ELF Valentine Swap

I signed up for the Esther Luka Family Valentine Swap after skipping the winter swap. I do love this swap.
This time we had to make an album, a journal, a traveler's notebook or a flipbook for our big project.
Two handmade cards with dimension, stamps, embossing or bling.
Three samples of washi 18 inches each
Three embellishments
Two samples ribbon or lace 18 inches each
Hand lotion/scrub and a lip balm/scrub
Something extra.
I went with a journal, or at least I think that's what it is. I had taken all of the really large (I believe they were 6x8) sized journaling cards and made two journals from a journaling card kit I picked up at Tuesday morning. Here are the pages I embellished:

 I added the quote at the top of the page on this one.

 This one I sewed the corner pocket on.

 This one is another corner pocket.

 I added the quote on this one.

 This is a tuck spot at the top of the page.

 Another quote I added.

 Another top of the page tuck spot.

Another corner pocket. All of the pieces I added were from other journaling cards in the collections. I cut out the pieces, used double stick tape to adhere the quotes and a mini sewing machine (that I picked up from Hollar for this purpose, this is just the first time I used it) to attach the tuck spots and corner pockets.
My two cards:

 The top one, I followed a sketch of another card I had received in a swap. I wanted to make it sort of monochromatic, but I like the look of it. It's just a bunch of scraps off my desk, the sentiment is from a sticker book from Hobby Lobby.
The bottom one I just added a lot of layering to.
My three samples of washi:

I just added a pack of 10 rolls of glitter washi I got in a Peachy Cheap grab bag.
My three embellishments:

 The tag already had the red glitter, I added the heart and trim. I had a bunch of tiny envelopes I got in a swap, so I made a cute paper clip with a butterfly wooden veneer. The last one is actually a bunch of heart stickers layered up.
Two samples of ribbon or lace:

I actually thought it was 4 samples, I wrapped them around this cute little 'candy' lip balm I had gotten in a swap. As I was wrapping it up to add to my package, I realized I could have that be the lip balm or scrub, but I already had another one picked out.
For my hand lotion/scrub and lip balm/scrub:

The apple hand balm and the little green thing at the bottom of the picture, it's watermelon lip balm.
A few extras I gave my partner, a bag of Hershey's with almonds, a packet of pink heart doilies, and:

This roll of pink rose paper I picked up at Hobby Lobby.
Here's what my partner sent me:
Traveler's Notebook, cover:

First spread:

There's a couple tags tags on the left side and a dashboard on the right side.
Second spread:

This is the back of the dashboard with a vellum pocket that has a couple tags and a paper clip.

Third spread:

This is the back of the vellum pocket and the first notebook in the traveler's notebook.
 Fourth spread:

This is the back of the notebook, with the other side of the vellum pocket, this notebook had a phone number notebook, a bow paperclip and a binder clip holding a pen. The pink on the right is another notebook, this one a regular lined one.
 Next spread:

This is the back of the notebook with a shaker piece.
 Last spread:

The back of the shaker piece and the back cover.

Back cover:

 Handmade cards:

I love how she included a 3x3 card, I'm loving those lately.
 Samples of washi:

I love that she sent me full rolls, I did the same to her.

 Embellishments:

 Samples of lace:

I love the lace she picked out and how she sent the samples to me.
 Hand cream, and lip balm:

 Extras:

 pens, stickers, chocolate
Owl die

I'm excited to have a traveler's notebook, I've never gotten one before.

Fall Swap

I signed up to do the Esther Luka Family Fall swap again this year. This marks the year anniversary of participating in Esther Luka's swaps. Our requirements were:
One pocket letter, 4 embellishments, 3 washi samples, 2 flowers, 2 handmade cards: Hello and seasonal, 3 stamped images and 1-2 extras. Here's what I made:

 I used a leaf paper background. The tree is from a card I liked it so I attached it to the outside of the pocket. I added some leaves from my stash and layered some wooden leaves on top of them. The turkey is a felt piece from my stash. The two paper leaves are from a swap. I added the two ephemera pieces that I picked up from a garage sale. The quote at the top says 'make the most of every day' there is a circle piece from a garage sale with a Dollar Tree sticker on top. The middle card has another Dollar Tree sticker. The family piece is from a garage sale, it's layered on a cork sticker. The first card has some felt stickers from my stash.
The back:

I included some fallish stickers, some ribbon, silk leaves, ephemera card, sparkly leaf ephemera, foam turkey stickers, sequins, my washi samples.
The flowers:

 This was new this time around. I tried making some flowers with ribbon, but they didn't come out like I wanted, so I just did some layered paper flowers with pearl centers.
The cards:

 I really like how these turned out, I'm not that great at making cards. The hello card I just layered a bunch of paper with some vintage trim and some ric rac. The holiday one is an acetate house on some snowflake paper. The 'happy holidays' is a clear sticker on some white paper and popped up on foam tape.

 This envelope holds my stamped images. I made the envelope and embellished it with a silk leaf and some die cut acorns from a swap.
Embellishments:

The gold tag I had in my stash, I added the burlap leaf tag (from Hobby Lobby) and a leaf punch (from a swap) on top of it, I added a piece of ephemera (my stash) as well. I made another tag to match it with another burlap leaf tag (Hobby Lobby), a sparkly leaf (garage sale) and a 'be happy' sticker (Dollar Tree). I also made a banner embellishment. I layered some scrap book paper (my stash) with some leaf sequins (a swap) and some clear gems (my stash). I also made her some fall paper clips. The two leaves are from Hobby Lobby and the pumpkin was in my stash.
My extras:

I bought this hot pad/oven mitt set last year (Walmart), and it was just waiting for this swap. I'm amazed I didn't lose it. I included this velvet pumpkin I also bought last year (local store), some fall ribbon (a swap) and a piece of chocolate for her.
Here's what she sent me:

 First glance:

 Some extras:

 She included some heart post it's and some giant paper clips in this cute jack-o-lantern bag tied up with this burlap flower.
Another cute jack-o-lantern container:

 It had these very cute flowers in it:

 They are made from pipe cleaners, I love them.
Her embellishments:

 She made me a bunch of rosettes with foxes and sparkly buttons.
More extras:

 She filled this cup with tea and hot chocolate and got me a velvet pumpkin as well.

And some neat Jolee's Boutique snowflake stickers.
Cards:

 Very cute. I love the tree in the truck.
Stamped images:

 She included that tree and the truck image as well as some Julie Nutting dolls and a really cute truck and trailer image.

 Pocket letter:

 She said it was her first or second one. I love it, you can see the tag with her washi samples on the side and a neat embossed bookmark.
The back:

 The goodies:

I thought it was kinda funny that she used this ephemera set of the foxes, squirrels, owls and hedgehogs. The paperclips, these ephemera, the stickers and the pieces on the rosettes are all from that set.
I emailed Esther that I have gotten new people for every swap I've done through her group, but I am amazed at what they create. I've been doing some kind of art most of my life, and my partners always tell me they are brand new at this and I feel their stuff is so much better than mine.

ELF Spring Swap

It's time for the Esther Luka Family swap, this time the theme was Spring. We had to make
1. Pocket letter, flip book or loaded envelope
2. Three handmade cards: Hello, Get Well, one for our partner.
3. a wand
4. Five samples of washi at least 18 inches
5. Three tags
6. Four embellishments
7 One-two extra embellishments.

Here's what I made:
Pocket letter:

 I used a bunch of springy embellishments from a K&Company kit I bought. I added a bunch of goodies to the various envelopes. I also added some flowery washi on the side.
The back:

 She said she liked elephants, so I filled the back with elephant ephemera.
Cards:

Hello:

 I like this technique, I stole it from Poetspice, it's just using your scraps to make a card. The zigzag scrap on the right wasn't quite long enough to cover the whole page, so I added the blue scrap on the bottom and then the seam between the two top pieces looked rough so I added the plaid sticker, and just spelled out 'hello' with dollar tree stickers.
Get Well:

 I'm really not that great at making cards, this one is really simple. I just used a scrap of paper for the background and used a new balloon stamp. I spelled out 'get well soon' with stickers.
One for my partner:

 I actually like how this turned out. I made the main piece first and attached it to the card base. I made the banners with some dollar tree washi and added the 'friends' piece from a paper pad I picked up at a garage sale.
Wand:

 The background is a cupcake liner. I've been loving making rosettes, since I watched Esther's tutorial on them. The rosette is just a scrap of paper, I added the middle of another cupcake liner and a jeweled flower. I wrapped the stick with washi to make it a little more springy.
Washi samples:

 I try to give people washi that you can't find at dollar tree or Hobby Lobby or Micheal's, these I got in swaps, so I'm not exactly sure where they came from, but I know they're not Dollar Tree and I've never seen them at Hobby Lobby.
Tags:

 First tag:

 The background paper is from a DCWV paper pad, as is the butterfly piece and the yellow paper it's layered on. The brown strip at the top is a scrap from my stash, the 'the good life' is from a sticker from Dollar Tree
Second tag:

 The background is a tag from Michael's, I layered some trim on the bottom, a cut apart from JoAnns, and a sticker from Dollar Tree.
Third tag:

The tag I got from skybluepink, I added some pink washi to the bottom, a scrap in the middle and a cute hot air balloon sticker.
Embellishments:

 bag close-up:

 I took a tiny bag that was on my desk, added some brown washi to the bottom and created a fan. I also added a sticker from Hobby Lobby.
Other close-ups:

 The pink is a scrap, layered with ribbon, a yellow ticket and a diecut word from Michael's. The bottom two are made with punches and stickers from my stash. I also made her a purple owl paperclip.
Extras:

She said she liked perfume bottles, so I added this cute notepad. I also included an elephant eraser, and some elephant washi.
Here's what I got from my partner:
a flip book
Front:

 First flip

 I love the little shaker pocket she made.

 Second flip:

 Close-up of first page:

 I love the mouse, I do sewing sometimes, and she incorporated a lot of sewing elements into her creations.

 This tiny piece is actually the front of the flip below, I edited my pictures wrong.
Close-up of second picture

 That piece on the left is the back of the 'Wendy' piece above. The right side is a glassine envelope filled with goodies.
Third card:

 These are the tags she created.
Close-up of last page:

 I'm loving everything about this flip book.
The back:

 The handmade cards:

 I'm always in awe of what people make for me.
Wand:

 washi samples:

 I love that blingy roll.
Tags:

 These are the tags from the pocket above.
Embellishments:

 These were in the glassine envelope above.
Extras:

 That's an emery board, some nice smelling sachets, 'W' stickers and a stamped piece.
More extras:

Some stamped elements.