Like Christmas

I hope to post about our recent transition from Africa back to the US, but first I have to share my excitement. I've been a little disappointed since Friday when we arrived and discovered that one of my suitcases was lost somewhere between Maputo, Johannesburg, Dubai, New York, and Pittsburgh. (OK, I'm more than just a little disappointed, but this, too, is from the Lord's hand.) I've been praying that it will be miraculously located (I don't think it was ever tagged), but the greater miracle would be if it were never found and I still maintain a good attitude about it.

I unwisely put all of my best clothes into the missing bag, along with a few other choice items that I miss. Thankfully, I was able to borrow a skirt from Morgan for church this morning. On a lighter note, I was greatly consoled to arrive at my parents' house on Friday and find some wonderful mail waiting for me.

A while back, I mentioned that I was invited to participate in a swap making these gathered clutches. I have yet to uphold my end of the deal, since we've only just arrived from Moçambique and I'm awaiting the delivery of my sewing machine. However, I was delighted to discover that I had received my package from my swap partner already. To my great surprise, the partner assigned to me was the very talented lady who created the original tutorial. I am greatly honored to be her recipient. Isn't the clutch so cute? I love the dictionary print on the main fabric. This is very much up my alley.

She included a credit card pocket and a divider inside. I'm particularly pleased with the wrist strap. The colors are very refreshing. I love blue and green together, and they flow nicely with the black and white patterns. This is just a great little bag on so many levels! I'm tickled with it!

As a special bonus, Anna was so kind to include a variety of zippers in the package. This was a pleasant surprise. I am always in need of zippers. In Moz, these were hard to get. Isn't this a sweet gift?

To further shower me with postal love, I received from Liesl the contents of one of her recent giveaways. I was so excited to win this treasure trove of goodies, including a sampling of her scrap stash, a checkbook cover and matching card holder, beautiful lace, a sample of her photography, and a few other items. Just look at her generous offering:

I'm really pleased to now have a Liesl Made original. These coasters are too cute!

This kit looks like it'll afford hours of fun. I'm anxious to get started on some of the projects in here. What a great item to include in the package! (Thanks, Liesl, you sweet girl!)

Aren't these ribbons fabulous? I can't wait to use them. I have a couple of projects in mind. Oh, how I hope my machine will arrive soon!