#1 Swap Botters Deco

We have decided to have a go at a deco.

Sorry, but this swap is only open to those in good standing in the #1 Swap Botters Group.

A deco is sort of like a friendship book but better. They are all about art. It is a blank book / journal that is passed around collecting art from different artists / craftsmen.

All those who wish to participate will make or buy a blank journal. The journal can be as big or as small as you like, but no larger than 5 x 8 inches. This way the journal can be mailed around in a 6 x 9 padded envelope, keeping postage down. Additionally, keep the embellishments if any to a minimum. We don't want these journals to get too bulky. With that, you may use some embellishments, but understand please, this is NOT a chunky book.

If you choose to make a journal, keep in mind the number of people in the swap (not 1 partner). If there are 15 people in our swap be sure there are 15 extra pages (or 30 if you want to give them a 2 page spread) to decorate. If you buy a journal and we have only 5 people in the swap, you can allow for the 2 page spread if you care to (but it is of your choice). Most store bought journals have (many) more than 5 pages. You could use this for a future deco (resending this same journal in another deco swap) or you could choose to alter the remaining pages yourself.

This journal will, in the end, be yours. Therefore decorate the cover (front & back) to suit you. This can be but need not be a themed journal. i.e., If you want the pages in your journal decorated to a theme, make it obvious to the artists who will be receiving it (to create in). If you want a journal to have a butterfly theme, decorate the cover with butterflies. And yet, if you want to cover it in butterflies but want it to have an open theme (no set theme...random....artist's discretion), that is fine too. It is your book; decorate the cover as you please.

On the first 2 pages, just inside the front cover, will be the title pages. On the title pages you will place your name and any other information you care to share with the other artists who will be decorating the pages of your journal. You will also state information such as how many pages each artist may use (1 or 2 ) and what you would like and not like in your book, i.e., "I would like my journal to have a butterfly theme. Please create butterflies for me." Or "I haven't any theme for this journal. Please decorate 2 pages as you wish." Or "Please create as you wish but please keep it light and happy...no dark art. Please do not use profanity or nudity."

This is your journal. On the title pages you will set the mood, theme, the air of the journal. You will do this by words and the way you have decorated the title pages (if not the cover as well).

I have set the assigned partners to 1. Please pass all decos that you receive and decorate on to that same person.

When you are the receiver of a journal to create in, please do so and send it on to the same person you sent your original to, ASAP. We will have a week to create and send out for each and every journal that we receive. You don't want to hold on to them long because you will be receiving another one shortly in the mail. You don't want to get bogged down in journals. So keep them moving. Plus the sooner we send them along the sooner we get ours back. Also please respect the wishes of the owner of the journal you are working on.

BUT Robin, how should I decorate the page(s)? What medium should I use?

Pencil, paint, crayon, ink, cut and paste, etc.....whatever you care to use....whatever you feel comfortable with. If you want to paint, you may want to paint on cardstock, watercolor paper, fabric, other papers and glue them in once they are dry. Take into account the journal, theme if there is one, what are the pages made of, drying and curing time; use some common sense in your choices.

You can go ahead and rate the person who sends you that first journal. That will be the only person we will rate. But should anyone not follow through, breaking the chain, that person's rating shall be changed to a 1. This is a simple swap. There is nothing to buy except that first journal (should you wish to buy one instead of make one). It simply arrives in your mailbox; you decorate it and then mail it on.

I have set the signup deadline for October 31. That is a Friday. You will have till November 7th (the next Friday) to get your journal mailed out to that first person. After that it is up to each of us to keep them moving.

Let's have some deco fun! :-)