So. Let me tell you. This craft swap thing, is pretty much the shit.
If you have any extra time and cash, you have to do this. I did this swap through
craftster, and it was owl themed. The swaps are moderated by the creator of that swap, all of which have specific (or sometimes not so specific) themes. My swap was 6 points... I had a little trouble figuring out what qualified for how many points, so I just made a whole bunch of stuff to make sure I was covered.
To start out, you fill out a questionnaire about yourself, the crafts you do/would like to do, and what you like (theme-wise) and what you would like to receive from your partner.
I was paired with a girl from California named Brie. She was adorable and her favorite kinds of owls were barn and screech owls (where I favor more of the illustrated/tattoo flash/kitschy owls).
So here's what I made and sent to her!
So. Let me tell you about this whole mess o' stuff.
Let's start with the clock.
In her questionnaire, my swap partner said she would like to receive a clock... after further communication with her, I found she wanted an alarm clock, since hers wasn't working... I tried to figure out a way to engineer crafting an alarm clock, but I was not nearly confident enough in my idea and was running out of time. I am really very happy with how it turned out though.
The base of the clock is an unfinished wood circle, on which I did a wash of watercolor. After it dried I sealed it with Mod-
Podge (all hail the mighty glue).
The stars, barn and owl were done in watercolor on watercolor paper, then Mod-
podged onto the clock face. The clock face itself was a kit I got from either Hobby Lobby (boo) or Joann's (
yay).
(It is likely that I will someday explain my disdain for Hobby Lobby, but not today, dear.)
The t-shirt, as seen above was inspired by an image on my swap partners Wist. If you do not know what Wist is/do not have a wist. Go. Now. Go to
Wist, sign up, and make yourself a sweet electronic wish listing profile. Here's a link to
my wist, in case you want to make/buy me everything on it.
Oh, back to the t-shirt. I love making t-shirts like this. Essentially, you draw an image (flipped) of what you want, on poster board, in pencil/marker. I then traced my drawing with a bottle of "puffy paint", I believe it was Tulip brand fabric paint, and I always use a matte paint for this... I use this puffy paint drawing as a stamp of sorts, and place the painted image on the poster board onto the shirt (paint side to shirt), and press to make sure all the details are transferred... What I like most about this is the uncertainty of how
exactly it will look, when you press it some of the details smear, some lines you drew were thicker than others and it ALWAYS comes out looking nice.
The necklace and earrings were my first try at jewelry making. I feel like I may need further instruction on this... I like how it came out, but was grasping in the dark, guessing at how to do it.
The earrings I especially like because I did little drawings and placed them into the
bezeled charm frames I used... These were hard to get a decent picture of since they're so small, and I have a crappy point-and-shoot camera...
This cup, I didn't want to give up... Jon even thought I was going to keep it for myself.
If you ever need to make someone a gift, and have a short-
ish amount of time and little money. You should make a cup/bowl/dish of some kind like this... its really easy, and really cute.
To make a piece like this you need 2 things: a dish, and a
Pebeo Porclaine pen. These pens write like any paint marker, but after drawing your images, you let the paint dry for 24 hours, then bake it in your oven at 300 degrees for 35 minutes. Once it cools, you have a permanent awesome mug. They don't recommend use of these on the surface where the food/drink will touch, or placing it in a dishwasher... I think this makes it perfect for making mugs, because most people rinse/wash theirs once they use it, and you don't typically put coffee/tea on the outside of the mug.
There are some extra things there that I bought when I was gallivanting around the craft stores looking for owl things.... so I sent those along because I knew she could use them!
I think I'm going to post some pictures of what she sent me after I get permission from her.... She send me the MOST AMAZING STUFF. I can't even describe it and do it any justice. My next post will absolutely be a documentation of what I've received from her.
Doing this whole swap thing has been better than I could have imagined. Crafting on a deadline is certainly a learning experience... and seeing the work everyone else is doing is super inspiring. I have ideas out the
wah-zoo.
Oh. and let me disclose one more piece of info... Monday, the day I received my wl Swap package...
guess what else happened??
I was proposed to. By Jon. In the parking lot of my work (cuter than it probably sounds).
I'M GETTING MARRIED!
Which only means more opportunities for crafting, because I'm broke, and will be putting most this wedding together by hand (happily).
Stay tuned for more crafty-fun-times-island.
