Let's Talk About Swappin'!

Image courtesy of swap-bot.com

A few years ago I somehow stumbled upon swap-bot.com while I was cruising around the blogosphere.  I'm pretty sure I was checking out a crafty blog and the blogger mentioned swapping.  I had never even heard of swapping before then, but I was intrigued.  The mystery blogger mentioned that if you were crafty, and you liked getting mail (actual, postal service delivered mail), then you should check out swap-bot.com .  Honestly, who doesn't love getting mail that isn't of the bill variety?  Every time I open the mailbox and see my name and address handwritten on an envelope, I get a little excited.  Is it a card? A wedding invitation? Pictures of my nieces or nephews or the adorable children of friends? So many possibilities!! But, I digress.  Back to swapping, and more specifically, swap-bot.

This a free, crafty community where, essentially, all you have to do is sign up for an account, find swaps that you are interested in, sign up for the swap, and then send off the item(s) to another person that has signed up for the swap.  As is the nature of the word "swap", you then receive an item from another swap participant.  This is the WAY over-simplified version, of course, but you get the point... right?  For those of you worried about privacy issues regarding giving out your info to strangers on the web, the creators of the site always encourage that you use a p.o. box for swapping and they do have measures in place to always try to ensure the safety and confidentiality of their members information.

There are SO MANY different types of things that people are swapping on this website.  I had never even heard of most of the things that these crafty ladies (there are some men, but I have mostly encountered ladies there) are making and sending to one another.  By nature, I am a researcher.  I like to know the in's & out's of a situation before I get involved.  I'm totally the person that reads a website's return policy before I buy anything and I ALWAYS read instructions for use, assembly, etc.  What can I say, I'm just not very impulsive, ok? That being said, the Glossary of Terms, FAQ's, and New User Info sections on this site are totally ACE.  Before I ever even signed up for an account, I felt pretty confident that I had a firm grasp on what was going on with "the swapping".  Kudos to the site creators (Rachel and Travis) for being thorough and informative with explaining the process, and also being available to handle any administrative issues that may pop up. 

Now back to what these ladies are swapping.  There is a little something for everyone, even if you aren't all that "crafty".  People swap postcards, handmade greeting cards, ATC's (basically awesome little miniature works of art), handmade envelopes (my personal fave), bookmarks, tea, altered things, recycled things, candy, thrift store finds, and the list goes on and on and on.  I have tried all sorts of new crafty projects since I signed up.  I have also received some exceptionally creative and super-cool items in my mailbox over the past few years.  Most of the time, they arrive in pretty packages with WAY more than just a handwritten address on the front of the envelope.  I'm talking mail art, people.  Love it.

Enough talking! Here are a few of the awesome things that I have received....

Here we have some handmade nesting boxes - made from recycled materials. The picture really does not do any justice to how beautifully detailed these are!

Made by swap-bot user @Bramblebelle

 Next up, a quirky little birdy - also made from recycled materials.  Crafty, I tell ya!

Made by @wolfeagle

This awesome zombie pin.  I have a love for all things zombie, but that could (and probably will be) a post all in itself.

I cannot find the name of the awesome gal that sent this to me.  If it's you, leave a comment and I'll give you cred!

And last, but certainly not least, a gorgeous set of handmade cards featuring images of barn owls from a wall calendar.  Can't wait to send some of these out!

Made by @madcrazy

These are only a few of the things that were within reach from my desk.  There is WAY more awesome where that came from!  So, if this sounds like something you may be interested in doing, I encourage you to check it out. It's fun, it gives me a reason to be crafty, and I also get to enjoy other people's craftiness!  Win, Win, and Win!

Crafty Saturday!

Today has been a pretty awesome Saturday so far, if I do say so myself. Mr. Nerd and I slept in (he slept later than me, of course). In a clever ploy to lure him out of bed, I got up and cooked us a little breakfast. We had scrambled eggs with cheese, turkey bacon, cinnamon toast and a banana. It was pretty tasty. Then we spent the next hour or so watching a special on UFO's that have been reported throughout history by NASA astronauts. Delicious breakfast AND a television nerd-fest - nothing better. Mr. Nerd then proceeded to watch a special comparing the science and technology of George Lucas films with science and technology that is actually available to us today, and I kind of lost interest. Mostly because robots freak me out. Soooo, while all of that robot-ness was going on, I decided to get crafting! Full disclosure though, the note card & envelope I'll show you was not completed in one Saturday. I've been working on it for a while now, and finally finished it up today. So, on to the crafty goodness!

First up: A bookmark that I made with the help of a recycled popcorn box, some leftover scrapbook paper, modpodge, stamps, distress inks, and a little embossing magic.

Much prettier in person, I promise!

Please excuse the quality of the photos. I'm still working on taking better pictures of the things I make. I think the scraps of words on the bookmark may be from a German dictionary. I'm not sure though. I received those little bits from a swap on Swap-bot.com. If you don't know about Swap-bot, and you are interested in crafting, you should definitely check it out. Perhaps I'll do a post on it soon.

Next Up: Note Card and Matching Envelope. These are my FAVORITE things to make. I started making envelopes out of old books and maps and things with a template that I found HERE. I eventually started swapping them on Swap-bot.com and started looking for envelopes that were a size/shape that I liked, and using those for templates. Good times!

Wouldn't this be a cute Birthday card?

So, there are the results of my awesome Crafty Saturday! Now, it's on to listing some old clothes on E-bay and more ridiculous weekend t.v.! I hope you are having an awesome Saturday as well, crafty or not!