My first craft swap experience

I have liked the idea of craft swaps for a while now, but never found one in the UK to participate in. Around a month ago, I was joining in on a Twitter chat with #craftblogclub and Hannah at Dainty and Ivory said she'd be interested in running one. 

The theme was "spring" and we were all allocated a partner at random. I got Sally Bee Makes to create a parcel for, along with the information that she liked sewing, music, organising, reading, dog walking, kettle bells, shopping, Africa, flowers, lots of colour and sun. I also discovered that her favourite colours were yellow and purple. It's quite difficult to decide what to make for someone you know very little about, especially since my social media stalking revealed that Sally is frankly amazing with a sewing machine! Alas, my skills are somewhat limited. I decided to make her a few handmade items instead of one larger gift. 

My gift parcel

I made a lined "Jordy Bag" for Sally- if you have never made a bag before, I can't recommend the lined Jordy Bag more- it's fairly easy for beginners and it comes out a gorgeous shape.  I thought this might fit in with her love of organising, and would perhaps come in useful for storing/ carrying small sewing projects. The fabric I chose was bright, flowery, and adding a red lining gave the bag an overall "African" feel to it. 

Sally seems to enjoy wearing handmade, judging from her blog. I added a kilt pin to the parcel- since her favourite colour is purple, I thought she might like the floral, purple glass beads. It's one of my Pink Robot designs. To complement the pin, I included some matching handmade purple beaded earrings. On top of the handmade items, we were asked to include a little bought gift too- my gift was a floral hardback notebook, which I thought matched the bag perfectly. Who doesn't love a notebook, with clean, crisp new pages?!

Kilt Pin from my Pink Robot range

My package arrived the same morning I posted my gifts. It's so exciting to receive a mystery package... and an occurrence which I certainly enjoy very rarely. Jane had made me a lovely bracelet from buttons in all my favourite colours. I particularly liked the style of clasp she had chosen. The box and wrapping paper was equally beautiful, and she had even made me an origami peacock- he is now sitting in my study alongside this swan. My bought gifts were peacock-themed too: a cute lip gloss and a scented sachet for my drawer. It's so lovely to receive a gift from someone you don't know, especially when it's obvious that they have made the effort to send things you'd like. 

The lovely things I received

I've signed up again for this month's craft swap- this time, with a "geek" theme! Since I most definitely enjoy geekery, this is right up my street. Hopefully, lots of people will get involved- making and receiving lovely things while having fun in the process. If you're interested, get in touch with Hannah to sign up!