One of the Easiest Girl Scout SWAPS Ideas!
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What are SWAPS? Are there easy Girl Scout SWAPS? This is by far one of the easiest SWAPS ideas you will find.
For any girl scout SWAPS are an age-old tradition.
Girl Scout SWAPS: What it stands for and why it’s done.
SWAPS stands for Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere.
When a girl scout is asked to bring make SWAPS, she is being asked to make a small souvenir gift of sorts to give to the girl scouts in her troop or at an event.
They’re sweet reminders of the fun event, camp-out, or a special World Thinking Day celebration.
The act of exchanging SWAPS is done to encourage a scout to interact with her girl scout sister,
to make new friends
and for some, build confidence and overcome shyness or even the fear of approaching new people.
Do you have any Girl Scout SWAPS ideas?
I sure do!
Easy is one thing you will find common across the board with any crafts you find on my site.
So yes, I do have an easy SWAPS idea!
Why easy SWAPS?
My daughter needed to make 100 SWAPS for a Girl Scouts event this past weekend.
While that doesn’t seem much to seasoned Girl Scouts, I have to admit the thought of doing 100 SWAPS did have this novice Girl Scout Mom a little concerned.
Moreso as the Girl Scout movement strongly encourages everything to be girl-led and independently made.
After a lot of craft box rummaging, finding a tub filled with beads, and brainstorming what girl scout SWAPS with beads could be put together in a few minutes, we decided on this simple idea.
And boy, are these are the easiest SWAPS ideas you will find, I promise!
My Girl Scouts SWAPS Idea and Tutorial
Materials Required:
* Pipe cleaners/ chenille stems
(Aren’t Perler beads just the best?
I’ve used them in these popular faith bracelets too and the kids love making necklaces and bracelets with them too. )
(We had some flower beads lying around. You could use these clay flower beads instead.
Pick something based on the event’s theme.
Ours was a Mother-Daughter tea party around Mother’s Day so the floral beads were perfect. )
* Safety pins
(We used artist safety pins)
* A pair of scissors
For the tags:
- Cardstock
- A one-hole punch, and
- A pen. ( We used the Silhouette to create the oval tags. You could also use a craft punch.)
Instructions:
1. First, cut each pipe cleaner into half.
You will be able to make 2 SWAPS from 1 pipe cleaner.
Now take one end and twist it to form a small knot.
2. Once done, thread the flower bead through till the knot.
(You can also thread the flower and then twist to form the knot.
Whatever works easiest for your daughter)
2. Now thread in 8 perler beads- colors and designs of choice.
3. Finish it off by forming a loop and twisting the end of the pipe cleaner at the base of the loop, ensuring the poky end does not stick out.
4. Complete the SWAPS by adding a tag with your daughter’s name and troop number on one side.
On the other side of the tag, we wrote down “Proverbs 31:30”
(“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.)
Since Dottie’s SWAPS were for a Mother-Daughter Luncheon,
the verse was apt for the event and tied in beautifully with the simple yet elegant floral piece Dottie made.
Now SWAPS are not always multi-functional, but this one could even be transformed into earrings for your girl scout!
Now isn’t that the easiest SWAPS your girl scout has made?
Does your daughter’s troop participate in Girl Scout Cookie Sales and Girl Scout Fall Sales?
If so, these Girl Scout Thank You cards are great to pass out to customers.
Don’t forget to check out our free Girl Scout Thank You Printable bookmarks.
These are such sweet thank you gifts for the friends, family, and people of the community that support our girl scouts.
And with an annual Bridging/re-dedication ceremony to attend, these Brownie Bites will be a hit!
Easy Girl Scout SWAPS ideas
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Those are cute. What a fun project for little girls to make 🙂
That looks like a really fun craft activity for girls. I love the Girl Scouts organization!
What a cute little project! These would perfect for almost any kind of occasion. Thanks for sharing!
What a beautiful thoughtful thing to do make these SWAPS and a 100 of them – definitely a gift of care and affections- so much of effort…I am very impressed. God bless the Girl Scout movement and long may it flourish and God bless abundantly and always the darling crafts-girl who made the SWAP…I am sure the recipients will treasure them.
Those are TOO cute! I absolutely adore the colors and the spring theme. Yay!
Those are really great!
These are so cute, and a fun craft item to make. We would love to make these. Thanks for the tutorial!
Those turned out super cute! What a fantastic idea for Girl Scout swaps!
What a fun idea and love that you were creative and just used what you have on hand. I am always in favor of not having to run out and buy more stuff.
I cannot wait for my girl to join Girl Scouts so she can make fun things like this! Just a few more years!
Oh how fun! My girls would love to do these. They love this type of thing!
Those turned out adorable! I love that you made something so unique and the verse you picked is perfect!
These are really cute! They look like a lot of fun to make!
These are really cute! I love crafts like this for kids.
What a great idea. I love how cute these turned out.
Those would be a lot of fun to make! They’re perfect Girl Scouts crafts!
Those are sooo cute. They turned out awesome. Good job.
These look like they were fun to make. I hope th girls liked them!!
Look cute! And oh so easy. Wish my little girl was still little
Those totally came out adorable! So bright and colorful. All the girls must have loved them
Yes they did. One girl scout even asked for another one and made these hang from her loop earrings!
Very creative, thank you for sharing this DIY SWAPS craft project.
Everytime I think of GirlScouts I think of cookies (brainwashed). I forget its a real organization for little girls that can create cool things like this its so cute!
🙂 Do you have a favorite GS cookie? We’re Thin Mints fans!
I was in girl scouts, I still have all my badge too, my mom kept them and put them in a book. My sister and I both where in girl scouts, and I remember doing these swaps. This one is perfect! Very cute.
Let me just say I’m impressed that you had enough material on hand to make 100 of anything. LOL They turned out super cute and I know her fellow Girl Scouts will love them.
Ha ha! Our box of perler beads can make another 600 SWAPS 😉
I can’t wait until my kids are old enough for scouts! This project looks adorable!
These are so beautiful. I love how you were able to come up with your own idea for the SWAPS!
What a cute activity for the girls to do! Easy and fun!
I love Oriental Trading Company. They have great stuff.
What a fun craft! My daughter would love making these, would be great for many groups we are a part of!
We have Girl Scouts here & I always marvel that their troop leaders can keep coming up with adorable ideas. I need to share this with them.
Those are super duper cute! I bet my nieces would love that for their troop!
Looks easy enough to make and they turn out nice. I bet my daughter would like to try her hand at these too.
Girl scouts is such a fun activity.
My girls aren’t in the Girl Scouts yet, but this is a great idea! Thanks for the tutorial!
I love the Oriental Trading Company! This is such a cute idea and a great activity for Girl Scouts!
I’m a newbie Brownie mom and I’d never heard of SWAPs before. This s a GREAT idea for a future troop project when my girls get older. Thanks!
Cute project – I never made it past the Brownie stage as a kid, and I only have boys, so I’m not familiar with the SWAPS thing, but it sounds fun!
Very cute! Special but simple to make.
Clever craft! I was a Girl Scout 50 years ago.
What a cute idea and easy for the girls to make!
You really put a lot of work into making them! Sweet project! I’m not familiar with what a Swap is, but this is super for a tutorial on learning how. 😉