PBS: Made For You #2: Make me something I can use!

Welcome to our second in a series of handmade profile-based swaps.

"Make me something I can use" was the most popular idea on our group survey, and I'm very excited about it. The idea is to make your partner something especially for her/him that s/he can use in day-to-day life (not a simply decorative item), based on your partner's interests.

Some possible ideas include:
♥ If your partner is into tea, you could make a tea cozy or cute coasters in any of her favorite colors/themes
♥ Loves the outdoors? Make some mittens, a hat, or a scarf in colors s/he loves
♥ Crazy about cooking or baking? Make some potholders or decoupage a good quality recipe box in a theme or colors s/he loves and include some personalized recipe cards
♥ Loves to send mail art? Carve a profile-based rubber stamp or two, make profile-based handmade envelopes, address labels, and/or envelope seals as a little handcrafted package of various airmail goodies s/he can use
♥ Other ideas include handmade journals, dishes or containers, soap, candles, incense, etc.--all based on your partner's profile preferences, of course!
♥Please feel free to share your own ideas below!

Let your partner's profile be the inspiration for your creations.

Please take time and care to craft something of value similar to items listed above to make a proper package. Don't just make 3 envelopes or a bookmark or two, send nothing else, and call it a day. If you have questions about what's appropriate, please feel free to send me a private message. This is meant to be a fun and creative swap, but imagine your disappointment if you knit a scarf for your partner and only received a bookmark in return.

The series "Made For You" was born out of a desire to have more specifically handmade swaps for the members of our group who enjoy creating and receiving art and crafts. While other swaps in the series may be more specific in the type of gift or method of making involved, this particular swap allows each participant complete flexibility to read her/his partner's profile and then decide what kind of handmade gift s/he would like to create, and which technique(s) s/he would like to use.

All group members maintain well-filled-out profiles and meet the requirement of at least a 4.98 rating to join. In the unlikely event that it's necessary, I will angel this swap after you have attempted to contact your partner and honestly rated them a "1" for a no-send.

Here are the rules:

As with all of our swaps:

♥ Read through your partner's complete profile; don't just latch on to the first idea you see, or you could miss out on something important (loves to be pampered but mentions that s/he's got a high sensitivity to perfumes?--probably best to save your famous homemade lavender bath salts for another swap), or an exciting idea that you'll enjoy even more. Please try to send them things related to their interests that will make them smile :)

♥Be certain to check for your partners' dislikes and avoid sending them, so you don't unintentionally spoil what would otherwise be an absolute delight

This is considered type 3 because it is a time-intensive craft swap, and is likely to be sent in a package.

Because your gift will be inspired by your partner's profile and made specifically for her/him, there is a full month's time between partner assignment and the deadline to send out your swap. This should be enough time to do proper planning, gather materials, create your gift while doing your best work, and package it with care so that it will arrive safely to your partner. Please include a little note to your partner about the gift you've created for her/him (why you chose this particular item to make, techniques or materials used, changes that happened during the process, etc.), along with your username and the name of the swap.

This doesn't need to be a huge or expensive project. What is required is that you send something thoughtful and useful made with care especially for your partner, roughly in the $5-$10 range and of high quality. Please don't be scared off by your own perfectionism! This swap allows you to use your own skill set to do your best work within your comfort zone. There are tons of tutorials out there if you'd like to try something new as well, but be sure to give yourself enough time if you're attempting something you don't have prior experience with.

The one type of item I request that you don't send in these swaps is homemade food items (I know, I love to bake, and make candy, and do canning/preserves). These cannot be properly regulated, and some international laws prohibit their transfer into different countries.

♥If you get stumped for ideas or have any questions or concerns, please send me a message to let me know and I'll be happy to help!

Happy Swapping! :)