Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 12

As you all know, I´ve been waiting for the last two envelopes to arrive - but they didn´t. Who knows if they´re still at the customs or if these two envelopes from the U. S. and Malaysia got lost. However, I won´t let the five participants whose returns haven´t been sent yet wait any longer, so I´ll replace the missing ATCs with my own or with extra ATCs sent to me, and send out the returns for Ann, Sirkkis, Martina, Dagmar and Ulrike on Monday. I´m sorry that you´d have to wait for your returns so long!
With so many envelopes being held up in the customs nowadays, I´m not sure if it´s possible to have international swaps like this in the future. I´ll have to think about it before I decide if I´ll have another blog swap next year.
And I´ll send out another newsletter to the other participants because I haven´t heard from 7 of you, and I think that are too many after two weeks. If you´ve received your returns and haven´t sent me an email yet, please let me know NOW.

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 11 - swapped!

Yesterday, I took all ATCs to the office to swap them out there (because I don´t have enough space at home) - take a look at the photo below and you´ll get an idea of how long it took me to sort these out, especially as I tried to follow my lists with your comments on your favourites ...

Well, 1 1/2 hours later it was done, and when I returned home, I checked every envelope again and put a note in, then weighed them and put stamps on them. Today 29 envelopes were dropped in the mailbox, and if you´re from Germany, you should watch your own mailbox on Monday!
I´ve had to keep 5 envelopes (those for Dagmar, Ulrike, Martina, Ann, and Sirkkis) because their returns need to be completed with the ATCs from Michele and Lay Hoon that are still on their way ... however, you won´t have to wait forever - if it looks like one of these envelopes got lost in the mail, I´ll fill the gaps with my own ATCs (that´s why I always make so many, and to illustrate my updates of course) and send them out!

I´m asking you all to
- notify me when you received your returns,
- send a short thank you email to the three artists whose ATCs you received.
(And please keep in mind that not everyone likes to see her own artwork on someone else´s blog, so before you post a picture of your returns, you should ask those artists whose work you´d like to show for their permission!)

Please don´t forget about the notification as it´s necessary for me to keep track of the swap!! It´s really a lot of unnecessary work for me to ask everyone if your returns arrived or not, and you know that I need that information because I usually replace envelopes that have been lost ...
If you need an email address of one of the artists to send your thank you note and you can´t find it on the card or it´s illegible, just ask me, and I´ll help you. And if you´d like to know who received your ATCs, I´ll be able to answer that, too.

So - let´s hope that the postal services will work quickly and that your mailboxes will be filled soon!
Thanks to each and everyone of you for making this another great swap with wonderful artwork!

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 10

Maybe you´ve been wondering what happened to our swap that ended about two weeks ago!? In my last update, I´ve told you that I was waiting for the last four envelopes, and two of them have arrived in the meantime, and I hope that Michele´s and Lay Hoon´s ATCs will show up in my mailbox soon.
However, I´ve decided that I´ll swap out all the card this weekend using place holders for those that are missing, and will only hold back those envelopes that can´t be completed yet.

If you´d like to see some interesting bird people, you should have a look here - thanks to my BIL for the link!

My own ATC for this week was made with images from Itkupilli and Tumble Fish Studio and a stamped text from Magenta - as you see, Bird People rule!

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 9 - Congrats to our coupon winners!

Yesterday has been the due date for our swap, so you can see me sitting here closing my lists and putting all the info together ... (the bird stamp is from Lost Coast, the background stamps are from Red Lead).

In the end we´ve been 35 participants from 9 countries, and 12 of you have taken part in my blog swap for the first time - thanks to all of you!

Here are the last links to finished ATCs from Brigitte 1, 2, 3 - you won´t be able to comment, but at least you can have a look at her lovely ATCs. I couldn´t pin these ATCs to our swap board, so please follow these links directly.

As you all know, this swap has been sponsored by Tracey from Hidden Vintage Studios at Deviant Scrap who generously gives away three coupons for her great shop here. Thank you so much, dear Tracey!
I´ve used Random.org to draw our winners Bevlea, Sherry, and Karla - congrats to you, I´ll email the coupons to you soon!

I´m still waiting for the four swap envelopes from Bevlea, Lay Hoon, Michele, and Dale, but as these have all been sent early and have been in the mail for weeks now, I´m sure that they´re held up in the customs and will arrive soon.
(A little tip for your next international swap: if you can, try to use a regular, unpadded business envelope without a customs declaration because it will not go to the customs.)

So we all have to be patient for a while - I´ll keep you posted!

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 8

Yes, our swap has almost come to an end, but not now - I´m still waiting for five international envelopes, and as I´m afraid that some of them got held up in the customs, I won´t be able to swap out all cards next week.
The good news about that is that this gives you all more time to comment on all those lovely ATCs that have been created for this swap, and today I have some more links to finished ATCs for you - please have a look at the lovely Bird People from Barb, Ilka, Ingeborg, and Glenda and leave your comments on those you like!
My own ATC for this week´s update has been made using a body from Inka Heaton = alteredartifacts and a bird head from Itkupilli, a suitcase from Tumble Fish Studio plus a few scraps and stamps - hope you like it!

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 7

My ATC for this week´s swap update was made with a gelli print background, an image from Itkupilli, a stamp from Lost Coast Designs, and a hat brad. Hope you like it!

Our swap is coming to an end, and as there´s only one week left before all cards are due to be in my hands, your entries keep arriving in my mailbox. Some have been in the mail for a while now but haven´t arrived yet, but if you´ve let me know when you´ve sent them, I´ll wait for them! (Right now, I´m waiting for 9 more envelopes, and some of you haven´t even sent me the link to your finished ATCs.)

As I can´t show you the fabulous ATCs from Lucy and Brigitte (as they aren´t able to post their ATCs), I only have one new link this week to Sandy´s fabulous cards for you. They arrived in my mailbox today, and I really love them!
Last week I´ve sent out another swap reminder to those of you who haven´t contacted me after signing up, but not all of you have answered my email - if you read this, please do or I´ll have to delete your name from the swap list.
I know that some of you are Queens of last minute, so I don´t worry too much about receiving your links and envelopes if you´re from Germany ... but if you´re not, it´s too late now to send your entry.

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 6

It´s time for our weekly swap update, and today I have an ATC for you that I´ve made with an image from Catnip Designs, a real postage stamp and rubber stamps from Red Lead and Stampington - hope you´ll like it!

I`ve had some more sign-ups lately so that now we´re 37 participants from 9 different countries!
21 envelopes have already been in my mailbox, and I hope that the others will arrive in time before June 1st - I´ll then draw the winners of the coupons for the Hidden Vintage Studios shop that Tracey so generously gives away, and I hope to be able to swap out all the cards soon after that date.

Today I have some more links to finished ATCs for you from Solvey, Michele, and Dale 1, 2, 3, 4). Please have a look at them and don´t forget to leave comments there or on our swap board on Pinterest.

Only 2 1/2 weeks are left before all cards have to be in my hands, so if you´re not from Europe, please put your cards in the mail NOW!

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 5

Almost half of your entries for our swap have already landed in my mailbox now, and there are three weeks left before all cards have to be in my hands ...
24 of you have sent me the links to their finished ATCs, so I know there are more envelopes already in the mail. I hope that the other 9 artists are still working on their cards and will get them in the mail in time.
Today I only have one more link to finished ATCs for you, those from Lay Hoon.
Have fun creating and visiting the other artists´ online galleries!

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 4

Envelopes keep arriving in my mailbox (11 so far), and our swap board on Pinterest is growing with lovely art, so it´s time for my next swap update with the links to more finished cards: Please have a look at the ATCs from Karla, Martina, Lynda, and Fiona and don´t forget to leave them some nice comments if you like what you see!

If you´re not from Germany, please don´t forget to include an extra ATC or some ephemera in lieu of postage, and please keep your ATCs "sendable" - if they´re too bulky or if you add gifties for the recipients of your ATCs, you make my job really hard when it comes to swap the cards out ... plus it will be very expensive for me to send that extra stuff.

Have fun with your Bird People!

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 3

I´m back home from my Easter vacation, and this bird lady (image from Itkupilli) told me that it´s time for our next swap update!
In the meantime, I received 6 envelopes full of goodies from you, and many more have already sent me the links to their finished ATCs. I´ve just pinned them to our swap board on Pinterest, so please have a look at the new cards there or visit the blogs/ online galleries of Jo (first 4 ATCs), Daniela D., Ann, Melissa, Johanna, Sabine, Stephanie 1, 2, and 3, Daniela R., Dagmar, Ulrike, and Sirkkis.
Right now, we´re 33 players from 8 countries, and I´m sure there´ll be more sign-ups as there´s still enough time to join the swap and send me the ATCs so that they´re in my hands before June 1st ...
I´m happy to hear how much fun you all have with your birdies!

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 2

For this update, I have a stamped ATC for you as a sample made with a clothed bird rubber stamp. (It´s from Loast Coast Designs, as well as the text on the top, the books are from Stampendous.) If you´re a stamper, you might have some other bird people in your stuff - I know I have!

There are two reasons for this new update: First some of you have been very busy and have already finished their ATCs, and I want to share the links to inspire all the others. And then I recognized that although there are 13 pins on our Pinterest board already, there´s only one comment so far - so maybe some of you haven´t found the board yet!? Please remember to leave some comments on those ATCs you especially like.

I´ve had a few more sign-ups in the meantime, so right now we´re 24 players from 6 countries - thanks to all of you!
And here are the links to the ATCs that have been finished since my first update. Please have a look at the beautiful cards from Birgit, Peggy (the first 4 ATCs in her post), Bevlea, Eugenia, and Sherry.

There´s still much time to sign up and play, just be sure that your ATCs are in my hands before June 1!

Bird People Blog Swap Update No. 1

It´s time for our first swap update with more info and inspiration!
This Paris Girl ATC is my first one for the swap, and I´ve made it using a lovely bird lady from Hidden Vintage Studios´ latest kit "Animal Crossing":

When I first spied this kit, I already had decided about the theme for this year´s blog swap, and when I told Tracey how perfect this kit was for my theme, she generously offered to sponsor my swap - thank you so much, Tracey! So here´s the good news for you all: You can win one of three coupons for Tracey´s Hidden Vintage Studios shop at Deviant Scrap, just by taking part in this swap - you don´t have to use her images to be in the drawing!

(While you´re at the Deviant Scrap shop, you´ll notice that there are other lovely bird people images from Itkupilli and Finecrafted Designs that have found their way on other ATCs that I´ve made for this swap and that I will show you in future updates - just saying ...)

Do you still need some inspiration for the Bird People theme? Then you maybe want to have a look at this board on Pinterest that I´ve found. 

I´ve also have set up another Pinterest board for our swap here. You´ll already find the first finished swap ATCs there from Liz and Nancy, and as always, I want you to have a look at their beautiful pieces and leave them a nice comment on their sites or our Pinterest board if you like their artwork! 

(If you´re new to my blog swaps, I need to tell you that I´ll use these comments as a hint when swapping out all the ATCs in the end, so the chance to receive your favourite ATCs is much better if you post some comments!)

I´ve already had 20 sign-ups from four countries for this swap, and I´m sure that many of you will feel inspired and join the fun soon! There´s no sign up date, but don´t forget that your ATCs have to be in my hands before June 1. Can´t wait to see your Bird People ideas! 

Announcing my 8th Annual Blog Swap: Bird People!

Yes, it´s that time of the year again: time for my Annual ATC Blog Swap! This year´s theme is Bird People, and I hope you´ll be inspired by it!
The idea is to mix birds and people to create bird people creatures. Here are a few samples from my old photo files that might give you a hint what all this is about - these are NOT my ATCs for this swap (though you´ll find a few of the creatures revisited on my new ATCs):

                                                                                                       As always, you can use any technique you like - you can stamp, collage, draw, sew, or work digitally (if you use at least one tactile element). You can use ready-made bird people from stamps or collage sheets, or you make new creatures yourself.

 For the very first time, this swap will be a sponsored one which means that there´ll be a giveaway - watch out for my next update for the details!

 Please sign up via personal email (just click on the link in the sidebar) and let me know your snail mail address. There´s no sign up date.

Then send 3 ATCs to my address (that I´ll send you when I answer your email) so that I receive them before June 1, 2014.

 As always, you´ll find updates on my blog with links to all participants´ ATCs. So when you´ve finished your ATCs, please send me an email with the link to the place where you´ve posted them online, and I´ll add that link to my next update so that everyone can go to your blog or other website to have a look at your artwork. And we´ll have a Pinterest board again as a swap gallery for all to visit and comment.

 I´ll send out invitations to all previous participants, but this swap is open to all my visitors. Have fun creating!