Circle Journal - 12 monthly exchanges; #2 April

There were only a few of us in the first round and I hope more participants will join us as we go along. Those of us who were in the first swap will have made our journals and passed them on once already but for those who are new I will include the original instructions.

For this swap we will each prepare a journal which has space for 12 double page spreads and a "signing in" page at the front. The journal can be handmade or in the form of a ready made book. They should be about A5 size and the covers should be decorated with the theme you have chosen for the journal. Make sure your address is clearly written at the back of the journal so that it can be returned to you at the end.

Heres how the swap will work; we each make a journal and send it to our partner for this swap. When you recieve the journal please rate your partner then sign in at the front of the journal and decorate your double page in the journals theme. Then keep hold of the journal for the next swap. Each month after that you will send the journal you recieved the month before on to your new partner. This may mean that some of us will recieve the same journal more than once but I don't think that matters, just decorate another page and send on again. If for any reason you have to drop out before the 12 months are completed please let me know and I will work out where you should send the journal. After the last swap we will send the journals home to their creators.

New participants are welcome to join in at any point, they will make their journal and send it to their partner as we did in the first swap and them carry on from there. If you join after the start you may want to have fewer pages in your journal but that is up to you.

You can use any technique or medium you like when making your entry so long as it fits in with that journals theme, but please bear in mind that the journal has to be circulated by post so should not be too heavy or bulky. When you create your journal please make sure the theme and and any other criteria or limitations are clearly stated at the front of the book, for example; if you are in a country where customes do not allow in items like plant materials or feathers please state this so people can avoid using them.

I hope this all makes sense, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or problems.

Happy swaping :-}