Nearly there...

Tomorrow I will (hopefully) post the first Barter/Swap meme! I've signed up to Mr Linky and am working it out...

Now I'm off to create some items for swaps!

Challenge Check #5

First- yesterday our Rector began his sermon by reading out this...you've just gotta read it!!

Dottie Angel Challenge- two items:
A Barter/Swap Scheme- for the idea see here, and for the follow up see here.
You people are so encouraging that I’m going to run with it on Wednesday this week and see what happens! Keep me posted please?!

For the Fertilizer Factory now set up in my back kitchen see here!

Creative Every Day Challenge

After some thought about February’s topic ‘Home’ this is where I’m beginning:

For me the idea of home doesn’t revolve around a house but the places where I feel at home. Until I was five we lived in the States, in Virginia, then California, returning to Ireland in 1969. Then in 1977 when I was 13 years old, my family left Ireland due to Dad’s work, and I didn’t live here again until July of the year 2000. I lived in London, Malvern, Bath, Nairobi, the Rift Valley and Thika, worked or spent time in Paris, the Pyrenees, Donegal, and other places I’ve since forgotten. I was privileged to come into contact with people of many nationalities and faiths, to become relatively fluent in French and Kiswahili, to mix with cultures I hadn’t previously encountered, and to travel all over East Africa.

But, and to me as the years progressed it became an increasingly huge ‘but’, in all those years I felt displaced, disconnected, a free radical ?! I gave the problem a lot of thought and it seemed to me that perhaps at heart I was actually Irish, and I needed to try living there to see.

As you can imagine, uprooting an African husband and three bush babies was no joke, but we did it and not one of us regrets the change. The Hub is still an African, but since the Irish in general are utter eccentrics he fits right in, and two of the bush babies turned out to be more Irish than African. The eldest bush baby revels in her dual personality and knows she can return to East Africa whenever she likes.

So to me, ‘home’ is an ordinary seaport town in the west of Ireland with river, mountains, lakes and ocean all around me:

Hazelwood.
Benbulben.
On Keelogyboy looking towards Lough Gill and the Ox Mountains.
Streedagh beach, this morning.
Streedagh beach looking towards Gleniff.

A lonely beech tree in Grange Village, this morning.

Rosses Point Village.

Hyde Bridge, Sligo town facing down stream to the sea.
Yes, here, I’m home.

The Barter/Swap Idea

I've given this a lot of thought over the weekend and this is the result so far, but if it works it will evolve.

I am really trying to keep it simple but still to anticipate and avoid problems.

Supposing we go with this for now and modify it in a month or so? You will have to keep posting comments so I know what you want done please?

Seems to me the polite way to do this would be to post items you wish you barter on your blog, via photo and short description, ie size (if relevant), colour (if the photo isn’t coming out true), and value.

Value will be the hardest to define, but my suggestion would be: cost of materials and add on extra for your work- if its very time consuming add more than if it’s quick and easy for you, of course. (If you are used to valuing your work to sell that'll make it easier for you).

I use this currency converter when I need to, but I don’t know whether we should post in our own currency and convert, or all convert to US dollars just for ease. Might be easier to do the conversion oneself to avoid misunderstandings.

If you are offering to make something in another person’s preferred colour, style, size, whatever, then I think you should post a photo of the materials you’d like them to choose from-

Example: photo of 5 balls of wool –what colour would you like your wrist warmers- choose two,
or photo of a selection of beads if you are going to make a bracelet,
or photo of fabric colour ways for a quilt,
Keep it fairly simple.

If you want to use the same offer for some time, then please just post a link back to the first time you posted the info, don’t go posting the whole lot over and over. Keep it easy.

When?
And how often?
And can you specify what you’d like?

How’s about this for a start-

The first Wednesday of the month I put the logo into a post with the month and number ie.#1 and then anyone who wishes to can add their offering and link anytime they wish during the rest of the month. Should there be a cut off? I don't think so myself but let me know?

Then if you post the logo in your own sidebar with a link to the relevant month’s post anyone can visit, joining in if there is something they would like to Barter. (In the layout its easy enough to put a link with the logo, I think.)

I also suggest you save all the links you'll need because if you are anything like me (oh WHAT an insult....sorry...sorry) you'll find it easier than backtracking each time you need one.

I think that if you want to make specific requests you ask a person directly either to join in and work it out between yourselves.

Specifics: To offer an item for Barter / Swap-
Visit my place on the first Wednesday of the month- here's a Sample post and I’m using French Kissed as role play!
..........

Wednesday 10th February Tricia writes in her blog- My Barter/Swap offer for February:

(Picture)

This scan is of a postcard written by Napoleon to Josephine and posted from Prague on the eve of his invasion of Russia, value $9.99.

(Picture)

This scan is of a postcard written in code during the war and posted from Moscow, value $5.55.

(Picture)

I am also offering a pack of 17 of my Tour Eiffel notelets, value $18.88.

All comparable offers of Barter/Swap considered.
...........
Then Tricia goes to Heckety and posts her link in the McLinky gadget (as long as I get it sorted) AND Comments....this month it'll probably just be comments because I'm a slow learner...

I think the Comments should be a quick reference to what’s available so you can read the comments and then go back up to the Gadget and visit the particular places you want...or just click on the person's name, which will take you to their blog.
...........
So Tricia’s comment will look like this:

Tricia at French Kissed

1 postcard scan- value $9.99
1 postcard scan- value $5.55
1 pack of 17 notelets- value $18.88

..........

And Tricia sits back and waits for the offers, and later returns to look and see what's on offer- it should work both ways.

And she may see a pair of purple sparkly earrings she can barter for one scan, and perhaps the lime green and mustard yellow tea cosy she's always wanted which she can barter for her notelets.

This seems complicated, but when you write things down they take up so much space!

But its just to start; ideally anyone with the logo would be open to a Barter/Swap request.

So please take the logo if you want to take part, and link back here for instructions.

And pass it on, the more people the better I'd say- think of all those treasures awaiting us!!!!

(Materialistic? Me? Go on!)

Lightbulb Moment! Ding!

An idea has been wandering round my head this week, so I'm going to share it with you and see what yez all think. PLEASE COMMENT!
(I have to admit this idea is particularly attractive because I'm so flat stony broke...but that's permanent since I had to give up work)

It began with a very cheeky comment I left at Angela's place when admiring some of her work- me cheeky? Hmmmm...
Go look for yourself and you'll see why I offered to be a recipient of one of her postcards! They are gor-geeee-us!

She emailed to say she'd be delighted to make me one, and after finishing being horrified that she took me seriously, I offered to knit her a pair of wrist warmers in exchange.
Angela emailed back her colour choice, and each of us are delightedly creating something the other will love; speaking for myself anyhow!

Here's my amazing idea: its a kind of barter/swap if you like.

How's about if I offered to make something which I can do in exchange for something you can do? (We could exchange off Etsy shops either, but I'm not sure if that's allowed. Or perhaps we could use Etsy as a base to work out relative worth of items and what we can each do.)

Example: Pretend my sister has finally bought a flat and I'm looking for a housewarming present.
I decide she'd love Jane's Button Pictures so I email Jane (or Comment, or Etsy Convo) and ask if she'd swap me a Picture for something I could make that she needs?
So Jane thinks about upcoming events and remembers a friend's birthday so asks if I'd swap her a couple of drawstring bags.
We each create the items for the other, post them off, and Bob's Your Uncle!

Gifts sorted...a treat for yourself...stationary...household linens...winter woollens...

I guess there would need to be some rules- like keeping it between blogfriends so as not to accidentally insult someone, and not to try it in December when everyone is frantically busy. And each pair of swappers would need to be responsible for their own organisation.
And maybe not to do it with expensive items.
No money should change hands so we'd need to keep swaps equal in value.
I suppose just mind the friendships and consider each other really.
Anything else?

Perhaps I could get a sidebar button which we could display to show who is willing to participate?

What do you think?

And another thing- perhaps once a fortnight you guys could post anything you have for barter with a rough 'it's worth' guideline either in the Comments, or, if I could figure out the McLinky, in your own blogs with a link- this could be anything at all, secondhand but in good condition included- books, wool leftovers, fabric pieces, items you no longer use...as long as they are postable!
This would mean that not-crafty folks could take part too.
Howzat?!

(And if there's already a Barter/Swap site set up somewhere, please excuse me for being a bit slow and not noticing!)