Divine chocolate swap

Do you remember the chocolate swap from November?
This was real fun!

I got my package from Kathy (USA) and she did such a great job.
She refers to the two sides of winter, hence two different chocolate bars.



And of course two different artworks:

And she is so right, we have to accept both sides of winter, the dark and bitter and the light and sweet. And with such a nice swap and generosity, winter makes much more sense to me.
Thanks, Kathy!

How was your swap going? Please let me know!

First Paper Swap in 2012

Starting on January, 2nd, the first paper swap in 2012 will be around childhood themes on paper.

You can gather whatever you like, think of:
- (vitange) children's book pages
- paper with children's things on it
- flyers and postcards
- tickets from children's events
- children's drawings
- fairytale stuff
- nursery rhymes
- ads and clippings from magazines

Happy hunting!

Please sign in now! :)

lawendula@googlemail.com

"Spread the love"- a round robin

Welcome to my new project called „Spread the love“.

2012 will be a very special year. The old ways of learning through fear and disconnection will vanish now and the new ways of learning through love and connection will come in more and more.
Love is the key word to everything in our future. It heals, it embraces the dark, it nourishes the soul, it inspires and re-arranges, it gives you hope, it restores things, it makes you feel at home.

This little booklet is an artful project to spread love and make a sign for the new year 2012.
Inside you can sign in and write the word love in your finest hand and in an artful way. You can also write down some wishes, doodle, introduce yourself, leave traces, tell us something, whatever.


Then you take from others as much love as you want. Keep one for you and give the others to friends, family and even strangers. Put it behind a car’s wiper, drop it into a postbox, hand it over, leave it at a café, ad it to a letter, do what ever you like.

You can sign up now, the beginning is on January, 1st 2012.
There is only room for 15 “lovers”, if there will be more players, I will choose by random who will be in.
Please sign in with an e-mail to lawendula@googlemail.com and please ad your mailing address.

Thanks for being a part of this!

Love, LaWendula

Paper Swap in December

Hello everyone!

The last paper swap in this year, starting at December, 5 is about „Signs, symbols and pictograms“.

You can exchange all kinds of papers with symbols or signs on it, selfmade or bought, old or new. Make it playful, make it fun.

If you want to be in it, please send me an e-mail: lawendula@googlemail.com

There is one player missing for the November swap "Circles, dots and spots", so if you be quick, you can still sign in!!!

You can also still sign in for the „Chocolate bar swap“, hurry up, due date: November, 15 (see post below).


This is the widget for the swap. Feel free to download and use it on your blog, just click on the picture and copy it on Flickr.

Happy hunting, as always,

LaWendula

Quick Swap: Autumn blues? Send a chocolate bar!

Maybe you have had a golden October, like we had, maybe you already have got chilly nights? Maybe it’s grey, rainy, stormy? Maybe you miss the light?

What ever mood you are in, cheer up with a chocolate bar coming from the other side of the world or just around the neighbourhood and make someone happy by sending one!

How does it work?

1. Sign up via e-mail! Due date is November, 15 2011
Write to lawendula@googlemail.com

2. Buy a chocolate bar (please prefer organic and/or fair trade if possible) and write down a nice, cheerful quote, line, poem or what ever to cheer up your swap partner. Wrap it in a nice piece of paper or turn it into a little work of art. Make it playful, do what you want. Follow your gut feeling, there are no wrongs.

3. On Nov., 15 you will get an e-mail with the pairing list. Write to your swap partner, exchange mailing adresses and mail your chocolate bar to her/him.

4. Receive, enjoy, cheer up!



Hugs,

LaWendula


PS: Don't worry, Paper Swap "Circles and dots" will be announced soon. You can still sign up for it, if you wish.

Paper Swap in November

This will be fun: gather all kinds of papers with circles, spots and dots on it, or maybe even round papers?!
Let your imagination flow...



You can sign up NOW!

lawendula@googlemail.com

The collage box #4 is ready for take-off now

Tomorrow I will send it out, the collage box #4.
It will find its way to 21 players all around the world. First Poland, then the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, South Africa and the USA.

I will let you know, when it's your turn to send it on and you will get an e-mail from me with the adress for the next stop.

I hope this will be fun for you all and I am looking forward to see what everyone makes of it!

And this is the order of sending:

1. Dorota
2. Michelle
3. Gosia
4. Katarzyna
5. Monica
6. Judith
7. Christian
8. Angelika
9. Renate
10. Karen
11. Sally
12. Barbara
13. Kate
14. Laura
15. Beth
16. Sharmon
17. Mariana
18. Sarala
19. Catonya
20. Nicole
21. Rebeca
22. Tammy


Have a great time with the box!

Paper Swap in 2012

Here you can see, what is about to come on Paper Swap 2012

January 2012 „Mother Goose’s studio“ (all around childhood things)

February 2012 Crazy swap (wait for more details)

March 2012 „A rose is a rose is a rose...“ Flowers, plants and trees

April 2012 „I wandered lonely as a cloud...“ Poetry, Lyrics and wordart

May 2012 „Shine thru“ (tissues, napkins, translucent papers)

June 2012 „Sisterhood is powerful“ (women issues on paper)

Summer break in July/August (Quick swaps may be likely :))

September 2012 Junk Journals

October 2012 ATCs and other cards (postcards, playing cards, oracle cards)

November 2012 Bundles

December 2012 Yummy paper (food related paper, food motives, food packages


And for the rest of the year, you can now sign up for:

November, 7 2011: „Round and around“ (Circles, spots and dots)

December, 5 2011: „What ever that does mean?!“ Signs, pictographs, symbols


Remember: You can sign in for the whole year, if you want to, just let me know. Please make sure you are not on holiday for weeks!

You can also sign up for the „Everyday paper“-Swap on October, 3. Please sign up NOW.
And there are 5 places left for the collage box. But I will close it tomorrow, so please be quick! Thanks!

Paper Swap History

The October Swap „Every day papers“ will be the 20th Paper Swap. I’ve started this project two years ago, in October 2009.
I wanted a swap that was simple, easy to made, not too expensive and for everyone. I wanted something to connect people all over the world.

During the last two years paper swap brought so much fun and is such a sign of generousity from people, no matter if they are from Europe, the USA, Africa, Asia, Australia or New Zealand.
There are some of you who never missed a swap, some are hopping on and off,  some made friends with the swaps, some only take part once in a lifetime, but we all got something out of it in the end.

And I promise, I will continue this lovely experience through the year 2012. There will be ten wonderful new themes and at least three quick swaps in between. I will let you know the new themes in October 2011 with the start of the next swap.


But let us take a look back first.


It all started with:
Paper Swap in October 2009 (with a thanks to lovely Jacky from Australia, who was my first swap partner ever)
Followed by:
Tags in November 2009 (a big hug goes out to Jilly from NYC- thank you dear!)
Cards in January 2010 (I can never thank you enough for all your lovely gifts, Seth, NYC again)
Crazy Swap in February 2010 (It was so much fun, Patty from the USA)
ABC and numbers in March 2010 (Merci et bisous to Ange from France)
Mini Books in April 2010 (I still use them, your lovely mini books, Cynnie from Germany)
Colors in May 2010 (Thank you, Lisa from New Zealand)
Art failures in June 2010 (Great stuff, thank you Deb, USA)
Vintage in September 2010 (Hugs to you, siostra, Eliza from Poland)
Embellishment in October 2010 (No swap for me this time)
Mail and postage in November 2010 (again no swap for me)
Wrapping and boxes in December (Thank you so much, Erin, I love your stuff!)
Fresh start in January 2011 (no swap for me)
Magazines and newspapers in February 2011 (Thanks to June in Singapore!)
Scavenger hunt in March 2011 (This was fun, Carolyn from the UK and Jamie from the USA)
Scripts & Scribbles in April 2011 (Robert from the USA, you really made my day with your sendings! And Laurie, USA too, it was like xmas!)
Paper back swap in May 2011 (I missed this one)
Culture and events in June 2011 (This was fun! Thanks Laura from Vermont, USA)
Wild at art in September 2011 (Waiting for the sendings from my partner Fran in the USA)


And soon to come:
Every day papers in October 2011
Circles, spots and dots in November 2011
Signs, pictogramms, symbols in December 2011




You can sign in for the rest of the year, if you feel like it. You never tried? Give it a go! Just contact me on lawendula@googlemail.com


I want to thank all who have made this such a flowing and lovely project over the years! You are wonderful! I am looking forward to have you in!!!




PS: Is there any special theme you want to try? Any fresh ideas? Any suggestions? Anything you want to re-do? Just let me know!

Swallenges in October!

What is a swallenge*? A crossover between a swap and a challenge! I have two lovely projects to offer in October and you can sign in for both NOW!

First:


Because the second collage box has vanished without a trace somewhere in the UK, I decided to start a new one.
It’s for all those who have been in the Collage Box #2 Project and for those, who have not been in any Collage Box Project so far.
Please do NOT sign up, if you have been into this project before (if you have signed in for #1 or #3).

What is the collage box?
It’s a box with 144 (12x12) snippets, cuttings and scraps for collage making, sent out by me, travelling all around the world. If it arrives at your home, you will take 12 items out of the box and put 12 from your stuff in again and send it on to the next one on the list.

You can learn about Box #1 here.

This sounds like fun? Right up your alley? Ok, then sign in at lawendula@googlemail.com
(please let me know your mailing-adress when you sign in- thx)

Due date will be September, 30 or if we are 25 players (because otherwise the box would travel endlessly). Please do not sign in, if you will be on a long holiday (more than 3 weeks), because the box then will got stuck for too long.

Second:


And of course you can sign in for another paper swap. The theme is "Your every day paper".
Think of: newspaperpages, flyers, packages, ads, bills, receits, tickets, labels, things out of your always-at-hand-stacks....etc.
Make it playful! Make it fun!

As always: sign in at lawendula@googlemail.com


*Thank you Seth for this great wordcreation!

Three lovely little swaps

My warmest thanks go out to Anne-Marie from Canada. We did the Quick Swap in August. These are my favs from what she sent me.


And also to Lee, a little private swap, these are my favs from her. (Oh that birdie paper! I adore it!)



And to Robert, another private swap, I really love that little scrap bag filled with treasures!



You all make my work more wonderful! Thanks! :)


PS Of course they all send much more, the pictures only show my favorite things.

Paper Swap "wild at (he)art"

It's time again. The next paper swap is only a few weeks from now.
So sign in, if you want to play!

This time's topic: "Express yourself on paper without censoring", that means: do whatever you like, painting, doodeling, drawing, altered art, collaging, mixed media and do it wild, without listening to your inner critics, just DO IT!
And have fun!



Join us on: lawendula@googlemail.com