Kawaii Craft Swap: September

I've been absent from the #dicraftswap for the last two months, so I was very excited to discover that September's theme is Kawaii! Regular readers will know all about my love for all things Japanese, and the bright, cute trend of Kawaii is no exception. When exploring this theme on Etsy and Pinterest, I found that the possibilities stretched far beyond what I already knew about, and I am now slightly obsessed by adding a face to everything! 

My recipient was Jenny, who writes the lovely blog Pretty Column and runs an Etsy shop under the same name. I wanted to go all out with the Kawaii theme, so I thought, why not make the receptacle Kawaii too? Jenny said that she loves Studio Ghibli, and especially My Neighbour Totoro... so here is my Totoro shoebox!

Kawaii shoebox- Totoro

When signing up to the #DICraftSwap, Hannah asked us all what the word Kawaii meant to us. Jenny said that Kawaii to her meant cute things, so I set on a mission to create a box of cute Japanese treats for her. She mentioned that making a non-cute item into something cute appealed to her, so I crafted this little watermelon pincushion from felt. I also made a happy toadstool brooch from felt. 

Adorable watermelon pincushion

Happy toadstool brooch

One of the first things I thought of was a little set of greetings cards, with Kawaii figures made from pretty wrapping paper. As a blogger, Jenny obviously enjoys writing! Oversized heads, tiny bodies and stylised "Kawaii" faces led to this little collection: 

Set of 4 Kawaii greetings cards

Jenny writes about her love for crafting and geekery, so I wanted to include some useful items in the box for her, which would tie into these passions. I chose bright, cheerful buttons and made her a peg set- I thought they would help her display or keep together ideas for her next crochet and knitting projects.  For similar reasons, I made her a bookmark featuring a very cute Japanese girl charm. I put together a collection of Kawaii beads and buttons for her (who can have enough beads and buttons?!) and added some cute Matryoshka post-its. 

Cute bright button pegs

Cute bookmark

A kawaii collection of beads and buttons for future crafts

Awww! Matryoshka post-its

I spotted these earrings in my collection of things I had already made to sell at craft fairs, under my crafty name of Pink Robot. The bright orange bubble-style beads fitted right in with the Kawaii theme, so into the box they went. 

Kawaii orange bubble beaded earrings

One thing that comes across very clearly from Jenny's tweets and the content of her Etsy shop is that she is head over heels in love with amigurumi! Well, after scouring the Internet looking at the crocheted cuties, so am I! Unfortunately, my craft skills do not yet extend to crochet, so for my "bought" gift, I chose this little dragon, by My Little Beasties! I really wanted to keep him for myself... isn't he adorable?

My "bought" gift... dragon amigurumi!

I was very excited to receive my Kawaii parcel from Rhiannon, who writes her blog, The Sparkly Panda. She sent me these very cute little crocheted stars, which I can sew backs on to and make into anything! In my package, I also got some sparkly kawaii stickers, post it notes and a "to do list" pad. All very kawaii indeed!! 

My lovely kawaii package

Geeky craft swap: June

I enjoyed the Dainty and Ivory craft swap so much last month that I couldn't wait to take part again for June. This month had a "geeky" theme, and being a complete geek myself, this appealed to me immensely! We were all matched up at random, and I was assigned Hannah as my recipient. She told me a few facts about herself and her geeky loves, and from there I set about putting together a geeky package for her. 

Hand-beaded dragon bookmark

What I sent: 

Hannah loves reading, especially fantasy and fairytales, and one of her favourite mystical creatures is a dragon. I found this beautiful dragon bookmark, and customised it by beading it in her favourite colours- greens, blues and golds. 

One of her geeky loves is the book 'A Song of Ice and Fire', now Game of Thrones... a geeky interest we have in common! I spent the best part of a year reading all the books, but I actually prefer the TV show... which doesn't happen often! Since Game of Thrones is a show I love as well, I thought I would make Hannah two types of brooch. The kilt pin represents 3 of the main families battling it out for the throne- the Starks, the Lannisters and the Targaryens. The fabric brooch is a more subtle nod, with the coveted crown in the centre. 

Stark, Lannister and Targaryen kilt pin

Game of Thrones fabric brooch

Star Wars made Hannah's list of geeky loves, and I wanted to make something a bit different. I took a classic quote from Han Solo to Princess Leia, and made it into a blank greetings card: 

Greetings card inspired by a classic Star Wars quote! 

As per the rules of the craft swap, all participants must include a little bought gift in the parcel as well. I'd never heard of Studio Ghibli, but Hannah likes it... and a little search on Etsy revealed this cute unicorn pin as a Studio Ghibli character. I thought he was perfect, as she also told me she loves pastel colours (check!) and another of her favourite mystical creatures is the unicorn (check!)

Studio Ghibli pin

What I received: 

My geeky gift-giver was Joanne Burgess. When signing up to the craft swap this month, I confessed to my complete geekery, and listed some of my indulgences as reading, writing and TV shows like Breaking Bad, The Wire and Game of Thrones. 

The package I received from Jo was delightful! First, I opened a letter with numbered clues as to what my parcel contained. Since I make no secret of the fact I enjoy a freebie, Jo sent me a "bonus" gift of a kilt pin finding. I can't wait to make something pretty from that! 

Jo doesn't watch Game of Thrones, but she did her research and made me this stunning 3D beaded dragon. I can tell that he was made lovingly and took a lot of time- and now he is right at home nestled in my geeky study next to my George R.R. Martin collection. 

Danaerys Targaryen's dragon

Keeping with the Game of Thrones theme, I also got a beautiful handmade necklace, inspired by a dragon's egg. It was also very thoughtfully made in my favourite colours. A cheeky bonus of dragon-shaped jelly sweets was also very welcome! 

Pretty dragon egg necklace

I was lucky enough to receive a couple of lovely "bought" gifts too. In my opinion, nothing beats the feeling of opening a new, crisp writing set or notebook. Since drinking tea is one of my favourite pastimes, this writing set was made for me! 

The macaroons look divine!

A fellow Breaking Bad fan, Jo confessed to actually wanting to keep my final gift... I don't blame her, and I can't believe I've never seen this around before. It's a wooden spoon, stamped with Heisenberg's face! I now want to run out and buy one for all my friends who share my love of Walter White. Definitely a wooden spoon for displaying proudly in my kitchen. 

Heisenberg spoon... just, wow!

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!