Society of Stamp & Scrap-aholics

December Card Chain Challenge

WELL, I CERTAINLY FEEL LIKE A RIGHT SMART IDJIT.

I didn't mean to capitalize all those letters, but I'm too busy to rewrite that last sentence.

A kindly (and observant) friend named Arlene sent me an email asking about December's Card Chain Challenge - which was supposed to open up on November 24, in this Year of Our Lord, 2009. 

Dang! I knew I was forgetting something.

This was my first year to host Thanksgiving Dinner, (or any Fancy-Pants Dinner, for that matter) so the CCC sort of got lost in my mad rush to create the Best Turkey Ever. (Actually, this is a lie. Spouse makes the Best Turkey Ever, and he did it this year, too. I just did everything else.)

Oh, why am I even trying to explain myself? I think we all know my wits are as scattered as straw after a barn dance. So let's just get to the good stuff!

Despite being almost a week overdue, and despite this being the Christmas season when most people are rushed, we shall be having another Card Chain Challenge. If you want your card to reach it's recipient before Christmas, I'd get cracking!

For anyone new to the Card Chain Challenge, the basic idea is that you receive a fellow cardmaker's snail mail address, make her a card, and mail it to her. The next person on the list does the same thing with you, so you get a card as well. Everybody gets a hand-crafted card so everybody wins!

(And, if I do say so myself, we've had some mighty fine cards flying around the globe with these challenges.)

You will also post the cards you receive in the online gallery of your choice, and I will post these blog/gallery addresses on my blog along with a picture of the card. Everybody gets increased visibility and/or blog traffic, so everybody wins!

The whole process is fairly straightforward, so the chances of my screwing up are minimal. Everybody avoids administrative duties, so everybody wins!

Each person will make a card for the person immediately above her in the chain. The first person in the chain will make a card for the last person in the chain.

See Guidelines here.

3 Challenge Options

You can use as many of the following options as you like, but you're only required to use one of them.

Color Palette:

 

Template:

 

Theme:

Christmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa / New Year's

(or any other holiday that comes around this time of year -

Do we have any takers for Boxing Day?)

Deadlines

Mr. Linky sign-up: Midnight, EST, Sunday, December 6, 2009. Make sure you also send your email and snail mail addresses, etc to:

Mail your card: postmarked no later than Monday, December 14, 2009, in your area of the world, to the person you've been assigned. Send that individual an email telling her to be on the lookout!  (I'd try to be speedy if you want this to arrive prior to Christmas.)

Upload and send me a link to received card: email me the link no later than Midnight, EST, Monday, December 28, 2009.

If you have any questions, please email me or leave a comment.

I know it's a busy time, but it's one of the nicest cards you'll ever get - and a legitimate excuse to sit down and create something whilst all others are gadding about in the holiday rush!

(At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!)

October Card Chain Challenge Results

Last month I invited folks to sign up for a card swap, and we had a dozen participants from all over the world: Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States.

This month we did it again, and we doubled our number for a total of 25 card makers, and we added Croatia, Canada, and England to our list of countries represented. Is that awesome or what?! I absolutely LOOOOOOOOOOVE the power we have to shrink our world just by using paper and glue and a little tool called the Internet.

I feel like Mighty Mouse!

Unlike a traditional card or ATC swap, this style of exchange involves making one card and then sending it to the person above you on the list. We had three different "challenges" to choose from:

a color palette

AND/OR

a card template

AND/OR

a theme:

Thanksgiving / Gratitude

Check out the cards below; each has a link to the artist's blog or photostream so you can see more of her work.

Paula in Australia sent Michelle in British Columbia, Canada:

AND Paula sent a second card, to boot:

Michelle in British Columbia, Canada, sent Vianna in Florida:

Vianna in Florida sent Brenda in California:

Brenda in California sent Debbie in North Carolina:

Debbie in North Carolina sent Agnieszka in England.

Agnieszka in England sent Judy in New Jersey:

 

and here's a little close-up of that butterfly:

 

Judy in New Jersey sent Arlene in California:

 

Arlene in California sent Sanne in Denmark:

Sanne in Denmark sent Kelly in California:

Kelly in California sent Lynda in New York:

Lynda in New York sent Pia in Denmark:

Pia in Denmark sent Jane in Croatia:

Jane in Croatia sent Deirdre in Ireland:

Deirdre in Ireland sent Dawn in New Zealand:

Dawn in New Zealand sent Judy in Alabama a card and a bookmark:

Judy in Alabama sent Suzanne in New Hampshire:

Suzanne in New Hampshire sent Joy in Indiana:

 

Joy in Indiana sent Hannah in Missouri a card and some goodies:

 

Hannah in Missouri sent Heather in Ireland:

 

Heather in Ireland sent Anette in Norway:

 

Anette in Norway sent Lin in Ohio:

Lin in Ohio sent Daria in Wisconsin:

 

Daria in Wisconsin sent Sue in Ontario, Canada:

Sue in Ontario, Canada, sent Deborah (me) in Indiana:

And it arrived in this totally cool envelope she made out of a calendar page!

(I very carefully removed the address label so you could see it in all its beauty!)

From Indiana, I sent to Paula in Australia:

And there you have it!!!  I haven't received everybody's photos, but as soon as I do, I'll post them here, so be sure to check back so you don't miss out on all that Crafty Goodness!

Again, we had such a good time - thank you to all the ladies who participated!!!

Check back here on Tuesday, November 24th, when you can sign up for the December Card Chain Challenge. I recommend trying it out - the reward is definitely worth the effort!

October Card Chain Challenge

Since last month's Card Chain Challenge was so much fun, and since a number of people expressed an interest in signing up if we did it again, we're going to do it again!

The basic idea is that you receive a fellow cardmaker's snail mail address, make her a card, and mail it to her. Everybody gets a hand-crafted card so everybody wins!

You will also post the cards you receive in the online gallery of your choice, and I will post these blog/gallery addresses on my blog along with a picture of the card. Everybody gets increased visibility and/or blog traffic, so everybody wins!

The whole process is fairly straightforward, so the chances of my screwing up are minimal. Everybody avoids administrative duties, so everybody wins!

Each person will make a card for the person immediately above her in the chain. The first person in the chain will make a card for the last person in the chain.

See Guidelines here.

3 Challenge Options

You can use as many of the following options as you like, but you're only required to use one of them.

Color Palette:

Template:

Theme:

Thanksgiving / Gratitude

Deadlines

Mr. Linky sign-up: Midnight, EST, Wednesday, October 21, 2009. Make sure you also send your email and snail mail addresses, etc to:

Mail your card: postmarked no later than Tuesday, November 3, 2009, in your area of the world, to the person you've been assigned. Send that individual an email telling her to be on the lookout! 

Upload and send me a link to received card: email me the link no later than Midnight, EST, Tuesday, November 10, 2009.

If you have any questions, please email me or leave a comment.

I really hope people will hop on the bandwagon here! We had a great time last month!

Card Chain Challenge Results

If you've been following along here, about three weeks ago I invited folks to sign up for a card swap. We had a dozen participants, and it was a very global affair: Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, and the United States were all represented!

Talk about exciting! Gigi was jumping up and down every time we received notice that a new card had come in! And just about everyone who received a card from another country was thrilled to see an envelope with a foreign stamp and postmark sitting in their mailbox. (I betcha there were some very curious postal workers out there!)

Unlike a traditional card or ATC swap, this exchange involved making one card and then sending it to the person above you on the list. You had three different "challenges" to choose from:

a color palette

    

OR

a card template

OR

a theme: Get Well Soon / Encouragement

Check out the cards below; each contains information about the sender and her blog address or photostream so you can see more of her work.

Heather in Ireland sent Hannah in America:

Heather's Flickr Photostream

Hannah in the USA sent me:

Jorganna's Place of Fascination and Hannah's Flickr Photostream

I sent Anette in Norway:

My Flickr Photostream

Anette in Norway sent Judy in USA:

Anette's Flickr Photostream

Judy in the USA sent Pia in Denmark two cards because - as she put it - "it just seemed a waste to send an envelope so far with just one card in it! (I love Judy...):

and

Judy's Flickr Photostream

Pia in Denmark sent Dawn in New Zealand a card AND some goodies:

 

Kreative Fornemmelser and Pia's Flickr Photostream

Dawn in New Zealand sent to Arlene in the USA TWO goodies - a card and a notepad:

 

 Dawn's World and Dawn's Flickr Photostream

Arlene in the USA sent Paula in Australia TWO cards:

Paula in Australia sent Cassi in the USA:

Pajalu's Papers & Fabric Addiction and Paula's Flickr Photostream

Cassi in the USA sent Tomo in Japan:

Cassi's 2Peas Photostream

Tomo in Japan sent Alice in the USA:

Tomo's Attic and Tomo's Flickr Photostream

and last of all, but certainly NOT least...

Alice in the USA sent Heather (first in our list above) in Ireland:

Alice's {Little} Wonderland and Alice's Flickr Photostream

This was such a good time!

Thank you to all the ladies who participated!!!

Check back here on Friday, October 16th, when you can sign up for the next monthly Card Chain. I recommend trying it out - the reward is definitely worth the effort!

Card Chain Challenge Guidelines

Card Eligibility

• Cards can be any shape or size. (Note: postage may be higher for cards that are considered larger/smaller than the standard card size or do not fit the established norm in the receiver's country.

• Cards do not have to be original designs - you can send a card from another challenge, etc as long as it meets at least ONE of the challenge options.

• Cards have to meet at least ONE of the three challenge options provided. (You can use all three if you want, but only one is required.)

• Cards are not required to employ any specific materials or mediums, nor are you limited to products by specific manufacturers - unless a specific challenge requires it. (Stamping, for instance, is not required, despite the author's addiction to rubber and ink, and materials can be made by any manufacturer.) However, all materials and mediums must be legal. (Making a card out of paper created from certain plants, alas, is a no-no.) Again, be aware that anything that adds thickness past the acceptable norm will result in higher postage.

 

Instructions

• To participate in this CCC, you must have posted at least twenty (20) cards at an online gallery (like your blog, Flickr photostream, 2Peas gallery, Splitcoaster's gallery, etc).

• Only one entry per person per CCC.

• This CCC is open to participants in ALL countries.

• You will need to post a link to one of your cards in an online gallery (see examples above) on Mr. Linky below.

• You will also need to send me an email with the following information:

• your snail mail address in the proper format /convention for your country – for example, in the USA, we have a standard 3 or 4 line address, all justified right, with the city and 2-letter abbreviated state followed by the zip code:

 

Jane Doe

123 Main Street

Apartment C

Small Town, IN 46227

USA (if mailing from a foreign country)

• your e-mail address, your blog address (if you have one), 
• a link to one of your online galleries or photostreams (if you have one), and
• Any special rules that may apply to mail in your country (like standard letter size, weight, and thickness).

• You will need to mail your card to the assigned person postmarked no later than the deadline provided.

• Once you receive your card, you will need to post it on one of your online galleries and email me a link to it. Please credit the person appropriately. I will post all the links sent to me here on my blog.

The Card Chain's Maiden Voyage

Okay, here we go!

This is a Card Chain Challenge (aka "CCC"). The basic idea is that you receive a fellow cardmaker's snail mail address, make her a card, and mail it to her. Everybody gets a hand-crafted card so everybody wins!

You will also post the cards you receive in the online gallery of your choice, and I will post these blog/gallery addresses on my blog. Everybody gets increased visibility and/or blog traffic, so everybody wins!

The whole process is fairly straightforward, so the chances of my screwing up are minimal. Everybody avoids administrative duties, so everybody wins!

Since this is the first time I'm hosting this event, I'm going to limit it to 12 participants. (This will give me a chance to learn what I overlooked, tweak as necessary, etc for future CCC's.) If more than 12 people sign up, only the first 12 people will be eligible. However, if anyone has to drop out, is removed, or is not otherwise eligible, the next person down the line will move up. 

Each person will make a card for the person immediately below her in the chain. The last person in the chain will make a card for the first person in the chain.

Card Eligibility

• Cards can be any shape or size. (Just understand that postage may be higher for cards that are considered larger/smaller than the standard card size or do not fit the established norm in the receiver's country.)

• Cards do not have to be original designs - you can send a card from another challenge, etc as long as it meets at least ONE of the challenge options.

• Cards have to meet at least ONE of the three challenge options provided. (You can use all three if you want, but only one is required.)

• Cards are not required to employ any specific materials or mediums, nor are you limited to products by specific manufacturers - unless a specific challenge requires it. (Stamping, for instance, is not required, despite the author's addiction to rubber and ink, and materials can be made by any manufacturer.) However, all materials and mediums must be legal. (Making a card out of paper manufactured from hemp, alas, is a no-no.) Again, be aware that anything that adds thickness past the acceptable norm will result in higher postage.

The Challenge

Your card must employ ONE (or more, if you like) of the following three options:

This template:

(You do not have to follow this template slavishly - just make sure we can see some sort of resemblance to it. Also feel free to flip it, etc as you see fit.)

OR

This color scheme:

(Please don't be like me and go batty trying to match these colors exactly - just get in the same vicinity. And, no, you don't have to use all the colors if you choose this challenge option.) 

OR

This theme: Get Well Soon OR Encouragement

Instructions

• To participate in this CCC, you must have posted at least twenty (20) cards at an online gallery (like your blog, Flickr photostream, 2Peas gallery, Splitcoaster's gallery, etc).

• Only one entry per person per CCC.

• This CCC is open to participants in ALL countries.  

• You will need to post a link to one of your cards in an online gallery (see examples above) on Mr. Linky below.

• You will also need to send me an email with 3 pieces of information (see below) so I can pass them on to the person who is making you a card. (If you do not send me this information within two hours of signing up with Mr. Linky, I will have to remove you from the chain and give your spot to someone else.)

• your email address, and
• your SNAIL MAIL address, and
• the cost of postage and any special rules that may apply to mail in your country.

• You will need to mail your card to the assigned person postmarked no later than the deadline provided below. 

• Once you receive your card, you will need to post it on one of your online galleries and email me a link to it. Please credit the person appropriately. I will post all the links sent to me here on my blog.

• Failure to comply with the rules will result in your not being eligible for the next two CCC's. If you fail to comply in the next CCC, I reserve the right to permanently ban you from participating. (I don't think anyone would stiff anybody out of her card, but I need to have a way to protect both the participants and future chain challenges... wrote the lawyer.)

• I reserve the right to amend these rules as needed. 

Deadlines

Mr. Linky sign-up: Midnight, EST, Monday, September 14, 2009. Make sure you also send your email and snail mail addresses with postal prices and any special instructions to: 

Mail your card: postmarked no later than Tuesday, September 29, 2009, in your area of the world, to the person you've been assigned. Send that individual an email telling her to be on the lookout! 

Upload and send me a link to received card: email me the link no later than Midnight, EST, Tuesday, October 6, 2009.

If you have any questions, please email me or leave a comment.

I really hope people will hop on the bandwagon here! I think this could be a lot of fun!

Chain, Chain, Chain...

"Chain, chain, chain... chain of cards...."

I've been thinking of a way that we could all win something, and then it dawned on me: A Card Chain Challenge!

This is a pretty simple idea, and I thought we could try it out with a dozen people first and see how things went. If everyone was happy with the results, we could expand the the number of players the next time we tried it.

Here's a rough idea of how it would work.

Each person posts a link on Mr. Linky. We'll go with 12 people for this example:

1. Anne
2. Barb
3. Cara
4. Dana
5. Elly
6. Fran
7. Gina
8. Hedy
9. Inga
10. Jena
11. Kris
12. Lisa

The link would be to your online gallery (blog, website or photostream). Each person would send me an email with her snail mail address and the postage cost with any special postal rules in her country. I would then distribute them thus: Lisa would receive Anne's address; Anne would receive Barb's address, Barb would receive Cara's address; etc. Lisa would send Anne a card; Anne would send Barb a card; Barb would send Cara a card, etc.

Each chain would have a theme or design template or color scheme (or maybe all three)? (You could use a card you've already made for another challenge as long as it fit one of the three guidelines.) We would have a 48-72 hour period to sign up. Then we would have two weeks to make a card for our assigned person and snail mail it to her. (There would be a postmark deadline.) Once the person receives her card she would post it on her website or photostream with a note about its creator, and I'll post it here with a link to both the giver and the receiver's photostream/blog.

A caveat. If someone signed up and didn't keep her end of the bargain, she wouldn't be allowed to participate in the next two chains. If she bailed twice, she'd be out for good. And ALL participants would need to have a minimum of 20 cards posted on some online gallery or blog, etc to participate. If anyone got burned, she would receive a card from me.

If things go well and there's enough interest, we can open it up to more people.

What do you think? Any takers?