From the Vaults

Lots of these sound fun! Pimp my Username is especially appealing to me. Zine would be a good option for cheap international shipping. Same for Illustrate My Favorite Story/Book.

I think the cool, offbeat swap activity was one of the most engaging things about Craftster.

Maybe after we do a swap or two off the Craftster Vault list, we could also try to come up with some brand-new unusual swaps. Off the top of my head:

Craft my meme
Anthropomorphic animals
Fandom children’s book/primer
Light it up! (Swap lamps or light-up items)
Costume mask/headdress
Craft my pet
Beach boho jewelry
(Some of these may not be new, but I don’t remember seeing them in the past.)

Thanks for pulling those out of the vault, @JoyfulClover! It was nostalgic and inspiring to look at that list.

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Definitely! and since we’re not doing “rounds” for swapping any more, we don’t have to wait!

I’d be up for either Anthropomorphic Animals (tagging in @roler) or Craft my Pet!!

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Well that was a trip down memory lane, I participated in quite a few of those.

What is a Fukubukuro Lucky Bag, sounds intriguing

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If the “Illustrate my favorite story/book” swap was the one I hosted I will say it was a beast! And pain in the… :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: …if anyone wants to venture there I think I have the swap info doc somewhere and if not I have a few pointers :wink: There was a bit of controversy concerning effort given from one swapper that soured some grapes and had me re-write the swap guidelines when we did round 2. I still have the pages I received though and the gallery was a ton of fun! :smile: I have no interest in hosting and of course anyone is welcome to do their own take on it if they want. I’m here if anyone is interested and wants my advice though :kissing_heart:

Waaaay way back when I first joined Craftster there was a found art/upcycle type swap that I wanted to join but I think I couldn’t because I was too new or in my first swap and wasn’t able to join (or maybe there was another reason…). I remember day dreaming about it and stalking the gallery. I don’t remember much but the idea was to use a found object (think litter, lost notebook, dropped paperclip, etc) to make something for your partner. I think there would be a high level of stress but it might also be a fun challenge?

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What a cool topic and a great thread to read through. Even though I’m not a big swapper, I do really enjoy the creative ways makers have to follow a theme, use materials, etc. It’s so inspiring!

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I’m not sure the specific details, but I googled and here is what google U says:

Known in English as “lucky bags” or “mystery bags,” fukubukuro are literal bags filled with a random assortment of goods and sold at a substantial discount during special sales periods in Japan, the most notable of which is New Year’s Day. Each lucky bag is usually centered around a specific theme, such as beauty products or computer accessories. They are a long-standing tradition among the Japanese and are still beloved today as great opportunities to test your luck at nabbing a good deal.

It sounds like a themed bag of goodness? Definitely sounds like something we would make, right?

I really appreciate your honesty, @Reinikka

That freecycle object swap might be fun!

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I do tend to overly complicate things :sweat_smile: So I think another organizer could make it work better :wink: We had multiple partners and each person could choose their page size and it was a little crazy. I think if someone hosted a simplified version it could be really great!

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What if we limited it somehow… like maybe a set of 4 blank-inside notecards + envelopes?

Also, I love the upcycle-item idea.

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Wow, that was a rabbit hole.

I’m interested in the photo swap, but not until summer because I’m hosting a new swap now.
And I hosted the Fabric Art Journal page swaps…I can do that again if folks are interested.

And I was always intrigued (but chicken to join in because I didn’t think I was clever enough) for the upcycle swaps and the Dollar store challenges. But now there is Pinterest so I think I could come up with some better ideas!

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i am!! i just need to get myself sorted a bit before i start the process…maybe after work on thursday? its been a “special” couple of weeks around these parts…

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I participated in a round of the Fukubukuro Lucky Bag swap! Here’s the information I had in my swap documents:

According to Wikipedia: Fukubukuro (福袋 lucky bag, mystery bag) is a Japanese New Year’s Day custom where merchants make grab bags filled with unknown random contents and sell them for a substantial discount. Yes, this isn’t the start of any new year that I’m aware of, but we are nearing a new season and the mid-way point of the year. So…

Start the summer and the 2nd half of the year with a lucky grab bag!

This 4 point swap basically is make a bag (out of whatever you like) or find one that you think suits your partner and fill it with crafts supplies, candies/snacks and crafted items. Yes, all 3.

Details of swap:

  • This swap requires a minimum of 2 small crafted items (or 1 medium) plus the bag (that can be made or bought) then go ahead and fill it with craft supplies and candies/snacks.
  • If you go by point system, it would be a minimum of 4 point swap: 2 points crafted items that aren’t a bag, a 1 point bag (that can be crafted or bought) and 1 point of supplies and candies.
  • Since this a small, 4 points swap, you can choose to swap with 2 partners.
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Ahhh, excellent! Thank you for sharing!

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Been there! LOL! Hope the swap is fantastic!

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Sounds neat! Like a Grab-Bag-Swap. I like that idea!

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You don’t have to wait. If you want to start one of these now, feel free! Just contact the swap mods @gozer @geekgirl @Kwality570 when you start the swap and we can give you access to the spreadsheet!

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That looks like fun, similar to the full a purse swap

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There were only 2 topics generating duplicate interest, so here is the info on them. I will post a separate New Swap Idea to discuss further details (unless it’s hammered out in here?).

Both of these sound to be smalls. I thought Matchbox was more like an Altered Tin swap? But turns out, it’s just a wee box stuffed to the brim! So that might even be a fun, weekend swap.

Matchbox swap:

Details of swap:

Find a matchbox that holds between 30-40 wooden matches and fill it as full as you possibly can with tiny supplies and/or crafts. You’ll be amazed by how much you can fit in it! You can put anything you want in it, as long as it is craft related. Supplies such as beads, paper, ephemera, postage stamps, brads, buttons, fibers, embellishments, stamped images, stamps, ribbons, stickers, foam shapes, fake flowers. Handmade goodies such as, earrings, magnets, a necklace, charms, pins. If it fits and can be used in a craft, or is a craft it’s fair game. You can have 1 or 2 partners – you will decorate a matchbox for each partner, and you will receive a matchbox from each partner. One suggestion would be to stalk your partner and decorate the matchbox to their likes and dislikes but if you have an idea in your head already, decorate away. Just as long as you decorate and cram as much into the box as you can all will be good. This swap is meant to be a quick, easy, and cheap swap so no extras, if it doesn’t fit in the box do not send it , unless you and your partner agree to personal swap at the same time. “Decorations and wrapping” are allowed. Wink You can also make your own “matchbox” as long as it is the appropriate size. Here’s one template you could use: http://blog.swap-bot.com/rachels-matchbox-template/

Unbelievable, but that link still works!

Round 3 gallery

Round 5 gallery

And apparently, there were themed matchbox swaps as well (e.g. “Wicked Forest”).

I couldn’t find any of the Pimp my Craftster/LC names right away, but I imagine that’s representing someone’s user name in some way.

Which topic would you like to swap?

  • Matchbox Swap
  • Pimp my LC Name
0 voters
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Oh my goodness, did you see how many people joined rd 5? Those were the days. The days before IG, Twitter, & Tik Tok. A time when people wanted to communicate and make friends and connections instead of just collecting likes to fill their egos. I am so glad we still have a place like this.

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Hey all, here is the discussion for the Matchbox swap!

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I hope there’s interest! I’ve been looking forward to the possibility!

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