Due Date: April 15, 2022
Signup/Withdraw Date: April 5, 2022
Number of Cards: 3 for 3
Number of Participants: All are welcome
Media: Open… please no heavy/bulky embellishments
Remember your first cautious steps around AFA? Learning how everything works, meeting your first AFA art buddies? Remember your first swap? Wish you could redo those cards with the skills you have now? Well here we go!
For this swap we’re going create some new cards based on the theme of the first swaps we joined here. You don’t need the specific name of the swap, although that’s great if you can, just theme is enough. If you can’t remember your VERY first swap, think back as early as you can. This should be a fun trip down memory lane and also a useful tool to see how much we’ve grown on our individual art journies. How do you feel your cards for this swap are different from the ones you made for your original swap?
Example: My first swap here at AFA was ‘On Cresent Moon’. One of my cards is shown here very bottom right. (Mouse climbing up to get the moon made of cheese.)
Rules
- All cards should be 2.5” x 3.5” on sturdy card stock or better.
- Original swap theme or name must be on the back of the ATC.
- All cards must be sent in individual plastic sleeves for protection.
- Send only your best work now please... how does this compare to your best work in early days?
- Please include username and both swaps name/theme on the back of your cards.
- Keep cards as flat as possible—cards with heavy embellishments will not be swapped.
- Jump in the thread and share your stories as much as you’re comfortable doing so.
- An additional card for the host would be a treasured treat but is in no way expected or required.
Postage
United States--Please include a standard or business size SASE or a large address label and 1 forever stamp.
International -- Please include a SAE or a large address label and $1 well concealed.
*Note: Please remember to enclose your postage. Cards without return postage will not be swapped.
(Sorry, but I recently had 4 players in the same swap forget postage or enclose too little. It adds up.)
Other Info
Please message me for my address when you are ready to mail and post to the thread when you send your cards. If you already have my address, it has not changed.
When your cards arrive to me I will mark 'received' by your name in the sign up roster. I will also notify you in the thread.
When you receive your returns, please leave iTrader for me and rep points for the artists. I will add a link by each name in the roster to make this part easier. I will also leave iTrader for you.
Well this is a fun idea. My first swap was "People of the City" and I had no idea what I was doing. At least my photography has gotten better, and evidently I loved that white gel pen.
I am lurking, with a little chat first, so I will be subscribed. Great idea! I remember very well my first three swaps, after joining in late summer of 2015. All the hosts were (and still are) wonderful! The very first one was “Moonlight Magic” with VickiZ. In quick succession I joined “Teddy bears in Halloween Costumes” with BlancoLobo. Then “Old Hollywood Glam” (or something like that) with Barkesm, now Miss Fame. My Audrey Hepburn as Eliza is still in my gallery on the last page. All 4 teddy bears are also there, I never want to delete them. I will have to give some thought to current improvements. It’s funny, but I really like some of my earlier stuff and even wonder if I could do that well now! I think Wow, that was a lot of unnecessary detail and effort!
Now Hosting:Marvelous Masquerade Paperdolls Mail Art Swap
I wanted to add that if you look at your profile page, you can look under your profile picture and there are links to "Find Latest Posts" and "Find latest Starter Thread". Both of these can go back pretty far. I've posted a lot since I became a moderator, so I couldn't follow that back too far. I think if you are active in other threads that might limit how far back you can go. That said, it does go back 20 pages for me. On the other hand, I was able to use "find latest starter thread" to discover that I was running a swap on the OS (old site) and everyone had to move over to here. FWIW, that swap was Bamboo Cutter Daughter's 5 Impossible Tasks.
Unlike Cici I'm not sure about my earliest swaps. I'd probably have to check my collection and see if I can figure it out.
JenUrebel, yes you did! I like it a lot though, so I guess we’re twinners on that.
Another of my early swaps had to do with mandalas. I made twice as many as I needed and sent in the best of the lot, but didn’t much love any of them. About 6 months later I ‘discovered’ white gel pen, pulled out those old cards, outlined my shapes and fell in love! I’ve always felt a little badly that I hadn’t had the skill set yet to do that before, on my submissions. Hadn’t even heard of gel pen at that point. I’ll post a picture later … when the cat isn’t in my lap. I can’t get to them now.
Enjoy your lurk, CiCiCreates. I just got back from your gallery. Those bears are adorable! My favorite is either the flower fairy bear or the chef… I can’t decide. I’d know that Eliza was yours anywhere! And this was early days! Looks like you’ve always had a knack for faces. I doubt I could do one at that level now.
But I too look back sometimes and ask myself questions. Like, if I’m growing in skill or just getting faster. Am I challenging myself with variety? Do I have enough detail? Etc.
I don’t know yet, but I think looking back will be fun.
I have chatted so much that my last 499 posts only go back to 2021. I am now looking at my join date of 2012.
I also looked at the swap gallery. I dont know how to make one, but some hosts have done swap galleries.
I reread the rules again, and clicked on your link. I wanted to make sure it wasnt about the 1st swap I hosted. I joined in August 2021 and didnt host my first swap til 2016. Angels Among Us: APCs Due May 26 I wanted so bad to get the 3 swaps under my belt so I could host the PAT, pick a theme. I hosted that a few times. What a headache.
ETA, that makes me want to host another APC swap for fish cards.
Ok one more thingy dingy. I hosted my first ART a thon OCT/Nov of 2016 to celebrate my 50th birthday. It was a blast. I had planned to host another one for my 55th. Nov 2021. I had to cancel because I was sick in the hospital with covid until NOV 4th. IT was a pretty sad birthday.
Heather I think you meant 2012…. Not 2022. Hehe. I love your torn angels! Torn paper is a technique I learned here too. I used to be the worst EVER at collage, and I’m still not great but I have gotten better. I’m off to check your swaps. This swap is already so fascinating!
I remember in my very first swap I used a small rhinestone on a card of the crescent moon holding a pinwheel… just a tiny rhinestone… (I thought) and my card was returned to me. *Blush* I didn’t yet know about albums and how dimensional accents can damage the other cards. I’m more careful about that now. That’s not necessarily ‘improved’ but more like ‘informed’.
Yes! I didn’t think about collage. I hope there is improvement there since I had never done collage before AFA. As for hand drawn and hand painted, I think I have learned more about the importance of light and shadow - it can really make a difference. Like where is the light source coming from, and be consistent. Also, I have really admired those artists who are so creative with perspective, viewing an image from a different angle. So interesting how this theme is generating interesting memories and discussion before we actually sign up! And I really liked CQ’s torn angels too. Someone should host that swap again.
Now Hosting:Marvelous Masquerade Paperdolls Mail Art Swap
Heather's idea was brilliant. It looks like my first swap that I participated in here was update your profile 2. That was 2008. It was a great way to make cards for people. I forget how the swap worked exactly, but I think this eventually evolved into Dinahs PAT.
Over on the old site I think my first swap was evil twins, then trees, then 80s and 90s songs.
As far as improvement, oh I don't know. Maybe some in my drawing skills. I've definitely learned new techniques and can rock a good tape transfer now, imho.
Hey pancake machine. I sooooo want to learn tape transfer! Share your secrets?
What is this ‘old site’ I keep hearing about? I remember an update but not a whole other site? What am I missing?
Well, it doesn't always work. Depends on the paper. I find glossy doesn't always work as well, although that too is inconsistent. Basically, once you tape it down, I go over it with a butter knife multiple times, pressing down with the flat edge. After that, I pull up the tape and put water on the back, and just start rubbing the paper away. I will usually start to go deeper on one section to see how firmly I need to rub away the paper. If it isn't holding well then I might leave a light amount of the backing paper. Sometimes though I get irritated and it just gets trashed. Now, if I can only figure out out to do magazine transfers with the gelli print. I've had a few modest successes, but nothing that has made me tremendously happy.
As for the old site, this was long before I was a moderator and I was less active. So all I can give you is gleaned from the process of moving to the new site. You can actually look at my oldest itraders and they just read "Old Itrader from admin." There was a lot of unnecessary personal drama that developed. This page is intentionally "forall" and reflects the goals and ambitions of the group that undertook the move with the desire to create a better, more equitable site than the one that came before. In my estimation, it has been a very successful move.
You made me look too! I checked my gallery and the first swap pics are from the first personal profile swap. Those are still my favorite to play in. I also have pics of two different collage house swaps, both from '08. I've since hosted my own collage house swap here and one w/ another online group of friends. They're so fun to make and, where they're concerned, I don't see much difference in my quality of work. What a fun topic. I'm enjoying reading everyone's comments.
I also moved over from the os. I was new there and didn't really know what was going on but I stayed in communication w/ someone from there and she directed me here. I'm not going to play but I'll be following to see the work that gets done.
