Creature Swap

Earlier this month, my friend Aly (of The Handmade Classroom) and I decided to do a creature swap!  We both love animals (and love making animals) and thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to share something handmade with the other while challenging ourselves creatively.

Here’s how we did it:

First, we exchanged lists of our favorite animals (mine included leopard geckos, brown pelicans, anhingas, etc.).  Next, we picked a date on which we would ship our critters and swapped mailing addresses.  Then, we picked which animal we would make for the other (but kept it a secret!) and got down to business (tracing, cutting, sewing, painting, etc.).  Once our animals were complete, we wrapped them up nicely and shipped them off to each other!

I really like how we set up this swap because no matter what animal Aly chose to make, I knew I would love it!!

Needless to say, I was stoked to open up my package and discover this big, hairy cutie staring up at me:

A moose!!

I still can’t get over the detail of his hand-painted fur and free form machine embroidery – Love it!

So the next time you’re in a creative rut – Grab a friend and do a creature swap!  It will jump-start the right part of your brain and it just plain feels good to support fellow artisans and share something you made with someone else.

P.S. Want to see what I made for Aly?  Click here!

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