Social Distancing Secret Santa - What I Sent

I posted earlier this week that I had received a lovely drink cup (which I am using right now as I type) from my Social Distancing Secret Santa. My recipient has received my gift now, so I can post photos of what I sent to her.

Cheryl loves Poodles, and I decided that I would make her a coaster with the Breyer white Poodle on it.

I got my own Poodle out and took a quick snap of it. Then I cut it down so that it would fit onto a 4x4 inch ceramic tile.

I affixed the photo to the tile and let that dry, then spent a day spraying light layers of glossy enamel onto it to protect the photo when the coaster was in use.

The finished coaster. (I put felt rounds on the back to prevent it from scratching her furniture.)

Also included were a new Breyer Stablemate, a Minnie Whinnie Saddlebred,  1:9 scale silver loving cup and some pencils and a pad of paper (just in case she has a Mini Me who need accessories), a couple of stretchy horses, and a bookmark. Finally, I made her a mask out of some horseshoe patterned fabric.

I have not participated in a Secret Santa exchange for a couple of years, and I am really glad that I signed up for this one. It was fun and I made a couple of new friends, too. 

Social Distancing Secret Santa

I have been participating in a Facebook Social Distancing Secret Santa the past couple of weeks. To participate, you filled out a Google doc about your preferences and sent it to the group moderator.  By doing so, you also agreed to send someone else a gift worth $20 or less by May 1. The group host then sent you someone's name, their preference sheet and address, and the game was on!

Yesterday I got a battered box in the mail with the return address of someone I did not know. 

I figured out pretty quickly that it was from my Secret Santa, and I was hoping desperately that whatever was inside was not damaged. 

There was a card inside and I opened that first to learn that my Secret Santa was Neecy Jabour. Wow, she made my gift! (And how ironic the she mentioned my favorite drink which just happened to be pictured in the photo above.)

What a nice drink cup! Fortunately it was not damaged despite the mauling of the box. Later when I thanked Neecy online, she told me that she had tried to find a photo of a horse that looks like Abby to put on my new cup. I love that and think that it does bear a resemblance to my horse.

I mailed my gift yesterday, but I don't want to post any pictures yet as my recipient may be a blog reader. Something that I made for her will tip her off that her Secret Santa is me. But, I did make something else that I can share here.

Her own horseshoe pandemic mask! Since Cristine Holt sent me several packages of elastic in the mail, I can make them again. 

Craig took my recipient's box to the USPS yesterday and she should receive it by the end of the week. I'll post pictures here when it arrives.