5th Annual FOTESS Holiday Card Swap!

7 years ago

Happy Holidays, Everyone, and welcome to the 5th Annual FOTESS Holiday Card Swap!

I took the easy way out this year, and copied last year's post, with all the necessary changes, of course!

As always, this is going to be a very simple swap: If you sign up, you will be sending a holiday greeting to 2 or 3 of your fellow FOTESS members. And that's it. Just a greeting card!

Also, in memory of Darrin Wright/Cryptid, our friend and FOTESS member par excellence, I would like to ask you to send season's greetings to his wife, Ellie, and son, Roy. I'm sure they would enjoy hearing from us all.

Now, if you would like to include a small giftie in your card, you can, but make sure that the giftie is small enough to fit in the card and mailed with just one regular stamp.

GIFTIES ARE NOT REQUIRED. THE CARD IS THE IMPORTANT THING!

Sign ups will be held until Sunday, December 4th. I will email you the names of the FOTESS members you are to send to on Monday, Dec.5

PLEASE KEEP THESE NAMES SECRET - PART OF THE FUN IS THE SURPRISE!

The deadline for mailing your cards is the end of the year. There is no theme this year, you can send in time for Christmas, the Solstice, New Year's, or any other holiday that takes place in December.

And please remember to write FOTESS on the back of your envelope, so no one confuses it with the other big swaps.

I wanted to write something new and different to tell you why I host this swap every year, but, last year's post said it all very nicely, SO......This swap has become very special to me. It's the one time of year when I "touch base" with ALL of you very special people. You have all enriched and blessed my life so much and I am very grateful that you take the time, in this very busy season, to take part in our Card Swap!

Come celebrate the season with us!
Shirley!

Featured Answer

amybabyboy3

7 years ago

Welcome Jessica!

Shirley, I would love to join! Amy

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Comments (182)

kchd
7 years ago
Hi Ladies! I received 2 lovely cards this weekend. One is from Faye which contained some iridescent butterfly stickers. The other is from Alana and contained seeds for Zinia elegans and Rattlesnake Master. Many thanks to you both. The cards are going up on the mantle, which is our holiday tradition.

Shirley, I got your email and replied. Twice. Haha.

Lisa, I just sent you a message thru Houzz with the link to the current member list.

My cards are going out tomorrow!

❤️ Katie
GardenMom
7 years ago
Ive gotten so many but mine will be going out tomorrow as well will give better thanks when i figure out who sent them. Im so excited and this is so fun.
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ishareflowers {Lisa}
7 years ago
Thank you Katie for sending me the addresses.

I'll be dropping them in the mil later this afternoon!
sjc48
Original Author
7 years ago
Today is the Winter Solstice - wishing everyone a blessed season!

Shirley!
canyonwind
7 years ago
Shirley (sjc)...yes, I did make your card with a little fabric....I had no idea what I was doing....LOL! You and Heidi are the card making QUEENS.....

And I will be Winter Sowing seeds today....Winter Solstice!!

Happy Day!!

Annie
xiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
7 years ago
poisondartfrog
7 years ago
Aster, Iris, Flax, Mallow
brittneysgran
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Datura, Yarrow, Coneflower, Basil

I received a beautiful card from Amy along with a nail file that says SMILE, a silver trumpet ornament and Rocky Mtn. Bee Plant seeds, can't wait to try these. Thank you Ms. Amy, how thoughtful and Merry Christmas to you and your Family.

I also received a beautiful homemade card from Annie with felt trees (How beautiful). Too cute she included a $1 dollar bill and wrote a buck for good luck. I sure need some good luck, maybe this will help. Thank you Ms. Annie and a Merry Christmas to you and your Family.

And yet a third one-a beautiful Noel wreath card along with these seeds: Heuchera 'Autumn Bride', Foxglove Strawberry and Hydrangea 'Lady in Red' Yeah....I actually have this Hydrangea but it has never bloomed so maybe these seeds will grow and bloom for me. Thank you Lisa and a very Merry Christmas to you and your Family.

Shirley
EricaBraun
7 years ago
Faye -- Thank you so much for the Christmas card!
gardengirl37232
7 years ago
Milkweed

poppy

Yarrow

Aster
amybabyboy3
7 years ago
poppy,yarrow,aster, datura
sandlapper_rose
7 years ago
We have a new granddaughter born this morning - Eliza Melody! Hopefully mommy and baby will be home on Christmas Eve. We are keeping busy with the new big sister. If I don't get back on soon, Merry Christmas to everyone.

Jeanne
sjc48
Original Author
7 years ago
Congratulations, Jeanne, great news for the Holidays! Hope Mom and Eliza Melody are doing well. Love the name!

Ladies, I will be leaving in the morning to go spend Christmas with Tabitha and Myrna - Chris and Joe too! I won't be back on the site until the 27th. Please continue to post here, any Christmas greetings, and of course, when you send and receive your cards.

Wishing a Joy-filled Christmas Day to ALL!

Shirley!
smitties
7 years ago
Shirley, best wishes for a wonderful holiday. Have fun with the family. Thank you too for the beautiful Christmas card with the enclosed gift tags. Your card making talent is wonderful. Margo
brittneysgran
7 years ago
Congratulations Jeanne what a blessing from our Father above. Two more days and she would have been born on my Birthday.

Shirley
xiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
7 years ago
Congratulations Jeanne! A young couple we are friends with are due on Christmas and they are Hispanic. I asked them if the baby is born on Christmas and it's a boy--are they naming it Jesus? No, they said.

Mandy, thank you so much for the pretty card and the stickers! I love anything creative! Very sweet. Thank you. Heidi
amybabyboy3
7 years ago
Mandy, Thank you for the beautiful covered bridge Christmas card and cute stickers! Amy
canyonwind
7 years ago
Jeanne, how beautiful...Eliza Melody!!! Congratulations!!

Shirley, enjoy your time with Myrna, Tabs and the family.....

Merry, Merry Christmas to all of my FOTESS buddies.

Annie
amybabyboy3
7 years ago
Congratulations Jeanne!

Hope you all have a Wonderful and Merry Christmas! Amy
l1oness
7 years ago
Shirley - thank you for for the beautiful card and the gift tags. These are beautiful! I may have to frame the card for next year!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Mandy
ishareflowers {Lisa}
7 years ago
Shirley, Thank you for the beautiful card and gift tags. I put them on my nieces gifts last night and made sure to tell her that they were handmade by a fellow Gw gal.

I sent out 4 cards, I see that only 1 made it in time for the holidays. Hopefully, the other 3 will make it their destinations soon.

Merry Christmas!

Lisa
beth_b_kodiak
7 years ago
We have a beautiful WHITE CHRISTMAS
Hope yours is peaceful and beautiful too
brittneysgran
7 years ago
Thank you Shirley for the beautiful card and homemade gift tags....you are so creative.

Not sure what happened to my cards? They were mailed last week in plenty of time to be received. Maybe mail is slower than I thought, hopefully soon.

Shirley
xiangirl zone 4/5 Nebraska
7 years ago
Shirley, thank you for the beautiful card and the cute gift tags. We just had a couple rain showers--not cold enough for snow today. Strange, but we'll take rain and it's warm enough not to become black ice so yeah! Merry Christmas! Heidi
EricaBraun
7 years ago
Shirley -- Thank you so much for the lovely handmade Christmas card and the gift tags. I received them yesterday.

Merry Christmas to everyone!
nottougly
7 years ago
I hope everyone is having a great holiday season. Between work and getting ready for the holidays I have been very busy.

I did receive a beautiful homemade Snowflake card from Shirley with

homemade gift tags. They are very lovely.

Thank you Shirley.

I also received a handmade "Merry Planting" card from

Heidi. She included a blank handmade card with an envelope for my personal use. Both cards are beautiful. I love them.

Thank you Heidi.
beth_b_kodiak
7 years ago
Yesterday I spoke with my daughter in MO. She said I have several Christmas cards waiting there. I'm betting some are from my FOTESS friends. She is sending all the mail to me this week and I'll post as soon as I see who it is from. Meanwhile, I'm playing in the snow. We got 9 inches,when they had predicted an inch or two. YEAHOOOOoo
kchd
7 years ago
Happy holidays, ladies!

Cards have come in over the holidays. :D I've displayed them all across the fireplace mantle.

Alana sent a lovely card with 2 kinda of seeds: Zinnia elegans and Rattlesnake master. Time to winter sow!

Faye sent a great card with butterfly stickers, which I'm sharing with my nephew.

I received a beautiful winter solstice homemade card from Shirley C. over the weekend. Love the gift tags, too.

Lisa sent a lovely card, too with seeds of Campanula americana. I'll definitely be winter sowing these to plant in my all-natives bed.
canyonwind
7 years ago
Got mail...I received a very lovely card from Shirley (sjc)...yes, perfectly handmade. And handmade gift tags....love these.....Thanks so much Shirley.

Shirley, brittneysgran, sent me a beautiful card and a daylily to come in the Spring..."Big Kiss", and no I don't have that one. Not sure if I should be posting this here or on Secret Santa...I thank you so very much!

I hope everyone had a wonderful day yesterday with family and friends.....

Happy week to all!

Annie
sandlapper_rose
7 years ago
Our mail was being held so I don't know what cards may have arrived, but I'll hopefully be able to post that tomorrow. Now that I have access to my computer, here's a picture of me with Eliza Melody.

Christmas is a hectic time to add a new baby to the family, but it was very special also. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Jeanne
bluee19
7 years ago
TGIT Everyone!

I want to give a big shout out to sjc48 and kchd for thinking of me during this holiday season.

Shirley ~ Thanks for the time it took for you to make the cards/tags. It was so kindly appreciated.

Katie ~ Thank you for the cute card with stamps which I always will need especially when I join so many swaps. I appreciate being thought of.

Hope everyone is having a TERRIFIC TUESDAY!!
poisondartfrog
7 years ago
Shirley! Thank you for the lovely card and the gift tags. I have two kids with birthdays within a week of each other. I will be using them then. (Yep, both are in their thirties, but they still get a party together even if they have to travel.)
sandlapper_rose
7 years ago
Our mail was being held, but arrived today.

Thank you so much to:

Jessica who included some wonderful seeds with her card

Shirley who created a beautiful handmade card and included some gift tags

and Amy for a card with a cheerful Santa.

I love our Christmas card swap! Thanks for offering it once again, Shirley.

It sure doesn't feel like Christmas here. It's very warm, but that's okay.

Jeanne
EricaBraun
7 years ago
Katie -- I received your lovely Christmas card. Thank you so much.
amybabyboy3
7 years ago
Lisa, Thank you for the adorable Snowman card and Geranium Endressii, I am super excited to try the seeds as I have never had those before. Thank you so much!

Shirley, Thank you so much for the beautiful handmade card and gift tags. They are so pretty and I will use the tags for a special gift!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week! Take care, Amy
canyonwind
7 years ago
I received beautiful mail today....

Amy sent me a lovely card with a wonderful wishes and a BELIEVE nail file thick board. How cute...a nail file that actually says BELIEVE. My husband wanted it for his car, so he can do a quick file on his nails while stopping at the red lights. No big boy, you can't have it. It is going in my purse/backpack. I much prefer these nail boards. Also, Amy sent me a glittered French horn ornament....so perrrrrty. Tiz on our tree......And two packets of seeds....a new tomato I do not know, Black Vernissage and a new poppy I do not know, California Poppy Sunbeam Dwarf. I will plant the Poppy tomorrow and Winter Sow the tomato in January. HOW FUN! Thank you so much Amy. Cheers to a healthy, happy and safe New Year 2017 for you and your family

Off to the shower. I have been Wintersowing Rudebeckia, Gaillardia and all kinds of other fun things today....after my shower, I will grab a glass of vino and watch some college football.

Happy Evening FOTESSERS....

Annie
Melinda Hagen
7 years ago
I want to thank you all for thinking of me! I received a beautiful homemade card from sjc48 with homemade labels. I also got a card from Margo awhile back with seeds. I think I posted onwrong forum with that one! So thank you for making my days better!
beth_b_kodiak
7 years ago
Margo, thanks for the beautiful Amarillis Card and seeds for hen and chicks poppy. I have only ever seen these once and i'm excited to try them this spring.

Beth
sjc48
Original Author
7 years ago
Hello, Everyone, I hope a great Holiday was had by ALL!

I had a wonderful time with the girls, and most of the rest of the family!

I want to thank Katie, Shirley and Jessica for the beautiful cards; they were waiting for me when I got back - Thank you!

And I'm glad you all liked the cards I sent - as usual, I loved making them!

I'll be back with a wrap up of the swap. I think we should just about be done.

Shirley!
l1oness
7 years ago
I received a beautiful poinsetta card and snow bird stamps from Katie (kchd). Thank you for the lovely surprise Katie!

I hope everyone has a lovely New Year's!

Mandy
EricaBraun
7 years ago
sandlapper_rose
7 years ago
Happy New Year!
sjc48
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Good Morning, Ladies! And Happy 2017!

Well, I checked thro the posts and I'm thinking that everyone who signed up to send cards for this swap, has done so.

THANK YOU - Nicole, Katie, Mandy, Alana, Heidi, Jessica, Margo, Amy, Annie, Beth, Jeanne, Faye, and Shirley!

Once again, Ladies, you have helped make this special swap, very special for me. I really appreciate the time you take to send the cards. Thank you!

Now, if you have received a card and haven't posted yet, please do so. This thread will always be open, so if you have cards you haven't acknowledged, please let us know.

I'll be posting the January Swap some time this week. Haven't got all the bugs worked out yet!

And Ladies, we need a hostess for the March Swap - any volunteers?

Have a great first day of the New Year!

Shirley!
gardengirl37232
7 years ago
Shirley, I received your lovely card today along with the gift tags. Thank you so much! They were gorgeous.

Happy New Year!
beth_b_kodiak
7 years ago
Thanks to those who sent Christmas/Winter cards and seeds, Lisa,(i share), Jessica (Garden Mom) Shirley (SJC)

Also, a nice card and note from Elly (Mrs Darrin Cryptid)

It was a nice Christmas here complete with SNOW.

Thanks all I always enjoy this swap
pinkiris
7 years ago
Sorry I am late posting ladies... I have been very sick. I usually have most of my winter sowing done by now and I dont even have one jug done yet.

Lisa ... thank you so much for thinking of me and for the beautiful Christmas card with the Columbine 'Clementine Salmon Rose' seeds...these look absolutely beautiful! I plan to wintersow these soon =)

Elly and Roy ... thank you for the beautiful Christmas card and sweet note. Wishing you both all the best!

Mandy ...thank you as well for thinking of me and for the beautiful Christmas card with the super cute Christmas stickers ...

Amy ... thank you for thinking of me and the beautiful Christmas card and sweet note.

Wishing everyone beautiful and blessed gardens in 2017!
ruthz
7 years ago
Thank you all for the beautiful cards, seeds and gifts. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season.
amybabyboy3
7 years ago
Jayeanne, Hope you are feeling better and I hope you are able to start your winter sowing. I just started yesterday but only did four. Take care, Amy

Happy Weekend to All!
pinkiris
7 years ago
Thanks so much Amy =) I am feeling a little better but something is still not right I actually fainted the other evening and have been almost bedridden since seeing the doc. So no winter sowing for me yet.

Shirley... Just today your absolutely beautiful winter blessings greetings arrived with the cutest handmade tags. You are so very creative! Thank you so much for thinking of me and wishing you all the best for you and your gardens in 2017.
amybabyboy3
7 years ago
Jayeanne, I will be praying for you and hope you feel better soon! Take care, Amy

5th Annual FOTESS Holiday Card Swap!

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