Hi gang. Lia has posted a new rule in the General Swap Forum regarding swapping and package tracking. Here it is:

THIS IS A NEW REQUIRED RULE FOR ALL SWAPS.

Hi everyone,

There has been some problems with people not receiving their parcels from others from certain swaps! A new idea that has come up to try and prevent this, and insure that everyone will receive what they are entitled to is to pay the few extra dollars and ask for a delivery confirmation when you mail your presents off!


Participants:

When you send your parcel (before or on the last possible day! ) please ask your local post office for information about tracking the parcel. You will recieve a number where you can go to a website, or phone a 1-800 number to receive information about the delivery of your parcel.

Once you get this number, come home and send a private message to the swap organizer with the given number and the website!

Swap Organizers:

Please make sure you post about this in your swap, either copy and paste this message, or give a link to the thread! Once the mail off date has come, collect all the tracking numbers, and keep them with all the swapping information and address (ex. written out on paper, or in a word document). If needed, you can refer to this to see who has sent the package, and if it has arrived to designated person.

This is really important to do! It is worth spending the extra money on, to prevent your hard work from being lost in the mail. If your person does not receive their package, the person can phone about the parcel, and it can be located or perhaps refunded (insurance).

Please feel free to PM Lia (Swap Organizer) if you have any questions, comments or concerns! Thanks!

This is an excellent idea for most swaps. However, I think that in the case of many swaps such as ATC's where participants are not mailing to ONE person, but are mailing to perhaps 10-15 people, it may make the exercise prohibitively expensive.

One option perhaps, is for the swap organizer to clearly state in the original post whether or not the mailart swap will require letters to be sent via "registered mail". 

Any other suggestions?

[Hijole]

Hi guys. I am coming out of the ATC Ghetto and showing pics of my finished ATCs for the Retro Pinup Swap in this section. I hope nobody minds (checked with Leah and she said it was appropriate)

Well, here goes nothing. Thanks so much to Hijole who was kind enough to take these fab. photos!

For this project I made tiny little kits for people to "assemble". They are do-it-yourself Artist Trading Cards.
The kits includes: one backgrand (with a swanky, faux red and black crocodile background) -- the background has an eyelet and brad doo-hickey at the top from which you can hang the pinup of your choice;
itty-bitty calendar pages from June-Dec./2004;
a cardboard easel to attach to the back of the card so it will stand up;
an assortment of laminated pin-ups to choose from
plus a little red thingie to clamp to the side of the ATC which would hold the calendar pages...

Here are the pics...

The assembled ATC:



The assortment of pin-up backgrounds (and another shot of the assembled ATC in the centre at the bottom):



(They are covered with very shiny clear vinyl...hence the odd glare/texture!)

And here is the set of instructions I sent with them



And here are a collection of faux postage stamps that I designed for this project:

[CANADIAN]

This is from a CANADIAN Book of Holidays. I've lived here my whole life and I was not familiar with many of these customs. So I thought I would share a few of these fine vintage Canadian Festival of Easter photos with some of our American cousins in case they are curious about our many interesting and crafty customs.



The Hanging of the Hens. Look at those eggs dangling playfully from their non-reproductive organs. (Glad I'm not a hen.)



These delightful Canadian flowers are seen growing wild throughout our fields and forests during early April. (Latin name is ovus giganticus.) Canadian youths pick large bunches of them, carrying them home to their "bungalows" (the traditional Canadian dwelling) where the Canadian parent or legal guardian smashes the flower's hard shell, and scoops out the tasty meat to be found inside the flower. When combined with mayonaise (may-eh-nayse), chopped onion and salt and pepper, Canadians enjoy "Egg Salad" sandwiches (a traditional and rare Canadian delicacy).



Beautifully "hand-crafted" (how exactly do you make an egg?) Canadian (again I say, "h'uh?") Easter eggs. So very different from the Easter eggs in other lands. How? Notice the uppermost egg. The creature hunkered down there resembles a rabbit but in actuality it is a beaver wearing one of those bunny-ear headband things. While the Easter Bunny is busy visiting other countries, the Easter Beaver visits Canada. (Hence the origins and continued popularity of the Canadian phrase, "dammit, dammit, dammit!", (still used today by many contemporary Canadian crafters when faced with a particularly ornery project.)



The text says "Canadian Easter eggs". What makes them Canadian? Your guess is as good as mine.



No shortage of eggs here, folks.



And of course, Chick on a Stick, the ever-popular rollicking, frolicking Easter game enjoyed by young and old alike. (Ouch!) (You could SO put somebody's eye out with that!)



The Easter Tree. Okay. "...It will capture many hearts. In the middle of the street and on both sides of the river." (I am not making that up.)  "The Easter Tree represents the Tree of Life." Or alternatively, The Tree of Lunch.

You want that toasted or plain?

DISCLAIMER: No eggs, chicks, ovum, wild flowers, bunnies or living beings of any sort were harmed during the making of this post. Viewing the first photo in this post for extended periods may permanently damage your retina. So. Don't. Thank you.

Happy Easter everybody.  

[NEW SWAP!!]

Here's the deal-io.

NEW SWAP!!
Thematic: Retro Pin-ups! (Retro? I'm thinking 1940s-1960s)
Any medium, same dimensions, etc. as the first one. To see a lot of other jazz about ATCs please click on the link at the bottom of this post.  )
U.S./Canada, EIGHTEEN +

If you want to play, please p.m. me with your screen name, real name, postal address and email address by April 15th.

All in favour? Say aye. (Carumba!)

Any questions, feel free to p.m. me.

Here's the link to the post on ATCs (it's the 10th post down the page):

http://www.craftster.org/yabbse/index.php?board=74;action=display;threadid=3177;start=15

~ j.  

Gallery of tiny matchbook-sized and match-themed books. Also an online zine that covers many techniques (one of the zines has a step-by-step tutorial for making matchbook-sized books):

http://www.dotcalmvillage.net/nowwhatzine7/matchbook1.html

"Did you ever see things in vegetables?" (I did once. But that was in college. And I'm pretty sure that guy put something in my drink...)
"Here is an opportunity to create all kinds of wonderful animals." (Yep. This gives a whole new meaning to the concept of "Franken-food." Makes those genetically-altered foodstuffs look almost harmless...)
"Sculpturing" in this fashion is fun for one person or for a group of people." (Welcome to Post-Modern Sculpture 101. Everybody grab a cucumber...)



From a "Make-Your-Own Decorations, Gifts and Atrocities from Vegetables" Book, published in 1965. If you'd like to make Bashful Bunny, Tommy Turtle, Piggy, Golden Duck, Charlie the Centipede (nice gams!), George the Giraffe or Ollie the Octopus (wow! the creative team really worked overtime on those names!!), please feel free to email me for complete directions!   (I'll be in the kitchen playing with my food!)  




Darn it, it's this kind of thing that gives "craft" a bad rep.  

["The Sopranos: Family Values."]

I thought maybe we should start a folder for themes for upcoming Artists Trading Cards swaps. Ahem. Hence the name of this post.   For instance, my next set of cards will be all about The Sopranos. I'm thinkin' something like "The Sopranos: Family Values."

Of course, if there are no replies, then we'll know that we really don't need a folder for this topic after all.  

While we're working on the First Craftster ATC Swap -- here's another crafty mailart-oriented challenge!

There is no prize! There is no deadline!
There are no entry forms!
It's purely craft for craft's sake!
The sky's the limit! Knock yourself out!

Hopefully there will lots and lots of Craftster mailart swaps so have yourself a barrel of fun by designing your very own swanky, personalized...
wait for it...

MAILART MOB STICKER!

Yes. The "Mailart Mob" sticker! Your own little way of letting the recipient know that there's something graphically yummy inside that envelope! (As opposed to the usual invoice or past due reminder...)
Plus it gives the friendly folks at the postal service something to chuckle about...

(People also make other cool little graphic ditties to stick on their envies. Stamped images, stickers, found graphics (groovy stuff lifted from adverts, etc.) -- whatever! And while you're at it, you can of course (and I know most of you guys know this stuff -- but there are some newbies in the swap  ) , make yourself a whack of cool envies from old newspaper, comic books, gift wrap, magazines and/or junk mail!)

The Craftster Mailart Mob -- Kinda Like The Sopranos.
Only Not. (Bada-bing.)  

[Santa Fe Flatbreads]

Hi guys. I've never been in the recipe section before. (Love what you've done with the place! And it smells great in here!) I've recently picked up a huge addiction to something called Santa Fe Flatbreads: they come in packages of six (for $3.99!!!) They sell them at small speciality "foodie" type stores, they comes in different flavours, and they are sooo amazing! But also, sooo expensive! It's says on the back of the package that they are handmade. I'm just wondering if anyone knows where I can find a recipe for these or for a similiar treat (have to learn to make my own before I go bankrupt!  ) Thank you.

This has probably been covered a gazillion times but I just did a search and the stuff that came up was quite cryptic. I admit it: I do not know what "ShrinkyDinks" are.   Apparently, you can use the #6 recycle white foam from takeout containers instead of buying the product. I think you bake it? If someone can please tell me about the #6 foam thing, what temp. and how long and what kind of markers or pens to use, I'd really appreciate it. (Everyone else here seems to have lots of ShrinkyDink knowledge (so there don't seem to be specific instructions for the "shrinkydink impaired"), and I see some cool stuff made this way, and I would like to try it with the take-out containers). Thanks. (Or if this has been covered in a thread, and someone can post the thread, that would be great too.)