Anodyne Design » Swapping

Summer Napkin Swap

Shannon — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:00:09 +0000

I did some sewing over the weekend and made up some new cloth napkins. They’re much prettier than paper napkins, and I feel good about not wasting paper napkins or paper towels, too. They can also be quick and easy to make. So I decided it would be fun to start a summer napkin swap at Swap-Bot for handmade cloth napkins. I hope you’ll join me and trying making some cloth napkins, too.

If you haven’t made cloth napkins before, here are some tutorials to get you started. I think you’ll quickly see that they are simple and there’s no one way to make them.

I Wish I Could Knit

Shannon — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:00:13 +0000

I can’t knit. I once knew how to crochet, but I forgot, and I haven’t had the patience (or more importantly, the dexterity) to learn again. I satisfy my desire to knit and crochet by drooling over the beautiful scarves, sweaters, and wrist warmers I see on Etsy and arranging trades with people who know how to knit. A good friend of mine has agreed to knit me a scarf in exchange for a tote bag.

Last month, I serendipitously ended up in a trade with Knittinchick: a pair of hand knit baby Uggs in exchange for a wristlet. I mentioned before that I don’t have a baby, but I expect to have one some day and she or he will need stylish footwear. A bonus is that me suddenly having a pair of baby booties around has really freaked out SciFi man, who isn’t so sure about this whole baby thing just yet. Knittinchick’s baby Uggs arrived in the mail yesterday and they are just adorable. Tan, with little red bottoms! Someday, some baby is going to look very cute. Now, I’ve got to get that wristlet in the mail!

A Parliament of Owls

Shannon — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:00:00 +0000

Did you know that a group of owls is called a parliament? I think that’s wonderful. I am also a big fan of a murder of crows. (And while we’re on the topic, did you know that you can find murders of crows, parliaments of owls, and groups of other animals at Smack of Jellyfish?) I recently made the owls to the left for a bird-themed ornament swap. I think they are cute, although my brother has informed me that they are “menacing.” Either way, I think they’ll look nice on someone’s tree. My personal favorite is the one on the right. Some of the others were created with colors I knew my swap partners would appreciate.

If you want to try your hand at your own parliament of owls, you can follow this tutorial from moonstitches. I modified the way I made mine just a bit, but the tutorial should get you started. This is a great project to use of some of those scraps you’ve been saving that seemed like they were too small to ever actually use, but you just couldn’t part with them. Oh wait, I’m talking about myself.

If you make some menacing owls of your own, I’d love to see how they turn out!

A Handmade Journal

Shannon — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 06:00:18 +0000

Recently, I received this lovely handmade journal in the mail. I think I may have talked before about my love for things handmade. There’s something special about knowing that a real persons time, creativity, and love went into the object in my hands. This particular journal was customized for me, but also includes special little things the sender could not have known would make me happy, like the library card pasted into the front, the envelope full of “extras” attached to the back cover, and the ribbon bookmark. Each little detail makes the book more special.

Because it is a special journal, created with love, I have decided to keep it lovely. I am going to use it to record those things in my life, big and small, that bring me joy– wedding anniversaries, the smell of popcorn, an unexpected kind word. In that way, I will have a book that will always bring me pleasure, will help me to remember the things that truly matter, and will help me to be more mindful of the everyday pleasures that are so easily taken for granted.

Music for Traveling

Shannon — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:09:50 +0000

We recently decided that we would make the long drive home for the holidays again this year. By long, we’re talking about over 1,500 miles. It’s a long two-day trip. Since I have a tendency to either a) put off making a CD for us to listen to until the last minute (which means it may not happen at all, or it won’t be a very good CD) or b) choose the same old songs for new CDs, I thought it might be a good idea to put our road trip music selection into more capable, or at least fresh, hands. I’m also planning ahead! Since I imagine we aren’t the only ones who’ll be making a long trek home this winter, I set up a swap on Swap-Bot for road trip mixes. Since Swap-Bot is free, and CDs are cheap, you should join. Especially if you’re going to be driving somewhere soon.

Online Swapping

Shannon — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:00:33 +0000

After my fun trade with KeelyB, I did a little poking around on the internet to see if I can find another way to do some trading. I found Swap-Bot. Swap-Bot is a site that makes it easy to set up swaps for all sorts of things–it matches participants for you, helps you track when items are sent and received, lets you share photos of the things that have been swapped, and most importantly, allows swappers rate each other, so that you can have some assurance that you aren’t trading with an unsavory swapper. There’s still risk involved, but it’s comforting to see that someone has managed to send their swaps out and that the recipients have been pleased with them.

Right now, I’m involved in a crock pot recipe swap (mmm!), a CD swap, a lip balm swap, and a “look what I made” swap. I’ve been making up some pretty fabric wallets for that last swap, using a tutorial from that*darn*kat. These wallets are a bit fancier than my simple card wallets. I’m quite pleased with how they turned out, and I may have to make one for myself. If you’re looking for a way to trade crafty goodness with others, I recommend you check out Swap-Bot. I haven’t been disappointed yet. (Oh, and of course, it’s free to use.)

Do you swap or trade? If not through swap-bot, then how?