Last month, with the push of the April Stash Bust, I finally took the plunge and joined a Swap-Bot swap. My #1 Swap: the April Stash Bust Swap of course! It was so much fun getting a great package of goodies in the mail. Not everything in it were things I would normally pick, but that’s the inspiring part. Now I have all these fun little bits to refresh my own stash. I had a great partner and she really loaded me up:

Since then, I’ve dug around on Swap-bot. Yesterday I joined two more swaps and I am watching quite a few others.

Swap #2: Pencil/crayon rubbing art swap.

1.Look for objects that are rough, bumpy or feel interesting. 2.Hold your paper over the object. 3.Hold your crayon or pencil on its side and rub across the bumpy parts. For fun, try using different colors together.
Please have fun with this swap! Senders choice! Send your partner one rubbing, any more is optional and not required.

I really enjoy the simplicity of it. It was a fun mini adventure for sure. I had so much fun this morning that I’m going to do more to incorporate into Craft Leftovers Monthly and other projects.

Swap #3: International Zine Swap

Send any zine you like! You will have two partners. That’s 2 zines per partner. Simple!

It will be a great way to get some more zines into my collection (love it!) while spreading Craft Leftovers Monthly around a bit too!

I’m holding off on joining any more for now. I think that 2 a month is a pretty good pace for myself. I don’t want to kill the swapping joy.

I’ve hosted swaps before. Wow, Swap-bot makes it easy to host, participate, and track members. The built in rating/feedback system really keeps people accountable because “no sends” are the worst. A lot of swaps won’t let you join unless you have above 4 star rating. If you want to participate, you need to live up to your obligations.

5 Great Reasons to Join a Swap

Inspiration – It’s always fun to see how people interpret a theme, what they include in their packages, what patterns they use, and how they package it all up.
New supplies – New to you anyway, this is a great way to trade out some “old to you” supplies.
Resources – Because I write a zine, looking at other zines is a great resource for me. Swapping for them keeps my library full at a fairly low cost.
Staying accountable - It’s easy to get caught up in life. If you are swapping artist trading cards or handmade dish cloths, there will always be an influx of creativity. Deadlines can be the best inspiration.
Marketing – Let’s face it, when I joined the zine swap it’s because I know 2 completely new people will be taking a look at my zine each month, potentially posting about it on their blog or at least showing it around to their friends. When you swap and fulfill your side of the swap, it’ll get more people looking at your website, your shop, and basically you. Familiarity is key.

On top of all those reasons, I LOVE getting mail. It always makes my day!

Enter: the Craft Leftovers Swap

I think having a monthly swap would fit really well with the whole Craft Leftovers mission of using up what’s on hand.

We all have those bits that just don’t seem to be good for any project, a “crafting block” so to speak. Having a monthly swap would be a great way to get a new infusion of craft stock while unloading supplies that have been regulated to the back of the stash for far too long.

++ What do you think? Would you like to join a Craft Leftovers swap?
++ What kinds of things would you like to swap?
++ Should it be monthly, or should we do it quarterly?
++ Should there be a theme each month that goes along with the Craft Leftovers Monthly theme or just a random assortment each month?
++ How big should the package envelope be? 9×12 inches or 5×7 inches?

Let me know what you think and I can set up. Maybe the first one will have a June 30th send out date?

Happy swapping!

Kristin Roach