Last month I decided to join a Instagram craft swap...or two.
While perusing IG, I found some wonderfully awesome mini quilts that had been secretly made then shipped to another member of that swap group. I was in awe...you see I have this quilt pattern book....ya, I have never used it. So, I was inspired by one of the swaps that popped up as LPS Disney Craft Swap and I quickly joined.
whoa, wait a sec......I had also seen another swap pop up and joined that one too. SPD Fairy Tale Swap I joined so quickly, I am hoping to not have regrets. So far none!
I would like to share my thoughts and creations with you about this first swap,
LPS Disney Craft Swap
I was happy to see it was a one craft only event, and the highlighted project was counted cross stitch, of course you could make any type of craft you wanted. I was excited to cross stitch. It had been years since I last made anything cross stitch wise.
I had seen some swaps suggest sending gifts as well. This swap didn't require that. However, I did end up sending more than one item, since I had breezed through it so fast.
I selected I could ship international, I was a little worried because of the costs, but I planned to keep everything to fit in a flat rate envelope to balance shipping costs.
When the swap began, I was sent an email giving me the details from my partner's sign-up page; her name, location, social media details, info about herself, favorite Disney movies, characters, parks and rides.
She lives in England...alright...international shipping applies, so I needed to keep my items within reason for shipping.
She loves a lot of the classic Disney characters, especially animals. Her top favorites are Winnie the Pooh and friends. She did go on about a few other characters, but right then I knew I needed to make something Pooh related.
I glanced at her IG account and looked over her pins on Pinterest and one image caught my eye.
I wanted to make this....but I needed a pattern.
I will admit I spent way to much time looking for one. I did come across a small grid in a PNG file. It almost worked to overlay the pattern, but it was just too small, So I went about making my own. Then I layered it over the picture and walla I had a pattern.
I want to be able to share this grid with you all, so here you go, just click on the image to download a full 12x12" grid.You can adjust your image to fit the squares as you like.
I also updated the pattern I made to share. I got PatternMaker version 1 with my computer way back when in 1995. I haven't used it in years and it is a way back when style program. But, hey it works. Click on image to download the pdf.
Seeing that I had so quickly gotten my craft project done, I wanted to make something more. I had come across an Eeyore bookmark pattern in my partner's Pinterest board, so I searched and found the pattern.
I really had a good time secretly making these items to ship over seas...and I may or may not have googled her address to see the area she lived in. :)
I also shared a few updates on IG as well.
Here are the goodies all together.
As I was wrapping all this up, I had a last minute decision to add a little piece of where I live in her package. My brother had carved some stones last year and I hit him up for ideas, spent a bit of time in the hills collecting palm sized sandstone rocks, then carving a piece of Utah in them. (I hope she will like this...if not, throw it in the garden bed and I'm sure with time and humidity, this rock will wear away quickly.
All in all, it was a fun swap. I enjoy making things with my hands and to have a purpose was exactly what I needed to get me going on handicrafts again.
Keep an eye out, I have a few other things I have been making that I'll give a review on and I still have that other swap to report on too.
