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Swap-bot.com is a site I’ve been active on for years and years… I swap art and handmade items (and other random fun packages) with people around the world. This is a swap for random ostrich mail art, basically anything we feel like making. I purchased an ostrich sticker and tucked it inside the envelope I painted (the paper was too thin for painting, but I did it anyway), then decided it wasn’t enough and painted a strathmore watercolor card (yeah… if I’d realized I was going to do that I could have used the envelope that went with the card, which would have actually handled the watercolor a little better! This is my level of organization and planning…) Then I enclosed the whole thing in a vellum envelope, so everything can be seen through its sheer sides, and my partner can re-use the ostrich envelope herself… and finally I added two artsy bird themed postcard stamps. I didn’t get a photo of the completed project because I had already added the addressed, which is too bad, because the whole thing looked great! It looked much better in the very slightly hazy envelope than out of it. I hope my partner enjoys it. I certainly enjoyed making it.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed about Swap-bot over the years is the challenge. Without swap-bot I don’t think I’d be doing art now. I wasn’t really doing anything when I started, and didn’t know what I COULD do, or what it would mean to me, although I enjoyed drawing and crafting. I often joined swaps that were outside my comfort zone, trying artistic creative things I’d never tried before, some that I’d never even heard of, and wouldn’t have  dared to try on my own. It’s also been a great place for a little inspiration if I get stuck, because I can find a swap with a theme (paint a cat on a postcard… create a zentangled page of animals… collage a journal page with a bird theme… sew (yes sew!!) a bottle cap pincushion… write a poem about the leaves…send a package based of only pink items… and on and on) The swaps don’t have to be at all artsy or creative, but those are generally the ones I prefer.

If you enjoy creating, and mailing things out, you might enjoy swap-bot. It takes a lot of time, and planning (regardless of how poorly I planned my card and envelope combo this time), but I’ve met some really lovely people throughout the years. It is a free site, but you really have to be someone who is happy spending a lot of time on details, and also not irritated if you send something nice out but get nothing back yourself (or get something someone put no effort into). I almost NEVER get “flaked” on, but I swap pretty exclusively with people I’m familiar with now, who have developed great reputations on the site. It takes a while to make those connections.

By the way, an ostrich isn’t as simple as you’d think!!