[Saturday, June 15, 2019 - Saturday, August 31, 2019]

I was asked if I'd be doing another round of this fun swap at our recent Craftsters Meetup in Asheville, NC.  I took a look back and the last one we did was in 2017!  

Rise of the Cougars Geezer Swap, Round 7
https://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=451215

Yikes!

If any of you old geezers want to play please comment below.  I'm thinking of signups in June with a crafting time from Saturday, June 15, 2019 - Saturday, August 31, 2019.

For those of you who are too young to remember this swap here are some details:

Limited to a certain number of people? (optional): Nope

Restricted to people who all live in the same country? NO

Age requirement?  30 years old or older before June 2019

Details of swap: (thanks to Dulcinea and Sevsonlygirl!)
This is a swap for the geezers.  The idea here is that we've all been crafting for eons, and are pretty good at what we do.

This is also a swap where there is a sizeable commitment, both for time, and resources.  We are going to be crafting one really big, really nice item for our partner.  If you cannot commit to the time or resources, please consider carefully before signing up for this swap.

You'll make up a list of 5-10 large things that you would love if someone made for you.  You'll also make up a list of 5-10 things that you're really good at, that you'd love to make for your fellow geezers.  And if you can make it from your stash, and reduce the stash, making room for more, NEW stash, so much the better.  

What's a large item, you ask?  generally, we're talking something that takes 3 or more hours, is large in physical size, or costs $30 or more in materials (or any combination of those).

You need to post to this thread, so that it comes up as unread replies if I have something to tell y'all.

I will not tolerate flakers.  We all will have 2.5 months to craft and send out.  That should be enough time.  A DC or Customs number is required, if available.  If you do not have a DC or Customs number, you MUST send me a scan of your postal receipt, showing that the package was sent out.

If you are a week late sending (after the sendout date), you will receive a temporary negative.  This will be changed back to In Progress upon proof of sending.

Aloha!  Just wanted to share a pic of Lana and her halau performing at a recent luau. 



  Hula lessons for you all are in the works! 

Here they are.  All cut up into bookmarks! Ah, they are soooo lovely!  



Thanks again to all the lovely Craftsters that helped me make these!  We will be sharing them with the kids soon!!!

Off to make more!!!  We need 1000+ bookmarks for our next school-wide distributions!

Hi wulf, maybe we should all pipe in on how we want to spend our time and on doing what.

I loved our meetup in Canada and I agree with AM that visiting people was the best part.  I was so happy to reconnect with old friends at the Asheville Meetup and to meet some new people too!  

What I'm thinking is that those of us who are local can teach a bunch of the different crafts (lei making, Hawaiian angels, nose flute making, etc.).  We can also spend part of a day at fun places like a hike in Manoa, or visits to the Bishop museum, the Honolulu Academy, or The Contemporary Museum of Honolulu. At night there are places that have free hula shows and Hawaiian music. What I'd like to do is give us all a fun, local style experience that won't break the bank. 

I have friends and probably Mountains and Clouds does too that can help us.  Jennie is also helping me find other Craftsters in Hawaii that might be able to do something with/for us.  There are alot of fun things that we can do this way that I want to explore. 

We can also think about spending some money to do things that aren't easy to get for free like attending a luau.  We can also put together a list of experiences like Polynesian Cultural Center that people can do afterwards on their own.   It is a wonderful place, but it is pricey.  I used to go because I had the kamaaina rate which was affordable.  I think they also have discounts in the magazines around Waikiki.  https://www.polynesia.com/packages/

Anyhow the people in Hawai'i are very laid back and I think you'll enjoy hanging with us locals.  We can also explore all the stuff we have for the tourists too.  It's all good. 

The first thing we all need to do is get a proper plate lunch!   This is from Yummy's...one of my favs.  All Hawaiian plate lunches come with 2 scoops rice and mac salad.  We love our mayo!!!

Aw, what an awesome story Jennie!  Queen Lili'oukalani was a talented woman.  In addition to being a queen she was an accomplished songwriter.  She wrote Aloha ʻOe among many others.

Lei making is definitely on our list of things that we will be crafting.  We can string simple leis and if we can gather the materials (i.e. find places to pick flowers) I can teach everyone how to make a haku ("head") lei. 

Hi all!  Just wanted to share the mugs that the Difference Makers Teen Ambassadors led as a project at the DM convention this past weekend (April 26-28).  Our club is composed of highschoolers from all around MD.  Our mission is to support the middle school club Difference Makers as well as perform a few community projects of our own.  

DM Ambassadors Amelia and Jamie ran the project.  Originally Lana was going to lead it, but she wasn't there because she had a robotics competition in MI and I wasn't there because I had a wonderful Craftsters Meetup in Asheville to go to.  Luckily my hubby was able to go and offer his support. (Corralling 6-8th graders in a room and giving them Sharpies can be tricky!)  

It was done as a team project which was a fun mixer where kids added their touches to several mugs.  These mugs are being donated to the seniors receiving food from Meals on Wheels.  Hopefully they will brighten their day.

Finished mugs:


Action shots and a group shot of all the kids (Yes, I have their permission to post):



Just in case anyone wants to make these here's what we did:  
1. use oil-based Sharpies
2. clean the mug with alcohol (we used alcohol pads-small and easy), allow to dry completely, and do not handle any part of the surface that you are drawing on
3. draw with oil-based Sharpies and allow it to dry for 24 hours before baking
4. they say to bake at 400 for 30 minutes, but someone did a durability and color test and the colors didn't chip or burn out when baked for 3 hours at 250 so we did 2 hours at 300.

I think the kids did a great job and this is definitely something that we'll be doing again.    
Thanks for looking! Rox

Snuck into Lana's room while she was out to snap this...can't find my bracelet anywhere though...



Thank you Jennie for your wonderful class.  I learned so much about crimp covers and those u-shaped things that protects the wire. 

My little bead that I love so much, even though I wasn't paying attention when CLM gave very specific directions to use the fabric to cover the entire surface of the felt base.  Oops.  I can't wait to make more.  Thank you CLM!!!  I had a blast! 

Yay!  Thanks for posting a closeup CLM! 

Yeah, I am seriously thinking of getting a cool ITA bag to display my buttons.  They have a clear window.  So cool!  PerfectlyBohemian turned me onto them.  She too is cool!

This is just one of many styles...

Yes, those men are definitely keepers!   

Here's more of the wonderful loot that I got from the supply swap to make bookmarks with!

I think CLM found this for me.  These are great backgrounds that I'm thinking would look great with caligraphied words on it. 


These are a bunch of gelli prints that geekgirl1000100 gifted me with.  We used some of them to make the paper fabric, but there are tons left. 


Still basking in the afterglow of the meetup!  Thank you ladies (and gentlemen)!