Sweets For My Sweet Swap

One of my favorite groups is the Vintage Ephemera Swap group on flickr. I have met some amazing artists and vintage ephemera is a huge favorite of mine so it really is perfect for me. My most recent swap was the Sweets For My Sweet Swap. We were to decorate a Valentine box for our partner and fill it with all sorts of yummy ephemera.

My partner was Julie from Cupcakedd and she is also the leader of our group so I knew I was a lucky gal. She had just gone to a Marie Antoinette Soiree (wish I lived in her town) and we decided to add some french flair to our boxes. Below is the incredible box that she made for me.

I love this box that she created just for me. It has so many wonderful layers on it. I actually hung it up on the wall of my new studio.

I love all of the little details that she added to this box. I could just stare at it for hours.

And look at all of the wonderful goodies that were inside. I have never seen french play money and I just loved all of the little wonders that she included.

I just love the little baby with the hat in the upper right side. Julie told me that she decided to put it in there at the last second.

Julie wrapped this candy bar with vintage pages and a lovely bow with a Paris tag. Not only does this candy bar taste great, but it has poetry on the inside of the wrapper.

Below is the box that I created for Julie. I wanted it to have that Marie Antoinette feel to it and I don't think I could have made that more obvious - lol!

I just love using old vintage jewelry in my work. It just gives it so much character.

I wanted to spoil Julie because I love her group so much. I included many of my personal favorites and hopefully she loves them as much as I do. A big thank you to Julie for all of her work with the group.

I started doing swaps over a year ago now. I just love them. And below is a perfect example of how these swaps have spread into other areas of my life. Parents from my daughter's classroom were invited to come in and decorate our child's desk for Valentine's Day. They were having a huge "Valentine Ball" and the kids were so excited. It is even more special for my daughter because she is a Valentine baby. I have made several decorated heart boxes now, so I was able to whip up a quick beauty for her desk. She was the only one in the class with handmade vintage goodies and she loved them all.

This now hangs on her bedroom wall among the forest of trees and birds that I painstakingly painted years ago. She knows it was all done with love. Hope she still feels that way as a teenager, but if she is anything like I was then my husband and I are in big trouble!

I still have more swap goodies to share as well as french finds. Have a great weekend and come back soon!