"craft it forward" received!

As I posted previously, I joined a crafty project, "craft it forward", couple weeks ago. (see the post here)

I sent out my work like a month ago (not sure if it has arrived safely or not; kind of worried... :P), but didn't receive anything until last week. As the idiom said, "good things come in pairs", not one, but two unexpected packages arrived in my mailbox on March 30.

One was sent from San Diego, USA, by a girl called Jennifer. In the small white package came three delicately made cards, and all cards are about the same theme: mushrooms! (YES, I LOVE MUSHROOMS!) I can feel the care and efforts put into those cards; they are really nicely made, with colorful illustrations on each of the cards and plastic wraps to protect them. Thank you, Jennifer. :)

Another package lying in my mailbox was also mailed from USA, but Durham, NC. It contains a modern orange thank card made by the initiator of this "craft it forward" project (follow him on twitter: @dudecraft). I love the fact that he combined materials other than paper to put together this card, and the cool slogan he put on the envelope: "MAKING SOMETHING CHANGES EVERYTHING." His package was truly a surprise to me; I didn't expect to get a thank card at all.

Actually, I think I really need to thank him for organizing this project. I love working with my hands, and knowing that my work can pass along some love to others makes me even more content. Because the project, warmth is being transferred to and from various spots in the world, embedded in the creative works of the project participants. :)

"craft it forward" :)

About a week ago while I was wandering around on Twitter, a tweet from @dudecraft caught my eyes. It was like this, "Crafters, please participate and RT: http://tinyurl.com/d6r4oo". I clicked on the link and then became intrigued by this secret Santa in March project. For one thing, I love keeping my hands busy: drawing, paper cutting, sewing, cutting, gluing... For another, it always feels nice to pass along warmth to others with the thing I made. After one day of consideration, I wrote my application to Paul.

Then on March 7 I received this email with the information of my "makee"--a Vancouver guy who loves bicycling and am about to be a dad. Not sure what to make, I saw the two pieces of brand-new eraser sitting on my desk--"I can try to carve a eraser stamp!" Things didn't go well at first; I didn't have the transfer paper with me, and I didn't own a proper knife for carving either. Then I said to myself, "Come on! I am a left-handed. I can draw reversed images!" and I just went for it.

The drafting turned out to be quite OK. How about the carving? Well, the two stamps were a bit rough looking; I didn't do a very good job with curves and dots. Anyways, at least the images were intelligible. (I was soooo happy when I tried out the new-carved stamps and saw the clear images!)

In addition to the rubber stamps, I also made the box to put those stamps in. Making the box was another challenge; I spent quite a long time working with it. The gift box turned out to be very satisfying--my boyfriend: "I love the box!!!!!!" and he didn't say anything about the stamps. :P

Tonight I packed the whole thing together, along with a supposed-to-be-short note--it was, uh....kind of long. Seeing how this craft it forward project was formed from the very beginning--two small erasers, a plain cutter, a pair of scissors, and some pieces of paper--to the wrapped-up package waiting to be sent tomorrow, I feel really content. Yeah, it is always nice to work with my hands, put some care and good will into the object, and give it to someone. :)