April 30, 2012

Swap # 1 => CD-Mini Album

Hey guys,

Welcome to the very first swap of Swap Central... I am just so excited to make this post I cannot even tell you... Blogging opened a whole new world for me and Swap Central is just a way to move even further...

So what is the first swap all about.. Well it has re-cycling and unleashing your creativity at the same time...

We'll be altering CD's into a mini-album... We all have some waste CD's at our disposal so let's utilize them to turn it into something beautiful...

The Criteria to be met for this swap:-
1) a max of 5 Cd's for the mini...

2) the over-all cost of the CD should be a maximum of INR 400.. It includes- the PPs used, Embellishments, binder rings, ribbons.. In short just about everything you use while making this mini-album

3) The theme for this CD mini album would me "ME".. Yepp you read it correctly.. More often than not we make albums for friends, birthdays, anniversaries, so on and so forth but never have we ever sat down to make something for ourselves.. So we brainstormed why not one for our self... Moreover, keep n mind when you work on your project that if the CD were to be used by you, how would you like it to be..

4) Just have fun.. This swap is for fun and to learn something new together.. More often than not we are constricted by our inability to break free of our comfort zone and move out to try something new.. so let go of your inhibitions...

Rules:-
1) Please put in your 100% while making a project. Make something you would like to receive in return..

2) Negative marking criteria would begin with the very first swap.. If the recipient feels that you did not meet the theme and other criteria.. It adds a red mark against your name BUT, the recipient would have to give us a pictorial proof of it.. If the 3 co-ordinators feel that the negative marking is justified then it is accepted else we can veto the complain.

3) your partner names would be given to you 5 days before the new swap is announced. The whole point being we don't want any favoritism cropping up...You must put in equal effort for a recipient you don't know, the same way you would put in an effort to make something for a recipient you do know!!

4) this being the first swap and a mini album swap, you would get a month to make and dispatch it..
If you complete it before time.. Please feel free to email any of us with the picture and we would let you know your partners..

5) Please do not post your completed mini-albums till the recipient has informed you of it's receipt else it nullifies the whole surprise factor of the swap!!

Here is the timeline to be kept in mind...
Register for the swap - May 1st- May 10th.
Time to make your albums  May 11th - June 10th..
Partners announced - June 11th
New Swap announced - June 15th. 


ETA: I've had queries for samples so am putting up a sneak of some of the mini's Saumya has done so that you get an idea..




So you have one month to complete your mini...

Have fun and Happy Swapping


Hugs,
The 3 stooges

April 28, 2012

Welcome to Swap Central


Hi, on behalf of us, The 3 musketeers, or  The 3 stooges or The 3 idiots (whatever you may want to call us) let me welcome you.

Last month we had done an impromptu Scrap swap and we loved doing it so much that we decided to do more. And go beyond the normal papers, embellishments etc. 

We are doing a complete handmade item swap. To mix up things, we will have easy swaps too like, supply swaps..as in embellishments, papers, buttons etc. 

I can hear a lot of questions..so let me get down to it and tell you what Swap Central is all about. 

1 –  What is a swap? And what are we swapping?
A swap is a an exchange of items – to put it in the most simplest of terms.
Getting something new in exchange for something you had for a long time. But that applies to Supply swaps.
With this Swap Group, we aim to exchange hand made products. It could range from notecards, to friendship cards, to birthday cards, recipe page swap, mini albums, tags, bookmarks…anything that is handmade and easy to mail across.

2 – What is new about this Swap Central.
We are going to be give negative rankings/points  to those who do not participate in the spirit of the swap.
Just because it’s a swap doesn’t mean you use inferior quality products or make it half heartedly in the hope of receiving something good and free from some other crafter. 3 consecutive negative points will mean you will be kept out of the subsequent swaps

We will be requesting you to take photos of your project before you send it out, and will ask the receiver to take photos after they receive it. In case the receiver feels that they got a raw deal, your photos will be the deal breaker. If 3 of us feel that the negative ranking is justified, you will be blacklisted and a negative point awarded to you.
Eg- in a DP swap, you send out 10 thin papers that are less than 100 gsm, and hope to get branded or good quality DP’s…that will be a negative point for you. We will set criteria for each swap…so if we ask for papers with 120 gsm and above, please don’t participate if you don’t have any. We want the swap to be fair for all.

- Also the names of your partner will be given to you at the end of the swap...5 days before the swap closes..to avoid any favoritism. If you can show us that you swap is ready before the deadline, we'll give you the partners name before the last 5 days... Lets see how this idea works.  

3. What if I don’t have all branded papers or products?
The quality of your work will speak for itself. If you are true in the spirit of the swap and you are not out there just to get a good freebie from the other crafter, we will consider your intention. 

Feel free to ask as many questions as you want. I would love to see you participate in this discussion and will answer as much as we can.