# Swap Categories

Every swap is tagged with one or more **categories** describing what kind of items will be exchanged. Coordinators pick the categories when they create a swap; participants use them to find swaps they're interested in via the Category dropdown on the [Find Swaps](/content/swaps/index.html) page. A swap card shows its categories in the bottom row.

Some categories are very specific (Inchies, Dotee Dolls); others are broad (Crafts, Handmade). Picking the most specific category that fits is more useful than picking everything that's vaguely related.

## Categories List

- **Accessories**: Wearable add-ons — pins, brooches, hair clips, scarves, fascinators.  
- **Art**: Original artwork: paintings, sketches, prints, mixed media.
- **Artist Trading Card/ATC**: Standard 2.5×3.5 inch handmade trading cards.
- **Bath & Body**: Soap, bath salts, lotions, scrubs, and other personal-care items you've made.
- **Bookmarks**: Handmade or decorated bookmarks.
- **Books**: Books, mini-books, and book-related items.
- **Bottle Caps**: Decorated bottle caps used as charms, magnets, or jewelry components.
- **Boxes**: Decorated, painted, or constructed small boxes — including matchbox crafts.
- **Card Making**: Greeting cards, occasion cards, blank-front handmade cards.
- **Challenges**: Themed prompt-based swaps where everyone interprets the same idea differently.
- **Childrens Items**: Items intended for children: toys, games, art for kids.
- **Craft Supplies**: Materials and tools to use in your own crafts: yarn, paper, embellishments, beads.
- **Crafts**: General handmade items that don't fit a more specific category.
- **Crocheting**: Crocheted pieces: doilies, granny squares, amigurumi, washcloths.
- **Dolls**: Handmade dolls in any style.
- **Dotee Dolls**: Small handmade fabric dolls, typically 4–5 inches tall.
- **Drawing**: Pencil, pen, ink, or charcoal sketches and drawings.
- **Email**: Electronic-only swaps — items are exchanged via email rather than the postal service.
- **Embroidery**: Needlework: cross-stitch, hand embroidery, hoop art.
- **Ephemera**: Collectable paper items like vintage postcards, stamps, and labels.
- **Fabric**: Fabric scraps, swatches, fat quarters, themed fabric packs.
- **Food**: Edible items, recipes, and food-related crafts. Postal rules on shipping food vary by country — check before joining.
- **Handmade**: Anything personally crafted by the sender, no specific medium required.
- **Illustration**: Drawn or painted depictions of subjects, often more polished than sketches.
- **Inchies**: 1×1 inch art pieces, often traded in sets.
- **Jewelry**: Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings — handmade, thrifted, or repurposed.
- **Journals**: Notebooks, journal pages, junk journals, art journals.
- **Kawaii**: Japanese-style cute art and items.
- **Knitting**: Knitted pieces: scarves, washcloths, dishcloths, small wearables.
- **Letters & Writing**: Snail-mail letters, decorated stationery, pen-pal exchanges.
- **Mail Art**: Decorated envelopes, postcards-as-art — anything where the mailing itself is the art.
- **Miscellaneous**: Items that don't fit any other category.
- **Nature**: Pressed flowers, leaves, seeds, and nature-themed crafts.
- **Newbie**: First-swap-friendly exchanges, designed to be welcoming for new members.
- **Painting**: Painted artwork in any medium — watercolour, acrylic, gouache, oil.
- **Paper Crafts**: Paper cutting, origami, decoupage, paper engineering.
- **Paper Goods**: Pre-made paper items: stickers, washi tape, decorative paper packs.
- **Photography**: Photographs, photo prints, instant photos.
- **Polymer Clay**: Items crafted in oven-baked polymer clay: charms, beads, miniatures.
- **Postage Stamps**: Used or unused postage stamps; stamp art.
- **Postcards**: Postcards — handmade, store-bought, or vintage.
- **Printmaking**: Block prints, screen prints, monotypes, linocuts.
- **Promotional**: Promotional items: business cards, flyers, branded swag.
- **Random Items**: Surprise selections — anything goes.
- **Religious**: Faith- and religion-themed items.
- **Rolos**: Roll-up organizers, often decorated and filled with small items.
- **Rubber Stamping**: Rubber-stamped art on cards, paper, and other surfaces.
- **Scrapbooking**: Scrapbook pages, layouts, and scrapbook-style collages.
- **Seasonal**: Holiday- and season-themed items (Halloween, winter, spring, etc).
- **Sewing**: Hand- or machine-sewn items.
- **Shrink Plastic**: Items made from heat-shrunk plastic sheets — charms, pins, jewelry.
- **Stickers**: Sticker swaps: bought, handmade, or themed.
- **Themed**: Swaps organized around a specific theme (e.g., 'ocean', 'vintage', 'autumn').
- **Thrift Store**: Found items from thrift stores, repurposed or repackaged for the swap.
- **Toys**: Small handmade or store-bought toys.
- **Twinchies**: 2×2 inch art pieces.
- **Whimsey Jars**: Small decorated jars filled with tiny treasures.
- **Yarn**: Yarn skeins, yarn samples, yarn-themed packs.
- **Zentangle**: A method of creating abstract art using structured repeating patterns.
- **Zines**: Small self-published booklets, often handmade.

The list above mirrors the active categories used across the site. If you think a category is missing, send a note via the [Contact Admin](/content/help/contact/index.html) page.