Pay it Forward

So, at the end of January, I decided to participate in a Pay it Forward meme on LiveJournal. I made a post in my LiveJournal that said:

Pay It Forward: I will send a handmade gift to the first 5 people who leave a comment here on my LJ. The gift could be anything, but you will receive it within 365 days (probably sooner). The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your livejournal or blog.

(Obviously don't comment if you don't want to give out your address, which I will ask for once I am ready to send the item...)

I reserve the right to ask endless questions, to help me get ideas.

I actually only got 3 replies. I think some people were either scared to give out their address over the Internet, or too insecure to make something for a gift. Whatever the reason, they missed out on some neat gifts!

I've been doing RAOK (random acts of kindness) through the PaperBackSwap forums, so I've sent out more than 5 handmade gifts, anyway. I'm always making things for friends.

Recently I purchased some beads from an Etsy member for the cost of the listing plus postage. There was a note attached to the listing to Pay It Forward. I decided to start a blog separate from my LiveJournal to keep track of my PIF/RAOK gifts.

Around the same time that I posted the meme, I learned how to make paper beads. I made some necklaces using beads leftover from another craft project. There was one in particular that one of my LJ friends requested. I didn't want to charge her for something I made with recycled materials, so I counted that as one of my handmade PIF gifts. (Please excuse the camera phone picture.)



The first official PIF gift from the LJ meme was a tote bag made with plarn (upcycled plastic shopping bags), yarn, and cassette tape. The recipient told me that she liked earthy colors. I had some yarn that I thought would be perfect for the project. Once she received the gift, she told me that she has quite the purse collection, and that it looked like something she would purchase.


As I said before, I'm a member of PaperBackSwap, a book swapping site, and participate in the RAOK's. There is one lady that goes out of her way to grant wishes and sends me something every few weeks. I wanted to do something nice and unexpected for her. She wished for a Betty Boop tote, which I did not have, but I did make another beautiful tote bag with plarn and some ribbon yarn that I bought on sale at Big Lots. Once she received it, she told me how much she loved it, but also that she had been wanting a plarn bag.


I had been wanting to try making jewelry by crocheting craft wire and beads ever since seeing this tutorial on YouTube. Two lovely members of PBS sent me craft wire and beads, so I had materials to practice. Last weekend I made 5 necklaces with the supplies. Another commenter on the LJ PIF post told me that one of her favorite colors is pink, so I will be sending her this necklace as soon as I can find a protective box to mail it.

I have one more official PIF gift to make. The recipient is a man, so I've been racking my brain to come up with something to make him. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

I will be updating more about this project and other things.

Also, I do not have patterns for the bags. I kind of come up with it as I go along.