In my attempt to clear out my stash and to only use supplies I already have I’ve got a number of things I’d like to swap. I have just found the bag of swap items I took to the recent GCM swap and left without swapping, so have decided to list some of them up here in the hope that I can maybe exchange them for things I need to save me buying them.

I’m currently on the scrounge for felts (ideally autumnal colours but any would do – especially thick felts) and embroidery supplies – hoops and fabric in particular, but really I’m open to all offers.

In return I have a brand new copy of Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray.

If you’re interested just drop me an email, comment or contact me on twitter and I’ll let you know by the end of the week. If the book isn’t of interest then look back later in the week when I’ll have more fabric and things up for swaps.

Posted: May 19th, 2009 under Swaps.
Comments: 1

So, to celebrate the fact I am now the owner of my very own garden and in an attempt to get my crafting I signed up for a Gardening Swap but now really have no idea what I should craft. Any suggestions?

My partner is not in the UK so bang goes including any seeds or cuttings in my package due to their import restrictions, therefore I’m hoping my handmade items will make up for the lack of variety. Please send your gardening craft ideas my way as time is running out. Thanks folks!

(The pic is a honeymoon snap from a lovely garden in Tokyo)

Posted: May 7th, 2009 under Inspiration, My Projects, Swaps.
Comments: 3

What  - Glasgow Craft Mafia Social

When – Thursday, 7 May, 2009 (TONIGHT!) 18:00 - ’til late!

Where – Butterfly and Pig (map) ,153 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 4SQ

Other Info – Join the Mafioso tonight for a very special SWAP SHOP! Come armed with your unwanted crafty supplies and swap ‘em with a pal! Are you a greedy greedy gum drop and don’t want to give your supplies away? That’s ok! Just come ready to swap something…..anything! You can swap a story, a secret, a very interesting fact, your drink, your chips! Anything you darn well like, just as long as you SWAP IT!

The socials are open to anyone, not just members so bring along some pals if you like!

Posted: May 7th, 2009 under Events, Swaps.
Comments: none

I think I’ll stick to working on one swap at a time for now but if I hadn’t already signed up for a May swap this would definitely be top of my list.

The lovely Claire Payne has set up the wonderful ‘Secret Monkey Swap’ on her blog which is open for signup until May 4th.

“You can make whatever takes your fancy be it knitted, sewn, crocheted, painted, quilted, wooden, woolly, card, soft, etc…as long as it is monkey themed and handmade. You will need to keep your recipient a secret until you know that the parcel has been received – obviously pop a note in with your monkey to make sure they know who it is from!

Sign-up will be open until Monday the 4th May and I will assign your monkey recipient by the 7th May. Monkeys should be made and posted by the 7th June giving a whole month of monkey madness and plenty of time to get your thinking caps on!

 Here’s what you need to do if you are interested in the fantastical secret monkey swap. Send me and email titled ‘monkey swap’ with your name, address, blog address (if you have one) and if you are happy to post internationally to: claire [at] paynedesign [dot] co [dot] uk“

Posted: April 24th, 2009 under Swaps.
Comments: none

So despite a couple of health woes (remind me what healthy feels like again), I really have no excuse but to get on with everything I shelved until after the honeymoon. So, tonight I’m tackling the ‘get out the house more’, ‘do more crafting’ and ‘learn how to knit’ promises by popping down to Pins and Needles being hosted at Mono by the Glasgow Craft Mafia. Productive eh?

Not only that, I also signed up for the Gardening Swap over at Pennydog’s blog which I’m  really excited about as it’ll force me to make something soon and give me something for my new garden (which I’m itching to get stuck into!!). Though, if you’re contemplating signing up for the swap, please take note the last day to sign up is TODAY.

Posted: April 23rd, 2009 under Events, Swaps.
Comments: none

Being a proud member of the LWA (Letter Writers Alliance), I’m looking forward to finding some time to sit down and writing some letters (once I plough through the mountain of Thank You cards still to write!).

It’s a bit of effort that really pays off (I absolutely love getting mail!) and have stumbled across a couple of other great ways to bring some cheer into your mailbox.

First off is Igotanenvelope – “a continuous art project where people leave empty self-addressed stamped envelopes in public places to be picked up and filled by others, who then send them back”. If you receive something back you post it up to the site. It’s amazing to see what people have been sent.

The next is UK-based Post Letters – “a movement to encourage, promote and take delight in the activity of writing letters and sending post. Bringing people together to think about Post in the Twenty First Century, organise letter readings and writings, present you with new ideas for your post, commission artists and writers to produce new mail art, produce Post Events and much more”.

Posted: April 21st, 2009 under Inspiration, Swaps.
Comments: none

This little cutie is my new friend and latest creation. I have been feeling down in the dumps despite being signed off work for the week to try and shift this damn pleurisy as, while a week off sounds bliss, it’s not quite so magic when you can’t do things like go round the shops, take a walk etc. So, stuck indoors for 7 days means I truly have no excuse not to get on with some crafting (between naps and biscuit munching of course).

The first thing on my list was to make an owl for Apryl’s Owl Swap over at Meridian Ariel. I had already picked up a trio of ceramic owls and a cute little vanity pouch but I needed to include something handmade so had a hunt for a basic owl tutorial. I hit a winner with the Abraham Owl pattern at Lolly Chops and set to it.

I used an old pair of cords and an old sweater that were sitting in my ‘must use one day’ pile and must say I really love the colour combo, especially with the chunky blue squircle button eyes. I’m a bit annoyed I didn’t get round to giving him any feet but his lovely fat belly keep him upright just fine. For more piccies of him basking in the sun of this week you can see him on my flickr.

I also added a little owl doodle I did (see below) and one of my fabric nests (more in next post).

Posted: February 13th, 2009 under My Projects, Swaps.
Comments: none

Let’s get one thing straight – I love mail. Obviously not your bills, takeaway menus and bank statements but lovely letters, packages and the like lift my mood like nothing else. One of my favourite times of day is pushing open my front door and waiting to hear if there’s any mail on the mat.

When I was younger I had quite a few penpals that have unfortunately fallen by the wayside over the years so what better time to find new ones? Enter the Letter Writers Alliance by Katie and Donovan of 16Sparrows. I was so excited I just had to join

Posted: October 9th, 2008 under Life stuff, Swaps.
Comments: none

I had what can only be described as a disappointment on the size front on Friday. About a month ago I excitedly ordered what I thought was a load of almost life-size artificial birds. I had seen some online here in the UK but figured that even taking into account the shipping costs, this lot were a bargain and eagerly clicked ‘pay now’ without fully thinking through the listed dimensions. Cue me picking up a box of 12 which was roughly the size of a pack of cards. ARGH!

So, right now I’m trying to convince myself that great things can indeed come in small packages and Nicole Balch has certainly got me pro-minature with her recent Wee Girl project. I have some ideas about what I can use my mini doves for but given their cost they’re still never going to get me back my money. Have any of you had a similar issue? Have you ordered something that when it arrived wasn’t what you expected? Did you get your thinking cap on and find an alternative use or are they sitting gathering dust in the craft cupboard? Perhaps we should have a ‘not quite right’ supplies swap?

Posted: September 8th, 2008 under Supplies, Swaps.
Comments: none

I have a confession. I love an orderly home, organising things and having a ’system’. My downfall is that I am inherently lazy, frequently leave things at my ass and am generally a messy bessie. So, imagine my horror when I realised in only 10 days time I need to find room in my place for another human being and all his belongings! It’s enough to bring me out in a cold sweat. I am already mourning the loss of all that wardrobe space, having to share a desk and the thought of all the extra dirty dishes/washing/ironing/mess. Yeah, I’m a such a romantic! There’s is one silver lining though… all this cleaning means I get to bust out the amazing apron I got as part of my last swap on swap-bot. I swear I’d never believed it if I hadn’t witnessed it for myself but this is a slimming apron. So slimming and shaped I want to wear it out.

Swap-bot has had a recent makeover and I’ve not signed-up for any swaps in a long time (not enough time!) but it definitely worth checking out if you love getting handcrafted items in the mail (and what crafter doesn’t love that?!)

Posted: July 23rd, 2008 under Life stuff, Swaps.
Comments: none