Holiday Ornament Swap '09 hosted by freshlyblended

Happy Swapping to all!

can a newbie join?

Ahh, one of my favorite holiday traditions! I'm so excited to be back for year four!

yes, newbies are welcome, this swap is open to all

Yay! I am so excited! Gotta start crafting!

I am so excited! This is my third year, and I can't wait to get going!

Huzzah! I am really happy it's this time again. Can't wait for the ornaments to arrive!

This is my fourth year, and I'm so excited. This has become a wonderful tradition!! :)

My 2nd year. Can't wait for the handmade goodness!

This will be my first year! I'm watching this swap until I have a space open to join!

This is my second on. I know it will be fun!

I am so excited!!! I have too many ornament ideas though...I need to nail it down! Anyone have any good sites for good/cost effective (a) Felt and (b) fabric?

Thanks!

What I meant to ask was does anyone have any good websites for cheap felt and/or fabric?

Thank you!

Yeah! This was really fun last year. Here's to another fun filled holiday season

4th year REPRESENT!!!! Quite excited to give and receive... let the crafting begin.

Finished about half of my ornaments already! Can't wait to swap!

I love this swap!!! Third year, and still so exciting!!!

I've had two really cute ideas for decorations, so I'm so excited about this!

YAY! i've already started some of my ornaments...cant wait to start swapping!

I love this swap so much...this is my third year. Just made a start on my first ornament....excited!!!!!!

Won't this be a ratings nightmare if you're assigning different partners thatn Swap-Bot will automatically?

Oh wow....if I decide to sign up this will be my first year in this swap!!! Sounds like SOOOOO MUCH FUN!!! The only thing is, there are no rating guidelines??? Everyone is welcome no matter what their ratings??? Oh my....how many flakers have there been in the past???

I will have to think about this one a day or two and decide whether or not I want to put so much work into making 10 ornaments just to possibly be flaked on by bad swappers. Hum.....sure sounds like fun though!!! Hope @freshlyblended tells me that there's some kind of rating requirements???

This swap is the whole reason I signed up to swap-bot. I can't wait! : )

I have a similar concern to bettflow09's.Last year 3 out of 10 people who were to send to me never sent an ornament and it was very discouraging.I think in fairness to everyone there should be some kind of rating requirement,especially since the people you send to are mostly different from the people you are receiving ornaments from.

I can't wait! I discovered swap-bot tonight and signed up just for this. I promise i wont flake!

Can't wait! I've done this swap for the past two years, and it has been great. Only one person flaked, which wasn't too bad...

I just sent out my last swap so I'm ready for a new one. I swapped last year with a different group with mixed results. I'm eager to give this one a try.

Those who are worried about rating requirements need to know this. Many people sign up for Swap-bot ONLY to participate in this swap, many are followers of the freshly blended blog and do this swap and then let their account sit alone until the next year. Flakers should be down right ashamed of themselves, but that doesn't mean someone who just wants to send and recieve ornaments from this swap should be denied that privilage.

I would join, if there would be 3-5 ornaments. 10 is a lot both timewise and postagewise. Have fun! And thank you for the swap idea!

I understand some people sign up for Swapbot just to do this swap-I was one of those people last year,after doing the swap the year before not through Swapbot.I understand the need for openness so new folks can do this.It can be a very fun swap. What is not ok is if someone who is a current Swapbot member has lots of ones from not sending their share of a swap and is allowed to participate in this swap.Their potential to flake is very high.Several of the people who didn't send ornaments last year are still on Swapbot with lots of ones. When you put a lot of work into making 10 ornaments and paying postage for up to 7 international packages (I did this last year)you really don't want a high flake rate.I think there are ways to set up a swap to help filter out these people without excluding new folks who have good intentions. Thanks!

I am new... I only joined to participate in this swap, I have already finished my ornaments.
I am no flaker!

I am still contemplating whether to join. I liked this swap better when it wasn't on swapbot, although I have come to like the joys of swapbot, and have joined a few swaps during the year. It is a good idea to add something about rating to the description.

This will be my third year in this swap and I had only one flaker so far! It's been fun and I'll participate again. I don't care so much about flakers, boo to them etc but it's not the end of the (swap) world...

if you are concerned about flakers - don't join, its that simple :-)

I am super excited for this swap! I love home-made ornaments, and collecting new ideas for my tree every year! Thanks so much for hosting!

This is my first year doing this. I saw it too late last year, to sign up. I am already making my ornaments and am hoping I get all those that are supposed to come to me! :) Will be so cool to see what people come up with.

I just joined and I'm so excited!

This will be my second ornament swap. Thanks for hosting - I was afraid I would't find a swap like this this year.

Babekha, you are right. Since the host won't take the time to sort out people who didn't send in previous years' swaps, I've decided to back out of this one.

I've just found out about swap-bot and this swap so I don't have a rating, but I promise I won't flake. In fact I've already made ornaments for my own tree which will now be sent out to my swap buddies, so I'm one step ahead already. (Not all newbies are flakers.)

There's already at least one flaker in this swap. The host has been warned.

I agree with the comment above that if you are concerned about flakers don't join. As a starry eyed SB newbie last Christmas here, I found out the hard way that a lot of people come on to SB at holiday time just to receive, not to give, and if you are new it can be very disappointing.

I can tell you I know of at least one person who has joined this swap who is a flaker and has just now come back to SB to join this swap, not to make good on any of the 10 or so swaps she flaked on in Feb/March of this year. I have alerted the host, but it is unclear if there will be any profile checking or banning for this swap.

Just have fun making and giving your ornies, and if you prepare yourself not to expect to get all 10 of your ornaments, you won't be disappointed if you do not receive all 10. Then again, if you do get all ten, well, then it is icing on the cake!

Just signed up - so excited!

Yay. I just signed up. I haven't done this since the first year. So happy it is still going on. =)

Just signed up! I participated a couple of years ago and it was so much fun!

I am dropping this swap as well. I just did a quick count, this swap has 15 flakers, and 86 newbies with no ratings (and no profiles a lot of the time). That makes nearly a 50/50 chance of not receiving ornaments in the swap out of the 200 odd swappers. I was in the swap last year and was lucky enough to receive all my ornaments, but only got ratings on 7/10 ornaments. Non rating was a big problem last year.

Has the host even adressed any of the concerns on this one... There are some swappers in this that are honestly in it just to get there items with no intensions of sending any out. Will the host have people angle for any of it. I know if "your worried don't join" And i have dropped after looking at profiles, allthough i have already made enough ornaments to send two per person. There is just to many flakers that have beem able to join. You can make a swap newbie frindley and still ban flakers at the same time. It isn't hard at all. If you know that people have joined swap bot just for this swap & have done it every year in then past and follow your blog then you let them in, but if they have been on swap bot for a while and have flaked on over 4 swaps then they should be banned. I love this swap and look foward to it. But with the rules here on swap bot I think stuff could have been a little diffent or at least addressed.. Hope you all have fun this year!! :-)

Since I have just joined and signed up to participate, I promise I am no "flaker!" I am so excited about this swap. I am in another swap on one of the prim forums and sent my 28 ornies out last week. =) Starting my ornines this evening for this swap. What fun!!!

Hi every one! This will be my first swap ever. In Sweden where I live we do not have the tradition of swapping, I used to study and live in the Us for a couple of years and heard about swapping and then today I realised that it would be fun to join a swapgroup that will take international members. I´m really looking forward to making my group a traditional swedish ornament I will not "flake" you, I will send my ornaments out on December first so that everyone will have them in time for the best holiday of them all. Take care everyone

This is my first year and I hope to participate each year from now on. How exciting to see so many people participating in this swap.

Hi - I am one of Swap-bot's admins. It is so exciting to see so many people signed up for this great swap!

I just wanted to clarify how the partner assignments work for Swap-bot swaps. Sometime in the next week, freshlyblended will initiate the partner assignment process, the computer will then make all of the random assignments, and you will each receive an email letting you know that your partner info is now available. However, you must log back into Swap-bot and return to the swap page to retrieve your partner mailing info.

Also, at the end of the swap, you have the opportunity to leave feedback for each of the people who sent to you. SImply return to the swap page and choose the "Rate your partners" option. Honest feedback helps make Swap-bot a safer and more fun community.

Have fun! If you have any questions don't hesitate to email me at rachel@swap-bot.com.

Rachel Johnson
Swap-bot Admin

i have done this swap each year since freshlyblended started it. i always think it's better to give than receive... and enjoy it no matter what. thanks for doing this again!

I am new this year,too. I host a recipe/ornament exchange at my home every year and in addition I make each guest an ornament as a gift from me. I thought this would be a great way to get ideas for future ornament crafts! Looking forward to it!

Why does it say that it's the 8th?

Congratulations! You got 264 people to join your swap! that is so amazing and good job on being the number one swap for awhile! I cant wait to send out my ornaments. I too, have concerns about the flakers, but am willing to take my chances. I wish there was a way for flakers to be banned from the site. say 6+ 1's and you automatically get dropped with a review if you want to come back by the ones you flaked on...I'm just saying...:D

The site runs on Eastern time since they now live in New York City-so itchanges the date for ev eryone at the same time-

I've participated in this swap 3 years in a row (as velleitypie) and this will be my 4th. Last year with the swap-bot change, I was disappointed in the flake outs and lack of accountability (it was fun to have our own little group) and that kind of swap negligence is the main reason I no longer do any swaps besides this one. Also I feel the quality and artistry of some of the ornaments fell when it moved to swap-bot. I wish it was a closed swap, to people who are only familiar with the blog and not open to just anyone on swap-bot. I love making the ornaments best but it so disheartening to get poorly made, lame or simply not even receive ornaments. If there are many flake outs this year, I'm not participating anymore.

Samjowers, the SB system is set to partially suspend a swapper if they have accumulated three 1s within 6 months. The partial suspension keeps them from signing up for new swaps. Once they have made good on their swaps and the 1s have been changed, OR 6 months have passed - which comes first - the partial suspension is lifted and they are free to swap again.

HOWEVER: Their rating is an indication to future swappers/hosts that the person may not be reliable. That's why it's so important that a host check ALL the participants in a swap and ban the ones who have a history of flaking.

ShinySuitcase, a private swap is an option on Swap-Bot, and you should recommend it to the coordinator on her blog.

Thanks, TC, I was also wondering, If I block someone, Does it keep me from getting that person as a partner? Esp if I have already been flaked on by that person?

Nope! it only keeps them from pm ing you-

When will the lists be sent to our email? I think I have checked my email 20 times today. I guess I am just too excited about this swap :) Just wondering.

Dear Swappers, Freshlyblended is aware of your concern of flakers and newbies in this swap. however each person in this group has an email address to each of their swap group participants. We believe in giving each person who signs up, a chance. if you are worried that you may not benefit fully from your group then please send out an email to your group members to see if they are fully and truly willing to be involved. if they are not then only send out the number of group members ornaments who are deserving and report this person to us so we can ban them next year. We have banned some members before assigning groups but we can not ban someone who is new to the swap, this would not be fair. This is the season for giving, this is why we do this swap but if you feel like receiving is just as important, then let your group members know so you can weed out the unwilling participants. happy swapping to all!

This is my second year in this swap and it's just wonderful. Don't forget, there are lots of us willing to angel those who get flaked on. I think it's really cool knowing that something I made is in the hands of someone half way around the world. When it comes to the receiving, I feel very fortunate for each one I receive. I've actually made friends with other swappers because of this ornament swap. Don't focus on the negative, believe in angels instead!

I'm so excited! I've got all my ornaments cut out and have begun sewing them too. This is my 2nd year participating, but my first time on Swap-Bot. :)

As a newbie (and not a flake, promise) I am looking for examples of ornaments from previous swaps so that I can do something appropriate. Suggestions of where I can look? Very excited for this, looks like so much fun!

I am so excited to be swapping again! This is going to be so much fun!

I am very excited about this! I have my idea down and am getting the supplies today. I will ship out ASAP. I am looking forward to receiving everyone's ornaments!

I don't mean to be simple - I got my notice to start swapping but I didn't get a list. Am I looking in the wrong place or did I misunderstand?

gypsygirl, When you look at the top of this page, on the right there is a box that has prompts. the second promt from the top says "see the people who you send to"..or something like that. when you click on it, a box will appear with your list of names.

nmterrier, Martha Stewart.com and various other craft sites have wonderful ideas that you can adjust to your special artistic style. just do a google search for "christmas ornament ideas" and they will give you something to start with.

Awwww I missed it! I participated last year and loved it. I'm so bummed. :o(

hi all, I am very new to swapbot. My friend told me about this swap. She has been doing this swap for a couple of years and had a great time participating. She is doing it again this year and I decided to sign up. I signed up for this swap and on time. I noticed my name on the list on saturday and sunday but now my name is gone. :( I didnt realise that my email had not been verified. I clicked the resend for verification but still nothing. Then my friend liz told me to get another email address. So I did, now I guess its too late. :( I have made eight ornaments just needed 2 more to do. What do I do? Is it too late for me? Help!

I'm thrilled to be participating in this Swap. I too joined Swapbot just so I could join in. It's my first year! Looking forward to it :)

Hey nmterrier (and any other new folks) - you can see 2 previous years here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/holidayornamentswap08/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/holidayswap07/

Here is the group for the 1st swap! http://www.flickr.com/groups/holidayornamentswap2006/

Oh I am definitely a tad bit more intimidated now that I looked at the previous years ornaments. I love my idea though and hope all my recipients will love it too!

I'm trying to access the address to see who I send to. It's not coming up. Can someone please help. All the other tabs work except that one.

Hi all - Swap-bot Admin here. We have a few people who did not make it into this swap, but wanted to. If anyone who IS signed up feels that they cannot fulfill their obligations or needs to drop from the swap for any reason, please contact me. We may be able to switch out participants.

Thanks for your help,

Rachel Johnson
Swap-bot Admin
rachel@swap-bot.com

I've just finished up my ornament prototype; that means I've only got nine more ornaments left to make! :)

so sad! I missed the signup but was already working on the ornaments. Boo. If anyone drops please think of me to swap in!

I am so sad I missed the sign-up! I would be happy to be notified if anyone needs to drop out, as well. Thanks so much.

Is Australia the only country who is picky about what they receive?

Well I'm hoping mine are good enough, but so far I've completed 4. Need to pick up some more supplies tomorrow.

New Zealand is also picky about what they receive in the post - avoid wood, flowers, seeds etc

I don't want to give my ornament away but I am using a material for part of it that I guess you would say comes from a plant somehow. I am sending to Italy and Canada. I think the rest is in the US. I hope that is fine.

Shoot! I missed the sign up! I've participated the last couple years and love it. I swear you should be able to sign up past the date!!! If this changes, I want in!

For those of you who missed out on signing up, I'd be happy to side-swap. Just send me a message. Please note, however, I live in Australia, so please no seeds, pinecones, straw, flowers, etc.

All of you who missed...why dont you just put together another swap? Australia, is the seed, flowers pinecones etc thing about customs???

I just finished my ornaments. Now just have to wait for the post to open tomorrow. I may use the 24 automated tonight and send out to the 9 US recipients if I decide to go out later. Then the last one to the UK in the morning.

My ornaments are on their way.

All of mine got posted yesterday. :)

Mine are on the way! I have so enjoyed all the ornaments I've gotten, and I hope the recipients of mine like them! :)

Almost done! Will be sending on Monday!

got mine out today! very exciting. my friend received THREE ornaments already. I have none :( can't wait. very exciting!

I am going to be late on sending mine due to some unforeseen circumstances... but I will NOT flake and hope to get them all out by the end of the week, if not sooner.

Really sorry for the delay.

I will be mailing mine on 12/9. I am so sorry for the delay but I had a short hospital visit. I am very sorry!

Thank you to all, I received the most adorable ornaments this year. Can't wait 'til next year.

merry Christmas to all.

Better late than never, my ornaments finally went out today! Thanks for your patience, everyone -- I hope you like my "Christmas Frida"!

I know that it is better to give than receive during this time of year, but I cannot help feeling a little disappointed that I still have not received six out of ten or my ornaments. Out of those six, only one swapper has communicated that their ornament has been sent late. This is the fourth year that I've participated in this swap, and I look forward to it every year. Such disappointment this year!

Tenth ornament arrived today. This has been a lot of fun!

I only received 6.

Did seriously only 4 people get my ornaments so far?? I sent them out in November. I don't understand how people could not get them yet, or else they did and they didn't do any ratings...

Only received 6 :(

Spencer, in past years sometimes ornaments didn't make it to me until January, especially if they were coming from overseas. Don't give up hope until at least mid-way through Jan!

I received 8 before x-mas and one after so far. The one after was from overseas, so I have hope that the last one is still coming.

I'd also be willing to angel if someone needs.

Can people please wait until January before rating a 1? I got rated a 1 by someone and I sent out the ornaments 2 weeks before the deadline! The postal system must have not sent things as quickly as they should have, but the ornaments were sent out, as can be seen by the people who already received and rated!

I have received 7 ornaments and I am very happy... thank you so much! I have also rated those that I did not receive a 1. I can always change this, should the ornaments turn up late can't I?

I have not rated a 1 for the one I have not received, and I'll hold off a few more days. I am concerned that I have not received ratings from 6 ppl yet, even though I sent all my packages out at the same time from the same postal office. I am a little concerned that some might be missing. If someone has not received from me yet please let me know, as they were all sent out on the 3rd of Dec. Only 1 was international.

One of my 'senders' has been deleted from Swap-bot and I never received an ornament from her... I made an extra ornament and would love to exchange with someone else.

I feel the same I sent out all my ornaments and have only received 5 ratings. I went to my partners pages to see what was up and many of them had been partially suspended. :(

Well I just left a message with the one person I didn't receive an ornament from. If I don't receive a reply I'll rate the 1. I still have not received 6 ratings, and no one has messaged me to say they have not received from me. What happens now? Does the coordinator do something?

I will not be doing this swap next year. I have received one "bad" rating -- a 3 -- because the person felt that my ornament did not live up to being "handmade". Others, however, loved it, gave me a 5 and a heart. But that one 3 -- for making such an subjective call about my ornament -- has already prevented me from participating in other swaps on swap-bot. I'm so disappointed that someone would rate my creativity! Anyway, I'd rather stick with those who have an understanding of swap-bot procedures and policies than to have someone who doesn't interfere with my swap-bot enjoyment the rest of the yaer.

I have to say that I am a bit disheartened by this year's ornament swap. I have participated for the last 3 years- The first year was amazing- I received all ornaments well before christmas, they were so creative, thoughtful, well-made- The following year (1st year with Swap-bot) was still good, but not of the caliber of the previous year. This year, I didn't even receive all of my ornaments, and some were late. The final ornament I received the day I took down my tree. I don't want to give up hope that there are great swappers out there that will continue to create fantastic ornaments, so I will probably participate again. I know that things come up, and delays happen. But there is a month from sign up to send date. I think that going forward it should be made clear that this swap is for dedicated participants because it IS a lot of work! I actually started designing mine in October for this reason, and sent as soon as I received the list since I had several international recipients. Also, I didn't receive many ratings- I just think it's really important to support one another & the swap-bot community with ratings (and THANKS to all who did!). That's all! Thanks for listening.

I agree with you gingerkate. I didn't receive two of mine, I put a lot of work into the ones I made and yes, I made them before the sign up, knowing that the international participants would want to get thiers in time for christmas. There seems to be a lack of concience with people or no one has taught just plain good manners. i will do this again because I love making ornaments. I just wish that people who have no intention of completing the swap just dont sign up! Why did the first year work and not the later one's here at swap-bot??? What was different?

@openasthesky - I think that getting a 3 on quality is totally wrong. Even if I received something I wasn't in love with they still got a 5 for fulfilling the swap requirements. If I loved it they got a heart.

I just finally gave the 1 rating to the person I did not receive from, I tried contacting them, but to no avail. I also never received the ratings from 6 of my partners, and no one has tried to contact me. I wasn't sure if my ornaments were up to snuff, I actually enclosed 2 per partner just to be sure, so to get no rating really sucked.

Won't be participating in this swap next year as well. To quote @openasthesky: "Anyway, I'd rather stick with those who have an understanding of swap-bot procedures and policies than to have someone who doesn't interfere with my swap-bot enjoyment the rest of the year." She hit it my exact sentiments there. I'd rather have been in the MEGA ornament swap even though it had so many flakers, because the host actually cared what was going on with her swap in that one. Everyone was angeled and taken care of...not so much on this swap :P

Yeah it is kind of crappy that the coordinator didn't step in and do anything. No angeling, or arrangements for it. I doubt I will do this one again, as there doesn't seem to be any real swap leader in this one.

I was flaked on by 1/2 of my partners, and not rated by 1/2. I won't participate again either.

Im so sorry to everyone ho has not recieved anything i sent all my gifts and they all came back so i have resent them and they on there way to all of you...this is my first time and i was not very impressed how the was set up...but your ornaments are on there way and i hope they find a specal place in your heatrs...sorr to those i have upset...your gifts might tak a while as our postal system im SA is shocking... Candice

Pls help ive sent my ornaments but where do i show that i have sent them...bit stupid sorry...mwah

@frankie - I just changed your score from a 1 to a 5 as I just received your ornament. It was worth the wait. Thanks!