Why, yes, that is a feather stitch hanging on my neck

I'm going to disregard the fact that even though I got to sleep in a little this morning, I still ended up cleaning the kitchen and doing dishes once I got downstairs and that neither of my kids wished me a Happy Mother's Day until a few hours after I got up. That's because my husband came through on my request for Mother's Day: Embroidery Jewelry. It's ok that I had to send a web site to him, with specific details on what I wanted. It's even ok that he sat on the couch with his laptop across the room from me last week and asked questions about the order before he placed it. I was still pleasantly surprised by this sweet little gift.

I stumbled across Silent Stitches a couple of months ago on a random Google search. I can't even remember what I was looking for, but it's like I'd typed, "What is my dream jewelry" in the search box and this came up. I literally gasped as I scrolled down the page and enjoyed these beautifully delicate needlework charms. I bookmarked the site and went back often. A few weeks ago, I sent the link - along with specifics on my wish list - to my husband with "Mother's day is on its way" in the subject line. I'm not usually so direct with what I want for gifts (what can I say, I still hold out hope that he'd discover something like this on his own) but this time I just knew exactly what I wanted, and I knew I didn't want to be disappointed.


I have to admit I had low expectations on how they would arrive and how they would look. So when Chris handed me a perfectly - and I mean perfection like I've never seen - wrapped gift box with paper that had sweet embroidery scissors all over it, I knew something special was going to be inside. I even grabbed my camera, because I was so overcome with how perfectly the box was wrapped. Check out the custom paper, and look how they folded it so their name is perfectly centered on the back of the box! Sakes alive! How did they do that? The awesome little grosgrain ribbon bow made me want to scream in delight.
Once I purposefully cut through tape and removed the paper without destroying it, I opened the box to find the most beautiful (and - again - beautifully packaged) charms and chain. I was blown away by the quality of the charms - they are .... darn, I have to say it again ... PERFECT. And they were attached to the card with a tiny strand of thread. When I flipped them over, I discovered another tiny envelope with "Extra links" beautifully handwritten across the front. I don't know anything about the person who wrote it, but it's as though they channeled my grandmother's penmanship to a T.
This is what I love about buying things from small businesses and independent designers (not that I'm able to do it as much as I like). They take so much time and care in packaging your purchase. I cannot imagine how much time someone spent putting my gift together. From displaying the charms on the card to making the tiny "extra links" envelope and putting it all together - it was just so special to open it. And then - then the beautiful charms!
There's feather stitch charm, an embroidery hoop charm, a pair of stork scissors and a needle. They have loads more to choose from, and I'll likely add to my collection - especially now that I see how much more beautiful they are in person, and how much time they put into the packaging and delivery.

What were you lucky enough to receive for Mother's Day today?

** UPDATE: I'll be drawing the winner for the Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal tonight, so you still have time to enter! Please read the whole post and the comment guidelines. :) **