Anatomy of a swap & Give-aways!

I've had the pleasure to be involved in two swaps this week. I made 24 of these cute little gift bags (see below - they measure just 4" x 8") in the past few days.

1. I wanted to share with you what exactly a swap is.

2. I wanted to give away a "Christmas is Love" gift bag filled with papercrafting goodies to one lucky reader. (and there just might be some of Steve's famous fudge in it!) Just leave a comment!

3. I want to give EVERYBODY this "Christmas is love" digital image FREE! I designed this for WCMD (World Card Making Day) last year. Just email me and I'll send it to you.

Besides my treasured card group I've been participating in for over 10 years (love ya gals!), I also host PC Pro swaps for Papercrafts Magazine on their website every few months.

This month I hosted a Christmas packaging swap and finally got around (my aching tooth) to swap it all out. Here are a few pictures of how I do this.

First, I patiently wait for all the packages to arrive. 12 participants (I'm one of them). Once they all in-house, I start by making piles of each package; the BEST part is getting to see what everyone made! I Check for return labels, ziplock bags (for protection), extra postage and the little goodies I often get as a hostess (cute little tea bag gift, gum, chocolate and other little scrapbooking gifts...yes, I really SCORED this time).



Carefully, counting more than once, I make sure each person gets one of each, re-package everything, weigh and make sure there is enough postage. Sound easy? Yup, it really is! Would love to have you join any of our many, many swaps we post at the Papercrafts website. A big THANK YOU to everyone who participated...you should be getting your packages by the end of the week.

So, this was my choice for both of my swaps. The challenge with swapping is finding a cute idea without being bogged down with too many steps or time consuming techniques. Digital images are perfect for swaps...let the printer do the work! Add simple embellishments (jingle bells) or texture (Pop pieces up & glitter and Glossy accents to the heart).

What is it about making many of something that makes me smile. I feel SO productive!

I looking forward to the 'productivity' ending though and the 'relaxing' to begin...yeah, like Dec. 25th after dinner, as usual!

Christmas Neighbor Gifts

Here are some fun ideas from the Nov/Dec issue of PaperCrafts magazine. Enjoy!

Just noticed they didn't include the link to the website where I got the tins. it's www.specialtybottle.com. I got together with a few friends to order these and it saves on shipping, although for the size of the box, it wasn't exorbitant.

New on-line swap at PaperCraftsmag.com

Everyone few months I post an on-line swap at PaperCraftsmag.com.

I just finished posting my next swap and I'm pretty darn excited about it. It's a bit of a stretch if you're used to doing card swaps, but this was created out of NEED. Two of my greatest PaperCrafting needs as Christmas approaches is Tags (for all those gifts) and Packages.

You know, for all those little gifts you want to give during the holiday season. For teachers, neighbors, friends, the postman, hostesses etc... It's great to have fun & festive packages to fill with your latest culinary treats (in our house is Steve's fudge...recipe to come soon, if he allows me, lol) or other little trinkets.

Of course, some of the limits of these packages is they need to lay flat for shipping. This mini gable box (Nov/Dec issue) is a great example, as it can fold flat easily.

Another easier example is this little pocket I created for last year's Holiday Cards & More issue. Perfect for some peppermint chocolate bark, candy canes, or a set of tags, which was what it was originally designed for.

Can't wait to see what everyone creates and I'll be sure to share it with you here on my blog.

If you'd like to participate (only 12 spots!) please visit my group page and sign up! Deadline is Friday, Dec. 5th. Plenty of time to get your packages back with 2 weeks before Christmas to spare.