SPRINGTIME SURPRISE PROJECT

Hello and Happy Mother’s Day to all those celebrating today (rather than in May)!

It’s been a few weeks since I last blogged. I wanted to come up with some profound, life-defining, lightbulb-moment epiphany as an excuse, but I’m afraid I was just feeling a little uninspired… Instead, I’ve been practising my photography on both my iPhone and DSLR using everything I learnt from the lovely Emily Quinton’s Makelight workshop and inspiration from stunning Instagram feeds that I follow.

For someone who prefers visual stimulation to words, Instagram really is an AMAZING place, and this is where I discovered the super talented Lucy from Capture By Lucy whose work I just adore!

At the beginning of this year, Lucy started the Springtime Surprise Project. The idea is that eveyone who signs up gets matched with a partner to swap gifts with. It’s not about money (the guide price is only £5); it’s about taking a moment out of our busy lives to do something kind and thoughtful, to put a smile on a stranger’s face, and to celebrate the connections we make on the internet.

I had such fun preparing my parcel for the lovely Mavis! She loves to knit, patchwork quilt and crochet (Mavis, I think you and my mother-in-law could be best friends!) and she’s also recently completed an online photography course with Emily, so I wanted to send her some yarn-related goodies and lots of props to style with and take photographs of - DIY yarn-wrapped glass jars and yarn tassel garland, dried hydrangeas, origami cranes, a DIY floral coaster, a few other bits and bobs and some yummy chocolates! This is the beautifully styled photo she posted on Instagram yesterday!

And I’m one lucky girl with all the goodies that Mavis sent me! From her handwritten favourite recipes (Mavis, you have such lovely handwriting by the way!), the sweetest cupcake cases and tags, to the beautiful stationery, the parcel is just the most thoughtful spring time cheer in a box!

Thank you so so much, Mavis! And also to Lucy for organising this special project! If you want to see photos of the other hundreds of parcels being swapped around the world, you can search for #springtimesurpriseproject on social media. And if you would like to join in the fun for the summer project, you can register your interest here!