9O96O

Updated June 28, 2022

• Personality style: ISFP - Adventurer

• Married for 37 years. Childless by choice.

• In mid-life I started to lose my hearing and now I'm profoundly HOH. I lip-face read. I do not know sign language. I've started the process of getting a cochlear implant.

• I'm always looking for creative ideas and inspiration.

• Gmail: [email protected]

• rSmith - PO Box 31013 WILLOWWEST - Guelph, Ontario - N1H 8K1 - Canada

🤗 ABC List - Things I find interesting

Handmade is what I like because it's unique and personal. There's a greater feeling of camaraderie and community when sharing something we've made. It's a means of supporting and encouraging play, mindfulness, creativity, originality, and authenticity.

CREATIVITY IS GOOD FOR US

• Study Says Making Art Reduces Stress, Even If You Kind Of Suck At It

• "Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Participants’ Responses Following Art Making," found that 45 minutes of creative activity significantly lessens stress in the body, regardless of artistic experience or talent.

• Crafting can reduce your chances of developing mild cognitive impairment by 30% to 50% according to a 2011 study published in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry.

• "The very act of creating and sharing art is an act of courage and vulnerability." -- SM Posey, Rubber Soul

• "Create. Not for the money. Not for the fame. Not for the recognition. But for the pure joy of creating something and sharing it." --Ernest Barbaric

• "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." --Maya Angelou

Decos - Collaborative Deco Art-Style Handmade Booklets

Also called: "go-round" zines, travelling journals, mini art journals (MAJ), index card minis (ICM), etc.

Swappers contribute to one page and then pass it on to another swapper.

Have a look to the right at my "Currently In" and "Currently Hosting" section to see the latest.

My style is similar to my ATC style: flat, little to no embellishments. Cutouts, drawings, paint, ink, stamping, and handmade booklets made from upcycled note cards and art cards. Examples of decos I've received.

I welcome any stage - new, established, homer/last page.

I prefer lettermail size, no extra postage needed.

Please share my decos with your creative friends and family. They don't need to be a member of Swap-Bot (but should return it to you so you can send it to me if it's full, or use it in another deco swap if it's not full). It would be great to have a variety of art in my decos. There's also the added bonus that my deco should end up back to me sooner. I'd love to know who decorated the pages and maybe get some extra info about what they created. 🤗

Deco groups and tags of interest:

Deco Books ♥

Deco Books TAG

These groups often have deco swaps:

Cheap Postage Swaps, Tags and Fun

Zines, mail art & other cool stuff

Groups.io and Facebook are also places that have deco swapping.

Groups.io Deco Swappers

Groups.io Lovely Decos

Facebook Deco Swappers

Extras

No need for extras.

The extra I'd really like is a bit of correspondence ✒️✍️. How your day went. What your favourite crafting materials are, etc. I'd love to know a little about what you have sent to me--how it was made, the materials you used.

If you love to send extras go ahead. But rest assured, I do not rate based on extras.

The things I send

I put a return address label on everything I send out.

If you haven't received a card within a month of my send date, please let me know.

I keep a photo-log of my outgoing swap items--front, back, and at the mailbox.

If the postal equipment damages my card, let me know. I'll send you a photo of the card as it looked before I mailed it.

I will resend if my swap doesn't arrive.

Sending and receiving mail, including global, in 2021 has been as short as 4 days between Canada and the Netherlands, and as long as 8 weeks to Australia. On average 15 days within North America.

Canada Post Service Alerts

Postcrossing Postal Monitor: Ongoing mail suspensions

ICC Logistics site - Mail disruptions

📩Re-sends sent to:

2020 and 2021 Re-sends

2022

@Barbara for CPG: Cut n Paste PC #328363 (Global). Received May 5.

If you join one of my swaps here's what you should know about my hosting style:

I screen participants to minimize the risk of flakers getting in, and those who do not rate, and those who leave blank comments. I will remove participants with swapping histories that worry me. If you have any negative unresolved swapping history and want to join my swap please proactively message me to explain.

Nudge

If you haven't received a postcard around the one month mark, let me know. I will send out a nudge message.

If I have had to send more than one nudge message to a member, I may "ban" them from future swaps.

Blank comments

Please, no blank comments. When rating please comment on the card received. Let's make our partners feel like their projects matter. If you have a hard time thinking about what to write, this example might help you: Thank you for {describe the item}. It brightened my day...Thank you for the Van Gogh sunflower postcard. It brightened my day.

As a host, I read the comments each participant receives. I really appreciate reading a little description of the item you receive. I get to live vicariously through you, and by describing it we get confirmation that you received your partner's item.

Rating booster or "Leave a Comment" swaps are red flags.

Finished

I check to see that everyone is rated and will add a "Finished" stamp to the Discussion section when all items are sent, received, and rated.

Angel

If your partner flakes, PM me to let me know you posted the "1" and I will angel the swap.

Swap-Bot Frequently Asked Questions: What are the rating criteria?

To all who join my swaps and rate promptly and with a nice note...

Great swapping advice, tips and checklists:

Thinking of hosting a swap? Things you should consider.

Joining a swap tips

Hosts: Rating Requirements Too Low?

Giving/Getting/Reacting to a Poor Rating

Groups and Tags I help manage:

All about ATC

ATC's Only

Hand Carved Stamps and Images

Snapshot Photo Craft Projects

Active FB Swappers International

Handmade Postcard TAG

Zeen TAG

Deco Books TAG

Please PM me for a private swap. I will create an official swap for us.

While you are in the honeymoon-phase of membership, successfully completing private swaps are a great way to show you are serious and committed to swapping. It's also, a great way to find out if you are committed to swapping. Swapping may seem like a good idea, but 3-4 months in you may find it costs too much, or you are not as enthusiastic anymore.

Many hosts have felt the sting of accepting a new member into a public swap before the 6-month mark only to have them disappear, leaving behind unfulfilled swaps. An example that affected me.

If you are interested in a newbie-friendly swaps see Softawoo's Assuming the Best group.

• A WYSIWYG site for writing in Markdown

• Dingus wysiwyg Markdown site

• So You Wanna Trick Out Your Profile

Other info:

• Printing--cheap way to make personal postcards

• Deco Book swappers on Groups.io

• IUOMA International Union of Mail Artists

• ATCs For All

The meaningful comments you leave are a big reward and motivator!