A Valentine's Day Party!

Is that YOU, Valentine? Ooooohhhhh, goodie! I've been keeping a watch, just SURE you would show up today! And OH I'm glad you have!

You better duck, Sweets! Look who has his arrow trained on you and that dapper young gentleman beside you!Oh! Too late! You've been hit! NOW you're in trouble! But such SWEET trouble it is!

Happy Valentine's Day, Sweets! Hope today is the best Valentine's Day you've ever had and that you and that "dapper gentleman" have an unforgettable day. But in the meantime, there's a PARTY going on here, so pull up a chair, grab a piece of chocolate and get ready for SWEETS! I am so glad you're here for what is sure to be a FABULOUS Party....
As most of you know, my friend, Jenn, and I co-hosted a Valentine's Day Swap and though there are lots of swaps out there that you could have participated in this holiday, this swap was unique in that the partners were SECRET! So we each sent a package with only our return address...no name...and the recipient has had to wait until TODAY for us to reveal who we are! This made for what I have found to be a really fun swap!

Well Sweets....are you ready to party???? I hope so!! Crank up the volume and listen to some of my favorite love songs. Click on the names in the list below and visit each of these fabulous gals' blogs for even more Valentine's Day fun! We'll get all the way around the world by the time we've finished.....

April Ortiz Theartchics
Tamy Ottomeyer http://www.simplymein.typepad.com/
Jenny & Jacqui Hudson The Bowersbird's Nest
Kelly Essary Downtown Style
Maria Rodarte The Junk Drawer
Svenja Wolf Art Creations
Susie DeZarn
Vivian Neroni Vivs Whimsy
Jessi Nagy Scrappy Jessi
Bristol Snider Honey Bend Vintage
Suzanne Duda Pink Roses
Natalea Kandefer Kandeland
Jill Eldring
Cindy Bakeman So Inspired
Janae Cairns Object of Maya *ffection
Rebecca Wrinn Our Back Porch

Amanda Parsons
Kim Caldwell Artistic Bliss
Karla Natale Sugar Bear Designs
Kari Ramstrom ArtsyMama
Lori Oles Vintage Flair
Sandy Babb Quill Cottage
Jeanie Collins Southern Nest
Analise Sledd Sugar Sugar
Kathy Jacobson

Kerri Norrod
Sadie Lou Hartman Sadie Lou Who
Dolly Secord From My Cherry Heart
Tammy Moore My Art Soul Wings

Stefanie Lin Artsymomma
Stacy ~ Creativemuse
Nan Slaughter Pots & Pins
Lori Karla Faerie Window
Jeannie Ryan Eye Craft
Amy Jeans
Lori Kolecki Pink Faded Roses
Mahala Elliott Simply Sage
Gabrielle Mader
Lisa-Kate Guidry My Sweet Abbey Rose
Valita Baxley
Monica Anderson
Ele Erickson A bit of Pink
Cathy VanLaanen Cranberry Cottage
Ginny Gibson Twinkle Pink
Karoline Simmons Cherished Vintage
Ann-Marie Skrabo Sweet Girl & Company

Jana Perenchio
Angelina Mast Beautiful cards
Rosalyn- Sue Smith
Ana Barrett
Glenda Sellwood
Lisa Zuelke Zizooyou
Jennifer Hayslip Sweet Eye Candy Creations
Cheryl Dack Rosey Posey Confections

That's it, Sweets! PLEASE let me know if I left anyone off the list or if I dont have your blog listed. I know some of you DON'T have blogs and we are more than happy to post pics of your work on either of our blogs. I have a couple of gals' photos that I'll show you later in this post but don't let that discourage you from sending me pics after today. I'll be sure and post any that you lovely ladies have if you don't have a blog of your own to post on!

And now...to reveal who I got to send a gift to......

I was a Secret Admirer to the oh-so-sweet Angelina Mast! She is such a lovely person who makes the most incredible cards, paper art and much, much more. But besides that, she is also one of those people who have a "glow" about them that you can sense just from visiting their blogs and chatting with them a little. I so admire Angelina and was just THRILLED to get to design a group of Valentine pretties just for her! Here's what I sent to her....

A pillow I pieced and embroidered with vintage and new fabrics and images....A matching lavender/rose-filled sachet and a handmade Valentine with snippets from a vintage book... A "love bird" box inspired what is obviously a very special romance between Angelina and her husband, Don (Picture I swiped from her blog!). The little "love" note tied around the birds' necks is a snippet from a 1922 love letter!

a decorated candy box and an altered mini-shadowbox made from an antique heart-shaped baking tin.Gosh I hope Angelina enjoys her pretties! I sure had fun creating them for her!

Last week I squealed aloud when I got the package from MY Secret Admirer. I didn't know who she was until the box arrived, when I recognized her return address! She actually lives close to me, and though we haven't met in person, we talk about doing so! So when I saw her address, I immediately knew that Analise Sledd was my Secret Admirer! Yippee!!!!

If you've ever peeked at Analise's blog and etsy shoppe, you'll know that the contents of my package could have been identified as "her," even without the return address giving her identity away! Everything she made for me is SO "Sugar-Sugar"....and I love every bit to PIECES!

Here's what I saw when I opened the box.... I peeled back the yummy pink rose tissue to reveal this....

She made this GORGEOUS plaque...

and this incredible tag and bag full of "slurpity" goodies...

She altered this candy box with pretty papers, luscious pink roses and a vintage Valentine "pick"! I adore it!
She also included a bag of her "famous fudge" which I have to say is famous for a reason! OMG...talk about decadent! It is INCREDIBLE and quite the temptation this last week. What an amazing package, right Sweets? Thank you SO VERY MUCH, Analise! You went so "all out" and "over the top" and I love it ALL. You are soooo talented and soooo sweet and we really MUST get together for that cup of coffee. :)

I'm also going to show some goodies that some of the swappers who don't have blogs sent to their partners. Look at all this yumminess!!!

First, this is a lovely group of pretties made by Amanda Parsons for her swap partner. She made a cherub garland that you see hanging in front of the cabinet. She glittered the little paper mache house with the "heart smoke" coming out of the chimney and if you look closely you will notice it has a little heart charm as a doorknob! Lastly, if you notice behind the house there is a pink box with vintage red plastic flowers attached that Amanda's partner can use as storage for the garland. Isn't it all darling??? Great job, Amanda!

And this is the package the sweet Glenda Sellwood received from her Secret Admirer who is from Germany...darling, right?And I hate to say this, but there was a "glitch" in our swap and there is at least one gal, maybe two, who didn't receive a gift. This is NOT the fault of any of our swappers!!!! This is totally our fault and we are busily preparing a "make-up" gift for poor Jessi and anyone else who was affected by this! We are SO SORRY and hope you ladies aren't too disappointed!!!

So what do you and that "dapper young gentleman" have planned for tonight? Here's my love and I at our wedding 7 years ago...And here we are now....seven years later and with our hands (and our hearts!) much fuller!Though a part of me wishes I could say we have a romantic dinner out on the town planned, we'll be in our jeans and t-shirts down at the church, running around with the 1st through 3rd graders, sipping pink punch, eating pink cookies and loving every minute of it!

But we may sneak a little bit of "Sugar" in....Last but not least, I promised a Giveaway which you can enter by commenting here. I'll be giving away a pink ticking tussie mussie just like this one in my shoppe:

Friday evening I'll draw a name at random from those who comment on this post and the winner will get this tussie mussie. Be sure and leave your email/contact info if you don't have a blog or if you don't use blogger so that I'll be able to be sure to get in touch with you!

Well, Sweets....thank you so much for popping by my party today! It's been just LOVELY. Thank you to all those who participated in the swap and to Miss Jennifer Hayslip for co-hosting this swap with me....you did SO MUCH work, Jenn, and I'm so grateful to you.

Happy Valentine's Day, Sweets!

P.S. Please join us on at the Secret Admirer Valentine's Day Swap Group on Flickr. You can add your pictures to the pool and we can all be one big happy family! ;) That may also clear up any questions about who was paired with whom if your partner doesn't have a blog. Click HERE to join! If you don't have a flickr account and would prefer I upload your photos to the pool, just email them to me (or ask me, if you've already emailed them to me for posting on my blog) and I'll be happy to add them!