4 Kids Christmas 2016, The Presents

I host an Instagram swap called #4kidschristmas and it's about sewing up a medium sized gift for a child for your partner.  This year we did an open swap where you traded with your partner and kept in contact with each other.  I really liked this because I got to know Amanda well and was able to talk to here about her kids and she was able to talk to me as well.

Wearing Senegence Lipstick with out the gloss on

When I found out she sold Senegence Lipstick, I kind of begged her to send me a color, since I love it so much.  And I would suggest you go out and buy it as well, it's fantastic, stay's on your lips forever, you can do many things and it won't come off (want a detailed list of what I did while wearing it, you can e-mail me, wink, wink ;)  Her Instagram name is @lastinglipscolorado if you want to check it out.
Amanda also made the kids the perfect gifts for Katerina a play mat, that she can play on with all of her little Playmobile.  And Nik a Minecraft sword out of felt, the workmanship on the sword is amazing.

The Frozen print is the interior (a better picture of the exterior play mat is below)

The secondary presents were perfect as well, I put these in the kids stockings, so they got them first thing in the morning.

Playmobile Santa for Katerina, it came with presents, but I couldn't find them when I took this photo, Katerina has been hiding them around the house.  Lego Minecraft for Nik, we don't have these here in Greece, so this are super cool and Nik wants all of the other Minecraft Lego sets, lol.  Thanks Amanda, hehe.
Inside of the Handmade Pouches was a small Minecraft toy and also the Jelly Bean candies, again we don't have these here, Katerina was so excited to try these, she see's them on Challenge videos. So of course we had to do a taste challenge, we put them in a bowl and I wrote down the different flavors and the kids were supposed to guess the flavor, it was fun.
A few more pictures.

This is just half of the play mat so you can imagine the size, it will come in really handy when she is playing on the verandah during the summer with all of her Playmobile.

Nik with his sword.

This picture is classic, I just love Katerina's face.
Thank you Amanda for making the kids's Christmas extra special.
I made 2 stuffies for Amanda's girl's, from the book "Sew Fantasy Toys"

4 Kids Christmas Swap 2016

I am addicted to swaps, and now my kids are too!
They love it when mail comes in but get very sad when they find out that it's not for them (mommy gets most of the packages)
So how about we do a swap that is just for our kids or gandkids!

In order to participate in this swap you must have an OPEN IG account, I'm sorry no Private accounts, I realize some people don't want family/children's photos out there, and you can make an account just for swapping, but I also believe especially in this swap that you will want to see at least one photo of the child you will be sending too.  Thank you.

This will be an open swap this year,  YES, this is the second year doing this and last year was very successful and fun, but last year we did it as secret partners, but I really enjoyed getting to know the lady who was making for my kids since I assigned partners I knew who had me and she of course knew she had me and it was really nice and simple for her to ask me more questions about the kids.  SO technically this is for our kids it will still be a big surprise for them and that is what it is all about.

What we will be Swapping:
1.   You will make one medium SEWN item, ie. pillowcase, dolls, hoop art for the wall, purses, bags, on the go art bag, etc.
2.   Now lets include our kids and make something together, that doesn't cost money.  If your child wants to learn to sew maybe a mugrug with your scraps.  Or for example last year one of the participants had their grandkids make Christmas tree ornaments together, it looked like so much fun.
3.    Okay now we will spend money, $5-$10 , purchase a small gift item and have it nicely wrapped for the child, this is a Christmas swap, in fact try to wrap all the items, this item can be a few things adding up, say a small toy and candy.  I will leave the price set up to you guys to discuss I know last year I really wanted to buy my partners daughter something that cost $10 but since I set the cap at $5 I didn't want to look like I was trying to show off or something so instead I limited, so please discuss this with your partner.
4.     Send some information about where you live, a post card is good, or maybe a magazine clipping, so they can see where in the world their gift came from.
5.      For EACH child you sign up for you will also send a FQ (Fat Quarter, or same amount of scraps) for the sewing/swap addicted Mama/Grandma/Man.

Okay, got it, 3 gifts PER child, you sign up to swap with 2/3/4 children you will be partnered with someone who has 2/3/4 children and you will be sending 3 items to EACH child. You don't have to send a postcard to each child, but the gifts need to be separated AND labeled, but of course can be shipped in the same package.  The only time this is not the case is if you sign up for just swapping for 1 child and then you send 3 gifts to just that one child and one FQ for the mama.  For each child you sign up for you will be sending 1 FQ (or equal amount) of fabric to the mama, (hey I also like presents too!), sign up for 1 child/1 FQ, 2 children/2 FQ's, 3 children/3 FQ's, 4 children/4 FQ's.

How do I sign up?
Please send me an e-mail at grecomara at gmail dot com and in the subject line write how many children you want to swap with.  I have 2 children but this year I will only be doing this for one, my daughter really appreciates all things handmade, I can't say the same thing for my son he just like to play with bottlecaps, his military men and things he finds for free, lol.
I will send you a link for filling out a Google form, sign ups are open from August 25th to September 4th, I have extended the sign up till September 9th a Friday and will send out partners over the weekend.

Shipping Time 
Please have International gifts shipped by November 20th, for same country still try for an early shipping date, but I will put the shipping date at December 11th.

RULES:  Very important and I am a stickler to rules and will contact you via e-mail if I feel you are not participating correctly or following the rules, you will have 5 days to respond to me and if not you will be dropped from the swap.  I will also try you on IG, 5 people got dropped last year, but everyone got presents and it was a wonderful Christmas! Got it okay!

1. You must make a post/mosaic about your childs/childrens desires and loves before signing up, I love using Pinterest, but you can also write a blog post or make a mosaic and let your partner know about these options via a picture or post to your OPEN IG account and use the hashtag #4kidschristmasswap2016  I have written a Flickr post on how I like to do my mosaics here.

   

   I did Katerina's this year with PicMonkey, it allowed me to do her favorite colors in each box, cool huh!

2. Post a fabric pull or a pattern design/ free tutorial idea that you think would look wonderful for the child you are making FOR by September 25th.
3. I want to see a progress shot by October 25th, this is important, if I don't see anything by this date, I will give you five days to contact me (I will be contacting you, trust me) and if you do not contact me with some kind of communication (really I am open with the communication, e-mail, IG DM, or just even a comment on one of my pictures to let me know where you are at in this swap) you will be dropped!!!
4. SHIP DATE: International shipping date is November 20th.  Same Country ship date: December 11th.  We want these packages to arrive before Christmas, so if you can ship early please go ahead and do so and let me know (@mara.creates) know when you have shipped. Thank you.
5. Please, Please if you can respond/heart/comment on at least 3/4 or 2/3 of the photos shared to the hashtag, input, praise, and friendship is greatly appreciated in this swap.  I will really love this to happen and if you feel you have an especially quite partner, please inform me and I will give a friendly nudge to them so they can participate in this fun for the kids swap!!!

Are you ready!

1. You are making something beautiful for a kid!
2. Please make sure that what you are sending to this child is of a quality that you would like your child to receive. 
3. Trim away all threads, ensure that all thread ends are tied off, sunk in. (a real pet peeve of mine, come on, how easy is this)
4.  That all seams are finished and stitched in properly. (kids are really hard on their stuff, and this is very important, they can't be constantly warned to be careful)
5. Have FUN!  And include your own children as you see fit!

Send me an e-mail at grecomara at gmail dot com
Also be sure to follow me on IG @mara.creates