I want to share with you what I sent to my fabu swap buddy Cindy. It was my very first swap and I loved the entire process. I signed up weeks before it officially started and started putting it together that day- can we say over-zealous? Yeah, I know I have issues. I just love love love putting together presents. Organizing and wrapping a present is almost as much fun for me as receiving a present.
"S" Sunflowers - a little box that includes a pot and seeds to grow a sunflower plant. But I forgot to take a picture so hopefully you can imagine what an orange box with a yellow sunflower looks like.
"U" Unpack the picnic party- cheese board (thrifted), napkins and orange plastic ware in a cute little bag (made by yours truly).
"M" Mix up a drink, add an orange straw (in a re-usable wine bag) and use an orange coaster (made by me).
"M" Make fun things! Cards (thrifted) and crafts (all in a diaper and wipes/make-up and jewelry clutch).
"E" Enjoy cold treats on hot summer days. Ice cream pop molds (filled with orange and yellow and colorful beads) and orange ice cream scoop.
"R" Ready for summer weekend road trips- headbands, belt (with thrifted jacquard ribbon), keyring, tissue case, nail file in ribbon case and luggage tag (all made by me just for new buddy Cindy).
I wish I had taken a better picture of the "container" because it was pretty cute too. It is an old pie basket (thrifted) that I cleaned and decorated with fabric and ribbon. The top- that I do not have a picture of- has orange, yellow and pink woven ribbon. The outside is yellow fabric made into ruffles - similar to the bag that I made. The inside is lined with more of that fun yellow, orange and pink plaid fabric (however not lined well- so don't inspect it too closely in the corner Cindy- it has many, many flaws!!). Hopefully Cindy can use it as a small picnic basket or something fun like that.
I had the most fun with this swap and can't wait to do another one soon. I was very proud that with all of my thrifting and using scraps that I already had in my stash, I was easily able to stay under the set $20 limit. I met a doll of a new friend, learned that thrift stores can be way too much fun, and received the most awesome swap package in return. Woo-hoo for summer orange and yellow swap fun!
But I decided to actually sit down and do something fun for myself this summer. I have done this technique on a smaller bag in the past, but I had visions of grosgrain ruffles when I purchased this plain straw bag a while back. It was incredibly time consuming, I won't lie. But it was really fun making a present for myself. I love the print lining and the pocket is even right-side-up for a change! I really need to do that more often!
