Last month’s craft swap was a big hit! Except for the people who didn’t provide their email addresses/websites – not sure how they think I’m going to be able to track them down with just their first name – I matched everyone up successfully.

Angelique of BuroSlim wrote about what she received from me… and this is what we received from her:

A big watercolor set with two brushes – and just the fact that the packaging is all in Dutch makes them extra cool.

A cute rock painting kit that – due to the “rock” part – will be a huge hit with Jonah!

An illustrated list of several activity ideas including:

- ladybug prints (dip half of a raw potato in red ink and stamp, when dry add spots with black marker)

- pipe cleaner bees with toile wings

- sunflower hand prints

I plan to use these ideas at summer camp as well – they are perfect for 2s and 3s. I’ll b posting photos of the results in a week or two.

And my personal favorite: a selection of Dutch fabrics (even one with the traditional windmill and lighthouse) and ribbons:

Plus an issue of a Dutch magazine for Moms called Kek Mama which – even though I don’t read Dutch – was really fun to look through (especially the ads!). I even spotted an item by Petra Boase inside (whose wrapping paper I featured in my reverse baby shower).

We also received a box full of supplies and fun ideas from Jennifer and her daughter, Fiona, of Bee Space!

Jennifer created a lightbox out of cardboard and sheer paper and included the shapes below that I could cut out and use behind it.

There was also a small bag of dirt along with some wheat grass seeds for sprouting – plus googly eyes to put on the cups so we could give the sprouts a haircut! And a bag of felt shapes and yarn to make robots (a perfect craft for boys).

Plus, a mix of self-rising flour and salt that we mixed with water and various food colorings to create paint. The boys used q-tips to create masterpieces on cardboard, which miraculously occupied them for nearly half an hour.

Then I microwaved each piece for thirty seconds causing the paint to dry and puff up. Jonah’s is in the foreground below and Benjamin’s is in the background.

I made up a big batch of this paint for our summer camp kids who used it on paper plates or cardstock – it was a big hit!

But perhaps my favorite item in this box was the six foot long mural depicting landmarks from their hometown of Chicago:

(Can you make out the rather tall giraffe Fiona added to the zoo?)

Currently the mural is hung in our hallway at the boys’ eye level so we can talk about it. We also plan to add to it with stickers, crayons, and more!

A few other participants wrote about the craft boxes they sent/received:

Katherine of Katharos wrote about preparing their box: “It was lots of fun collecting all the bits and pieces, we collected the same bits for us at the same time by splitting packages and buying extras. Then we got to think up projects to do with all the stuff! We made egg carton caterpillars, and popsicle stick puppets with fabric scraps and googly eyes….”

Lauren of Lavatican sent two boxes – a cool dinosaur terrarium to a little boy and cute paper dolls with paintable clothing and accessories to a little girl.

Many thanks to my partners Jennifer and Angelique – and to everyone who participated! The next swap will be in September so contact me if you want to join in!