Usagi

OK.

So...

  I think I received a stunning botanical embroidery piece from a mystery artist in this swap?

  There was no note, but there were three delicious-sounding teas. And the artwork features my favorite flower-- which is BPALer- level thoughtfulness(not to mention fantastic sleuthing).

  Dear artist:

     If it was you, thank you for this exceptional beauty and thoughtfulness.

  If it wasn't for this swap, please enjoy the glory that mail fairies have brought.

Umm, please stand by for technical difficulties *it was right here*😭

P.S.

My package is in the city it should be and scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Apologies in advance for the large box and dirth of goodies. The original box had an accident. Also, if there is any powder blue paint where it shouldn't be, I'm very sorry. It's been full of mishaps and travail over here.

P.P.S.

Oh my gosh so much gorgeous art!  You are some seriously skilled artisans.❤

What are your feelings about bags? Do you like certain size? Would you be okay with a purely decorative small bag, or does that just sound bonkers?

  I love bags. For use, I am in the 'must be able to contain every contigency' camp, with flat straps, and many pockets.

  However, a tiny bag or clutch, or 1/18 scale art piece for display sounds amazing. 

  On a personal note, have you ever gone online to get something they don't carry around you, then remembered that this thing also broke, looked to the side and had a reminder of this *other* thing that you needed... and ended up placing the order without ordering the thing that you went on to place the order for????

 Other than that, the project is coming along.😉

What are you hoping "I" will make "you"??

 I initially read this as 'Are you hoping that "I" will make "you," and was exceptionally confused. I have no brain.

  Off the cuff answer would be: something that you enjoyed creating.

  More considered answer... wearables would be great-- bracelet, the aforementioned fiber arts(fingerless, neckthing). But I also love seeing people's 2D art, like paintings or sketches, or words. Something for the garden would equally awesome.

  I always feel like I come off sounding inauthentic saying this, but I will genuinely be pleased with anything you make, because *you* made it.

  As to what I can craft: I can do basic crochet, sketch, paint, fimo, resin, write, bake, bead a little, and take some photos.

  What I will likely be doing this round is something with acrylic paint and wood/fabric-- unless I totally fail, in which case it will be watercolor and a possible shiny thing. 

  Very interested in responses to planned medium from everyone. The creativity and skill on here is always amazing. 

Would you like hand knit items? Fingerless gloves,  hats, small shawl or neck gaiter? If yes,  please give measurements.

Sure! All of those sound fabulous. Tip of middle finger to wrist is 8", palm width, just under 4", length 4", and wrist circumference 6.5", neck 14", head 21.5".  I would probably get most practical use out of the gloves, shawl(scarf?) or gaiter(which, BTW, I initially read in a Southern accent and imagined an amphibious reptile), if you are going for utility.  If the idea is gorgeous coziness, all is fair game.  

Let's say I'm going to make something with your favorite non-fantasy animal that comes in multiple colors of coat.  Do you want the "classic" color or would you like one of their lesser depicted colors?  Or a fantasy color like blue or purple?

You go with the colors that speak to you. Blue cat, green bat, rainbow hedgehog-- whatever the creature is telling you it wants to be, roll with it.  I can't wait to see.

**Two new Qs:

Would you rather your creation had utility, or was simply aesthetic?

I have multiple ideas. Would you like to see one idea repeated across two or three... "things", or would you like two or three different ideas manifested?  (Alternatively expressed as matching set vs. unrelated expressions.)

  Thank you, Lucchesa!

So inspired by my match's questionnaire... Must. Narrow down. Possibilities. 

Hope everyone is feeling similarly excited.  This is going to be so awesome!   

5 hours ago, goddessrobyn said:

I just came here to say that this art swap will be my first swap in the new house and that makes me want to run around screaming muppet flail style

Congratulations!!! That's awesome! 

On 2/5/2024 at 3:49 PM, Lucchesa said:

Things seem really quiet -- anyone interested in an art/craft swap?

Yes, please!  You are magical.  I was just dreaming of a reason to be creative.

Also, is there any interest in a round robin spring seed swap?  I would be happy to run it, stuff the box, and start it on its journey.

I'd love to join, please; will send questionnaire in just a tick!

23 hours ago, Gwydion said:

I don't really gave means to use digital gifts, but I think it's a clever way around the issue and I hope y'all do it.

In case people are worried we are being very careful and Squirrel's work is doing regular testing and enforcing hard core PPE protacols.  Nothing is 100% safe, but for Americans, one of whom works, we're doing a really good of staying as safe as we reasonably can.

Well, it was worth a try. You will be missed.

I hope to see you around in future swaps-- maybe once there's a vaccine and people all decide to follow safety protocols at the same time, and work together to protect those who are most vulnerable-- and I'm so glad you are able to stay as safe as possible right now. Thank you for the update. Virtual

Okay.  I went down a looooooong thread post hunt to finally find: the only and only Broke Witch 2011, and its IGI.  It was all very nostalgic, and there were lots of names and avatars I haven't seen in forever... 

2 hours ago, Gwydion said:

I can't do any of the swaps this year.  I'm too high risk for shopping and mailing.    Best luck to all of you enjoying them this year.

  Hi!  You are not the only one with this very valid and worrying concern. But on the other hand, I find it very hard to imagine fall swaps without you. 

  So, I broached this in another thread (because I am nothing if not scatterbrained).  How about a completely digital swap?  
There was a "Broke Witch" years ago that was totally fun, and I'm pretty sure no one sent any physical items at all.  With a completely digital swap, people would still be able to send books, music, movies, and TV episodes, gift certificates, apps, games, and all kinds of things that are personal and not from retail-- like art, recipes, crafting tips, personal notes, etc..

  What do you think?

@twilighteyes, .  I have had that happen on packages from the Midwest, too! Then they went to my state, got to my postal hub, and went the other way.  I think it wanted a sunny vacation.

This is why, perhaps, separate mailing deadlines would be good.  International swappers/ees can take into account how long they have to shop/wait from the get-go.

Alright. I'm going to submit with a split shipping deadline 9/21 and 9/28, with a sign-up close of 8/12-- and strong encouragement for everyone to mail as early as they are able.

Here goes!

EDIT: It has been posted, reported, and is waiting for approval. 

16 minutes ago, Lucchesa said:

 

Hurray for Usagi!!!!!

 

It's true we will be doing more shopping online and that makes it more challenging for things to arrive on time.  But remember, we start opening 10/21, not 10/31, so it would be three weeks, not four.  Last year's deadline was 10/1.  @Usagi, were you thinking a longer sending time because of Covid worries or because mail has been wonky lately?  I'm truly not worried about opening a package that was sent three weeks earlier, in terms of fomites.  

 I'm worried about both.  But I worry about everything.  It could just be fear mongering, but the USPS seems to be treading on shaky ground due to COVID.

  I could also make the sign up window shorter, closing it Monday or Wednesday next week?  I'm confident that I can get matches out in a day-- barring a huge waves of 50 sign-ups.

EDIT: because, commas

11 minutes ago, twilighteyes said:

 

 

 

I would be worried about being able to shop from 8/14 and receive 13 things by 9/21 which is weird because it's five weeks, but 13 packages harder to corral than one package going to partner.  I would feel better with seven weeks to gather stuff since it probably won't all be sent priority to me, but I can send my package to partner priority.  If that all makes any sense.

 

A mailing deadline of 10/2 (friday) would give four weeks for packages to arrive to partners.

  That's a very valid concern.  I'm just worried that anything less than a month might not be enough time for international packages to get to their destinations.  There was mention on the news today that some people on the East Coast of the U.S. were three weeks behind in receiving their mail, due to the struggles the USPS is going through. And that's within the U.S..

  How about either having separate mailing deadlines for international (so 9/21 for international, and either 9/28 or 10/2 for U.S. domestic), or bumping the mail by date to Monday, September 28th for everyone? That would be six/six and a half weeks of shopping for U.S. to U.S. shoppers, and five for international.  A 9/28 mailing deadline would give just over four weeks for international packages to get to their destinations, bearing in mind that USPS will be closed 10/12.

   The traditional mail-by date has been either 9/30 or 10/1, and there have been packages barely squeaking in on that time frame.  

  Perhaps multiple packages? Though, international shipping has become pretty insane and might prove prohibitive in this economic climate.

Okay, I'm going to go out on a limb here. Please excuse me if I step on a proverbial toe, and if you want to take over, let me know.

I would like to run the 13 Nights of Halloween, and will accept any help or support anyone would like to add.  It hasn't changed much since 2013, thanks to all you wonderful hosts.  I've got an updated questionnaire waiting in the wings, with a sign-up closing date for 8/14, and a mailing deadline of 9/21.  Do you feel that one month is a reasonable transit timeline?

With one host, there will be thirty slots, and thirty slots can be added per cohost who would like to opt in.  We can always see what sign-ups look like and add cohosts if necessary?

How does this sound?

8 hours ago, Lucchesa said:

 

I will be severely disappointed if there is no 13 Nights of Halloween swap.  I was just going through my Halloween gift wrap and any goodies I've compiled in the last 10 months.  It's one of the few things that have been keeping me going this summer.  I would be willing to co-host if one of the usual suspects cannot. 

  I haven't run it in *years*, but if the other wonderful hosts are unavailable, I can co-host with you.

On 3/17/2019 at 6:43 AM, doublehelix said:

Would anyone be into a crafty themed spring swap?

 Yes!

13 hours ago, Lucchesa said:

How about a summer solstice art swap?  There were so many fabulous things in the Halloween art swap last year!  

That sounds awesome.

In the Bottle: buttery, savory pastry, with sweet honey and a hint of floral in the wings.

wet: Herbal honey floral, almost a nostalgic medicinal, and a hint of buttery grains.

dry: powdery honey, a touch resinous, with soft floral, and a dash of grain scent that smells-- for all intents and purposes-- like buttered popcorn.

I'm so glad I let this rest before reviewing it.  When it initially arrived from the mail, It smelled like straight up, Buttered Popcorn Jelly Belly jelly beans from bottle to drydown-- until it started to fade, when there was just the merest promise of gorgeous honey and Champaca blossom.

A few days of rest has made all the difference, and the honey is wafting, gracefully, towards center stage with a small bouquet of Champaca, while the basmati (which still smells, strangely, like buttered popcorn jelly beans) claps, good-humoredly, from stage right-- until the very drydown, when he tried to jump down center and go "ta-DAAA!"

In the bottle: "icy" grapefruit-apple, with floral undertones.

Wet: apple, with a tang of citrus, and some of BPAL's icy notes, over a slightly heady, almost fizzy floral. It's sweet, and a bit heady.

Dry: It's very perfumy.  Heady floral and apple, with just the last tang of citrus remaining. 

The label is adorable.

"Vibrant" and "glowing" is right!

This scent is lively, and warm.  The cinnamon is sweet with tobacco undertones, streaked through with zips of ginger. The red pepper is a barely there roundness, and everything is encompassed, beautifully, in a soft red musk.

It was lighter on me than many of the other musk hair glosses I've tried. The scent lasted about a day in my hair, before fading gently out.

Initially, it felt like a relative of East Indian Palace atmosphere spray-- probably because of the gorgeous sweet cinnamon musk.

For reference: three spritzes in 30+" of straight fine hair, of which there is a fair amount. Combed through damp hair, lightly blow dried, hair worn lose and in a braid. 

Wow.

Sniffing the bottle, I worried that this would be too powdery.

Initial application in hair, it was high-pitched, but not loud-- like the whisper of vanilla pipe smoke left hanging in a room.  It warmed more with wear, becoming an almost vanilla musk wood scent. The vanilla smoke became a sort of skin musk reminder of borrowing someone's sweater on a cool night-- someone with delicious taste in scent.

It reminded me, in turns, of The Girl, then Brom Bones. I think it was because of the warm vanilla skin musk feeling Le Coucher took on after a couple of hours.

This scent lasted a full two days between washes, and smelled wonderful throughout.

For reference: two spritzes of gloss on damp, 30+" straight, fine hair, of which there is fair amount. Combed through, blow dried, then worn as usual (up, down, all around, in the sun and wind).



(Fresh from the post this morning)

In the bottle, it spicy floral and juicy fruits.

Wet, the scent of pomegranate, and  spiced pear hard candies? There's a hint of sweet citrus, and some sort of musky herbal; a bit of horehound, or catnip.

Right now, it is absolutely gorgeous-- bright and burgeoning, but not overpowering.

Dry: It relaxes into a lightly spiced, pale golden fruit scent, pomegranate and warm citrus at the fore.

Stunning.

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.

Is there any interest this year in a seed swap? And would there be any interest in a #Haulternative clothes and/or accessories swap during March/April?

P.S.

(Extremely belated, but, )Meaganola, your bento swap idea sounds awesome.

Just something I'm kicking around (read: it's months away from happening, if it ever actually happens): Would anyone else be interested in a cryptozoology exchange? The main catch I can think of is that there would need to be some sort of screening process to make sure that people don't all pick Sasquatch. Maybe one of the survey questions that only I would see could be what three creatures would you like to represent, and then when assignments are handed out, you are assigned one? Still trying to figure that one out. (Warning: I would most likely call dibs on Sasquatch because Pacific Northwest.)

That sounds *amazing*. I would love play, and would not pick Sasquatch-- much more likely megalodon, mermaids, Nessie, or chupacabra. But, if other people wanted to do ape cryptids, you could divide them up by world regions and have multiples-- yeti, skunk ape, or that scary one from somewhere in the South Pacific that eats people. Sorry. This is such an exciting idea.

What would be the item requirements for the swap?