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Friday, February 4, 2011

SWAP! February

Last year I started finding listings for swaps in various places online. I got excited, but never really made time for it. Packages are awesome, but they're kind of pricey to send out. Well, my recent obsession with goodreads lead me to a group where they exchange handmade bookmarks. How cool is that?!

This gave me an idea. What if every month I hosted a swap on my blog? The swap would involve small things that could fit in a letter-sized envelope and cost (more or less) the price of a regular stamp to send? Also, these little projects will fulfill one of my goals for this year to create a little art or craft every month. I'm a huge dreamer and sometimes fantasize about things more than doing them...

Excited yet? I came across some really cool mail art, letter-writing, and collage related blogs that might inspire you:
Good Mail Day

The Sketchbook Project
CappaccinoandArtJournal
Swap-bot




For this month, I'd like to do vegan/animal-inspired bookmarks. These can be used for tagging your favorite recipes in a cookbook or marking your current read.

Want to get involved?

*E-mail your mailing address to me by Friday, Feb. 18: aveganfox(at)gmail(dot)com

*I will randomly pair people up and e-mail you with your swap partner's information.

*Please send bookmarks out by Friday, Feb. 25. This is just to ensure that everyone receives their goods in a decent amount of time.  (For this swap it's just one bookmark, but if you're feeling inspired feel free to make another ;)

*Feel free to e-mail me images of your creations or the goods you receive! I will happily post them around the first of March, just before announcing the next swap.

*Don't have the time right now? No worries, I'm aiming to do a swap every month ;)

Questions for you:

Would you prefer to swap goods with the same person who will be sending you goods or would you like to be surprised?

Do you have any ideas for future swaps?

Current Swappers:
Jenny (Vegan and so Forth)
Aimee (...aka Darzy...)
Rift (Static8 Journal)
Michelle (dirty duck)
Teresa (Affectioknit)
Rebecca (Enjoying the Journey)
Rose (Dandelion Vegan Blog
Laloofah (Mehitable Days)
Roxanne (The Good Luck Duck
Emily 
Molly (Vegan Flower)
Nik
Cassie (me)

25 comments:

Jenny said...

I want to play! I emailed you my address.

I don't care whether we exchange with same person or not!
Ideas: handmade notecards?

Vegfox said...

Jenny ~ Awesome! For the notecards, do you mean for recipes/notes or postcards?

Jenny said...

well, i was thinking thank you/thinking of you/whatever occasion cards - you can get a pack of blank cards with envelopes for just a few bucks at Wal-Mart or wherever. i've decorated them before and given them as gifts. but...whatever! i don't know! :)

Vegfox said...

That sounds great! I think I was thinking of index cards when I read that last time ;) But that's fine because it gave me more ideas :)

dirtyduck said...

girl..im so ready to bedazzle some lilly (little duckling that lives with us) feathers!

im so in

Vegfox said...

Awesome! Yay for Lilly :)

dirtyduck said...

lol

affectioknit said...

Sign me up!

Vegfox said...

Yay!

Just Us said...

Hi, dirtyduck posted about your swap on her blog, so I had to come check it out. :o) What a neat idea! I wish I was a creative person, so I could play a long. I'm not very creative though. Very cool thing though!

Vegfox said...

Michelle, thanks for stopping by! If you're interested in just sending a pre-made bookmark that would fine, too. Otherwise feel free to check in for next months swap! If you have any ideas definitely let me know.

Rebecca said...

I want in! I sent you an e-mail. Dirty Duck sent me! I cant wait to participate!
love the blog!

Rose said...

This sounds fun! I love that it's something handmade! I'm in. I'll email my address now. :)

Vegfox said...

Rebecca ~ That's awesome! I've recently discovered that Dirty Duck is amazing. How did I not know this before?!

Rose ~ Glad to hear it! I'm so excited :)

Laloofah said...

Hello, Cassie! Nice to meet you!

I was sent by Dirty Duck too (why do I feel like I'm Jimmy Cagney in an old mobster movie? LOL - "Yeah, sheee, Doity Duck sent me, sheee, and said to tell you 'the bookmark is in the mail,' sheee." :-)

I'd love to play too, please! This sounds like a fun idea. And I don't think there is any such thing as having too many bookmarks (or too many books, for that matter!)

Fun to see that rift is participating! She's always doing fun crafty stuff, and is so good about keeping her Goodreads page updated. (I'm bad. REALLY bad! *hangs head in shame*).

I'll email you my address in two shakes...

Vegfox said...

Laloofah ~ Excellent! Glad of it :)

Are you under the same name on goodreads? I added you if so ;)

Laloofah said...

Yep, that's me! I'm off to accept your invite (or whatever it is I need to do, if anything!) :-) Thanks for adding me, between you and rift maybe I'll stay motivated to at least keep my reading list up to date.

Vegfox said...

Yay! I'm quite taken with goodreads these days ;)

Rose said...

Glad to see all the folks jumping in to play!

I think it would be fun to be surprised, but not sure how complicated that would make it. Either way, it'll be fun!

Hmm, ideas for future swaps....what about drawings or a poem with a drawing...a favorite poem or one of your own creation. Maybe a greeting card? Or collages with dried petals and leaves? I know this isn't so artsy, but also a seed exchange might be fun.

Vegfox said...

Rose ~ Me too :) I think it will probably be a surprise, that will make it easier with an odd number of players. I'll probably just draw names.

Ooo, I love all of your ideas! I will have to start a list :)

dirtyduck said...

i think id choose surprise also:) i like Roses ideas, a seed exchange is a good idea, and i like her poem idea too. oh or we could do a good deed in somebodies name and then write and tell them about it. or send out a recipe card with your fav recipe on it and then we can do them and blog about it.

lol my collage(Roses idea) would be dirt and rocks and maybe some cactus tines....not pretty!

Vegfox said...

Ooo, I had been thinking about a recipe exchange in the future, but I hadn't thought about everyone trying them out! That's a good idea :) I like the blog activity involvement for that one.

I really like your good deed idea, too. I started a list of ideas, so hopefully we can try all of these out!

Applebys Hidden Treasures said...

We're too late to participate in this. I need to read your blog more often!! :)
However, will you keep us in mind on the next exchange, Girls would love to help me on a project!

Vegfox said...

Definitely! You guys can all participate if you want to, just let me know whether to enter you separately or not.

Amber @ Zombie Cats Eating Plants said...

i love swaps. i wish i would have seen this sooner, such a cute idea the bookmarks are. i hope you continue to do these small swaps. id love to participate. :)