Deco Rotation Group #1 FULL!

[Cat's Cradle]

Rotation Swap Policies
1. Groups will be composed of no more than six people in each.
2. Group members may join no more than two circle journal/rotation swap groups at a time.
3. To join a group, you must have a trader rating of +15 and have successfully participated in three swaps.

Other Pertinent Information
- If a player gets behind and the circle members are uncomfortable about leaving a negative iTrader, the Host shall, after notification to AFA staff of their intent, leave a negative iTrader for the delinquint player upon approval from AFA staff provided that the player:
- has not responded to PM's from the Host despite logging in at AFA
- has not posted to the thread for (2) weeks

Limited sign ups for first-time participants. Individuals new to circle journals at ATCsforALL.com can only sign up for one journal group initially. After the successful completion of their group, they are welcome to sign up for multiple groups but must check with a Moderator before signing up for more than three(3).

Please ask questions BEFORE you sign up.

Because these are treated the same as Pick-A-Themes (PAT) each person that completes a deco page is entitled to a TRADER RATING. Likewise, if a person does not fulfill their obligation to their partner a Negative Rating is posted if one partner sends and is received, but never received a deco from their partner.

Rotation Group Participants
As a participant, you are required to
--check in with your Rotation Group at least once a week
--report to group when you will be away from net or out of town and where you stand on decos at that time
--report when decos are mailed (it is suggested that you photograph the stamped envelope containing the page with the recipient's address for verification of mailing)
--report when you receive your deco and from whom
--notify the group and your partner if you cannot mail on time
--notify your next trading partner, if you fall behind, not to create or mail a deco to you until you are caught up.

Note: If you do not post to your group thread or to a Group Host for more than two (2) weeks, the Group Host may report you to the Moderators and your membership in the Circle Journals/Rotation Groups will go on suspension. Your name will be taken off the rotation and decos will not be sent to you. NO EXCEPTIONS. We expect active participation in all the groups.

* You will be notified to PM your Journal Group Host with your FULL contact information (Name, mailing address, email address, and all telephone numbers).

Group Members and Themes:

1. catscradle - Monochromatic Purple (any subject - no clowns; use any combination of colors in purple family)
2. Robin - Butterflies
3. ScrapPea - Games no clowns, please
4. Charlie Brown - Trees
5. redplantlady - Red, Black and Neutral (Cream, Grey, White etc) - for my pages - which means the subject of the pages is open (well mostly! but please not cute)
6. meredithu - Angels and Demons (I do not like clowns either) I was thinking the war on good vs.evil...Everyone can take it for what you will. good/evil, or angels/demons. This means if the page depicts good vs. evil and there is not an angel in the scene I won't be mad.

Mailing:

mailed -- received
catscradle -> redplantlady -> meredithu -> Charlie Brown -> ScrapPea -> Robin -> home - HOLD at Robin
Robin -> catscradle -> redplantlady -> meredithu -> Charlie Brown -> ScrapPea -> home!
ScrapPea -> Robin -> catscradle -> Charlie Brown -> meredithu -> redplantlady -> home - CC to mail tip-in pages
Charlie Brown -> ScrapPea -> Robin -> catscradle -> meredithu -> redplantlady -> home - CC to mail tip-in pages
meredithu -> Charlie Brown -> ScrapPea -> Robin -> catscradle ->redplantlady -> home - CC to mail tip-in pages
redplantlady -> meredithu -> Charlie Brown -> ScrapPea -> Robin -> catscradle -> home

[Cat's Cradle]

All righty!! If you're already in one moley group, you can join this group as well. However, if you're in 2 moley groups already, you'll have to wait for the next round.

I'm up for the Deco Swap Group. Who's gonna join me? Room for 5 more!

Once you've been accepted to the group (there's a lot I have to check), please start thinking about how you want to do your Deco.

You can make a shaped Deco, or a basic square or rectangle. Your cover should be somewhat sturdy, but doesn't have to be chunky-page sturdy. The cover should reflect your chosen theme.

This group will be mailing entire books. Each player will decorate a two page spread, with their info on one of the pages.

When you make your Deco book, you should include 14 pages between your covers if you want to use a 2-page spread, 12 if you plan on using the front cover and first page. You--the owner--will decorate the covers (front/back) on the outside. You may decorate your first page (after the front cover) or leave it blank.

Please have your mailing address somewhere on your Deco--this is usually done on one of the covers.

Questions? Please ask!

[Robin]

I will play along!

[craftyvox]

Questions? Please ask!

I have a bunch of questions

I've been intruiged by these groups for quite some time now -- done a circle journal once and LOVED it. However, I'm unsure what medium is accepted and all, is it just handdrawn/handpainted or can other media be used as well? And does it have to be the accordion style moley or can it be a 'normal' moleskine booklet with normal pages as well? Also, since I've read something about the moleys being sent with tracking/delivery confirmation, I guess that kinda rules out nonUS/Canadian participants, as that would add quite a bit to the postage costs etc?

[Cat's Cradle]

I have a bunch of questions

I've been intruiged by these groups for quite some time now -- done a circle journal once and LOVED it. However, I'm unsure what medium is accepted and all, is it just handdrawn/handpainted or can other media be used as well? And does it have to be the accordion style moley or can it be a 'normal' moleskine booklet with normal pages as well? Also, since I've read something about the moleys being sent with tracking/delivery confirmation, I guess that kinda rules out nonUS/Canadian participants, as that would add quite a bit to the postage costs etc?

This can be any media chosen by each artist. Also, this is not a Moleskine circle group. It's a Deco group, where each artist makes their own book that gets sent out. If using shapes for the covers, the pages should be the same shape as the cover.

Generally, tracking/delivery confirmation is recommended in these groups because of the amount of time and effort put into them by each artist. International participants are welcome, as everyone in the group mails to each other once.

[Jewels]

What exactly is a Deco? From what you said to Craftyvox, some kind of blank book that could be any shape?

[craftyvox]

This can be any media chosen by each artist. Also, this is not a Moleskine circle group. It's a Deco group, where each artist makes their own book that gets sent out. If using shapes for the covers, the pages should be the same shape as the cover.

Generally, tracking/delivery confirmation is recommended in these groups because of the amount of time and effort put into them by each artist. International participants are welcome, as everyone in the group mails to each other once.

Thanks for the answers and my apologies for confusing the moley vs deco!! I'd love to participate some day, but I just checked the costs of tracking/delivery confirmation for international shipping and ouch, my student-wallet can't really cover such expenses for the time being. But, come 2012 I should be back in the workforce again so I'm going to keep my options open till then

[Cat's Cradle]

What exactly is a Deco? From what you said to Craftyvox, some kind of blank book that could be any shape?

If you take a look at the Deco Buddy List there are some examples there.

Basically, they are collaborative art journals. You make your book from art papers, usually single signature if you sew your binding, and then decorate the covers. It gets sent out--some are left on their own until complete, going from one person to the next--and returned to the owner when complete. In this case, you'll be working in 5 different deco books on whatever theme chosen by the owner.

These differ from the Moleskine groups due to time taken--this swap is much shorter--and the type of book.

[ScrapPea]

I'd love to do this! Please sign me up.
As for a theme, let me think for just a day or so. I've been trolling for a Moley group to form (#16, I presume), yet this sounds similar and just as exciting.

[Cat's Cradle]

Welcome aboard, ScrapPea! No worries about the theme quite yet. Once we get the group full (total of 6 on this one), we'll get a new thread. That's when you'll really need to think about your theme.

[Jewels]

I'd love to sign up but I'm in a Moley group for the first time. It won't be finished until next April. I don't think we're allowed to sign up for more than one at a time. Are we? Or would a Deco group be under a different heading?

[Cat's Cradle]

You are correct about the restriction. For first time book journal rotation swaps, you are limited to one. Decos fall under the same restriction as moleys.

After this one is finished, I'll probably start another deco group.

[Charlie Brown]

Oh this looks like a lot of fun! I'm new to this, can you tell me the time commitment? 5-6 months? How much time would one typically have to work on a book before sending it off to the next player?

[Cat's Cradle]

It's about a 5 month commitment. Since it's a two page spread, we'll probably do 2-3 weeks to work once the book is received.

Also, unlike the Moley exchanges, these little books won't have tip-in pages. Each artist works directly on the pages of the deco books, so it's important to use quality art papers (i.e. mixed media, watercolor, etc.) for the pages of the books. I suggest no lighter than around 100# weight.

Part of what this thread is for is to hash out all the details so everyone is on the same page, so to speak.

[Charlie Brown]

Great, that sounds reasonable to me! More questions then! What size would I make my book - I know they can vary some, but what is average or what is expected for this group? What about the number of sheets in the signature? Is it 14 unfolded sheets - sorry I'm not quite understanding that part -can give more details so that I can get a better idea?

[Cat's Cradle]

I would say probably no larger than 4"x6" for this group. An accordion moley is 3.5"x5.5", so that would be comparable.

As for the pages, that's 14 pages....7 sheets folded. If you can't do them all in one signature (or however you want to bind your deco), you can always to 2 signatures with 4 sheets each.

The 14 is if you want this deco to go just this round. You can always add more pages than the minimum.

[Charlie Brown]

Thanks, please add me to the group.

[Cat's Cradle]

Will do.

[redplantlady]

Room for me?

[Cat's Cradle]

Sure is! Welcome aboard!

That leaves one spot open, then we can start discussing our mailing schedule.