Mystery Bag Challenge

Since grab bags, surprises, challenges, and free things are fun, I hope that ya'll will like this swap idea!

For this swap, you will create a "Mystery Bag" for one partner out of whatever you have on hand or can find for free. Perhaps you have a little pouch in your stash, can sew / knit / crochet one, will have to use a brown paper bag, or will need to figure out how to make a pouch or bag from something that is laying around your house, such as newspaper or a plastic bag. Whatever you have to do, you can't spend any money and must produce a pouch, bag, or packet to contain the items that you will send to your partner.

After you have a pouch / bag / packet, you will then make or find something that you partner will like out of the items that you have in your stash, closets, garage, shed, basement, attic, or wherever it is that you put things that you can't find a use for. As with the "bag", you can't spend any money! Use your imagination and talents to come up with something wonderful out of what you already have.

In order to preserve the mystery aspect of this swap, I am not going to assign a dollar amount (especially since you can't spend any money!), or a minimum number of items that you must send (because maybe you're going to spend a lot of time making one item, or maybe you're going to find a whole slew of treasures that your partner can use, or maybe you're going to make something and send items that you've found), or anything like that. We're all good swappers and will do the best that we can and won't send crap to our partners, so there's no need to get technical, is there?

I'm going to give everyone a six week turnaround for this swap so that they have plenty of time to go through the things in their house (and, hey, maybe organize or donate stuff as you go along), come up with ideas, and them implement them.

I will give an "easy out" clause, though: if you become completely and totally stumped, you can spend up to $5 in order to make or purchase something for your partner. You should go with this option if you have no other choice, though! I'm only adding it to the swap for oh shit! situations. ;-)

Have fun!