Ready to go!

It's now 10:02 PM Sunday Feb.20 in Japan.
I worked for my OWOH giveaway packages on Sunday afternoon.
This is one of the most exciting part of the giveaway.
I just pictured each of my packages going to make a long journey and finally getting to each mailbox of two winners, Mimi and aliceinparis.
These are just two small packages but I hope they will make you smile.

Wait for a while. They'll be leaving home tomorrow.

OneWorld OneHeart 2011 Winners !

The Lucky Winners are:

Mimi from "Screaming Mimi" #16visitor
&
aliceinparis from "Alice in Paris" #88visitor

Hey, Congratulations!
I've decided to draw two winners for 2 sets of my giveaways
because there were much more visitors than I expected.
Thank you!
I'm going to e-mail two of you soon to exchange some more information
for sending out packages.

(Please check my first post on OWOH2011 here.)

Thank you Lisa and hundreds of participants for welcoming me.
I took part in OWOH for the first time. It was just about 10 days ago that I sent my email to Lisa about the entry. It was just amazing right after Lisa added my name in her list, the visitors started coming in eventually with 134 women leaving their kind and sweet words in my blog.
I enjoyed my visits to many bloggers and their visits to mine. I'll definitely go back each of my new friends to know more about her enthusiasm, her life and her culture.
OWOH2011 was over but for me it is the beginning of new friendships.

Let's stay in touch.

Over 70 comments came in

It's been less than 24 hours since I posted "One World One Heart" last night.

This is "OMG." Is this what OWOH is all about?
My post on OWOH has still been attracting bloggers over 60!
I've never had such a large number of comments in any of my previous posts before.
Every single comment is so sweet and heartfelt.
More than anything else, I feel so glad to hear that they like my posts in the past as well as the giveaway. You know, it's such a nice compliment for me whose native language is not English.

Thank you so much every one who kindly came in here today.
Now I feel so happy that all of a sudden, I got so many friends, that I'd never expected to come across in this world unless I had made one step forward and joined OWOH.

It'll take for a while for me to visit your blogs but I'm sure I will gladly do and will enjoy"talking" to you.
Let's stay tuned until we see who will be the lucky one!
We have still a week to go.

"One World One Heart 2011"

Hello! Welcome to "My Hodgepodge".
I'm so happy to join "One World One Heart" from Japan.

A couple days ago, Jeany in Germany whom we've known each other in this blogsophere over the years, introduced me in her blog about "One World One Heart" project. As I was reading what it was all about, I was carried away with this project for bloggers across the countries.

"One World One Heart" project had been brought to all the bloggers(strictly limited as blog owners) throughout the world by one artist whose name is Lisa. Please visit her blog and learn more in detail about "One World One Heart".
This is a huge giveaway project that I've never run into before.
Go and visit Lisa's page to see more than 800 participants enrolling in this project with beautiful give-away presents. It is something like exchanging handmade gifts but there is more to it. You will know how large a number of women in the world, keeping their blogs, expressing their own thoughts and own life-styles, opening their doors to the outward world. By getting a chance to visit their blogs, we'll be able to know one another. That's friendship. Thus, the whole world is getting smaller. How nice this is.

So I've also made up my mind to join this project by presenting my giveaway. Of course, you can join the project just by visiting others , enjoying their blogs and leaving a message saying you'd like to sign up for a give away.

Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not good at handcrafts.
I love making things with my hands if I have time, but this is only for my own pleasure. None of them makes a good gift to be sent out.
So here are some cute little goodies I've bought from some shops before for adding to my favorite collections.

Let's enjoy "One World One Heart" together. This time it will be the fifth and will be the last project after all. How lucky that I joined the last "One World One Heart"project.

Here are my giveaway gifts: a very small set of dolls and three small pocket envelops.


The dolls are called "Hina Dolls." On March 3 we celebrate the Girls Festival in Japan by decorating Hina Dolls at home. Those small pocket envelops are originally for putting in small amount of money to hand out to others in Japan. They are too cute just for envelops.


In order to join my give away, please leave your comment , your blog URL and your e-mail address here. I'll choose one lucky winner by lot.(I'm ready to use one lottery free soft from the web.) Don't forget to write your e-mail address. Otherwise, if you were the winner, I've got to choose the second person.

Finally thank you Lisa for your taking time for this project for five years.

Where have you been for two months???

So, my friends, this is another story of swapping with Jeany from Germany.

It's such a nice story. I eventually received two packages from her.
Why?------- It's because the first one got lost on the way and Jeany was generous enough to send me another one although I told her I could be patient for the sake of our friendship.
She was so quick to make a decision about the second one. She didn't want me to wait for a missing package when no one knows whether or not it would be picked up and put it back on the right way. So this way, I received her second swapping package as a result.　
(See the previous blog)

And just about when we both have already given up the missing one, the postman rang the door bell and I saw him standing at the door with a package in his arm! What a welcoming surprise!!!
I checked the package on the spot to see if it got any damages. It was all right! It was really thrilling to open the box to find these lovely gifts she packed in almost two months ago-----tiny lovely all different tags, nice sensed soaps, a beautiful cartonnage and more. Some look familiar to me since she introduced some of her works in her blog and now these beautiful objects are here with me after they made a long journey. Isn't this exciting! I especially love her tag book with accordion pockets. Aren't they so neat!

(More images here)

I'm not a crafty type of person but I'm sure I'll try when I have more time to spare. It's really nice to get inspired by my blogger friends here. Every one I meet here has such a unique talent. They give me an inspiration and an excitement of creativeness.

Package across the sky

Here are the gift items Jeany has sent for me all the way from Germany.

Click here for more images!

How gorgeous! I'm so thankful and happy that she made every single goody by herself and was generous enough to send them to me in Japan.

She is such a talented woman who enjoys varieties of crafts especially her cartonnage are breathtaking. When I first saw her blog, I was just carried away to know how she made every part so carefully and patiently and finally so beautifully while it requires time and concentration before she completes.

Just coming across with her on the web is a great pleasure. Isn't it miracle that our paths crossed each other one day in the Internet world and now we are friends! This is something great about the blogosphere.
I love the sewing box. It's like a magic box. When you open it, you'll find a small one inside and it has many pockets as well on each four sides. How amazing and how delicately and carefully she went through all the steps. I love every item you sent to me. Look at the lovely European doll. She's so cute. You definitely showed me the excitements of handcrafting.
Oh, my, how can I be deserved with those presents. Thank you, Jeany. I do keep them for long.

Well, my friends, it's not the end of the story. There is more to say. I'll come back soon.

More about the treasures

Today I decide to post another blog on the goodies from Jo because I knew I was not satisfied with my last night post. Pictures were too small to tell what I had received from Jo. As I wrote yesterday, I can tell Jo is really talented with "handmade" and I can tell how much she enjoys it in her every day life. As I explained it yesterday her scraped book is really lovely. Besides her own hand made items, she picked up a book on water color paintings and magazines introducing the way of American women enjoy handmade in crafts, house-living, cooking and all sorts. How inspiring ! There were some other nice goodies like a box of chocolate, a fragrant candle, a box of bath flowers, a frame she added her art on, handmade tags and a collection of cute little, colorful buttons and a roll of tapes in a drawer of the paper Efel tower, writing pads and finally and unexpectedly cute summer pajamas in beige bordered with lace! This is really something to know how much she devoted her time out of her busy life to make this surprise for me. I'm so happy!

Well, well, for those who want to see the pictures much closer, click the picture above and you will see the slides show starts.
Hope you will be able to see the lovely treasures I received from Jo.
Thank you everyone that left each comment in my last night post.
And Dionne, thank you so much again for hosting this Summer Swap.

Seeing is Believing!

I was trying to explain every thing I found in Jo's swap package. I tried but out of my poor vocabularies, I gave up. So, everyone, here is all the images of what she had selected for me.

In fact, I wonder how could she kindly take time to get these things prepared for me. First of all, wrapping was sooooo sweet. Every thing is in pink and look at the paper tower she made.

Each present was wrapped very carefully and each one was just so cool. Pink ribbons and white wrappers. They were so cute. Having so many neatly wrapped presents, how can I start opening them. I just enjoyed watching the whole picture of the gifts in pink.
It was like the Christmas morning gathering around the trees with lots of presents waiting for us.


The one that made me so impressed was her scrap booking in which she carefully made each page with lots of surprises. I can take out a card of her own made and I read her messsage on the back of each card. How nice it is to know about her and her family. Thank you so much, Jo, for preparing the goodies so carefully and lovely.
And thank you, Dionne for sponsoring this second swap for us. Without your talent of organizing us, this never happened to me.
Meeting new frieds-----how nice!

A package from Jo

Here is a picture of a big package from my swap partner, Jo.

Yes, it finally arrived today! (and I knew Jo received the package I sent, too)

Things she packed inside were all so precious, lovely, awesome, original, fragrant, delicious, cute----darn, I'm so excited.

I'm going to take some more pictures and show you here.

Keep your eyes wide open!

(to be continued tomorrow)

They are so precious!

These are some of the swap presents Kimberly had kindly sent me across the ocean in the previous swap organized by Dionne.
There were lots lots of goodies in the big box. Some of them I'd shared with my family and eaten them up! Some are in the bookshelf. And here are the things which remind me of Kimberly everytime I see them.
I like seaglasses she found on her beach behind her house.
And look at her beautiful framed art!
I enjoy them every day!

Ready to go!

There is 14 hours time difference between Jo and me.
I am ahead of her by 14hours.
It's about the swap that Dionne arranged for her bloggers.

I'm thankful for her giving me a blogger from abroad, the same chance to take part in her swap and grateful for other participants who accepts us from abroad.
June 15 Monday is the mail due.
It's tomorrow!
Jo, I'm ready!
I'm going to mail it tomorrow.
Hope you'll enjoy it.

It's just a small international goodwill exchange!

Such a surprise!

I participated the spring swap that Dionne had arranged for 26 blogger friends. I haven't experienced a swapping before and I even didn't know what a swapping is at all until I ran into Dionne's blog. It's her idea to call for participation to her blogger friends. Since I am such a fan of her and her splendid blog, I was sure it would be worth of taking part in.

My swap partner is Kimberly and we emailed each other several times and got to know a little bit of us. She wrote me a very generous and kind mail and made me feel so happy and relaxed about sending out a package to her.
I picked up some little things Japanese and sent out on April 1 as Dionne instructed so that every participant can get the swapping gift around the same time.
My package was delivered to Kimberly. It took about a week to get to her. She wrote about it in her blog at once.

So finally across the ocean, the big package from Kimberly arrived this morning.

The bell rang and I knew it must be one. I ran to the door and saw the postman standing with such a big box in his arms. Wow!


I opened it and look at this! So being springly wrapped. Now what's inside???


I couldn't believe my eyes. There are so many goodies in the box.
different kinds of Chocolates, candles, a little poem book, handmade greeting card and bookmark from Kimberly, a wooden bird and eggs, a wrap of glass pieces, a post card of her town and especially her art in frame is really great. It's my joy that I got her art.
How could ever she been so nice to some one abroad. Thank you so much. I've been so exciting the whole day today.
Thank you Kimberly for taking so much time and so much postage to send many goodies for me. Yes, we are qualifed to be awarded the "international posting award" or something.

We stay in touch. And my thanks go to Dionne, as well. You've made every participants and readers linked together.

What a surprise!

It's Monday morning here .

The postman rung the bell and I found him

standing with a big box in his arms!
How could you think of sending me such a big box by air mail!

Thank you so much, Kimberly!

I love everything and your art in frame is really great.
I am happy it arrived before I leave for a job.
I'll write more in detail tonight.

I'll come back with more photos tonight.

Thank you so much again.
Here are lots and lots of my thanks.

And I thank you to Dionne, who made this possible.