Beautiful Presents!

As I mentioned previously, it was my birthday on Tuesday and I also mentioned I had some wonderful presents, amongst which were some beautifully handcrafted gifts. I truly do have some very talented friends.

The first one I opened had been sitting on my dining room table since the beginning of last week, it was very tempting to take a peek, but I was a good girl. I knew who it was from, and therefore knew it would be amazing, and I wasn't wrong!!

This beautiful brooch was a gift from my dear friend Kerrie, you can see a more professional photograph on her blog here. Thank you Kerrie, I love it!!

The next package to open was equally stunning. It was from another beady friend, this time from Nia We are 'sisters' because when we finally met in real life it was uncannily obvious that we resembled each other in appearance, although one lives in Wales and the other in the English Midlands (my Dad said he could never have cycled all the way to Wales on his bike lol). Apparently, when she saw the beads in the next piece she thought of me straight away - I have a bit of a reputation of liking all things purple, whatever the shade, as if you didn't know by now!!

The beads are by the talented Julie Fountain of Lush Lampwork and they are strung on a handpainted silk ribbon from Diane of Sowzere Designs - beautiful.

The last gift I'm going to share with you came from my dear friend and partner in crime, Ashlie! We share a love of all things crafty and Ashlie is the one to thank for my return to the joys of knitting. She is much more proficient than me, I tend to take the scenic route. We'd already decided we would visit the Knitting & Stitching Show in Harrogate this year and it was left to Ashlie to order the tickets. Imagine my surprise, and joy, when I opened the gift below and nestled inside the most exquisite crocheted needle case was my ticket to the show plus a ticket for a workshop too!! She also gave me the mug and a small vase of flowers - love her to bits.

So, aren't I a lucky girl. Apologies for the quality of the photographs, but the weather has been horrible today, such a change from the previous few days, and I had to take them on my desk with my daylight bulb - but I think you get the idea.