Paper Bag Perpetual Calender from Heidi!

It's here! I got my wonderful swap exchange today from Heidi (Everyday Cookies)! Boy, was I ever surprised with what she made for me. Well, the story starts here: We decided to do a 1-on-1 swap, made difficult by limiting what was made to what was sent by the other person! So I crammed a bunch of stuff in a bag, and this is what Heidi made with it! The one exception was the other person could use 1 item of their choosing, and for that Heidi made me the paper bag album. Not just an album, but a "Special Day's" perpetual calendar! Somehow she designed the paper bags so each of the 12 pairs of bags had an opening. It has a calendar for each month in the side openings, and lots of room for cards and pictures! I just love it!!! I'm so impressed with her creativity, and the work she put into this. Thank you very much, Heidi!!! She somehow brilliantly figured out how to lay the bags flat, sew the ends, cut the other ends, and came up with 12 slots, one for each month. Study the picture, if you dare try this. Then, she crafted and sewed a gorgeous fabric case to hold the album! And it was all wrapped in pink tissue, with a tag, as well. What a special swap!!!! Unbelievable!!! I truly love this album, and will treasure it and really use it lots! Thank you very much, Heidi!!!

Also, today my son got back from a week-long trip with some friends to Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. He brought me back some cool postcards, some of them from the 60s. I loved seeing the Space Needle postcards from today and from the sixties. I lived in Seattle for 3 years as a child, so it's a very special city. One very unique postcard Nathan picked out must be from the early 1900s?? It's an embossed postcard of the "Oldest Church Tower in America", which was in Tacoma, Wash. It was sent with a one sent stamp, but the date is blurred. Can you believe my son went to a shop, that according to the business card is a..."Dealer in Vintage posters, photographs, postcards, prints, snapshots, stereoviews, maps and ephemera! And anything else old and interesting written, printed or painted from anywhere in the world!" Yup, that was the shop he shopped in up in Seattle! Now he knows what "ephemera" is!

Also, I got another pleasant surprise yesterday! Mary Ann( A Very Mary Design), a fellow blogger friend, sent me a note with 4 of her special "I'm Dotty About You" tags! What a sweet, sweet surprise from a fun, talented and honest blogger! I know she sells these in her Etsy shop, so I'd better take a peek at them. Thank you very much for spreading joy, Mary Ann!!!

Lastly, the stray Vintage Hat Pin turned up last Friday....in my thigh! It was included in the basket of special ephemera from Heidi for my birthday in April, and has been lost since then! I had a clearer understanding why pinned on courages aren't allowed on airlines after my poke! Ouch!