[Smiles]

OK, Ladies - so the final tally is 13!
That means you make 13, and mail 12 of them to me. I will be PMing you with my snail mail address.

The best way to do this seems to be to buy the 9 slot baseball trading card holders. They are designed to fit into a standard 3 ring binder. I have found them at Target in the "cash" register lines. I also found some at a dollar store, although they are thinner. You can fold the sheets in thirds and fit them into a business sized envelope. Mailing 12 in a business sized envelope is pushing the limits, unless it is a heavy envelope, IMHO. Please include return postage in one of the slots, allowing for an extra ounce in case participants are especially exuberant with their bling. If it's not needed, I will return it with your goodies. Also please include a self-addressed (but not stamped) envelope. When you mail the envelope to me, the post office people will tell you if there's a non-machinable surcharge. A great hint is to use your own address as the return address in case it gets "returned" for any reason. Please mail the cards so they arrive here by June 20. As we are not holding chats, the deadline could have wiggle room in case of some unforeseen disaster (such as running out of printer ink). But for the sake of your fellow artists, please honor it if at all possible.

A couple of hints - be sure your card will actually fit in the sleeve. If you want to wrap your ATC with a fiber or ribbon, Lei suggests layering a slightly smaller piece on top of your 2.5x3.5 card, and wrapping the fiber around it.

AnnBK's trick for assembling them is to create a 5x3.5 layout or 2.5x7 layout with both sides of your ATC, cut them out, and fold. If you do this, be aware of space for the fold when you design them. Then you can slide them onto an 8.5x11 sheet of paper for printing.

The consensus is that tape runners are the least frustrating way of adhering the layers of your little masterpiece. (They also help prevent sticky fingers).

If I've forgotten any great hints, please advise, and I'll add them to this post.

Have fun! The Beauty of Nature is calling!

[teecee]

I think a good reminder (especially for newer swappers) is to be sure the back of the cards are signed and numbered. I really like using one of Elisha's templates (the one that includes spaces for title, theme, artist, etc.) for the back of mine, this way I know I won't forget to include any pertinent information.

[Florida granny]

Thanks for the tips and hints! I'd better get crackin'; so far I have too many ideas floating around my head. Maybe a trip to Michaels's will help me narrow it down!

[lorac]

Can I still get in on this? I've been off of the board for a week and I just spotted this now.

[lorac]

Forget what I just wrote. I had already signed up for this. Senior Moment!

[CRS]

LOL, Carol!

[teecee]

Mine are ready to be mailed - as soon as I receive Gayle's snail mail address they will be on their way...

[AnnBK]

Mine will be ready to put into Monday's mail. I had to go on an expedition today to collect the right decorations.

[MariJ]

Yo! All you speedies! Do you realize these cards are not due until June 20th and it's not even MAY 20th?
In the interest of not becoming totally stressed and thinking I'm "Late" I think I'd better stop reading this thread for a month! Heehee......
(PS... I am in awe of you!)

[Smiles]

I sent PMs with my snail mail address to all except the one of you whose inbox is full.

[AnnBK]

I may not get mine done this weekend...tomorrow looks like it will be the last dry day for a while and I need to get all my garden planters done. I can make cards while it rains. And I have to say that, so far, I am VERY pleased with how these are turning out. I'll be sending each of you a little piece of Oregon!

[Smiles]

So the teasing begins...

[teecee]

I'm hoping mine arrived safely...

[Smiles]

They did, Theresa! Yours were the first! And I'm steeling myself to wait to open it till they have all arrived. We'll see how good my "won't" power is!

[teecee]

I'm glad you received them Gayle - thanks!

[MariJ]

Smiles, on 24 May 2012 - 12:56 PM, said:

They did, Theresa! Yours were the first! And I'm steeling myself to wait to open it till they have all arrived. We'll see how good my "won't" power is!

Whoa.. That is very brave of you Gayle! It would be very hard for me to resist peeking!

[jorunswithscissors]

I too think it would be verrry hard not to take just a little looksy!

MariJ, on 24 May 2012 - 05:37 PM, said:

Smiles, on 24 May 2012 - 12:56 PM, said:

They did, Theresa! Yours were the first! And I'm steeling myself to wait to open it till they have all arrived. We'll see how good my "won't" power is!

Whoa.. That is very brave of you Gayle! It would be very hard for me to resist peeking!

[jorunswithscissors]

Wow! Go TeeCee! I hope to have mine finished and in the mail this weekend.

teecee, on 24 May 2012 - 01:18 PM, said:

I'm glad you received them Gayle - thanks!

[AnnBK]

I had planned to have mine in the mail earlier in the week, but other fun things have been getting in the way. They're al printed and folded, and I have all the goodies for embellishment...just need to crack open the tacky glue and get on to it!

[CRS]

Mine are designed, and the blink is winging it's way here! I'll be done in time!

[AnnBK]

It sounds like everyone is really on top of this swap! Goody, goody! The sooner I get to see all your beautiful creations, the better!

[butterflykisses]

Mine are done & will mail tomorrow. We are traveling for a couple of weeks soon & I wanted to make sure they were done. Gayle you have will power!

[Florida granny]

jorunswithscissors, on 24 May 2012 - 06:15 PM, said:

I too think it would be verrry hard not to take just a little looksy!

MariJ, on 24 May 2012 - 05:37 PM, said:

Smiles, on 24 May 2012 - 12:56 PM, said:

They did, Theresa! Yours were the first! And I'm steeling myself to wait to open it till they have all arrived. We'll see how good my "won't" power is!

Whoa.. That is very brave of you Gayle! It would be very hard for me to resist peeking!

I wouldn't even TRY to resist. Nope, that envelope would get opened before I even left the mailbox! You are obviously made out of sterner stuff, Gayle, than I.

[AnnBK]

Mine are done and ready to drop off at the post office tomorrow. No peaking!

[lorac]

Yikes! Done? DONE? You gals are done? I haven't even started to design mine and you gals are already done and mailing them out. Geesh! There is something definitely wrong with this picture. I can't keep up with you gals.

[AnnBK]

Mine are only done because I know what the next few weeks have in store...do them now, or they won't get done. Plus, I went with VERY simple. And sometimes simple is just the right thing. I'm happy with my cards, and I hope you all enjoy them. The down side, of course, is that I want all of you to get yours done so I can see them all! Love this swap!

[Smiles]

Once again I put together an ATC without planning the hybrid part, and now to figure out what on earth I can do to it!

[AnnBK]

Maybe it doesn't need much enhancement...I find in the past swaps I have gone overboard with embellishments, just for the sake of embellishments. My card for this swap has natural embellishments...a real piece of Oregon! Keep it simple...it always works.

[AnnBK]

Mine are officially in the hands of the USPS...hope you have them in a day or so, Gayle!

[Smiles]

I will start posting when I receive them. Note- I don't check my mailbox every day, so don't panic if I don't post every day.

So far I have
Karen's
Lei's
and Theresa's