Handmade Gift Exchange June 2012

handmade gift exchangeHappy Friday, Crafters!! Guess what today is….June 1. Which means the Summer 2012 edition of the Handmade Gift Exchange starts today! yay!!

This is my 6th exchange. crazy huh! How many of you have participated in the previous 5 exchanges? I know there are a few of you!

For those who are new here {welcome, welcome!!} twice a year, I host a Handmade Gift Exchange that is loads of fun!! It gives you the opportunity to meet a fellow crafter AND the perfect excuse to get your craft on! There is no skill or cost requirement, that way everyone can participate! {if you want to see what people have made/received in the past, check out previous gift exchange linky parties: Summer 2011 and Winter 2011.}

*******Sign ups have ended. So sorry we missed you! We would love to have you join the next Handmade Gift Exchange that starts Nov. 1, 2012. If you’d like an email reminder when the next exchange starts, click here and enter your email address. **********

Keeping it Real

Now I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know if I was going to continue hosting these gift exchanges. The last round in November 2011 did not go smoothly. I had lined up a programmer to help write a program that would pair up and email participants their assignments because this had become very time consuming with 800-900 participants. But at the last minute, this person backed out on me and I was stuck doing everything manually once again.

For me, this meant I had to copy and paste partner assignments into 450+ separate emails in a matter of days. All I did for hours every day for an entire week was copy and paste my fingers and eyeballs out. I got very little sleep because each email took almost 2 minutes to prepare and send. {yes, i timed it} But I was determined not to let it get me down and enjoy the fun.

Spoiler

But then, I found out a Spoiler had signed up for the exchange. I was devastated. I don’t make a dime for the hours I spend doing the back work on it {remember the copying and pasting?}, so it was a huge blow. And I was sure I would never host the exchange ever again.

Fast forward to April 2012

I was at a blogging conference in Utah and was chatting with some of my friends about the Handmade Gift Exchange. I explained how I didn’t think I was going to do it anymore, which made me sad because I really enjoyed it. {i have an obession with pen pals…} And then my friend Mallie told me about Elfster, a site that helps organize gift exchanges, and told me I should contact them to see if they could help. Well, she beat me to it. She emailed Peter at Elfster and told him about the bind I was in.

And then I got the best email ever.

Peter said, they would “love to help!”. I seriously teared up. Here was a great site that was willing to write new code for  me and tweak things to meet the needs of the Handmade Gift Exchange, in a very short amount of time. I couldn’t believe it, Elfster saved the Handmade Gift Exchange!

Elfster

elfsterOver the past 5 weeks, I have worked closely with Peter and we have made some improvements to how the exchange will run and put in measures to prevent some of the issues from the past. It will be a little different than previous exchanges, but I think these changes will make it better. Elfster will be a platform where you can communicate with your partner, ask questions/preferences, and see your partner’s wish list {if they create one}. This will be a great way for participants to interact and get to know each other.
HOW IT WORKS: To sign up, you will use the drop down menu at the bottom of this post by selecting the gift exchange you want to participate in. There are 5 different exchanges: USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and All Countries.{these were the most popular countries in previous exchanges. in the future, we can add more} Click “next” and you will be directed to Elfster to finish your sign up. I will walk you through it below:

Click Yes and then if you’d like, you can choose to answer the Naughty or Nice question. {not required} Then click RSVP. ****IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure the box next to “Notify me When People Reply” is NOT checked or else you’ll get about a million emails. Trust me.****

>If you are getting all those emails, this is how you fix it: Go back to the exchange page and click “change reply” in the left column, uncheck that box to stop getting all those emails.<

If you already have an Elfster account, go ahead and login. Otherwise, click Join. You will then see the screen above and can either create an account or login with Facebook. {if you have an issue with creating an Elfster account, you can email me}

After you have entered in your info, you will then be directed to the home page of the gift exchange on Elfster. Once there, you can send email invites to your friends {more the merrier!}, share something with the group {a crafting tip?}, and add your picture to your profile. You can also put a link to your blog, Facebook, or Pinterest page on your profile, if you’d like. You can also create an Elfster wishlist so that your partner can get an idea of what you like and what your style is. {Etsy would be a good place to find items for this}

***Please note: the Wishlist feature on Elfster is a great tool to show your partner your taste in color and style. You can also put things on the “Do Not Need” list to show your dislikes. Another fun feature of the Wishlist is your partner can ask you questions through the “Secret Q&A”. But please do not think that your partner is asking you to buy that particular item on their wishlist! They are just showing their taste and style and trying to help you get ideas of crafts to make for them.

Giftee Assignments

Sign ups close on June 7, 2012 at midnight. On June 8, 2012, you will get an email with your Giftee {person you will make a gift for}.You will only be able to view his/her info during the exchange. Once the exchange is over on June 30, your Gifter {person making a gift for you} will not have access to your information.

*Please note, you will NOT be paired up in twos. The person you make and send a gift to, will make and send a gift to someone else. For example: Jane Crafty will make a gift for Dawn Glue. Sally Scissors will make a gift for Jane Crafty. This is different from past exchanges, but I think it will be a fun twist. You will be able to make friends with 2 crafters instead of 1!

THE DETAILS

Reading this entire post BEFORE signing up is Mandatory!

If you have any questions, PLEASE email me at craftaholicsanon@gmail.com before signing up.

  • If you commit to participate in this exchange, you will be expected to make a thoughtful Handmade Gift for a fellow crafter and have it post marked no later than Saturday, June 30, 2012. In return, you will receive a Handmade Gift from a fellow crafter in the mail.
  • Use the drop down menu below to officially sign up. Please do not email me to sign up. Sign up ends June 7, 2012.
  • Make a gift for your assigned partner. Need ideas? Check out my Craft Tutorials or my Pinterest Board.
  • Take pictures of the gift you make! there will be a linky party and posts featuring YOUR gifts. You can link up both the gift you MADE and the gift you received. The gift  linky party will start on June 15. There will also be a Flickr group for those without blogs to upload their gift pictures.
  • Please have your gift post marked no later than Saturday, June 30, 2012. Please put that on your calendar right now. This is crucial to the success of this exchange! If you make and mail your gift early, that would be amazing!
  • Participating in this exchange means you will need to go to the Post Office. Please take this into account with your busy summer schedule.
  • If you own a handmade shop, DO NOT simply tell your partner to pick out what they want from your shop! I ask that you customize the item for your partner {i.e. color, design, style etc} this exchange is to promote handmade and friendships, not your etsy shop.
  • If at any time you are unable to follow through with the exchange, PLEASE email me ASAP!! I understand life happens and that some things are out of our control. I just ask that you send me an email so that I can make other arrangements.
  • **I have absolutely no way of patrolling everyone’s participation….usually, people are honest and do their part.**

Please tell your friends, family, co-workers or that crazy lady in line at the grocery store about the Handmade Gift Exchange! I would love for you to blog, tweet, or Facebook about the Handmade Gift Exchange to help spread the fun! 

Sign up for the Handmade Gift Exchange! hosted by @CraftaholicAnon  https://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/?p=7278 #HandmadeGiftExchange

If you tweet, please use the hashtag #HandmadeGiftExchange  so others can join the conversation….. and I’ll totally retweet you :)
*If you’d like the code for the Handmade Gift Exchange button, its on my sidebar!*

Frequently Asked Questions

  • There is no skill level required. A handmade gift is always wonderful, no matter how technical it is!
  • There is no price minimum on the handmade gift. If shipping costs are an issue, you can make a gift that is light weight and fits inside an envelope.
  • You do not need a blog to participate!
  • How will I know who my partner is? You will get an email on June 8, 2012 with your assigned person’s name and information.
  • There is no official theme for this Gift Exchange. If you feel so inclined to do a Christmas in July theme, go for it!
  • Can I make a gift from a kit/pattern? YES!! If you made any part of the gift, that’s perfect!
  • Can the gift be in digital form? No. You can create a printable or graphic for your partner, but please PRINT it off and send a physical copy to your partner. Part of the fun is actually receiving a gift in the mail.

A HUGE Thank You to Elfster for donating their time and efforts to help this gift exchange happen! You can find them Elfster on Facebook here.

SIGN UP

There are 5 different Exchanges: USA, Cananda, UK, Australia, and All Countries. Use the drop down box to make your selection!

*******Sign ups have ended. So sorry we missed you! We would love to have you join the next Handmade Gift Exchange that starts Nov. 1, 2012. If you’d like an email reminder when the next exchange starts, enter your email address here. **********

happy gifting!
linda

Linda
Hi! I'm Linda, the craft addict behind Craftaholics Anonymous®, a craft blog. Crafting is cheaper than therapy, right? When I'm not DIYing something, I can be found taxiing around our 4 crazy kids or working out. Or shoe shopping... because you can never have too many shoes! Happy crafting! ♥
Linda
Linda

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