Very Exciting Things

Yesterday was rather exciting. The boyf got a new job... AND the first completed item got posted to the swap group on Flickr.

I have already blogged about my hopes that eventually people might make stuff with their swapped-for supplies and post pictures of the results to the group for all to see. This was very much an "eventually" - thrilling as the idea might be, I wasn't going to hold my breath! But when the lovely Sakura received my beads through the post she was immediately inspired and these neglected beads...
... became this gorgeous "Camelot" choker:
How beautiful is that, huh? So, so, so wonderful to see something created because of the swap group, and especially exciting cos they were my neglected beads. I had salvaged them from a bracelet left over from our Free Stuff Party a couple of months ago, and thought they looked lush but had just no clue what I might ever use them for and was a bit resigned to them rather going to waste. But instead there exists this lush new bit of jewellery. Hurrah!

As I'm sure you can imagine, I was grinning like a crazy person when I saw the pictures. Sakura seemed pretty chuffed, too, as apparently I have restored her crafting mojo! She's blogged about it here, go check it out.

Meanwhile, the swapping continues. I've spent some of my swap points on stickers from bluemarmalade and some little zips from snowberrylime, and am itching to get making some mobiles to feature these gorgeous chandelier crystals sent from greygoat (they were wrapped in the lovely ribbon pictured, it will be perfect for tying round a bundle of my map notecards, so I am totally counting it as a bit of swapped supplies) :
Look how shiny they are! Right, off to make thankyou cards for hardworking Lib Dem leaflet deliverers now...