meaganola

Yay!  I'll start thinking about themes, and then once I get the work trip situation sorted out, I'll figure out when I can post it to make sure I can handle the admin stuff in a timely manner.

Would anyone be interested in an indie potluck? Short version, since this is not really A Thing: A small number of people (probably five or six) buy that number of a specific indie-made item (I’m thinking of a suggested spend around $7/item, so this would be a suggested spend of $35 - $42 plus shipping for this part), have them all sent to me, send funds to me for postage via PayPal, and then I pack everything up and send them back out so each person gets one of each item. Each person would be picking out a different item so we don’t have five people sending the same eyeshadow or wax tart. This would be US-only because I have a feeling nail polish would be involved, and everything would would to fit in a small flat rate box. Items could be beauty or home, but further discussion about specifics can take place in the topic thread instead of taking up space here if this goes forward. I would kind of like to do a theme, but I wanted to see if anyone was interested before I started thinking about a theme. 

(Apologies if I’m not being super clear here! I’m on Norco today because dental work, so I’m probably forgetting some very important details.)

ETA:  Links to prior indie potlucks!  Smells Like Autumn, Halloween, and a favorites round.  And now I see that prior rounds had eight people, so now I'm thinking that would be the limit this time around, too.  The timing on this would depend on the interest level since I found out about a possible work trip (DO NOT WANT) after I posted this query.

3 hours ago, spookygrrrly said:

Is anyone planning on running any Yule/Christmas swaps this year? I’m trying to see what’s coming up before making too many commitments.

 

 

I’ve been thinking about a Fresh Start exchange. Matches would be made in early December, but the shipping deadline would be in January. That’s as far as I’ve gotten, though. 

Ages ago, I had a brainstorm for an exchange I wanted to run elsewhere, but that didn't work out, and I completely forgot it about now: It Was Never a Dress. I know the campaign was for a larger and different purpose, but this exchange would be all female superheroes (or villains!), all the time. Is there any interest in this? I've got some specific ideas about timing, but I thought I would check to see if anyone other than me thought it might be fun before I started throwing dates out.

 

Wondering if anyone was planning on running a February/self love themed swap? I had thoughts about doing a self love featuring a handmade gift (handmade with love), if anyone is interested in co-hosting!

 

This sounds really cool. What were you thinking for the parameters, aside from an awesome handmade object? I'd be interested in cohosting/participating, if no one has jumped on this yet.

 

Would anyone be interested in a traveling washi tape box? I've got tons of rolls I purchased when I thought I would be using them on elaborate no-white-space spreads in Erin Condren planners, but it turns out I'm a pretty utilitarian bullet journal person who only uses an inch or so to mark the start of each new month. I only need *maybe* a foot or two of most of these, and I don't need *any* of a lot of others. My concept would be that you could take however much you wanted: Maybe a foot or two (business cards and embroidery floss bobbins cards are great ways to store small amounts of washi), maybe a roll or two, and then you would add however much you felt appropriate. I currently have about a dozen standard-width (3/8 of an inch? I'm not sure of the size) and a *bunch* of ultra-skinny rolls (and lots of the ultra-skinny ones are glittery) that are just sitting here being useless to me.

 

Are you only interested in washi for your planner, or would you also be open to other planner supplies?

 

I've got a bunch of washi; but also post-its, paper clips, memory cards, and a bunch of stickers for planning-- and possibly a couple of the small stamps for making bullet points. I was just thinking that a planner supply swap might be awesome at the beginning of the year, but a traveling planner supply box would probably be even greater.

 

That said, I would definitely be interested in a straight-up traveling washi tape box, too.

 

The traveling craft supply( or one-to-one) swap idea sounds great, as well.

 

I would absolutely be open to a traveling planner box! That just didn't occur to me because when I posted that, I was looking at my stash of washi and thinking, "These things need to go to people who would love them more than me." I would have to dig around, but that may be even better for me because I might have a bunch of planner stickers I have no use for anymore. And maybe probably other supplies I don't remember owning. I'm not the person for a traveling craft box, though, because I'm not really a craft-oriented person, so I don't have a stash of that stuff, and when I do somehow end up with it, I usually give it to my aunt.

Would anyone be interested in a traveling washi tape box? I've got tons of rolls I purchased when I thought I would be using them on elaborate no-white-space spreads in Erin Condren planners, but it turns out I'm a pretty utilitarian bullet journal person who only uses an inch or so to mark the start of each new month. I only need *maybe* a foot or two of most of these, and I don't need *any* of a lot of others. My concept would be that you could take however much you wanted: Maybe a foot or two (business cards and embroidery floss bobbins cards are great ways to store small amounts of washi), maybe a roll or two, and then you would add however much you felt appropriate. I currently have about a dozen standard-width (3/8 of an inch? I'm not sure of the size) and a *bunch* of ultra-skinny rolls (and lots of the ultra-skinny ones are glittery) that are just sitting here being useless to me.

 

 

 

Normally I do the chocolate swap this time of year, but I don't think i'm up to it. If someone else wants to run it, I'll happily sign up, but i don't think i can run.

I’ve actually been meaning to PM you to see if you were going to be doing one for the holidays and, if not, if you would mind if I did one. This is a super fun swap, and I keep looking at the holiday candy in stores and thinking about it in terms of an exchange!

Oh please do run it!

I do love a good edibles swap!

 

Heh. In my neck of the woods, "edibles" means something distinctly different that would never get through customs.

And the Winter Candyland swap has been submitted! I made the timing overlap (two weeks before Christmas, two weeks after) so it can be a holiday swap *or* post-holiday swap depending on your preferences.

Normally I do the chocolate swap this time of year, but I don't think i'm up to it. If someone else wants to run it, I'll happily sign up, but i don't think i can run.

I’ve actually been meaning to PM you to see if you were going to be doing one for the holidays and, if not, if you would mind if I did one. This is a super fun swap, and I keep looking at the holiday candy in stores and thinking about it in terms of an exchange!

Curious, is anyone thinking about hosting the Winter Solstice/Yule swap?

I've been mulling one, but I was thinking it would be one of those where you send one item for each of four categories. The problem I'm struggling with is that I'm trying to come up with the four categories. I've got this image of a pine tree in the snow against the night sky in my mind, so my brain keeps circling around something evergreen (could be the color, could be the scent), something dark blue, and something white, but I can't figure out the fourth. Something sparkly like the stars? Wild card?

Would anyone be interested in joining or co-hosting a pet spoiling swap? My dog could use some spoiling, and I know there are other pet lovers on the forum. I'm thinking something short, fairly cheap, and possibly with a combo of both items *for* pets and items *about* pets (e.g. cute cat socks).

Yes! I'm actually running something similar elsewhere right now, but I would love a BPAL-style one!

 

Is anyone planning a virtual vacation swap? I really enjoyed that one last year! If no-one is going to do it, I might organise one myself! That would be my first time so I'll have to look at all the rules and such. I'm currently on vacation right now so that will take a week or so.

 

 

I missed out on this one last time and was so disappointed! I would definitely sign up if a new round happens soon.

This was originally my baby, and I couldn't run it last year due to other commitments, but I would love to reclaim it and run it again! I just need to dust off and re-edit the questionnaire, and I could get it posted shortly. Maybe even this weekend.

I just noticed that there are no swaps going on! Would anyone be interested in an indie potluck? Brief overview:

• There would be a limit of seven slots (so eight total participants, including me).
• Each person would pick an indie beauty product in the $4-$6 range, order eight of them (so you would be looking at $32-$48 not including shipping here, which is why I'm limiting the number of participants to eight including myself), and have them sent directly to me from the shop.
• Everyone would also need to send me PayPal funds (I believe that would be around $6 or $7 for US packages, and I would need to do a little more digging for international participants because that I think those packages would need to be quoted on an individual basis) for shipping packages back out.
• Once I get all orders, I will repack everything up so each person gets one of everything and send the packages out.
• I would ask that we NOT have any baggie samples (they're a nightmare to sort out on my side of the process), and everything needs to fit in a small flatrate priority box (so no big jars or bath bombs, for example).

There's also this thread that covered the first round we did. Any interest or questions?

(If it makes a difference, international participants would mean that we could not have any nail polish items or alcohol-based perfumes, and there may be more restrictions I'm not aware of since I'm just not too familiar with that sort of thing.)

I'm planning on posting a bento exchange in the next few weeks! I just have to figure out the survey, and I don't want it to overlap too much with Em's springy Eastery exchange because I don't know how anyone else feels about timing, but I personally want to do both but really like it when exchanges are spaced out in order to have something to look forward to once the glow of Exchange A wears off.

Would anyone be interested in a bento swap? Bento boxes, supplies, accessories, etc. I've been mulling this over for a while (as in over a year), but I don't know if it would appeal to anyone other than me.

Just in case anyone was wondering about Halloween exchanges: I'm working on making a 13 Days and Nights exchange happen! It will be advent-style where you open one gift a night and post about it for thirteen days, starting on October 21st and ending on November 2nd (assuming I counted days correctly! The start date may have to be shifted a day or two because the intent is to end it on November 2nd because that's Dia de los Muertos). I'm just checking to make sure a prior organizer doesn't want to lay claim to it again before I go any further.

This Neil Diamond fan over here kinda wants to do a Seven Hot August Nights exchange.

Or a summer camp care package! Think like you're twelve! And one required item could be a summer camp craft project kit! I didn't really go to summer camp, though, so I would mostly be going by rewatches of things like Wet Hot American Summer for content suggestions (not Friday the 13th, don't worry). Which... Could be interesting considering how wildly inappropriate that movie and show are.

 

Yes, I realize this is *waaaaay* out of season, but will there be any interest in a 13 Days of Halloween exchange again this year? It's cleaning day, and I'm finding quite a few things from various sources (like HorrorBlock) that I could hang onto for an exchange, but if it's not going to happen, I need to go ahead and rehome them. (Switch Witch kind of freaks me out due to how elaborately people get into it, so advent-style exchanges work better for me intimidation-wise.)

I'm trying to think ahead for that time of year, too.

I've never done 13 Days of Halloween, but would love to. Last year I did 12 Days of Christmas and it was really fun... and fall Switch Witch, which I also love. It will depend on my funds when that time of year rolls around, and I might have to choose one or the other, but as of now I'm trying to enable myself to participate in as much as possible.

 

That being said... that's a long time away and I'm itching for a swap! I chose to sit out of the spring SW, and I missed the virtual vacation swap sign ups by like two days because I hadn't checked the forum (huge bummer, I had really wanted to do that one). Has there ever been a summer swap in the style of 13 Nights/12 Days? Is there any interest in something like that to hold us over until the fall?

 

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As for an x-days-of-y (which I have a habit of thinking of as advent-style, although maybe countdown-style is better) summer exchange, I don't think there has been one. I might be able to run one (I co-ran the 13 Nights of Halloween one a couple of years ago, and I've run a couple of other exchanges on and off this forum in other styles) depending on how a few off-forum things shake out for me this week. Maybe 7 Hot Summer Nights?

Yes, I realize this is *waaaaay* out of season, but will there be any interest in a 13 Days of Halloween exchange again this year? It's cleaning day, and I'm finding quite a few things from various sources (like HorrorBlock) that I could hang onto for an exchange, but if it's not going to happen, I need to go ahead and rehome them. (Switch Witch kind of freaks me out due to how elaborately people get into it, so advent-style exchanges work better for me intimidation-wise.)

Would there be any interest in another virtual vacation swap?

 

I'd first need to find who ran the previous one to check if they don't mind me stealing their idea but I thought I'd test the waters anyway.

That was me! I had been planning on seeing whether there was any interest in a second round later this week and maybe posting it in the next couple of weeks, but if you want to take the wheel on it, go for it!

Would anyone be interested in a St. Patrick's Day-themed indie potluck? Main rules: Limit of seven people (because I will take the eighth slot!), $4-6 per item limit, no baggie samples (they're a nightmare to sort!), everything needs to fit in a small priority flat-rate box, $7 shipping, US only (we're probably going to end up with nail polish here, and that's a problem for shipping internationally). Because there's a theme here, if it's a color item, it needs to be green, orange, white, or some combination of the three.

(For newcomers, the way I run indie potlucks is like this: Everyone picks a different indie beauty product -- makeup, perfume, haircare, lotion, whatever, although the group needs to discuss what each person is sending so we don't end up with everyone sending the same thing! -- and orders eight of them to be shipped directly to me. There's a limit of eight people because you're going to be buying one for each person, so eight items at $6 each will be $48 plus shipping. I wanted to keep things semi-reasonable! Also, everyone sends $7 to me via PayPal for shipping. Once I receive all eight orders, I pack everything up and ship it back out to everyone! The reason everything has to fit in a small priority flat-rate box is because I found out the hard, expensive way that priority flat rate boxes in other sizes vary in price depending on where things are being sent, and if I don't use a flat-rate box, it varies even more.)

Someone did a virtual tourist swap, which sounds a lot like your stomping grounds, earlier this year which was a lot of fun. No concept is proprietary, so you are always welcome to do your own spin on it!

That was me! I had been thinking about doing a virtual spring break this spring (I think last time was summer vacation), but if someone else wants to do it, I would be more than happy to just participate. (And offer my help as mentor/organizer/whatever if it's desired. I've done a few on here and a few more on other forums. It's getting to the point where it feels weird when I'm *not* running one and participating in at least one other one at the same time now!)

 

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However, given the rather large demand, I am thinking of doing one of those swaps where you fill out a form and I match you up with a partner who will buy you stuff selected for you specifically. I'm thinking maybe four items, which should be a reasonable shipping cost. I can open it domestic and international and let US folks opt out of International shipping, given how high the rates are. This seems the fairest way to handle it.

I can not commit to it until likely December or possibly January, depending on when Hot Drinks finishes up.

Does this make sense? Advice?

 

It sounds like just a regular exchange, and that sounds *awesome*. I would love to get international candy and would almost definitely participate (main obstacle: money)! Circular swaps aren't really my style, but exchanges? Oh, yeah.

It looks like I'll be trying to move most of November, so running a swap probably isn't a good idea. I could always try it next year, or at the end of winter in Jan/Feb. I'm so glad there will be a Winter Fun and a 12 Days swap!

I've got two swaps (maybe three) going on in other places for Christmas, plus actual Christmas stuff, so I'm passing on any more swaps between now and the end of the year, but I really, *really* want to do one around in the Jan/Feb timeframe. I was thinking Eight Days of Lunar New Year (since that's on February 8th) or something like Treat Yoself Valentine's Day swap (all indulgences for *you*, so it could be a spa in a box, tea time, a movie and snacks, etc.). I really like the X Days of Y, but before Christmas isn't going to work for me. I loved the 8 WIld and Wacky Days (where each day had a theme, like National Nut Day) exchange that was post-Christmas a couple of years ago specifically because of the timing!

 

Neat!! I'll get something written up over the next month or so and maybe start it the last week of October so people have enough time to make stuff before mailing first week in December.

OH MAN someone PM me or whatever when this is up. My current situation doesn't allow me to check the forum as often as I'd like, so I keep missing swaps.

 

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