Mod Swap

Last month, one of the first things the moderators at Craftster did to welcome the newest mods (including myself) was to organize a craft swap. Each new mod would be paired with an "old" mod in a mini version of a "Make a Friend" swap. We would exchange three things:  one thing we do well, one thing we love, and one surprise.

All the "old" mods are amazing crafters, and I had the fantastic good fortune to be paired with rackycoo. She tends to focus on paper crafts and assemblages, while I am mostly into sewing. That meant that I had to really dig into her Pinterest to figure out what to make for her--she didn't have a lot of sewn items there!  We exchanged messages, though, and she mentioned she would love some fabric baskets, so that's where I started.  Here's the whole package I sent to her:

The baskets are "the thing I do well."  I've done these before; there's even a tutorial for them HERE on my blog. Rackycoo's Pinterest was full of things that look old and worn, so I decided to use one of my cutter quilts for the heart and star on the front of the baskets.

I cut the bold words "happy" and "love" out of a piece of new fabric with an old look to it.  I left all the edges raw, so there are plenty of loose threads!  (Everything is securely sewn, though, so it won't be falling apart any time soon.)

For her "surprise" item, I made this zippered pouch (although it could also have been the "thing I do well", since I've made so many of these!)  This is the first one I've done like this, though, with both a pieced section and an appliqued section on both sides.  Rackycoo loves birds, and things wearing party hats!

In return, rackycoo made me some truly amazing items!  First, this elephant box that I requested; she started with a blank paper elephant form from a craft store, and with a lot of work she turned it into this piece of art!  I love it. (Yes, the box under the elephant does open.)

Altered tins are one of her specialties, so she made this one for me. The old buttons are still on their original card.  So cool!

The third item is actually three miniature treasures for my Blythe dolls.

First, she made this box of letters and post cards...they all have writing on them, and tiny stamps and post marks! The envelopes each contain a piece of paper with a letter written on it, to one of my dolls!  These are unbelievably detailed.

Next, there is this sweet terrarium.  The butterfly is a metal charm that she painted and somehow bent to give it a more realistic look.

And last, a clock!  This is so beautiful and elegant!

The back of the clock features this pretty picture, so it can be used with either side facing forward.

I jumped right into this swap but then started to feel nervous as I was crafting...but rackycoo is pleased with what I sent her, so that's all that matters!  I love what I received as well--thanks so much for the swap, Kristen!

A Bookcase for Tiny Books

Last month I made some tiny books for my partner Sew Do Something in a Blythe doll swap on Plastic Paradise; then I got her for a partner AGAIN in a Blythe swap on Blythe Kingdom, so I decided to make her a bookcase for the books!

I made it from balsa wood, which is pretty easy to cut using an X-acto knife. I just drew a sketch on paper and then worked out the measurements for each piece.

The theme of the swap was "favorite color", and she chose the combination of gray and yellow as her favorite. After cutting the wood and painting all the pieces yellow, I glued patterned scrapbook paper to the back wall. Then I used a hot glue gun to glue the pieces together.

Using regular acrylic craft paint, I then painted the outside gray.  It needed "something", so I added a chipboard letter "B" (for "Blythe") to the top--you can see that in the first and last pictures.  After it was dry I sprayed it with clear acrylic sealer.

Since my partner is a big Harry Potter fan, I made some more books for her.  I made each of these by reducing an image of the cover of the book on my computer and printing it out.  I glued it to heavy scrapbook paper to make the outside of the book. For the inside, I cut a stack of old dictionary pages to the size I wanted, then dipped the back edges in glue, and pressed them into the cover. This method worked well and was much easier than sewing tiny groups of pages, like I did for the first batch of tiny books!

Here you can see the bookcase with a Blythe doll for size comparison.  The bookcase is about 6" tall.

 

I'm very pleased with how this came out, and I plan to try making other pieces of doll furniture--as soon as I can get my hands on some more balsa wood!

One More--no, TWO More Tiny Monsters

As soon as I signed up for the One Tiny Monster Swap on Craftster, I started imagining what sort of monster I might make.  Before I got my partner's questionnaire, I was thinking of making something with a matchbox, just because I love working with matchboxes! Inspired by the Monster Book of Monsters in the Harry Potter books, this is what I made:  a matchbox, covered inside and out in book-themed scrapbook paper, then "monster-ized" with the addition of fake fur, polymer clay teeth, and bead eyes. But what's inside?

...Another monster, of course! You can see that I cut off one side of the matchbox and glued the drawer to the cover, so it would open like a book.  But I thought it would be cuter to have another monster inside than to have book pages, so that's what I went with!

The one-eyed purple guy is hand-sewn from wool felt.  I think they are a great pair!

After getting my partner's swap questionnaire, I decided to make her a different tiny monster, but this duo was perfect to send to my Harry-Potter-loving partner in a Blythe doll swap I was also participating in.  So now everyone is happy--especially me, because I made another one of these for myself!  When I put it on the shelf above my computer, I realized that I have the beginnings of an altered matchbox collection, since I've made a couple of other ones and I've received a few in swaps. I will photograph them all together and show you my collection next week.

A Peaceful Dragonfly

Here's the second prayer flag I made for a partner in the Prayer Flag Swap Round 3 on Craftster (the first one can be seen HERE). As soon as I read that she liked dragonflies I knew that would be the central image on her flag; and the word "peace" was the most fitting one from her list.

I'm not happy with the way the word "peace" turned out though...I printed onto fabric using my computer printer, then stitched around it; maybe if it wasn't sewn on crooked I would like it better!  (I wasn't thrilled with my word on the other prayer flag either. I think I need to go back to my rubber stamps!)

All the fabrics were cut free-hand and machine sewn in place, leaving the edges raw.  The finished size is 5" x 8".  There is a hanging sleeve on the back.

After this swap I will have quite a nice collection of prayer flags; I intend to string them together and display them indoors (I haven't decided exactly where yet; I guess it will depend on the length of the string!) I will post a picture here when that is done.

One Tiny Monster

The best thing about craft swaps is that they often compel me to make things I wouldn't otherwise think of making.  They broaden my crafting horizons. That's how it was in the One Tiny Monster Swap I just participated in on Craftster.  My good friend Susan forced insisted suggested I join it along with her; normally, the creative part of my mind doesn't think about monster-making, but I like knowing that it can if I need it to.

When asked to describe her ideal monster in three words, my partner for the swap wrote "fun, colorful, horns". She also said her favorite colors are purple and blue, and she prefers cute monsters to scary ones.  Looking at her Pinterest was helpful, because she had quite a few cute monsters pinned there.

So here he is! The only rule was that is had to be under 4" in each direction, so I started by drawing a 4" square and sketching a design inside it. Then I cut out the drawing and used it for a template. The purple fabric is fleece, which is great for making stuffies, because it stretches a bit when you stuff it, resulting in a nice firm creature.

I was thinking of adding spines down the back and tail, but I accidentally sewed that part before adding the spines, so I added a series of spots instead.

I LOVE how the horns came out! They are made of wool felt (as are the spots, belly, nose, and area around the eyes.) I'm sure I would not have added horns if my partner hadn't specified them, so that is a perfect example of how craft swaps help me grow and develop new skills.

This little monster fits right in with the color scheme of some of my Blythe dolls! I might have to make one for them to keep!

A Doll for a Doll

I made some uber-cute fabric doll stuffies for my swap partner in a recent swap on Blythe Kingdom.  This idea could be used to make a "mini-me" for any toy, and it would surely delight a child to receive a mini-me of him- or herself!

The theme of the swap was "Dolls for our Dolls".  While browsing on Pinterest, I saw a picture of a Blythe holding a small copy of herself and I knew that was what I needed to do for this swap!  Read on to see how I did it.

First, I made two dresses that would be part of the swap package and put them on two of my dolls.  I photographed each doll, front and back, standing against a white background.  I wanted to put white hair on one mini doll (to match one big doll my partner has) but none of my Blythe's have white hair, so I put a white hat on Candy for the pictures.

On my computer, I edited and re-sized the photos until they would be right for the mini doll.  Then I printed the photos onto white fabric.  (I used commercially prepared fabric that was already stuck onto paper so it would feed into the printer easily, because I had that on hand.  Applying freezer paper to fabric yourself should work just as well.)

After peeling off the paper, I traced around the outline of the doll with pencil to mark my sewing line on the reverse side of the fabric .

All sewed!  I left an opening on top of her head for turning; the hair will be covering that up later.

Here she is, turned right-side out...

 ...and here she is stuffed and ready for hair.

I sewed the hair on by hand.  It was a learn-as-you-go process!  The one thing I was not happy with, was the way the white hat still shows around her neck.  If I did this again, I would use yarn to match the doll's actual hair color (as I did with the orange-haired Penny).

My favorite thing about these mini dolls is that they are complete on the back too!

I am very happy with how these mini dolls turned out, and my swap partner is thrilled with what I sent her! I wouldn't have tried this without the "push" the swap gave me.  That's what I like most about craft swaps!

Fluffy

Fluffy is a simple bunny who enjoys grooming her whiskers and playing with her doll.

She refuses to visit the dentist, because she's happy with her teeth just the way they are.

I love Fluffy!

One of my favorite details is her name-tag necklace, which is made from a piece of an old damaged quilt.

I used my Craftster user-name initials on the back (LHH stands for Leslieshappyheart).  Note the ironic cute bunny fabric that appears on both her front and back.

I made Fluffy for the Junker Jane Style Doll Swap on Craftster; she now lives with my partner,  WingsOfClay, who is an amazing artist--just look at the doll she made for me:

Our dolls are both similar in size and shape (the body is about 11" tall), but WingsOfClay and I went about constructing them in completely different ways.  She sewed the doll, then painted on all the details, while I used fabric and stitching for the details on mine.

Look at this face!  The eyes are polymer clay, but they look like metal.  This is such an amazing art doll!

If you haven't participated in a craft swap before, this is what you are missing!  I strongly encourage everyone to give it a try!  Craftster is just a click away!

Hope Prayer Flag

Recently, I showed you the hope-themed prayer flag I received in a personal swap with fellow Craftster member Tina.  Here's the flag I made for her:

I used the first verse of Emily Dickinson's poem "Hope" as my starting point.  The fabric with the bird printed on it was the perfect centerpiece, and I used the color palette of that fabric for the entire flag.  It's a bit unusual, but pretty, I think.  I couldn't resist using the heart with wings (my logo) at the top!  I added balance to the piece with the three little scrappy squares at the bottom.  As always, after I'm done with something I look at it and see things I could have/should have done differently; in this case, the three random charms I used on the squares could have advanced the theme better if they represented the three virtues of faith, hope, and love (I could have used a cross; the word "hope" in charm-form, which I have on hand from my hope hearts project; and the heart, which I did use).  Oh well, as I always say, NEXT TIME!

How to Make a Great Swap Package

I've been doing craft swaps on Craftster for about a year and a half; I love it, and I always have at least one swap going on.  Making something specifically for another person, and receiving something she made just for you is fun!  But there's more to it than just making your item, packing it and mailing it.  A great swap package includes some extra details, all of which can be found in the package I received today from Tina.  We arranged to do a personal swap of a prayer flag.  Here's how to make a great swap package, Tina-style:

1.  Thoughtfully make the crafted item you have agreed to swap.
We decided to use "Hope" as the theme for our prayer flags.  Tina used bright Fall colors, and an acorn, to symbolize hope for the future.  Everything is hand-stitched, and there is a lot of stitched detail on the acorn cap and the letters.  This pretty flag is going up on my front door!

2.  Wrap the crafted item nicely and include a card.
Tina used pretty yellow tissue paper and tied it with baker's twine.  The card she included is really cool--it's a print from one of her art journal pages.  She had it printed at Ink Garden.

3.  Surprise your partner with some unexpected goodies.
Tina generously included some vintage linens she had been given, plus some small pieces of fabric and ribbon.  I can't wait to think of ways to use these wonderful gifts!

4.  Before mailing, be sure your package looks FUN!
Yep, this envelope passes the "fun" test!  The front is embellished with stamped stars, decorative paper, and the phrase "Beauty surrounds you because you create it."  She also made my name and address special by drawing a starburst around it.

Front:

Back:

I've never received a more exciting swap package, and I'm never going to send another one without following the four steps of "Tina Style"!

Rainbow Bag

In the recent Surprise Swap on Craftster, I had two partners.  I've already shown you the Luna Moth bag I made for one partner;  I decided I should make a fabulous bag for my other partner too--after all, she stated on her questionnaire that that she is a "sucker" for bags!

This partner had a rainbow pillow on her Pinterest so I used that as the inspiration for her bag.

Here's the front.  Placing all those little rectangles of fabric was really easy because I used HeatnBond lite, but I REALLY should have used the ultrahold version, because I had to sew around the edges of each and every one of those rectangles...and it drove me a little bit crazy!  As I was planning the bag, I thought the stitching would add a lot visually, but with the finished product in front of me, I have to say it would have been fine without the stitching.  So, I learned something!

The back of the bag features one great big rainbow pocket:

The inside of the bag features this luminous blue fabric lining.  The top of the inner pocket is accented with a strip of the rainbow that was  left over from making the back pocket.

Yes, my bag-and-rainbow-loving partner loves this bag!  In fact, the pictures she posted of it show it full of her belongings--she started using it almost the minute she opened the package!  Another success!