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Thursday, May 17, 2018

Mug Exchange Reveal Spring 2018


In April I participated in the Tea Cup and Mug Exchange at The Enchanting Rose, an event Stephanie hosts twice a year to encourage making new friends.This year my gifts came from Cheryl who lives in Michigan. This was a happy "coincidence" because Michigan happens to be my home state. :-) She does not have a blog or web page for me to link to - which is fine!

These are the things she sent me (from left to right).
Back row: Tea Lover's Devotional book, The Twelve Teas of Inspiration book (both books contain recipes too), and a lovely card. (Pink is my favorite color and I always like sparkles on a card.)
Second row: magnet, zip pouch, mug, mint tea, and a fancy little note pad.
Front: tea bag holder and a ceramic tea spoon that matches the mug.


I have used the mug so far for vegetable broth and for cold cereal. (Yes, I eat cold cereal out of a mug sometimes. :-)  )

Strange to say, the little tan pouch actually became the star of the collection quite unexpectedly. It dawned on me at some point that it might possibly fit my travel sized paints. I went and collected the pouch from where it was and half hopefully tried it. It is a perfect fit - as if it were made for it! I could even tuck a paper towel into the inside pocket. With a water brush (which contains water in its special chamber), and a watercolor journal or pad of some sort, I can now easily carry along this paint either for plein air painting (a fancy French term for painting outside), or for traveling. I am really delighted with this! :-)  [In case you can't read it, the pouch says "Faith" on the metal tag and the ribbon on the zipper handle.]

Thank you so much, Cheryl, for you thoughtfulness, and for the gifts that you sent.



Previously, due to my shopping constraints, I have sent packages for the exchange through Amazon.com  This time I actually put the package together myself but, sorry to say, I completely forgot about taking a photo of the things I sent. The lady whose name I received was Roseann at "This Autoimmune Life."  She has posted pictures of the things I sent HERE. It was fun that she also lives in Texas, and another happy "coincidence" is that she has another friend named Mary Stephens! :-)

Thanks again to Stephanie for hosting this fun exchange. Visit her post to see what the various ladies received and sent.

Due to the fact that the Teacup and Mug Exchange has grown so much, and that there have been difficulties out of her control that have bothered some people, Stephanie is dropping the exchange at this time. I am sorry to hear it, but I understand. I have marveled at her dedication to make this all work. I hadn't really thought about the problematic aspects, aside from ladies not sending packages they promised to send, but I realize that there are probably a lot of things that can go wrong and so spoil things for some people and make Stephanie sad or unhappy as well. So, I just want to thank Stephanie again and tell her that her efforts are really appreciated by many of us, and I, for one, completely support her decision. It's been a great run. :-)

12 comments:

  1. Mary,
    Hi, thank you for stopping by my blog! I had to come by and see your new mug as well as the cup you sent. I love the tea cup and the other lovely gifts you received in your package. The Tea Lover's devotional is very nice and how wonderful that your paints fit in the little bag. Looks like it was custom made for your travel paints. I clicked the link to see what you sent and what a pretty mug! I love when they come in matching boxes. The little zipper pouch is adorable too!

    Coincidentally, my great-great-grandmother was named Mary Stephens too. Enjoy your new cup, sounds like you've already gotten a lot of use out of it!!! Linda

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    1. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Linda. It was such an enjoyable exchange. :-) The little pouch that fits my paints was a lovely surprise.

      It's different for me having such a "common" name now. My maiden name (Van Nattan) is a bit rare and is written in several different styles, so this is a new experience for me. It's interesting to me that you also have a relative with the same name. :-)

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  2. I love your mug with the matching spoon, so pretty.
    So many wonderful gifts for your enjoyment.

    Beautiful post ~

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    1. Thank you, Debbie. It was a pleasure to participate, as usual. I saw that you enjoyed it as well. :-)

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  3. OH, my! I LOVE that "faith" pouch! Isn't that amazing how perfectly your paints fit in there? God just always sees every detail of our lives and sometimes He just blesses us with things we didn't even think of asking Him for. I am so thankful you were so blessed. I will never forget the beautiful package you sent to me and how much I love everything in it. I thought of you just the other day (as I often do!) as I handed the bookmark you sent to me to my husband when he needed one. These precious gifts just keep on giving, and we can always look back and remember the sweet sisters who sent them to us. I was so sad to see that there will be no more mug exchanges, and I thought oh, how nice it would be if some other lady picked up the mantle and started hosting the exchange, if it is God's will. Thank you for sharing your beautiful goodies. Sending love and hugs your way!

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    1. Thank, Cheryl. I am glad that we connected through the exchange and have been able to stay friends. :-) It's an added blessing.

      The little pouch for my paints was such a sweet surprise from the Lord through Cheryl. I wouldn't have even thought of it probably. :-)

      I'm also sorry to see the exchanges are stopping, but I understand that it is a lot of work and that complications can be really discouraging. I hadn't noticed that Stephanie was stopping it until you mentioned it, so I've corrected my post accordingly. Thanks for pointing it out. Maybe someone else will take it up. We'll see.

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  4. Lovely gifts! I do look forward to this exchange. Dear Stephanie takes so much time and trouble over the organisation of it all.

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    1. Yes, it was a lot of fun. I'm sorry to see that she will not continue it, but I understand why it would get to be too much.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting. :-)

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  5. Good morning, dearest Mary! My oh my, what a lovely package from Cheryl! I just love how sweet and pink everything is {{smiles}} And that mug is truly beautiful.

    Thank you, my friend, for joining the exchange. Have a blessed weekend. Hugs!

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    1. Apparently the "cyber goat" ate my first comment. *rolls eyes*
      --------------------

      Good morning, Stephanie. I enjoyed participating in this exchange. Cheryl's gift were nice and it was fun. :-)

      I didn't realize you were discontinuing the exchange until I read Cheryl Smith's comment. I'd missed that on your post. I changed my post to reflect that so that my readers will know it too. I appreciate all the time and effort you have put into the exchanges, but I can understand that the size and the complications that usually go with anything like this could become overwhelming and too time consuming. I am sorry that it has to end, but I support you decision, dear sister. Thank you for all your hard work. God bless you as you find other things to pour your zeal and efforts into. :-)

      A blessed weekend to you too. ((hugs))

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  6. What a lovely package. I especially like the adorable little teabag holder. I had admired the items that you sent to Roseann on her blog.

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    1. Thank you, Margie.
      Thanks for stopping by and commenting, too. It was an enjoyable exchange. I'm sorry it's over, but it was good while it lasted. :-)

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