Day 8

Our displaced-Canadian friend,
the lovely, the talented, Kim Mailhot who is currently living

in the US, is responsible for these intriguing gifts.

Inside the heart shaped paper basket is a tiny treasure which we will open up on Day 8. Love the stamp on your cards, don't you? Wonder if Kim carved it herself.

Day 7

The "fun" with the postal service continues
on Day 7 with
Dawn Supina of Edmonton.

She had to take one item out of the "mail out" gifties.

Being the frugal gal that she is, she saved $9 per parcel by taking a part of the gift out


before sending them through good old Canada Post. Not to worry though, the handmade portion of her gift will be received by everyone in the swap. The mail outs are pictured on the lower left and the Edmonton gifts are on the upper right.

Day 6

Laura Youngren of Coaldale, Alberta has been busy, busy, after meeting the Canada Post Boogieman! It's such a pain to be restricted by the size and weight of an art piece, but Laura graciously started back at the very beginning and has created a new gift for us to open on Day 6.

Swaps are always fun ~ especially participating in one's very first swap. It's a scary/fun experience., but hang in there Laura, it'll all make sense eventually.

Day 5

Wintery white packages await us to open on Day 5 thanks to Vanessa Travnik of Wetaskiwin, Alberta.

She has carefully tucked surprises inside these packages and written different quotes on the outside.

Day 4

It's a pretty peek-a-boo gift from Lisa Eriksson of Edmonton for Day 4.

Is the suspense gettin' to you yet?

Day 3

Martha Brown (aka Em) delivers up some pretty-in-pink gifts.

Almost too pretty to open, but don't worry, I'm sure they'll be eagerly attacked on Day 3!

Day 2

Holly Gullion (aka Arlene's little seester)
is our Day 2 gift giver.

As they say: Good things come in little packages ~ and this pretty-in-pink box is sure to hold a special treasure in it.

Wonder what she has created for us...?

Day 1

Today Mar Gray of Guelph Ontario presents us
with a sweetheart of a gift.
We don't have a clue what treasure it contains,
but we all look forward to February 4th
when the unwrapping frenzie begins!

Be my Valentine, eh?

Hello ladies ~ this is a test.
I've set this up so you will automatically
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the Canadian Valentine Swap blog.

You can also get to this blog
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Only 14 more days until we start showing
our wrapped gifties. Yay!

And the fun begins ...

Don't mean to frighten you, but it's a mere 25 days until mail out deadline for the swap!

The worst part of a swap is usually the Inspiration Phase. Trying to come up with an artsy idea that is mailable and something that the other people in the swap will enjoy receiving can be rather stressful. Oh the pressure!

Once inspiration hits and the idea formulates in your mind, the Creation Phase should be one of the most enjoyable parts of this whole thing. After all, if you're a mixed media artist by choice, then you probably actually like doing the work. Oh such fun!

The third part, the Mailing Out Phase can be a chore. Making sure you have the correct address and postage, not forgetting to place the gift in a Ziplock and wrapping it ever so carefully helping to assure it will arrive safely at it's destination. Oh the trauma!

Next comes the Waiting Phase. This is sometimes the hardest. We eagerly await the arrival of each gift and if all goes well, everyone receives their treasures in time for the 5th of February. But even once all the gifts arrive there's more waiting. Oh the grief!

And then the first day of unwrapping the gifts arrives. This is the Fun Phase as each day we open the gifts from our friends to admire their creativity. Oh the joy!

Finally, there's the Bittersweet Phase: once the swap is over and all the thank yous have been said, we wrap things up for the year. Hopefully some new friendships will be established and people will be asking ... are we going to do this again?!
Oh the suspense!

Heartfelt wishes ...

to everyone for a very Merry Christmas

... and after the holidays ...
start thinking about
hearts
and lace
and the All Canadian Mixed Media Valentine Swap!

Be my Valentine, eh!

We're thinking about
Hearts and Lace and Valentine's Day
... aren't you?

Welcome to the All Canadian Mixed Media Valentine Art Swap!

As of this evening, Arlene, Nicolette, Kim, Vanessa, Holly, Mar, Em, Laura and Dawn have signed up for the swap. There is still time for more artists to join.

Here is a little history behind the swap. We (Dawn & Arlene) were talking a while back about participating in ART swaps and how expensive it can get when sending to the US and overseas. So, we had the idea of hosting a All Canadian Mixed Media Valentine Art Swap. For this swap, we'll need to have at least 14 people to commit to making 13 little artsy gifties to swap out with the other people. Participants will send out our special surprises by January 25th to give them time to arrive at their destinations by February 1st. Starting on February 1st (if we have 14 participants), we would start opening one gift a day until Valentine's Day. Arlene and I have participated in both Christmas and Valentine swaps such as these, and they are great fun.

For those in the Edmonton area, we will get together at the end of January for tea and exchange our wrapped gifts. It will be great to meet up face to face.

Questions & Answers ...
Question: With postage rates proposed to go up in the new year, won't it be too expensive?
Answer: We don't expect anyone to send out large parcels. We just want everyone to create a small handmade item that hopefully can be sent in no larger than a 9x12 envelope.

Concern: I don't think I'll have enough time to complete 14 things by the end of January.
Answer: We don't expect you to "build Rome in a day" here folks. Just something Valentine-y that we can give us a boost during the dark, cold winter months.

Question: Do all the gifties have to be the same?
Answer: Yes and no. Let's say you make a bookmark. You will make 13 bookmarks, but they can all have different themes if you wish.

Question: Is there anywhere I could get ideas of the kinds of things I can make for the swap?
Answer: Go to: www.12daysofxmas.blogspot.com and look at the 2007 gifts (2008 gifts haven't been opened yet).

Question: How will we get to see everyone's work?
Answer: We have a blog! www.canadianvalentine.blogspot.com
Please take photos of your gifts. Perhaps, while you're working on them; when they're done and once they've been wrapped, email them to us and we'll upload them to the blog.

Concern: I'm a procrastinator.
Answer: You're not alone. Many of us are too, but don't you just love the adrenalin rush you get when you're working madly to complete a project?

Question: Will it be worth it?
Answer: Absolutely! You will be able to connect with other great Canadian mixed media artists. Arlene and Dawn have done several of these, and have never been disappointed.

Anymore questions? Just ask us. Oh, and get working on your 13 gifties already!!!!