penpal surprises

Enjoy hosting your first swap. You are a super enthusiastic and creative swapper, and I know this one will go awesome! Craftyfairy rocks!

So this is a flat swap really?

Like we do not have to send things like buttons and brads and the like?

is there any preference beween bought items or handmade items ? should we ask our partners ? and is there any minimum maximum value ? thanks

i would like to enjoy.

*its up to you exactly "how flat" your items are. the idea is that you could hide them in a regular sized letter as a surprise for an unsuspecting pen pal. * i dont think there is a minimum/maximum value as flat little things can be inexpensive. and you can chose whether what you send is handmadeor store bought. there are two items, it would be nice, but not required to do one of each. * *The idea, maybe not stated very well (will edit) is that your partner could use these items in thier future penpal letters.

Thank you for the flat terminology. I love it and I have some great ideas!

I get the cheapest swap I ever received... ;(

I just received the 2nd letter, it wasnt matching the swap requirements: -it was not flat ( I cannot use the plastic beads or anything on a future penpal letter) -it was so cheap (old things, advertising things) - it wasnt matching my tastes at all.

Sorry for this comment, but I'm so angry with this swap. I can really see that my partners didnt spend much time doing the letter...

Ok I wrote to my partners, and gave them a 3.0 rating, I can change this if I receive an answer from them.

reply to petitpaindepice : this swap was to trade flat items that could be used as little surprises in letters to pen-pals. it did not say send things that would be to the taste and likes of your partners. the items i recieved came in plain envelopes with a small note saying i hope your pen-pal likes these. there was no mention on the swap of fancy packaging or tailoring to your partners interests. my apologies that you are not pleased.

Hi I was the one who was petitpaindepice's 2nd partner and I would just like other swappers and the coordinator know what was sent from my end. I agree that I included extra items that were not flat- but I certainly sent an abundance of vintage and scrap booking items, fabrics, etc. Atleast 15+ pieces, I am very confused as to how my rating on this swap was so low. I feel that I have not only followed the rules but went a little beyond them, trying to branch out to my partner. Because that is really why we are all here right? To send things, peacefully, be inspirational, and kind to our partners. I have never received a horrible rating from a partner before and feel that this is very overdone- I just wanted the coordinator to know that it wasn't an issue on MY end- I sent flat items. a lot of them too.

in response to petitpaindepice; Hi there, it is unfortunate that you despise your package so much, seeing as I actually spent a lot of time and effort going into it.Just to update you here is the ONLY requirements for the swap;

send each of two partners two flat items that would make excellent little surprises in a flat pen pal letter. lets try to think outside the box a little here though. like, more creative than store bought stickers (although a hand stamped one might be cool?) lets be inventive, there are a lot of interesting flat things out there! both/either store bought or thoughtfully home-made are welcome! Atleast one of the items should be store bought. (or both could be) The idea is that your partner could use these items in future pen pal letters as surprises!

You are correct, I did send you extra items, I apologize for trying to go out on a whim by adding a few extra items. Please keep in mind the swap clearly states that if you do not like the items- these items can be sent to FUTURE swaps. As for "it was so cheap" how about you look into how much the worth of vintage advertisements, photographs are before you judge me that quickly. I believe that this particular swap was meant to be fairly reasonable priced items. Your package not only included an abundance of FLAT USEABLE scrap booking items but also a fair amount of extra items I thought maybe you could use/keep/or hell give away? I am sorry that this wasn't your taste 'at all'- SHIP THEM ON, that is the point of swap bot am I not correct? If you may not enjoy something then perhaps someone else may, If I left awful feedback on all of the items that I wasn't terribly hot about I would be a hypocrite because I defiantly save those items to ship to future swap partners who may enjoy it. Thus, they end up going somewhere, maybe to their new home, maybe to someone else. the point of swap bot is to send things to each other, world wide- not to keep every single thing. That's a bit greedy don't you think? I am a little saddened that there wasn't at least one thing you found to your desire- and I also feel that you must be exaggerating on that end.

Sorry that my time and effort didn't seem to meet your specks, but I certainly followed all rules of this swap and including extras that I now see were completely meaningless to you.

I refuse to send you anything else seeing as this was supposedly to a simple, quick, easy, and fun swap. I can certainly see that you are expecting 'only' the highest of products, so then I ask you- what is the point of being on swap bot if you cannot appreciate handmade goods?

Lastly, if you yourself admit that 'I really spent a little amount of time and money with my own partners" to me on my profile, then why on earth do you think you have any reason to complain? If you send out cheap items yourself you probably shouldn't expect anything more.

Again sorry you didn't enjoy anything for whatever reason you may have- but never judge a partner so brashly, I did follow the rules, above and beyond in fact.