Girl Scout SWAP GuidePeople SWAPS

Girl Scout Troop 2702Volume 1, Issue 1

GSTROOP2702.WEBS.COMLindsay Foster & Rachelle Whiteman, Co-Leaders

Table of Contents

• The Purpose of SWAPs

• What is a SWAP?

• SWAP Etiquette

• SWAP Tips

• People SWAPs

The Purpose of SWAPS

SWAPs should tell something about the givers or their group (girls may include their address or email information so others can write to them) and represent the givers' country, community, or local Girl Scout council.

What is a SWAP?• There are several meanings for the term,

but these are some of the most common ones:

– Special Whatchamacallit Affectionately Pinned

– Shared With A Pal– Sharing With a Purpose

• It is likely that the idea for Swaps came from the potlatch ceremonies of the Native American Tribes of the Northwest coast. Potlatch ceremonies involved the trading of colored feathers as a sign of friendship. The ceremony is said to have developed in remembrance of two Native American girls who gave colored feathers plucked from a magic bird to colorless birds, thus ensuring all birds would have colored

• feathers.

Potlatch ceremonies commemorated their gift and were held in conjunction with other family and tribal celebrations, such as births and marriages. The traditional invitation to a potlatch ceremony was the arrival of a messenger bearing the news and a bundle of sticks, one stick for each participant expected to attend.

• It is believed that the very first SWAP was exchanged by Lord Baden Powell at a Jamboree in 1924.

“Girl Scouts began trading SWAPS at the National

Roundups.”

SWAP Etiquette

• Never refuse to swap with another person.• Swap face-to-face, especially if exchanging

addresses or email information.• Avoid using glass and sharp objects in swaps.• Follow all Safety-Wise guidelines.• Avoid using food products, unless they are

individually wrapped.• Do not include your entire name on your SWAP.

Instead use first name/last initial, a Troop number, or first initial/last name.

SWAP Tips• Think about the kind of swap

you would like to receive from someone else.

• Try not to spend a lot of money. Consider making something from donated or recycled material.

• Be creative, and take time to make hand-crafted swaps. (Include directions for making the swap if it is a craft project that can be replicated.)

• Try to have one swap for each event participant and staff member. Plan ahead so there's time to make the swaps.

• Make swaps that can be worn, used, or displayed.

• Ask your Troop, group or service unit for help, if needed, in putting swaps together.

• Make swaps portable. Remember: Swaps must be carried or shipped ahead to the event, where other girls will be carrying them away

• Note: Do not use food materials that will disintegrate or attract insects or animals. Also do not use liquids in SWAPs.

Author’s Note:This presentation is not meant to

be comprehensive as a guide to SWAPs making.

Please use your imagination and adapt the ideas to your personal

tastes.

Clothespin Scout SWAPMaterials: • Flat slotted clothespin or baby flat slotted

clothespin• Two wooden kitchen matches• Embroidery floss• Scissors • Craft knife• Fine point marker• Tacky glue or low temp glue gun

Instructions:

Cut the heads off two kitchen matches with a craft knife. Use a glue gun to attach one to each side of the clothespin for arms. Use a tiny bit of glue to attach the end of white floss to the back "neck" of the doll. Wrap floss snugly around the neck and down over the top of the match sticks for shoulders. Continue wrapping under the matchsticks and down to the "waist". Trim floss and secure with a tiny bit of glue to the back of the doll. Wrap both arms in white floss from the shoulders to the "wrists" in the same manner.

Little Scout SWAPMaterials:

• Woodsies -- Special Assortment

• Craft foam scraps

• Yarn scraps

• Scissors

• Tacky glue

• Fine point black marker

• Low temp glue gun

Instructions:

Use the largest little people in the Woodsie Special Assortment. Trace around them on the reverse side of your foam. Use the tracings to cut out pieces for clothes. Glue on yarn pieces for hair. Use a marker to make two dots for eyes. Use a hot glue gun to attach a pin on the back.

Worry Doll SWAPMaterials: • Craft sticks• Glue• Straight clothespins• Yarn• Markers• Fabric scraps• Wire or metallic pipe cleaners

Instructions: For each doll's body, first make the doll's arms (a parent's job) by using a craft knife to score the stick 1 1/2 inches from each end and then snapping the ends off against a countertop edge. Smooth jagged edges by rubbing them against a hard, level surface. Position the arms, curved ends down, just below the clothespin head and glue in place. Style worry doll hair simply by drawing on a "do" with a marker or crown your creations with yarn tresses. Cut a bunch of strands that measure twice the desired length, tie them together around the middle, and glue the wig on the doll. Once the glue dries, unravel individual strands for a frizzy look or make ringlets by wrapping wet yarn around a toothpick and allowing the yarn to dry. Fashion garb out of fabric scraps and notions from the sewing basket. Create shirts, slacks and kimonos by wrapping the clothespin with cotton yarn and gluing the ends in place. For robes, kilts, dresses and ponchos, use colorful cloth swatches belted with an embroidery floss sash. Make a wide brimmed hat by cutting an X shape in the center of a small felt circle. To wrap a tall turban, make a thimble-shaped dome out of a pipe cleaner and glue it onto the doll's head. Wind and glue a strip of fabric around it. For jewelry, coil bracelets and necklaces out of craft wire or metallic pipe cleaners. Finally, draw facial features on these tiny confidants with colored markers -- the cheerier the better for easing fretful minds.