Scrapbook Retreat Charm Swap - Vintage Victorian

One of the events I participated in at the scrapbook retreat I went to was the charm swap. The charms I received were amazing. The time people put into these little works of art is truly incredible. And the packaging they put together for them was just amazing. I am very impressed with the ladies who particpiated.

Just so you can get the big picture, I'll start with the ones I submitted:

If you want to read more about how they came to be, click here.

So here are the charms I contributed to the Vintage/Victorian charm swap:

Seat #1


Seat #2


And here are the charms I received:

I should note that most people received only 9 charms back. I did two seats, so I received 18 charms back. I think there were 31 ladies who participated and I made 5 of those sets, so I ended up with 23 out of the 31 charms that were made for the swap. That leaves only 8 that are not shown below. And actually, I know there was one other woman (Kendra Utt) who did 2 seats but I'm not sure if both of her seats were identical. If they were then it may be that only 7 are not shown below. Oh, and actually, I received two more after the swap was over, so that makes just 5 that aren't shown below. If Kendra Utt's two seats weren't identical, then I'm missing her second one, as well. Still, I've got most of them shown below. Missing only 5 or 6 isn't bad.

In no particular order and without further ado, here are the wonderful charms I received:


Made by Linda S.:



Made by Bobie G.:



Made by Wendi H.:



Made by Deanna H.:



Made by Kendra U.:



Made by Melody P.:

(It reads "My Song" on the back.)

Made by Nichole L.:

Made by Lisa T.:



Made by Diane K.:



Made by Tahne T.:



Made by Michelle J.:



Made by Carmen H.:



Made by Yvonne H.:



Made by Charlene W.:



Made by ? (No Name on Package):



Made by Lynn C.:



Made by Kandi G.:



Made by Roberta W.:


Made by Margaret W.:



Made by Tamara W.:


I traded for a couple of extras after the swap was over:

Made by Kathie D.:

Kathie did not participate in the official charm swap but made some to exchange with the swappers after we received our charms back. Lucky for me, I had made some extras of my charms and so was able to get one of these darling angels and the beautiful filler that went with it.

Made by Bobie G.:

Lucky for me, I received one of Bobie's fabulous charm sets in the official charm swap. However, during the clipboard class, we got to talking about how much we both love pink and everything French and so later that day she brought me one of her extra pink charms. What a sweetie! I love it! I was able to give her one of the extra charms I had made.

Finally, here are the charms I made for my friends to swap:

Rachel A.:


Theresa A.:


Claudia K.:

Scrapbook Retreat Secret Sister Exchange

Here are the results of the secret sister swap from the scrapbook retreat:

What I received:

The person who had me for their secret sister was Lynn. She is such a sweetheart. I really loved each thing she gave me and I already have plans for the kiss-closure purse-style mini photo album I received from her - I think I am going to paste "Lily" on the front using letters cut out of felt and add some felt flowers. Then, I can carry it as my baby brag book. The other things she gave me were so pretty and they fit my love for all things pink.

I LOVED the paper basket she made. The handle actually swings since it is attached by brads. Apparently, while I was napping, a lot of other attendees were taking photos of it. And I can't blame them. It's adorable!

I also received a set of embellies in pink (yay, pink!) and a little jeweled pendant with crystals in pink and clear. So pretty! I can tell Lynn put a lot of thought into this and I really appreciated that!



What I gave:

So, my secret sister liked sage, blues and browns. In order to incorporate that, I gave her a kit ORMV-style:

I started with a My Mind's Eye kit done in blues and greens. The theme was "dad and me". I saw from her facebook profile that it appeared she had a child and husband, so I went with that.


The I added a bunch of stuff to it.

More card stock:


Stickers that matched exactly but weren't made by MME:


And some bling and ribbon:


And here it is all put together:


Then, I added some metal words in case she wanted to go with a different theme:


And some chocolate (her favorite kind, according to the questionnaire I received) :


So that was my first gift to her.

After that, I decided to give her everything else I had for her in one fell swoop. So here's the rest of it:

A stamp set and some trail mix with extra m&ms.


Another stamp set, wire & bead words and some brown stitched ribbon:


And, finally, some handcrafted items. I knew she wasn't participating in the charm swap and thought she might like a souvenir of the experience, so I made her a charm bracelet done in the colors and themes of the scrapbook retreat. It was all red, black, grey and white with birds and wing charms. Also, I included a starfish to represent the Under the Sea charm swap and a vintage frame with her initial on it to represent the Vintage/Victorian charm swap.


And then I made her a photo frame decorated in her favorite colors:

Scrapbook Retreat Card Swap

Well, there was a lot to get ready for the scrapbook retreat - the group art project (a twinchie in the bird/wings/fly theme of the scrapbook retreat), the roomie gifts, the secret sister exchange gifts, the charms for the charm swap, etc., and I just didn't get to my cards for the card swap until I actually got to camp. I worked on mine during Thursday (the extra day Theresa and I signed up for) and was so glad I had a whole day to do it. I got about 10 completed. I swapped eight and T gave me an extra one of hers, so I ended up with nine altogether.

I got the idea for my card from a magazine:


And here's how they turned out (with and without flash):


And here are the cards I received in return:


I think they're gorgeous and and am so impressed by the talented ladies who attend this event.