Did you know that International Friendship Month takes place every year during the month of February? The origin and designation of this observation remain unclear, but the intention does not. International Friendship Month honors the beauty and necessity of friendships in our lives and is a call to bridge the gap between strangers and acquaintances. Let’s bridge the gap in Sew Powerful by making new friends with an initiative we call Flaps of Friendship. It works like this:

• By February 29, enroll in Flaps of Friendship by completing the form linked below. There is a $10 USD enrollment donation.
• Next, sew a Sew Powerful purse flap. Just make the flap (outer fabric, interfacing if needed, and lining). Do not make the whole purse. Use any fabrics, colors, and embellishments you like. Make the flap for either the beginner or intermediate purse.
• By email, you will receive the name and address of a purse maker to whom you will send your flap. This purse maker is your new Friend #1.
• Check your mailbox, because you soon will receive a flap from a purse maker who also enrolled. This purse maker becomes your new Friend #2.
  

So basically, there are two parts to the Flaps of Friendship:

PART 1: Your name, address, and email, will be forwarded to another Sew Powerful purse maker who has also enrolled in Flaps of Friendship. That purse maker will make a flap and send it to you to incorporate into a Sew Powerful purse that you will then send to Sew Powerful.

PART 2: Within 24 hours you will receive an email from No-Reply@Jotform.com. It will provide the name, address, and email of the person to whom you will send a completed Sew Powerful flap. You can make either the beginner or intermediate flap and use any fabric, colors, embellishments, or techniques of your choosing. Please do make sure your purse flap conforms to the standard pattern size.

See the graphic for a visual overview of how the program works.

As an option, you can print and complete the Friendship Introduction Form that will be attached to your confirmation email. It is designed so you can introduce yourself to the person receiving your flap. As an alternative you could write up the information without using the form. The Friendship Introduction Form is optional, but our idea is to create opportunities for Sew Powerful friendships through the Flaps of Friendship exchange.

While you're at it, could you write a note card to a girl in Zambia and send it along with your flap? When you receive a flap and notecard, you can write your message on the back of the notecard. That way, the girl in Zambia who gets your friendship purse will become Friend #3 and will get messages from two new friends. P.S. If you would like to include the custom Flaps of Friendship notecard, get it HERE.

One more thing. Attached to your confirmation email is a label you can print, cut out and tape to the outside of your shipment to Sew Powerful.

Even if you include other purses with the Flaps of Friendship purse, you can still use this label so that we can identify your Friendship Purse at the Sew Powerful Live event.