On a cold, rainy day, I think the next best thing to reading a book with a cup of tea (or coffee!) is receiving and reading heartfelt letters from pen pals. It's been months since I organized the Summer Mail Swap but I recently read through all of them and how they made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The theme of the swap was "Best of Summer 2017" and we all shared with each other through words, pictures and artwork our favorite summer experiences. The stories shared were varied — from out of town trips to making art projects at home, from finally watching their favorite band perform Read More
2016 Christmas Mail Swap
Why am I still talking about Christmas in February?!? I'll tell you why! It's because I haven't had time to sit down and blog so I'm so very late in featuring this one…BUT the things I'm sharing with you in this post deserve to be acknowledged and adored no matter the delay! And I'm talking about the lovely handmade letters and cards I received from the ladies who joined my Christmas mail swap last December. I love organizing swaps because I'm interested in people and in people's original ideas. In having craft swaps, participants are challenged to come up with something nice regardless of Read More
Hearts in Letters
Phyllis Theroux said, "To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart." And I do feel like parts of me went to different places in Manila a few months back when I sent handmade cards to the group of ladies who joined my mail swap. And just the same, I was touched to have received thoughtful messages and works of art from the same women. The theme of the swap was "Favorite Movie Lines" and I really had fun collecting film quotes which stuck with me the most through the years. I realized I had a lot of them so I narrowed down my movie selection to five: Read More
It’s A Mail Swap! [REGISTRATION CLOSED]
Receiving mail from friends (and my go-to online craft stores!) always makes my day! I love the thrill of finding something on our doorstep or in our mailbox and the entire process of opening it and discovering what's inside. All the more when I receive something that had obviously been carefully and lovingly made and written by hand — it's like receiving a part of that person, fragile and precious. It's intimate without being invasive. It's upbuilding and a breath of fresh air. So I thought it would be good idea to make another person's day and have a bunch of others join me in Read More
One Year of Friendship, One Year of Crafts
Craft Party PH turned one last May 16! Can you believe it?! It's only been a year and it feels like we've been doing this much longer. Mia and I are always full of gratitude for all the good this little business of ours has brought into our lives, so to celebrate, we organized a Craft Swap with fellow craft-loving friends. We held it at Kendo on the 7th of May and there were eight of us that lovely morning! The theme of the swap was "Summer fun" and the only rule in joining was to bring items that participants themselves had made. It could be anything as long as inspired by the Read More
Stamp Swap + Katipunan Art Fest
I think that the next best thing to working on crafts is giving them away. And this is why I enjoy craft swaps. Last Oct 3, I was very happy to have been able to join Life After Breakfast's Stamp Swap during the Katipunan Art Festival. It was held at Ninyo Fusion Cuisine. Alessa of LAB asked all participants to make ten stamps with an accompanying print or artwork each. Prints can be in any form and stamps and may be packaged however we like. I decided to pick a theme so it's easier to make ten stamps and thought it should be something that tells a bit more about me. And because I love Read More
A Happy Handmade Accessory Swap!
A couple of months ago, while working on some crafts at home, an idea came to me to put together a craft swap. At that time, I was into making wooden pendants and was also in search of inspiration for making handmade accessories. So I thought, why not organize a handmade accessory swap! I've joined swaps before but have never put together one, so I immediately contacted one of my craft friends and asked if she thought it was a good idea and if she knew of people who would join. Excitedly, she said she loved it and that she knew of some friends who would be very interested. So that same Read More