May Day Recap

I promised to Show & Tell a bit about our May Day festivities, didn't I? Six of us participated in the swap. We had one month to put together a basket of delights before delivering them in secret on May First. It was quite funny how we all tried to get information about the likes & dislikes and comings & goings of one another as we planned our baskets and their delivery.

I made a basket for the lovely Megan. A recent article in GreenCraft Magazine inspired me to repurpose an ordinary paper bag to serve as the basket. I folded the top down two or three times, then punched holes in the sides and threaded pink organza ribbon through to serve as the basket handle. To dress things up a bit more, I layered a square of floral paper over a square of yellow paper, then fastened them to the front of the basket with the same ribbon I used for the handle.


To hold the flowers, I kept with the repurposing theme and made a vase of a tin can covered in some of the same papers I used to dress up the basket. I filled the vase with pink and yellow ranunculus and sweet peas, wax flower, and bupleurum, chosen to complement the flowers on the decorative paper. (Yes, really, I am that crazy.)

In addition to the flowers I included a couple of skeins of Crystal Palace Mikado Ribbon in Jewel Mix, a bottle of bubbles, a small trinket box shaped like a cupcake, a bar of dark chocolate studded with orange peel and wrapped in a poem, a retro paper doll named Pat, a notecard with an Art Nouveau image on the front, and an engraved silver cup (not pictured).

In addition to Megan's basket, I made a few smaller jars of flowers to hang on doorknobs. To make these, I used twine to fashion a handle below the rim of the jars. Then, after filling the jars with water and flowers, I gathered tissue paper around the outside and secured it with the same pink organza ribbon I used for Megan's basket.

When all was ready, Lex and I went out together to deliver all of our baskets. We spent an afternoon driving all over town, hanging baskets from doorknobs and leaving them on doorsteps, ringing doorbells, and then running away while trying to contain our giggles and not trip over our own feet. It was very good fun!

Here is the very extravagant basket Megan left for me. We were at home when she stopped by. I was sitting at the kitchen table assembling baskets when I spied a figure with a black hood walk by the living room windows. This isn't an unusual sight, and so my suspicions were only very slightly aroused. However, Ryan was sitting near the open screen door and reported that he clearly heard giggling as Megan set down the basket, knocked & ran. I just caught sight of her ponytail as she ran back down the walk and across the street.

You can see that I was well & thoroughly spoiled. In my basket I found a knitting book and yarn, a knitting bag/purse, two camisoles, a novel, a trinket box, marmalade, honey, two boxes of tea, two fat quarters, several notecards, a handmade loofah, and a pair of beautiful fingerless gloves.

Here's a closer look at the gloves. Not only are they lovely, but they're luxuriously soft. I think I'll wear these often when the weather cools again.


This is the spread for the May Day Reveal party, held on Wednesday. Quite without thinking, I held a May Day party on Cinco de Mayo. Go figure.


I had been eying a recipe for rhubarb upside-down cake found in a back-issue of Victoria Magazine. It was a hearty teacake, made with cornmeal and molasses and served with whipped cream. Quite tasty. To accompany the cake, I made up some lemonade with sparkling water and strawberry puree. (Because rhubarb just begs for strawberry, doesn't it?) Lex contributed blood orange vodka, for anyone who preferred a more adult lemonade. Yum.

Since I emptied the contents of my basket, it has become Holly's favorite place to curl up.