Wishes granted - received

Here are two more wishes that I received in September in the Wishlist group on Swap-bot.

- A selection of note cards with envelopes from Hollybear:

- A selection of travel themed scrapbooking items from ArtsOnFire:

Edibles around the world - Received

The swap called for sending 3 different food items, originating in 3 different parts of the world. My partner, Marta from Italy (Kizmet) went over and beyond as usual and sent me this lovely package, together with a long letter and a lovely little notebook:

Can't wait to try all of them. Thank you so much Marta, it was a pleasure as usual!

Wishes granted - received

So far, for the month of September, I have received the following wishes through the mail:

- Some love themed scrapbooking items from Vintervila:

-A handmade, knitted washcloth for the kitchen from Bonbon:

Wishes granted - Sent

During the month of September, I sent the following "wishes" through the Wishlist Group on Swap-Bot:

- A selection of Christmas themed items to Mejulia:

- Stickers and a Moleskine address book to MJJ4always:

- Die cuts and other bits and pieces for making ATCs to Marryth:

WTA # 49

This is what I sent to Aams (Annemarie) in Finland for winning the WTA # 49 in the Edibles Swappers International group on Swap-bot.

Wishes granted - sent

This month I managed to grant only two wishes in the Wishlist group:

1. Some beauty samples went to Renate

2. And SwedishMum will receive some stickers and Christmas items!

Wishes granted - received

During the month of August, I received these lovely packages with granted wishes from the Wishlist Group on Swap-bot:

1. Some lovely and elegant notecards with their envelopes from Teani

2. Some cute, colourful notecards from Moni

3. Some gourmet spices from Shortmommy23

4. And a very generous assortment of stationery items from Tatsu, all the way from Peru!

Edibles around the world swap - sent

I love doing food themed swaps and trying edibles from other countries! The Edibles around the world swap from the Edibles swappers international group was about sending our partner 3 edible items originating in 3 different countries, so I put together the following package for Andriana (recadosdri) in Japan:

 The package contained:
- A seasoning sachet for making Chili con carne (Mexico)
- A seasoning recipe card for making a beef stew with dumplings (England)
- A seasoning sachet for making Greek salad (Greece)
- A instant pea soup (Czech Republic)
- A biological saffron drink (Greece)

I hope that Andriana enjoys her package!

PIF tag - sent

This is what I sent to Sabrina (glamazon08) for the PIF tag in the Edibles Swappers International group on Swap-bot.

July wishlists - send

This month I decided to grant some wishes through the Wishlist group on Swap-bot. So, OrigamiGrace will receive a couple of perfume samples...

...Anicka22 will receive a selection of black and green teas....

...and Margothecat will receive some unused postcards for her to use.

I hope that the wishes get to their destinations soon and that nothing is lost on the way!

WTA 48

This is what I received from Spinweaver for winning the 48th WTA in the Edibles International Group on Swap-bot. Can't wait to try them!

Wishlist group - received

Some lovely baby boy themed stickers that I received from Swan for the June Wishlist on Swap-bot.

Decorated diaper cake!

A couple of days ago one of my closest friends had her first baby and I wanted to give her an unusual, but at the same time, useful gift. Diaper cakes are a relatively new trend here in Greece, so I thought I'd have a go at it!

I dediced to make an orange/green diaper cake, so I got a couple of cute baby items and diapers with green patterns...

and rolled an endless amount of diapers...

I made a three tiered diaper cake and tied the tiers with green ribbon. This is how the diaper cake turned out:

Some more details...

...and the cherry on top of the cake:

I also made a funny card and left the cake as a suprise for mom and dad to find in the nursery when they return home with the baby:

Private swap with Miranda- to send

Here are some pictures of the Greek edibles that I have chosen for Miranda in the UK, as a part of our private swap on Swap-bot. I hope she enjoys the contents of the package!

I have included the following sweet items...

...and these are the savoury edibles:

I hope that Miranda enjoys what I have selected for her!

Private swap with Miranda - received

This morning I received a lovely package from Miranda, as a part of our private swap on Swap-bot. The swap was about exchanging edibles from the UK with edibles from Greece (both savoury and sweet). Miranda sent me her edibles in a transparent box decorated with deco tape:

This is how everything looked like, when I opened the box:

This is the savoury part of the swap:

Finally, this is the sweet part of it:

I will be definitely making some chicken tikka masala this weekend and having my coffee with some delicious shortbread fingers!

Thank you so much, Miranda!

Easter crafts!

This Easter, I had a lovely, creative time preparing little treats and surprises for the little ones that I'm related to in one way or another.  I bought a couple of Easter baskets, dived in my Easter and spring related craft stash...

...did some serious baking...

...and then some more...

When everything was ready, I made some icing for the cookies (unfortunately I didn't take a picture) and turned them into these lovely Easter themed cookie bags for the kiddos to enjoy:

My five year old nephew received an Easter basket containing a bunny plushie, egg shaped chocolates, a cookie bag and some bunny stationery, that looked like this

...and the niece of my better half received a girly pink basket, containing egg shaped chocolates, a cookie bag and some bracelets for her to wear.

I'm rather pleased with how everything turned out!

Scones

When I was 20 years old, I lived in England for 4 years. One of my favourite tastes that I cannot find in bakeries where I live now, were scones and yesterday I decided to make a batch. Actually, they look and taste great!

So, in order to make yourself some sultana scones, you will need the following:

- 250 g self raising flour

- 55 g stick cold butter

- 1 level teaspoon of baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon salt

- 150 ml milk

- 1 egg beaten with a little  milk

- 50 g sultanas

Method:

Heat the oven to 205°C.

Grease and flour a baking sheet.

Sieve the flour into a roomy baking bowl then add the butter, baking powder and salt. Quickly rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Make a well in the center and using a dinner knife, stir in enough milk to make a soft, pliable dough.

Turn the mixture on to a floured board and knead very lightly until just smooth then lightly roll out to 2cm.

Cut rounds with a 7.5cm cutter or cut into triangles with a sharp knife.I made squares.

Place on the baking tray and brush with the beaten egg and milk mixture. Bake near the top of the hot oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown and well risen.

Cool on a wire rack before eating.

Serve with butter, or lashings of jam and cream.

Angel package - Coffee and cigarettes swap

This is the angel package I got from Anniehall, the organizer of the Coffee and Cigarettes swap on Swap-bot, after my partner demismummy decided not to keep her end of the deal and flake. Anniehall was kind enough to send me some coffee, an ashtray and a CD compilation.

WTA 46 - Sent

This is what I sent to Katanke73, the winner of WTA 46 that I organized in the Edibles Swappers International Group on Swap-bot.

A photo shoot

I have signed for a doll themed swap on Swap-Bot and despite the fact that partners have not been allocated yet, I couldn't resist the temptation of taking some pictures of a doll that I love. I was given this doll as a Christmas present by my sweetheart, because he knows how much I admire the painter Gustav Klimt and how much I love miniatures of all sorts. This is the Klimt inspired Barbie doll-stunning, don't you think?