My First Craft Supply Swap

Hello there! Have you ever been to a craft supply swap? I went to my first one recently.

It took place at the Riverview Fisk Park in Jersey City Heights, New Jersey on a sunny spring day. It was organized by the Riverview Neighborhood Association (RNA) and the Jersey City Crafting Circle.

The call was simple: If you've got craft supplies you are no longer using, bring them to the supply swap at the RNA's art and flea market.

Tables were set up in a corner of the park and each section was clearly labeled. This is the knitting and fiber art area.

This area was for paint, markers, and other coloring materials.

And this area was for books, stickers, paper, adhesives, and miscellaneous stuff like stamps, popsicle sticks, stencils, and DIY ornaments. Everyone was free to browse and take what they needed. Anything left over would be donated to charity. 

I rummaged through my craft stash and found a few items that deserve a new home, including fluffy pipe cleaners/chenille stems, balls of yarn, a jar of glitter, a bundle of paintbrushes, little packets of cards and collage papers that I put neatly in a tin basket...TADA!

This is my haul: rubber stamps, a tiny pair of scissors, a sharpener, Prang watercolors (really good quality for a beginner or student), a few colored pencils, a foam pouncer, a needle-tip glue bottle (just what I really needed), some pearl buttons, and bar pins. 

I am pleased with what I found because I use these often. Here, let me show you what I made:

I used the rubber stamps to make some greeting cards...TADA!

I used the paint, colored pencils, and rubber stamp to decorate this postcard...TADA! 

The foam pouncer came in handy to make these bookmarks. They are just plain cardboard with a repeating star pattern created with paint, stencil, the pouncer, and some ribbon...TADA! 

I decanted all purpose glue into the needle-tip bottle and added a label. This will be useful for precision work. The small size also makes it handy to include in my pencil case, together with the tiny pair of scissors...TADA! 

I'm using the sharpener for my crayons. I love the crayon ribbons and shavings left behind after sharpening. I'll definitely save them for a future project...TADA!

I'll be using the bar pins for DIY brooches made of felt, sequins, beads, crochet, and Shrinky Dinks.

I have yet to use these pearl buttons. Let me know if you have suggestions.

And that was how my first craft supply swap went. I look forward to joining more!

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