stone into the mix as well. I’ve never made one before, but it was so much fun and turned out lovely I think. I hope it added a bit of the beach to the gift.

It’s always so nice getting things, other than bills in the mail. Today some birdies flew in from Northern California and Kansas. I think I mentioned the Birdie project a few weeks back but let me elaborate since they are now seeming to be flying in to my mail box weekly. I have this wonderful group of Mama’s from all over the world who decided it would be fun to show our love and support for one another and make something for each other, a kind of chain mail project of sorts. We all make 14 birdies, keep one for ourselves and then send out the other 13, one for each Mama. I will hopefully end up with 14 birdies of my very own from all over the world in just a few weeks. We loosely used this pattern. Once we get all of the birdies it will be up to us how we decide to hang and display them.

Here are all of the birdies I have received thus far, including my own birdie.

It’s a joy receiving these little birds in the mail. Each one hand-made with love from a mother just like me, mothers I have been conversing with for over half a year through the internet. Mothers that have become dear friends to me. Each bird has come with a handwritten note and sometimes an inspirational quote. Something to lift me up for that day.

This week, I not only received these lovely birds but one of the wonderful, sweet Mama’s sent a whole care package, complete with birdie, chocolate, an original piece of art she had done and even a book for Ellie. It made my heart swell just to see it all!