Daily Craft - A swap haul!

In an attempt to get rid of some of the excess in my craft space, I signed up for a destash swap on Craftster - which involved each pair swapping craft supplies that they're not using.  I guess technically it's not reducing the stash, but it's obtaining "new to me" things without additional cost right?  (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it). 

I sent my original partner a bunch of knit and crochet supplies, seeing as she said crochet was her new thing - yarns (both commercial and recycled by me), a crochet hook roll, stitch markers etc.  Unfortunately, my partner turned out to be a flake.  I would like to gripe for a moment about those that flake on organized swaps.  The fact is that crafty types are very giving people.  We're constantly making things for those around us, donating supplies or making things for charity groups, offering free patterns and tutorials to help others perfect their skills.  Quite frankly, not holding up your end of the bargain is crappy.  Of course, for every flake, there are hundreds of wonderful crafters out there who keep up the good name.  Big thanks to my swap angel, Connie, who sent me a substitute package to make up for the one I was supposed to receive but didn't!

She sent me some lovely fabrics.  I intend to turn the blue/green fabrics at least into quilted coasters, which I had fun making previously.  

She also sent me a bunch of jewelry findings and beads, even going to the trouble of making sure that I have at least 2 of each bead in the package.  How did she know that I'm an earring addict?

There was also a "slice of pie" soap bar, and some Halloween stamps.  Never quite managed to get a good picture though as Deuce tried to claim the soap for himself.  As you may recall, this is not the first time...

Daily Craft - A rainbow of thread

A while back, I entered a contest on the Recycle, Reuse, Refashion blog.  The blog author, Josée, was kind enough to be offering up some sewing notions that she'd scored at a thrift shop.  I'm rather partial to thrift shop hauls myself, so was thrilled to find out that I was the lucky winner!  My package arrived today, all the way from Canada, and I'm now happy to be in possession of a many spools of thread in a myriad of different colors, as well as some bias tape, and ribbon.

Deuce photobombed my picture (no surprises there) and tried several times to steal ribbons, while attempting to distract me by batting away spools of thread.

I'm also happy to be participating in a destash swap on Craftster.org, which involves filling a small flat rate box with supplies I'm no longer using.  I'll be receiving a package of supplies from somebody else in return.  I know that destashing is on my list of things to do for the year, and I'm hoping this will be a good start, even if I'm getting things back.  Seeing as I have to start going through my craft supplies for the swap, hopefully that'll steer me in the right direction for organizing and unloading in general.  Besides, I figure it counts if I'm exchanging things that are just laying about for things that I will [hopefully] use, right?

Daily Tip - Simple earring storage

I'm going to admit that when it comes to earrings, I'm a bit of an addict.  While I like them, I've found that necklaces always end up feeling a bit like a noose that I'm inadvertently strangling myself with at some point during the day, and bracelets always seem to be clanking on something (probably on account of my desk job where I spend a lot of time typing).  Earrings on the other hand go in my ears and look so pretty but don't get in the way of anything I'm doing.  The problem for me has always been storage of my little dangling friends.

Recently, I was rummaging through my bookcase and realized that the answer was staring me in the face.  I have two metal mesh book ends that aren't currently in use which are perfect for earring storage on account of the little mesh holes.  Plus they match my minimalist decorating style!  So, next time you're in Office Depot and probably not thinking about jewelry, keep in mind that that pencil holder just might be what you need to keep your baubles neat and tidy.  :)