Tussymussy

Why not look at some of the swaps that happened in July. Lots of us post pictures of what we received.

You are allowed to spend $10. You can stretch that by using vouchers at Joanns and other places. Stuff you already have does not count; perhaps you could add quilting magazines you have already read and are not bothered about keeping. Some people send novels too. You can also send notions that you already have. Surprisingly, most of us love fabric and/or thread.

Then you can make things. I had a fantastic pincushion in the shape of a leg. It's nice & heavy so does not fall of the table. You can see that in the June swap pics. Mary (lawsonmugs) makes fantastic pincushions in the shape of chairs. Others make tissue covers, mugrugs, table toppers - the list is almost endless. Most of us love the hand mades we recieve - cos we know how much thought and work goes into them, especially if they are made in the colours we like.

You can also collect free things, like recipe cards/sheets given out by supermarkets, free leaflets. Perhaps where you live is famous for something or makes something different - I once got chicken poo lip gloss (did not contain chicken poo!) - and you can send something about that or a postcard, or a local cookbook.

You also may have had a gift from someone for a birthday etc, which you don't like for some reason. Dollar stores are very useful for picking up bits and pieces too. You can also find things in thrift shops too. I check my local one frequently and it is amazing the good quality stuff you can find in these.

Hope that helps a little. If you like doing these swaps and do them often, it is helpful to have a stack of things ready to add. For example, whenever I see some attractive sticky notes, I buy them and put them in my swap box ready for the next appropriate swap.