December Swaps

Location: Most swaps are International, unless otherwise stated.

If you prefer USA only, please let me know that when you sign up.

PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES
(A good way is to write the swap details in a notebook or type them into your phone/e-calendar, or write them down on your wall calendar.)

Last day to signup/drop:  
Dec. 15, 2017
Partners posted: 
Dec. 18, 2017
Date items must be sent by: 
Dec. 30, 2017

DECEMBER SWAPS

Click on the title to read the details about each swap BEFORE you sign up.

- SIGNUPS NOW CLOSED FOR ALL DECEMBER SWAPS.

DEC ATC - Sender's Choice (USA only)

DEC ATC - Sender's Choice (Int'l)

DEC Misc. - Christmas Card (USA or Int'l)  

DEC inchies - 3 "snow" or "snowmen"theme

DEC - I LOVE POSTCARDS! (Sender's Choice)

DEC FBs - 5 n&n Snowman/Snow Theme FBs (New/Est)

DEC PCs - 3 new/unwritten postcards in an env.

DEC LBs - 5 est Label Bags (with at least 2 signers)

DEC LBs - 5 new Label Bags (made by you)

 

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SIGN UP FOR MONTHLY SWAPS HERE:

** DECEMBER SWAP SIGNUP SHEET **

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Upcoming ATC Themes (in case you want to start working on them early):

Theme #1: Use a Book-page
Theme #2: Vintage
Theme #3: Sender's Choice

RULES:

It is preferred that you post a photo of your swap going out or use tracking, but not mandatory.

Post your photos on the Facebook Event page. PLEASE cover addresses on envelopes!

Hostess: Barb Tvrdik

Questions cheerfully answered 
(Use Comments section or for a faster response, send me a message on the Facebook Event page).

Happy swapping :)




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Details on N&N FBs:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friendship books must be neat, not just a bunch of pieces of paper strewn together. They cannot be slams, friendship sheets or crams. 

What is a FB?
Here are some links that should help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_book
http://fbfun.com/about/
http://www.squidoo.com/friendshipbooks


What is a N&N FB?  

N&N FB = Nice & Neat Friendship Book

http://friendshipbooks.blogspot.com/2010/12/types-of-friendship-books.html

Guidelines for N&N FB swaps on this blog:

1. There will be NO staples in the front cover.
2. The FB should be laminated with packing tape, shelf liner, or laminating sheets.
3. Lamination should be done neatly.
4. Embellishments should be added to the cover. Embellishments include glitter, stickers, foil borders, sequins, ribbon, a nice background, cloth flowers. You can also do something fancy with pictures. Basically just a picture covered with lamination isn't a N&N FB.
5. Addresses should be printed legibly or typed.
6. Make it nice AND neat. Ask yourself whether you are proud of your work or not. 
7. For established N&N FBs, please make sure your partner hasn't previously signed it.

New Year - No Resolutions

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WELCOME TO SWAPPERMANIA!

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JAN 2016
New Year - No Resolutions

Hey there swappers and pals!  If you've been following my blog or YouTube channel, you're probably wondering where I've been. Still here, freezing in northern Minnesota. It's been a crazy ride for our family the last half of 2015.

My oldest son had a surgery which led to complications, which led to him being in the hospital (he's ok now, but is having trauma/anxiety issues which stems from this medical emergency).

We took a family trip to South Dakota (no, not Mount Rushmore, we went to Sioux Falls since that is where my husband's job sent him). We stayed in a beautiful hotel and while we were there, they experienced record rain/flash floods, the power went out in the hotel (no generator), and it was mass chaos. The hotel didn't flood luckily, but many cars out on the road were going everywhere. It's a trip that we will never forget.

My husband has had some multiple health issues going on, and then a pharmacy here gave him the wrong pills in his bottle, which he took for a week before realizing why he was feeling the way he was... and then ended up in the hospital with stroke symptoms, and his whole one side being back at 50% strength. He is still doing physical/occupational therapy. He currently isn't able to do his job (precision measurement), but they found other things for him to do there, so at least he didn't lose his job. He is having more hours away from work due to Dr. appts, etc. so that paycheck loss kind of stung us for awhile. 

Then in the end of October, our youngest son started feeling ill. One week after my husband was home from the hospital, on Nov. 2, our youngest ended up in the hospital for 5 days. He was diagnosed with Diabetes Type 1 (sometimes called Juvenile Diabetes) and also had a staph infection.  We are now living a "new normal" since Diabetes Type 1 is a lifelong disease (still praying for a cure.) 

The end of 2015 has been a HELL of a year, to put it mildly....

Then... we got a call from the school saying we were nominated to be a family to receive a Blessing Bag.  They wanted a wish list from us for gifts the kids would like (and us, too).  I also saw something in our church bulletin about the community collecting gifts for a family and it was a local organization called Best Christmas Ever (http://www.bcemovement.org/).
The family sounded a LOT like us... hmmmm.... so a lady from church asked if she could stop over one Sunday afternoon.  We said sure. Since she also works at the school, I thought she might be bringing over the Blessing Bag.  Well lo and behold, several cars pulled into the driveway, and our livingroom was full of people delivering presents and more presents, gift cards, etc.  It was the Best Christmas Ever!  Literally!  I was doing everything I could to hold it together, but yes those tears did fall.
(Here's a news clip of this wonderful organization, a month before they showed up at our door.)
 (Here's a video of another family that received gifts from BCE.)

The next day, I still had to go to the school to get our Blessing Bag... but it was not just ONE bag... it was several.  They gave us gifts, cleaning supplies, household goods (that stuff adds up you know), food, and a wreath.  The kindness of our community has just blown us away.  I don't even know how to begin to say thank you for it all!  Words can't even express it!

So... instead of being bitter and angry at all the BAD things that happened to us in 2015, I am choosing to be GRATEFUL that I still have my sons and my husband here. We still have our pets. We still have our house. We still have electricity and internet (we all know it's a necessity...lol). We still have food to eat. And we are stocked up on Toilet Paper for quite awhile!  LOL.
The people here have shown us how much God loves us, and have given us HOPE that we CAN survive through the suffering, with the help of His people.

So... now here we are in the new year. 2016. I am SO happy to move on to a new year and I have HOPE and DREAMS for myself and my family. I am doing something small each day for myself, and CREATING ART is one of those forms of therapy that I really need. (See my art blog HERE). I haven't done any art or crafting for a LONG time. My craft room misses me. It has become a dumping ground... I can't even SEE my desk right now. I just stack stuff and walk out. And say someday, I will get around to cleaning that desk off. I have all my mail organized for each month from Oct-Dec., and am still contemplating doing one mass Mail Call video to get caught up. 

 

I have decided to stop swapping FBs, and concentrate more on my art.  I am not quitting swapping anything else... only friendship books.  I will still swap Decos, slams, any bags, postcards, happy mail, exchange slips, etc.   Just not FBs.  If I get any in the mail, I have people that will take my excess, so don't worry, I'm not one of those people that tosses them in the circular file (trash).

  * RELATED POST: What is a Friendship Book? Deco? Etc.

 Now, let's talk GOALS, not resolutions.  Who really sticks to those silly RESOLUTIONS every year anyway?  Definitely not me. Lord knows I try. Maybe for a week or 2. And then we go back to our old habits, or life just gets in the way.  What are your goals/resolutions for 2016?  Would love to hear about them in the Comments section below.
 

Not necessarily in any specific order, here are a few of my goals for 2016:
 

* Read Bible App daily
* Get caught up on mail
* Organize craft room

* Sell more on Listia & ebay this year

* Create more digital stationery and maybe even start selling labels again

* Walk more  (hoping to get a treadmill soon for these long winter days)

  I look forward to sharing my mail journey here with you on my blog on this new year. Thanks for commenting, watching my videos, and just being here for me. Cyberhugs to you all!

~Barbi

March Swaps

MARCH SWAP PARTNERS:
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MAR. STICKER SHEETS:  Flowers (send 3 sheets), 

Judy Andreason
(Sorry no other sign ups)


MAR. PCs - 3 new/unwritten postcards in an env., 

Judy Andreason - Barb Tvrdik

Yanelis Martinez - Barb Tvrdik



MAR. POSTCARD THEME: Lake/River/Waterfall, 

Judy Andreason - Barb Tvrdik


MAR. CARD SWAP:  Send 2 homemade cards  (flower theme), 

Judy Andreason
(Sorry no other sign ups)


MAR. ATC Theme #3: Sender's Choice

Judy Andreason - Barb Tvrdik


MARCH QUICK SWAP: Happy Mail (USA ONLY), 

Yanelis Martinez
(Sorry no other sign ups)


MAR. STICKERS - Send 30 misc. stickers,

Yanelis Martinez - Barb Tvrdik



MAR. POSTCARD: Sender's Choice With Quote, 

Yanelis Martinez
(Sorry no other sign ups)



MAR. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise 

Yanelis Martinez

(Sorry no other sign ups)


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MARCH SWAPS


INFORMATION:


Location: Most swaps are International, unless otherwise stated.

If you prefer USA only, please let me know that when you sign up.

PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THESE DATES
(A good way is to write the swap details in a notebook or type them into your phone/e-calendar, or write them down on your wall calendar.)

For quick swaps:

Last day to signup/drop:  
March 7, 2014
Partners posted: 
March 8, 2014
Date items must be sent by:  
March 15, 2014

All other March swaps:

Last day to signup/drop:

March 15, 2014

Partners will be posted by:  

March 16, 2014

Date items must be sent by:

March 31, 2014

MARCH SWAPS:

Click on the title to read the details about each swap BEFORE you sign up.

Quick Swaps: 

MARCH QUICK SWAP: Something Green (USA ONLY)

MARCH QUICK SWAP: Happy Mail (USA ONLY)

MARCH QUICK SWAP: CARD SWAP ~ My Birthday is in March (International)



Regular Swaps:

MAR. STICKERS - Send 30 misc. stickers

MAR. STICKER SHEETS:  Flowers (send 3 sheets)

MAR. Find a New Penpal (International)

MAR. PCs - 3 new/unwritten postcards in an env. 

MAR. POSTCARD THEME: Lake/River/Waterfall (USA ONLY) - 2 partners

MAR. POSTCARD: Sender's Choice With Quote

MAR. SBs - 5 sticker bags (new or est.)

MAR. LBs - 5 label bags (new or est.)

MAR.  FBs - 5 n&n Flower Theme FBs (New/Est)

MAR. Papergoodies Swap!

MAR. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise 

MAR. MAKE SOMEONE'S DAY w/kawaii for 49-cents (USA ONLY)

MAR. NOTECARD SWAP - Send 3 flower-themed notecards w/env.

MAR. CARD SWAP:  Send 2 homemade cards  (flower theme)

MAR. ATC Theme #1: Use a Book Page

MAR. ATC Theme #2: Vintage

MAR. ATC Theme #3: Sender's Choice

Upcoming ATC Themes (in case you want to start working on them early):

Theme #1: Moon
Theme #2: April Showers
Theme #3: Sender's Choice

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SIGN UPS FOR THIS MONTH = CLOSED

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RULES:

It is preferred that you post a photo of your swap going out or use tracking, but not mandatory.

Post your photos on the Facebook Event page. PLEASE cover addresses on envelopes!

Hostess: Barb Tvrdik

Questions cheerfully answered 
(Use Comments section or for a faster response, send me a message on the Facebook Event page).

Happy swapping :)




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Details on N&N FBs:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friendship books must be neat, not just a bunch of pieces of paper strewn together. They cannot be slams, friendship sheets or crams. 

What is a FB?
Here are some links that should help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship_book
http://fbfun.com/about/
http://www.squidoo.com/friendshipbooks


What is a N&N FB?  

N&N FB = Nice & Neat Friendship Book

http://friendshipbooks.blogspot.com/2010/12/types-of-friendship-books.html

Guidelines for N&N FB swaps on this blog:

1. There will be NO staples in the front cover.
2. The FB should be laminated with packing tape, shelf liner, or laminating sheets.
3. Lamination should be done neatly.
4. Embellishments should be added to the cover. Embellishments include glitter, stickers, foil borders, sequins, ribbon, a nice background, cloth flowers. You can also do something fancy with pictures. Basically just a picture covered with lamination isn't a N&N FB.
5. Addresses should be printed legibly or typed.
6. Make it nice AND neat. Ask yourself whether you are proud of your work or not. 
7. For established N&N FBs, please make sure your partner hasn't previously signed it.

MAR. SBs - 5 sticker bags (new or est.)

Location: International

If you prefer USA only, please let me know that when you sign up.

Last day to signup/drop:

March 15, 2014

Partners will be posted by:  

March 16, 2014

Date items must be sent by:

March 31, 2014

Number of swap partners: 1

DESCRIPTION:

For this swap, you will send 5 sticker bags. These can be new or established.

RULES:

If sending established SBs, please include a maximum of 1 where the next person is the last signer.

If making new SBs, they can be made for you, for friends, for your swap moderator (wink wink), etc.  (Email me for what info you should put on them if you would like to make them for me.)
If you're making new bags, feel free to have them themed (i.e. only sticker flakes, large stickers only, etc) if you'd like, or keep it fun and random.

It is preferred that you post a photo of your swap going out or use tracking, but not mandatory.

Post your photos on the Facebook Event page. PLEASE cover addresses on envelopes!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

SIGN UP FOR MONTHLY SWAPS HERE:

** MARCH SWAP SIGNUP SHEET **

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hostess: Barb Tvrdik

Questions cheerfully answered 
(Use Comments section or for a faster response, send me a message on the Facebook Event page).

Happy swapping :)

PARTNERS WILL BE POSTED ON THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE, AND ALSO EMAILED TO EVERYONE.

 * Please be considerate and send your swaps out on time.  If you can't, please just email your partner to let them know if it will be late. Thank you!

Remember that this is an International swap, so swaps might take a bit longer to get where they need to go.... please be patient and kind, and make this a happy swapping experience for everyone :)

APRIL SBs - 5 sticker bags (new or est.)

For this swap, you will send 5 sticker bags. These can be new or established.

If sending established SBs, please include a maximum of 1 where the next person is the last signer.

If making new SBs, they can be made for you, for friends, for your swap moderator (wink wink), etc.  (Email me for what info you should put on them if you would like to make them for me.)
If you're making new bags, feel free to have them themed (i.e. only sticker flakes, large stickers only, etc) if you'd like, or keep it fun and random.



*** FREEBIE THIS MONTH!!!***
NO RETURN POSTAGE or return envelope is required for this swap :)
(Of course donations of stamps & cash are always welcome!)


Please include your name and address on a large label or piece of paper. 

Hostess name:  Barbi T.




Sign up for this month's swaps here:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1h1ZkXQTOz_u-Zl_8KoUjveeDdR3ZdtaclFwiNodyLGI/viewform

Sign up by 4/27, send items by 4/30.

Items postmarked after 4/30 will be marked REFUSED - RETURNED TO SENDER. I am not responsible for lost/late mail.




How it works:  Everyone sends to me.  Once all items are received, I will send a return swap from everyone that joined.  I will email everyone to let you know that they are being mailed back out, so you will know when to expect them.  Remember that this is an International swap, so swaps will take a bit longer to get where they need to go.... please be patient and kind, and make this a happy swapping experience for everyone :)

Questions cheerfully answered (post below in comments with any questions). Happy swapping :)



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is a SB?

SB = Sticker Bag

It's an envelope with stickers to trade. You put some in, take some out and send to a friend to do likewise.

Get an envelope.

Put 6-8 loose stickers in it.

On the front of the envelope you identify it as a sticker bag. Tell people how many to take and how many to put in. (I.e. Take 3, Insert 6) and identify the person who should send it home. (i.e. #5 please send home).

Put the name/address of the person it's for and the person who made it.

On the back of the envelope, the people who get it (usually via pen palling or swaps) signs in with their name and the date. The #5 person (or however many people are designated) sends the sticker bag home to the person it was made for. 

You can get more info/see samples here:

Sandbook - Look under "Other Forms of Friendship Books"
http://sandbook.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=8

http://thesnaggingpalace.blogspot.com/