AHG Friendship Seeds SWAPS

August 10, 2013January 27, 2015 ~ Life of Momma B ~ 1 Comment

I love SWAPS! What’s not to love? They are cute tiny handmade items with safety pins for trading. The only problem with making SWAPS is the time needed to make them. Since I made almost 200 SWAPS for camp I needed easy SWAPS that were also inexpensive to make. So after scouring the internet I decided that I would make AHG Friendship Seeds.

There are many different “Friendship Seeds” floating around the internet, but none seemed just right. So, with the help of my very talented husband we created the text. The words were printed on paper and placed in a 2×3 zipper bag with a few seed beads. Nothing could be quicker!

If you would like to make some here is the poem ready for you to use. Just print and cut on the dotted lines. (AHG Friendship Seed Poem)

Wrinkled Heart SWAPS

August 9, 2013January 27, 2015 ~ Life of Momma B ~ Leave a comment

Do you have a wrinkled heart? Not sure what a wrinkled heart is, let me explain. Do you remember what the class bully said to you in 3rd grade? Do you remember the mean words your best friend in high school said when you were having a fight? Do you remember the unkind words of your spouse in a heated moment? Sure, we all do. Those are wrinkles in our heart. No matter how many times you have forgiven the other person, satan still uses those words to create self-doubt, and insecurities within us. Those wrinkles are very hard to heal and only by God’s grace will that ever happen.In an attempt to encourage the girls at camp to choose their words wisely, I created the first SWAPS for the week.

This was a super quick SWAPS to make. I began by cutting out hearts from construction paper with my Cricut using the George and Basic Shapes cartridge that came with the machine. I then crumbled each heart up and then “re-flattened” it. All that was left was to add a tag. If you would like to make this SWAPS you can download and print the SWAPS tag below. If you are making this or any SWAPS don’t forget to add your name and troop number somewhere on the SWAPS. The back of the tag works great for this.
wrinkled heart

NOTE: The idea came from an elementary school counselor (here).

Summer Camp SWAPS

August 8, 2013May 3, 2014 ~ Life of Momma B ~ Leave a comment

I spent last week at AHG summer camp. If you do not know about AHG (American Heritage Girls) you can find out more at www.ahgonline.org I had the privilege of getting to accompany my beautiful daughter, and teach the Home Care and Repair Merit Badge. I will write more on that later, but today I want to talk about SWAPS.

We did not have SWAPS when I was a young camper, but I love them. If you do not know what a SWAPS is let me attempt to explain. SWAPS stands for Special Whatchamakallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere. In short, they are little homemade items with a safety-pin attached that are traded / swapped at an event. They are a great opportunity for the girls to be able to meet other girls and have a starting point for a conversation. They also provide the girls with a souvenir / token to take home. While most adults do not participate in SWAPS, I cannot resist.

As a merit badge counselor, I opted to make SWAPS for the girls in my class and to share with other girls at camp. For each day of camp I made a different SWAPS to share with my class. I did not do it to actually trade but more as gives. There are always a few girls that are new to SWAPS and did not know to make any or did not have time to make any. This allowed them to have some to take home (usually other girls are more than willing to give SWAPS and trading is not required).

The next couple of post will highlight four of the SWAPS. For those who are not into scouts and SWAPS, bear with me, I will return to knitting and cooking soon. Here is a sneak peek at the next few posts.

Updated: Here are the links to the individual SWAPS for more information. Wrinkled Heart SWAP, Friendship Seeds SWAP, Sock Monkey SWAP, and Flip flop SWAP

National Zucchini Day

August 8, 2013January 21, 2014 ~ Life of Momma B ~ Leave a comment

Did you know that today is National Zucchini Day? This is not to be confused with National Zucchini Bread Day which is in April. Who comes up with this stuff?

From what I can tell, National Zucchini Day was developed for all those gardeners with green thumbs to allow them to get rid of their abundance by encouraging them to place unwanted zucchini on their neighbors porch.

So, if you are fortunate to have a giving neighbor (or want to celebrate this quirky holiday) why not make a batch of Summer Pasta for dinner? This is one of my favorite dishes to make when I’m in a hurry to put dinner on the table. Dinner can be ready in the time it take to cook a batch of spaghetti noodles. Personally, I prefer my zucchini to have some bite left in it and not mushy. This is the perfect answer. (Click here for the recipe)

Diagonal Dishcloth, #12 of 12

August 5, 2013July 24, 2014 ~ Life of Momma B ~ Leave a comment

We have reached the end of this series. When I learned to knit I decided to knit a series of dishcloths. This would allow me to learn a few basic patterns and improve on the fundamentals and give me something useful at the end. I figured it was better to spend my time on a dishcloth that looked a little off then a sweater. So off to the store I went and bought the most neutral color I could kind… Ecru!

And then the knitting began. Well, 6 months later I have completed all 12. The final is a diagonal pattern that allowed me to practice increase and decrease.