I received an email from Nessa, one of our Non_Cents members, and wanted to pass it along!

I am making a call to all my fellow artists. The Camden County Animal Shelter in New Jersey is a marvelous shelter which works night and day to save thousands of animals in South Jersey. They work feverishly to be able to be a no-kill shelter, using volunteer muscle power to rail road “death row” inmates to dog rehab and rescue havens.

On June 8, the shelter is hosting a fund raiser, where they will be selling crafts and other items. I have volunteered to donate crafts, but time is getting away from me, and I cannot create nearly enough as I would like. I am therefore placing a call out to all my fellow artists and animal lovers. If you have any craft items that you would like to donate - be it jewelry, altered art, or anything else that you can think of, please send it to me for the fund raiser!!

Nessa Math
5 Lafferty Drive
Cherry Hill, NJ 08002

ALL of the proceeds will go toward the animals and helping them find their forever homes.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Since time is of the essence, I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to go through their studios this weekend and see what you have or can make to donate to this worthy cause. Pet related themes would benefit them the most considering the crowd I am sure but any kind of good quality donation would help.

If you have any questions, please contact Nessa directly. This is not affiliated with Non_Cents so she is the one to contact for further information.

Thank you for your time!

Namaste,
Ria :)

The second benefit swap for Art for Cures has been posted :::happy dance::: and I would love to see us max out this swap! We had a great turnout for our first swap, “Musical Italy” with the Inchies rolling in now and there are some gorgeous miniature masterpieces coming in from all over the world! Our framed auction pieces are going to be INCREDIBLE and it will all benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This time our theme is SHADES OF PINK benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure for breast cancer and celebrating the FEMININE ARCHETYPE! Take a moment to read the guidelines and find out more…

You can find all of the swap details here.

The swaps and the “collage88″ process are turning out to be great fun and my house is happily overrun with little squares of color. hehe I will be posting photos over the weekend and I encourage you all to stop by and read up on what we are doing. Looking forward to hearing from you all!

I have had several people ask me how I knew Stevie and Brianna, two teenage girls active in the art community in San Francisco, who recently lost their lives to cancer and MDS. The answer is: I didn’t. I don’t have to know them to care.

One of the reasons why I started Art for Cures after Val’s father died in August was to pull artist’s together for a greater good. We create all this beautiful art, express ourselves in paint, paper, metal, fabric and anything else we can get our hands on and what happens to it? It is admired and loved and…just sits there. I love everything anyone has ever taken the time and effort to create for me. I show it off to friends, I use it to inspire others to motivate their creativity, I wander through it to refuel my muse when my brain is taken over by life (or zombies). But it could do more, so much more.

It shouldn’t take something like Val’s father losing his battle with cancer, or the all-to-soon deaths of two teenage girls, or anything more than just one simple thing: The urge to be compassionate to someone else. We are all connected and anyone who is active online KNOWS how small this world has gotten and how EASY it is to reach out to someone halfway across the globe. Maybe we can’t create global change overnight, but we CAN make a difference. The key is to try. The key is to do. The key is to love. And you don’t have to know someone to do that.

THE AUCTION

I am thrilled to announce that the ZNE Hope Sees a Star charity auction totals are in and the auction itself raised $2,800 for the memorial for Stevie and Brianna! On a side note, the Coffee Cartel book that I donated (one of the original handmade books from the swap) sold for $77.00!!

I learned about the charity event last minute and didn’t have the time to create something specifically for it though I wanted to. I knew that the Coffee Cartel project I had hosted had garnered a lot of interest and was counting on that when I donated the extra book. During the project, someone dropped out due to time constraints so I ended up with an extra copy of one of the three books. I always knew that its place would be found so I am pleased to see it go to good use and a good home.

Thank you to whomever placed the final bid, the cause was well worth it.

Stevie and Brianna, you are both sorely missed and I hope you are able to see how your friends, family, and even complete strangers have pulled together to remember you both. I didn’t get the chance to know you, but I am a mother and I know how precious life is. I didn’t have to know you to care. Brightest blessings, your families are in my prayers.

This is not a Non_Cents or Art for Cures event but it is very much in need of your attention. Please take a moment to read this…

This auction and many others are currently being run by ZNE and I wholeheartedly encourage your support. Please read this and respond by visiting their auction page…

THE CAUSE

(quoted from the ZNE site here, click for full details)

"In the Spring and early Summer of 2007, the San Francisco Bay Area artistic community’s bright future dimmed for an unbearable moment, when we lost two beautiful young women. On April 19, Dublin artist Gina Gabriell suffered the devastating loss of her 19 year old daughter Stevie Christine McMoyler to brain cancer, and on June 15, Danville artist Iva Wilcox suffered an equal devastation when her 17 year old daughter Brianna Lauren Grant died from complications as a result of a very rare disease - MDS - Myelodysplastic Syndrome."

…as a mother, my daughter now only 6 years old, my heart and mind cannot fathom what the mother’s of these two very bright, beautiful stars are dealing with. No parent should ever have to outlive their child. Please show your support in any way you can. If you cannot bid on this or any other auction they have listed, which I hope you will with your whole hearts, please do what you can by spreading the words. Banners are available through the ZNE site.

THE BOOK ON AUCTION
Bidding through Monday only!

This is only one of over 100 items on auction currently. Please bid generously on any one or more of the items to help lend support to the families of these two wonderful children.Earlier this year, 24 artists responded to a caffeinated query that produced a total of 300 FABULOUS pages resulting in three separate Coffee Cartel books. Consisting of 10 pages of caffeine induced creativity by some very talented artists - including Kelli Perkins of Cloth, Paper, Scissors fame - this single copy of the Coffee Cartel is being donated in support of ZNE’s Hope Sees a Star fundraiser.

THIS IS THE ONLY COPY OUTSIDE OF THE NINE COPIES OWNED BY THE ARTISTS. THERE ARE ONLY A TOTAL OF 10 COPIES OF THIS BOOK IN EXISTENCE AND NONE WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE EVER AGAIN.

Thank you all for your time and your compassion.

Namaste,
Ria :)
Hostess, Coffee Cartel

“REVERSIBLE” BLACK, ORANGE, YELLOW & SEPIA PENNANT GARLAND SWAP for Halloween AND Dia de los Muertos! This swap is open to Non_Cents members only.

The next couple of months hold two of my favorite holidays, Halloween and Dia de los Muertos! I love them so much, in fact, that I am going to shamelessly use this swap as an excuse to get a head start on celebrating! Muwahahaha This is also a good excuse for us all to try out a new type of swap: Pennant Garlands!

Please note: I will keep this swap manageable for everyone and ask that everyone let me know what the maximum number of pennants you are willing to make is. Please keep in mind these are “double-sided”. Keep reading and don’t panic. hehe

You have probably seen those strings of flag garlands hanging at gas station grand openings or car lots…strings of triangles hanging, points down, blowing in the breeze. For this swap, we will be making the triangle pennants using the black, orange, yellow and sepia color theme. You can sneak in bits of white and red if you choose as well to make it fun. The more seasonally colorful the better!

You can see an example of a party garland here: http://flickr.com/photos/25576758@N00/480888058/

:::bad radio announcer voice::: But wait, there’s more! This isn’t just ANY pennant garland! This is a REVERSIBLE pennant garland! That’s right, TWO garlands for the price of one! On one side you have Halloween, on the other you have Dia de los Muertos! It’s TWO holiday garlands for the price of one. As soon as Halloween is over, flip your garland around and keep on celebrating for another week! WOO HOO! hehe

SIDE ONE | The Halloweeny Side

Make your piece as Halloweeny as possible. Witches, black cats, spiders and webbing, vintage images, skellies, ghosts and ghouls, pumpkins, candy, fall leaves, trick-or-treaters, dead trees, and all manner of spooky stuff. I do ask that it be kept PG since these are meant to be hung in our homes as a holiday decoration and some of us have small children. I will accept vintage nudes though as long as they are “covered” or posed tastefully. Once I have everyone’s pennants, I will be tying them with all manner of colorful
Halloweeny colored ribbons to make the garlands before returning them to you to hang for your own holiday celebrations!

SIDE TWO | The Dia de los Muertos Side

Brightly colored florals and Mexican patterns, lots of skeletons dancing and playing music. For a little background history, some fun activities (and some yummy recipes) check out the following site: http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/

If you want to add more traditional Dia de los Muertos colors, to THIS SIDE of your pennant ONLY, you are more than welcome to.

BUT WHERE DO I PUT MY NAME?

Since both sides of your pennant will be decorate, you will need to make a small tag to go on one of the top corners of your pennant. Just include the tag and I will attach it when I tie the pennants all together. At the very least, make sure you put your name and email address and/or site on the back. If your design has a title, feel free to add that as well as an edition number if you have one. Pick a coordinating paper or paint one to match your pennant or, if it is white, use tea, sepia India ink or rubber stamp ink to “stain” your tag. This will keep it from sticking out like a sore thumb when you hang your pennant garland on the wall.

MATERIALS

Your pennants need to be made of some type of paper, whether in whole or in part - thin matboard, fabric over paper, quilted or stitched paper, etc. - since this is a paper arts project BUT you have a great deal more freedom in the embellishments. Your embellishments can be anything you can imagine but try not to make it too “heavy” or it will drag down the garland. If you will be using paints – acrylics, watercolors, or a mixture - I highly recommend using a base of 140lb watercolor paper; it is inexpensive, costing about 7 bucks for a large pad.

Please do not use beaded or long fringe that will hang down outside of your “point”; you can attach fringe to the top so it hangs down ONTO your pennant but not OFF of it. I want the definite triangle shape to be visible and the garland consistent but colorful when it hangs.

For the sake of consistency and scanning time on this end, please make all of your pennants the same. If you would like to make more than one design layout, you can do up to three different pennants but please don’t make each one unique this round. I will be scanning everyone’s pennants in order to post them in our Flickr group as well as in a gallery on the site. When I post your pennants to Flickr I will be doing them in groupings, not individually, and will link to your site or Flickr account from there if you
email me the link you would like me to include. For easy reference, the Flickr group is here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/23923103@N00/

Experiment! Play! Try different mediums! Make them out of paper, textiles and paper, paint, rubber stamped images, text, ephemera, scrapbook papers, etc. H A V E F U N !

Please note: I will let you all know as soon as registration is closed how many to make and whether or not we have to worry about overseas Customs regulations. If you are starting on them now, just in case, don’t use organic or once live items - leaves, wood, plant materials, food like beans, real candy, etc. – so we don’t have issues shipping it to someone overseas.

DEADLINES

The REGISTRATION deadline for signing up is Friday, September 21st at midnight EST. This is a closed call for Non_Cents members only BUT you are allowed to invite others to join the list if you think they would enjoy participating in this and our other group activities coming up as well as the monthly swap.

You have three options for signing up for this swap. You can: a) sign up in the group database, b) post your information to the list, or c) email me directly at renmeleon@gmail.com with the words “Halloween Pennant Garland” in the subject line. Please make sure to add the subject line so I can keep track of everyone. In your post or email, PLEASE include the following information: your name, email address, and full mailing address; I keep a swap database on this end in case I can’t read your return address on the
envelope.

The POSTMARK deadline for your pennants is Wednesday, October 10th FIRM which will give you plenty of time. Everyone will have three (3) full weeks to make and mail their pennants to me from the date that I announce the quantity, the day after registration closes. Mailing them by the 10th will ensure everyone gets Halloween goodies in the mail in time to decorate! I will send out reminders but will not be accepting late submissions on this one.

To get a head start without the quantity: You can start designing your banners now and get them laid out so you can “assembly line” them and finish them on time!

…oh, and I will be tucking in some “Halloweeny goodness” in with your returns as a treat!

The postmark deadline is FIRM FIRM FIRM so start figuring out what you want to do now. I want to be able to have these back in everyone’s hands BEFORE Halloween!

THE TEMPLATE

The banner template is available in JPEG and PDF format, both available for download from my site. Please right-click on the links to “Save As” then print the one you would like to use. Print it on heavy cardstock and cut it out to use it as a template:

JPEG format | http://renmeleon.com/downloads/template_6×9partybanner.jpg
or
PDF format | http://renmeleon.com/downloads/template_6×9partybanner.pdf

MANDATORY: COMMUNICATION

I’m blunt as a train wreck so I’ll just say it: If you run into issues PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just email me. I don’t mind delays if you are having health issues, you know, like decapitation, death…but I need communication so I know what is going on. I do not like making participants wait because of one person and have been forced to get ‘harder edged’ about this. No communication, hospitalization not withstanding, will get you banned from any other swap I host; no excuse for “no shows”. Life happens, just email me. :)

POSTAGE

Please include $10.00 in with your art to cover postage and help defer the cost of all the garland ribbons and cool goodies. You can tuck cash in with your pennants, send a postal money order (must be a postal one), or you can PayPal me at renmeleon (at) gmail (dot) com if it is easier.

If you are outside the US and cannot send US funds, you can send your local currency equivalent and I will add it to my collection OR drop me a note and we can work out something to make it a little easier for you. My daughter and I absolutely love getting things from all over the world; I am homeschooling her and we love cultural surprise packages. If you are outside the US, and would like to send us a package, here are some ideas: We love postage stamps, postcards, ephemera (she does art too), maps, foreign text and other goodies. We love exploring the world from our studio!

…of course, even if you are in the US, feel free to surprise me. hehe NOT mandatory in the least but you may just get surprised back. :::Cheshire cat grin:::

MAILING ADDRESS

Please read the next section then mail everything to me in a box, or bubble envelope with board backing, marked “art, hand cancel” to the following address:

Ana Maria Seaton
Renmeleon HPG
PO Box 830635
Ocala, Florida 34483-0635
USA

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT SO PLEASE READ THIS PART!!!!! No skimming. :::smirk:::

ALLOW DRYING/CURING TIME FOR YOUR PAINTS AND ADHESIVES. If your pennants arrive allstucktogether and I am unable to pull them apart without damaging them I will mail them back to you. Freezer paper is your friend; shiny side doesn’t stick (usually). Repeat this mantra: f r e e z e r p a p e r i s m y f r i e n d o h m. Lay your pieces out with paper in between them if you aren’t sure. When in doubt, play it safe. There is nothing more heartbreaking than getting a ‘glob’ of art in the mail and having to mail it
back.

QUANTITY & SWAP OUT

I will notify everyone on the 22nd, the day after registration closes, how many you will each need to make. I will not know the amount before then as it depends on the number of people who sign up. Do not worry if a ton of people sign up! I will break it down into smaller groups as necessary so that it is a comfortable amount for everyone. I will take into effect the max number of pennants everyone says they can make. I will also allow anyone who wants to make more to do so and adjust the numbers so everyone is happy.

Once I have everyone’s pennants, I will sort and assemble your garlands then mail them back. You WILL be getting some of your own back, so don’t worry about making extra for yourself.

QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS

If anyone has questions, please feel free to post them here or email me directly at renmeleon (at) gmail (dot) com and I will do my best to answer you. Thank you to everyone for participating! I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s art!!

Namaste,
Ria :)

“REVERSIBLE” BLACK, ORANGE, YELLOW & SEPIA PENNANT GARLAND SWAP for Halloween AND Dia de los Muertos! This swap is open to Non_Cents members only.

The next couple of months hold two of my favorite holidays, Halloween and Dia de los Muertos! I love them so much, in fact, that I am going to shamelessly use this swap as an excuse to get a head start on celebrating! Muwahahaha This is also a good excuse for us all to try out a new type of swap: Pennant Garlands!

Please note: I will keep this swap manageable for everyone and ask that everyone let me know what the maximum number of pennants you are willing to make is. Please keep in mind these are “double-sided”. Keep reading and don’t panic. hehe

You have probably seen those strings of flag garlands hanging at gas station grand openings or car lots…strings of triangles hanging, points down, blowing in the breeze. For this swap, we will be making the triangle pennants using the black, orange, yellow and sepia color theme. You can sneak in bits of white and red if you choose as well to make it fun. The more seasonally colorful the better!

You can see an example of a party garland here: http://flickr.com/photos/25576758@N00/480888058/

:::bad radio announcer voice::: But wait, there’s more! This isn’t just ANY pennant garland! This is a REVERSIBLE pennant garland! That’s right, TWO garlands for the price of one! On one side you have Halloween, on the other you have Dia de los Muertos! It’s TWO holiday garlands for the price of one. As soon as Halloween is over, flip your garland around and keep on celebrating for another week! WOO HOO! hehe

SIDE ONE | The Halloweeny Side

Make your piece as Halloweeny as possible. Witches, black cats, spiders and webbing, vintage images, skellies, ghosts and ghouls, pumpkins, candy, fall leaves, trick-or-treaters, dead trees, and all manner of spooky stuff. I do ask that it be kept PG since these are meant to be hung in our homes as a holiday decoration and some of us have small children. I will accept vintage nudes though as long as they are “covered” or posed tastefully. Once I have everyone’s pennants, I will be tying them with all manner of colorful
Halloweeny colored ribbons to make the garlands before returning them to you to hang for your own holiday celebrations!

SIDE TWO | The Dia de los Muertos Side

Brightly colored florals and Mexican patterns, lots of skeletons dancing and playing music. For a little background history, some fun activities (and some yummy recipes) check out the following site: http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/

If you want to add more traditional Dia de los Muertos colors, to THIS SIDE of your pennant ONLY, you are more than welcome to.

BUT WHERE DO I PUT MY NAME?

Since both sides of your pennant will be decorate, you will need to make a small tag to go on one of the top corners of your pennant. Just include the tag and I will attach it when I tie the pennants all together. At the very least, make sure you put your name and email address and/or site on the back. If your design has a title, feel free to add that as well as an edition number if you have one. Pick a coordinating paper or paint one to match your pennant or, if it is white, use tea, sepia India ink or rubber stamp ink to “stain” your tag. This will keep it from sticking out like a sore thumb when you hang your pennant garland on the wall.

MATERIALS

Your pennants need to be made of some type of paper, whether in whole or in part - thin matboard, fabric over paper, quilted or stitched paper, etc. - since this is a paper arts project BUT you have a great deal more freedom in the embellishments. Your embellishments can be anything you can imagine but try not to make it too “heavy” or it will drag down the garland. If you will be using paints – acrylics, watercolors, or a mixture - I highly recommend using a base of 140lb watercolor paper; it is inexpensive, costing about 7 bucks for a large pad.

Please do not use beaded or long fringe that will hang down outside of your “point”; you can attach fringe to the top so it hangs down ONTO your pennant but not OFF of it. I want the definite triangle shape to be visible and the garland consistent but colorful when it hangs.

For the sake of consistency and scanning time on this end, please make all of your pennants the same. If you would like to make more than one design layout, you can do up to three different pennants but please don’t make each one unique this round. I will be scanning everyone’s pennants in order to post them in our Flickr group as well as in a gallery on the site. When I post your pennants to Flickr I will be doing them in groupings, not individually, and will link to your site or Flickr account from there if you
email me the link you would like me to include. For easy reference, the Flickr group is here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/23923103@N00/

Experiment! Play! Try different mediums! Make them out of paper, textiles and paper, paint, rubber stamped images, text, ephemera, scrapbook papers, etc. H A V E F U N !

Please note: I will let you all know as soon as registration is closed how many to make and whether or not we have to worry about overseas Customs regulations. If you are starting on them now, just in case, don’t use organic or once live items - leaves, wood, plant materials, food like beans, real candy, etc. – so we don’t have issues shipping it to someone overseas.

DEADLINES

The REGISTRATION deadline for signing up is Friday, September 21st at midnight EST. This is a closed call for Non_Cents members only BUT you are allowed to invite others to join the list if you think they would enjoy participating in this and our other group activities coming up as well as the monthly swap.

You have three options for signing up for this swap. You can: a) sign up in the group database, b) post your information to the list, or c) email me directly at renmeleon@gmail.com with the words “Halloween Pennant Garland” in the subject line. Please make sure to add the subject line so I can keep track of everyone. In your post or email, PLEASE include the following information: your name, email address, and full mailing address; I keep a swap database on this end in case I can’t read your return address on the
envelope.

The POSTMARK deadline for your pennants is Wednesday, October 10th FIRM which will give you plenty of time. Everyone will have three (3) full weeks to make and mail their pennants to me from the date that I announce the quantity, the day after registration closes. Mailing them by the 10th will ensure everyone gets Halloween goodies in the mail in time to decorate! I will send out reminders but will not be accepting late submissions on this one.

To get a head start without the quantity: You can start designing your banners now and get them laid out so you can “assembly line” them and finish them on time!

…oh, and I will be tucking in some “Halloweeny goodness” in with your returns as a treat!

The postmark deadline is FIRM FIRM FIRM so start figuring out what you want to do now. I want to be able to have these back in everyone’s hands BEFORE Halloween!

THE TEMPLATE

The banner template is available in JPEG and PDF format, both available for download from my site. Please right-click on the links to “Save As” then print the one you would like to use. Print it on heavy cardstock and cut it out to use it as a template:

JPEG format | http://renmeleon.com/downloads/template_6×9partybanner.jpg
or
PDF format | http://renmeleon.com/downloads/template_6×9partybanner.pdf

MANDATORY: COMMUNICATION

I’m blunt as a train wreck so I’ll just say it: If you run into issues PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just email me. I don’t mind delays if you are having health issues, you know, like decapitation, death…but I need communication so I know what is going on. I do not like making participants wait because of one person and have been forced to get ‘harder edged’ about this. No communication, hospitalization not withstanding, will get you banned from any other swap I host; no excuse for “no shows”. Life happens, just email me. :)

POSTAGE

Please include $10.00 in with your art to cover postage and help defer the cost of all the garland ribbons and cool goodies. You can tuck cash in with your pennants, send a postal money order (must be a postal one), or you can PayPal me at renmeleon (at) gmail (dot) com if it is easier.

If you are outside the US and cannot send US funds, you can send your local currency equivalent and I will add it to my collection OR drop me a note and we can work out something to make it a little easier for you. My daughter and I absolutely love getting things from all over the world; I am homeschooling her and we love cultural surprise packages. If you are outside the US, and would like to send us a package, here are some ideas: We love postage stamps, postcards, ephemera (she does art too), maps, foreign text and other goodies. We love exploring the world from our studio!

…of course, even if you are in the US, feel free to surprise me. hehe NOT mandatory in the least but you may just get surprised back. :::Cheshire cat grin:::

MAILING ADDRESS

Please read the next section then mail everything to me in a box, or bubble envelope with board backing, marked “art, hand cancel” to the following address:

Ana Maria Seaton
Renmeleon HPG
PO Box 830635
Ocala, Florida 34483-0635
USA

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT SO PLEASE READ THIS PART!!!!! No skimming. :::smirk:::

ALLOW DRYING/CURING TIME FOR YOUR PAINTS AND ADHESIVES. If your pennants arrive allstucktogether and I am unable to pull them apart without damaging them I will mail them back to you. Freezer paper is your friend; shiny side doesn’t stick (usually). Repeat this mantra: f r e e z e r p a p e r i s m y f r i e n d o h m. Lay your pieces out with paper in between them if you aren’t sure. When in doubt, play it safe. There is nothing more heartbreaking than getting a ‘glob’ of art in the mail and having to mail it
back.

QUANTITY & SWAP OUT

I will notify everyone on the 22nd, the day after registration closes, how many you will each need to make. I will not know the amount before then as it depends on the number of people who sign up. Do not worry if a ton of people sign up! I will break it down into smaller groups as necessary so that it is a comfortable amount for everyone. I will take into effect the max number of pennants everyone says they can make. I will also allow anyone who wants to make more to do so and adjust the numbers so everyone is happy.

Once I have everyone’s pennants, I will sort and assemble your garlands then mail them back. You WILL be getting some of your own back, so don’t worry about making extra for yourself.

QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS

If anyone has questions, please feel free to post them here or email me directly at renmeleon (at) gmail (dot) com and I will do my best to answer you. Thank you to everyone for participating! I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s art!!

Namaste,
Ria :)

“MUSICAL ITALY” ORANGE, LIME GREEN & PALE BLUE INCHIES
benefitting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

What you will be participating in is the first of, what I hope to be many, “benefit swaps”. As a participant, you will be swapping Inchies as you would in any normal swap, but with two differences: you will be using my one sheet “collage88″ tutorial, and we will be making extras for framed wall pieces that will be auctioned off on eBay through Missionfish as a benefit for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The theme for this swap incorporates the colors for Leukemia, Lymphoma and Lymphedema, along with “Italy” and “Music” in honor of the man whose recent passing inspired the Art for Cures project.

WHAT ARE INCHIES?

Inchies are one inch-squared collage, miniature collages one inch by one inch square in size. Tiny little bits of expression you can make and trade, Inchies have become an addiction. As anyone who has ever done an Inchie before knows, though, they can also be rather intimidating to create, especially if you are in a swap with a large number of participants. But fear no more hearty collagers!

The problem of collaging more than ten of those itty bitty, eye straining little pieces of art is solved. If you can collage one standard 8.5″ x 11″ inch sheet of paper, guess what? You just made 88 inchies! So, with that in mind, this is your challenge…

THE TUTORIAL

Your page must measure 8.5″ x 11″ exactly for this to work…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/renmeleon/sets/72157594528291635/

You can make your Inchies out of anything involving paper but my personal preference for this is 140lb weight watercolor paper. You can pick up a cheap pad of Canson or Strathmore for around 7 bucks at any Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. Note: The watercolor paper they sell at WalMart is paper thin (no pun intended) and I wouldn’t advise it due to buckling. Thin matboard will also work and you are welcome to use textiles (fabrics and fibers) BUT since this is a paper arts swap there should be some kind of paper involved in your work AND remember: You have to cut up your sheet into 88 Inchies when you are done! Don’t make it too thick or you will have issues.

Keep your collage pattern “tight” so that all of your wonderful details and variations will be on your individual Inchies. Since your final pieces will only be one inch squared, you want to make sure there are no large gaps in between your collage elements. If you want to add more detail after your collage sheet is cut, look at this as making a background for further embellishing.

Being that our theme is “Italy and Music”, you can use sheet music, rubber stamps, Italian postal cancellations, Italian text, etc. Thin matboard, stiffened fabric, or cardstock is what you want to shoot for on thickness so they stand up to collaging. If you have done Inchies before then ignore me, you know what to do. Experiment! Play! Try different mediums! Make them out of paper, textiles, paint, rubber stamped images, text, ephemera, scrapbook papers, etc. H A V E F U N !

DEADLINES

The deadline for signing up is Wednesday, September 19th at midnight EST.

This is not a closed call which means you can invite anyone and everyone you would like, the more the merrier and the more good we can do! Please, pass this around to anyone you think might be interested. With the fact that we are doing this as a sheet then cutting it up into 88 pieces, I can max out this swap at 39 participants so everyone has two (2) Inchies from each player OR 26 players with three (3) each and still have enough for 10 or more limited edition auction pieces!

In order to sign up for this swap you will need to email me at renmeleon@gmail.com with the words “Art For Cures LLS Inchies” in the subject line so I can keep track of everyone. In your email, PLEASE include the following information:

Name
Art “Nickname”
Full Mailing Address
Email Address

I keep a swap database just in case I can’t read your return address on the envelope. I will never sell or give out your information to anyone. The only time you will hear from me is for swap updates or new swap announcements. If you are a member of my Non_Cents paper arts group or the Art for Cures group, you also have the option of signing up on the list and/or posting your address in the group database.

Everyone will have three (3) full weeks to make and mail their Inchies.

The POSTMARK deadline for your Inchies is Wednesday, October 10th, which will give you plenty of time. You are always welcome to get them done and mail them early too!

PROJECT DONATIONS ACCEPTED

If you are feeling industrious and would like to make more than one collage sheet of Inchies - must be cut before you mail them - feel free to drop me a note and send in as many as you would like. I will continue to mount the Inchies and have them framed for auction pieces. If you would like to donate money toward the framing, I will happily accept it though keep in mind that whatever is unused will be pooled for the next charity’s framing; i.e. If I run out of Inchies for LLS then host the Breast Cancer swap, any remaining monies from the LLS swap will go toward helping the next swap. I will post totals on a regular basis.

If you would like to donate money to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, you will need to do that directly through them as I will not be taking donations unless you are a participant and send in extra with your swap and designate that it is for them and not for the framing costs. I will post totals and add your donation in with the final amount before making the donation through Missionfish.

https://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_donate?item_id=8072

Unless you have someone else you would like to donate on behalf of, I would love it if you donated “in honor of” Art for Cures under the Designate Your Donation section. Also, the section below that allows you to “Notify Someone Else of Your Donation” and I would like to ask that you fill in the following information so that I can track donations made as a result of this project:

Ana Maria Seaton
Art for Cures
PO Box 830635
Ocala, Florida 34483
USA

This is only to notify me so that I can count your donation amount in the project totals; I will provide a complete breakdown for everyone of all the donations and auction totals as they come in. Again, keep in mind this is a project and I do not have non-profit status despite the fact that I will not be benefiting from this project; this is a 100% donation project for the selected charities. I will be looking into making Art for Cures a non-profit in the future though I think; still researching everything. For now this is a way for me to host swaps that do some good for the community.

COMMUNICATION, Mandatory

I’m blunt as a trainwreck so I’ll just say it: If you run into issues PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just email me. I don’t mind delays if you are having health issues - you know, like decapitation, death j/k - but I need communication so I know what is going on. I do not like making participants wait because of one person and have been forced to get ‘harder edged’ about this. No communication, hospitalization not withstanding, will get you banned from any other swap I host; no excuse for “no shows”. Life happens, just email me. :)

COST (postage and framing)

All participants will need to include $10.00US in cash or postal money order (must be a postal one) in with their Inchies or PayPal it to me at renmeleon@gmail.com - this will cover the POSTAGE for returns BUT it will also be going toward the FRAMING for the auction pieces as well. I have a friend here locally who owns a frame shop that I will be going through for the final pieces. I do not want to take money out of the totals under any circumstances for the framing so I really need your help with this.

If you are outside the US, drop me a note if you cannot include US funds and we will see what we can work out.

MAILING ADDRESS

You will need to mail everything to me, preferably in a small bubble envelope, at:

Ana Maria Seaton
Art for Cures - LLS
PO Box 830635
Ocala, Florida 34483-0635
USA

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT SO PLEASE READ THIS PART!!!!! No skimming. :::smirk:::

ALLOW DRYING/CURING TIME FOR YOUR PAINTS AND ADHESIVES. Let them dry! If your Inchies arrive allstucktogether and I am unable to pull them apart without damaging them I will mail them back to you. Freezer paper is your friend and the shiny side doesn’t stick, usually. Repeat this mantra: f r e e z e r p a p e r I s m y f r I e n d o h m. Lay your pieces out with paper in between them if you aren’t sure. When in doubt, play it safe. There is nothing more heartbreaking than getting a ‘glob’ of what could be beautiful art in the mail and having to mail it back.

THE BACKS OF YOUR INCHIES & CONTRIBUTOR SHEETS

PLEASE make sure to put your name and email address or site on the back of your Inchies. The information on the backs of your Inchies will not be visible in the framed pieces but I will be making contributor’s sheets for all of the auction pieces. If you would like your name, email address and one link listed please let me know prior to the postmark deadline.

QUANTITY & SWAP OUT

You will be making 88 inchies from one sheet of collage. Depending on the number of participants we have, is how the returns will be divided up. I will let everyone know once the signup is closed what the returns will look like. We need either 26 or 39 participants total including myself to make this work right.

The cool thing is that doing it this way allows you to start making your sheets now if you want to get a head start. Once I have everyone’s Inchies I will swap them out and mail them back. You WILL be getting some of your own back, so don’t worry about making extra for yourself.

COPYRIGHT

All inchies remain the copyright of the individual artists. Once you have your returns, if you want to use someone’s inchies in an art piece of your own, you should contact the individual artist themselves for permission. I recently saw someone posting other artists’ work as part of their own with no credit given to the original artists. This is something I believe to be not only in bad taste but blatant theft of someone else’s work. This is just my opinion but I think an email to the artist as common courtesy should prevail.

QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS

I try to be thorough (read long-winded) but if anyone has questions, please feel free to email me at renmeleon@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer you. If you are on a list where I have posted this, please use your own judgment as to list etiquette in replying to outside swaps. Non_Cents, Art for Cures and Flickr members can reply to the list or posting.

Thank you to everyone for participating, I could not do this without all of you. I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s art and raising some money for a great charity!!!

Namaste,
Ria :)
aka Renmeleon
Art for Cures, founder
Non_Cents, founder

“MUSICAL ITALY” ORANGE, LIME GREEN & PALE BLUE INCHIES
benefitting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

What you will be participating in is the first of, what I hope to be many, “benefit swaps”. As a participant, you will be swapping Inchies as you would in any normal swap, but with two differences: you will be using my one sheet “collage88″ tutorial, and we will be making extras for framed wall pieces that will be auctioned off on eBay through Missionfish as a benefit for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The theme for this swap incorporates the colors for Leukemia, Lymphoma and Lymphedema, along with “Italy” and “Music” in honor of the man whose recent passing inspired the Art for Cures project.

WHAT ARE INCHIES?

Inchies are one inch-squared collage, miniature collages one inch by one inch square in size. Tiny little bits of expression you can make and trade, Inchies have become an addiction. As anyone who has ever done an Inchie before knows, though, they can also be rather intimidating to create, especially if you are in a swap with a large number of participants. But fear no more hearty collagers!

The problem of collaging more than ten of those itty bitty, eye straining little pieces of art is solved. If you can collage one standard 8.5″ x 11″ inch sheet of paper, guess what? You just made 88 inchies! So, with that in mind, this is your challenge…

THE TUTORIAL

Your page must measure 8.5″ x 11″ exactly for this to work…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/renmeleon/sets/72157594528291635/

You can make your Inchies out of anything involving paper but my personal preference for this is 140lb weight watercolor paper. You can pick up a cheap pad of Canson or Strathmore for around 7 bucks at any Michael’s or Hobby Lobby. Note: The watercolor paper they sell at WalMart is paper thin (no pun intended) and I wouldn’t advise it due to buckling. Thin matboard will also work and you are welcome to use textiles (fabrics and fibers) BUT since this is a paper arts swap there should be some kind of paper involved in your work AND remember: You have to cut up your sheet into 88 Inchies when you are done! Don’t make it too thick or you will have issues.

Keep your collage pattern “tight” so that all of your wonderful details and variations will be on your individual Inchies. Since your final pieces will only be one inch squared, you want to make sure there are no large gaps in between your collage elements. If you want to add more detail after your collage sheet is cut, look at this as making a background for further embellishing.

Being that our theme is “Italy and Music”, you can use sheet music, rubber stamps, Italian postal cancellations, Italian text, etc. Thin matboard, stiffened fabric, or cardstock is what you want to shoot for on thickness so they stand up to collaging. If you have done Inchies before then ignore me, you know what to do. Experiment! Play! Try different mediums! Make them out of paper, textiles, paint, rubber stamped images, text, ephemera, scrapbook papers, etc. H A V E F U N !

DEADLINES

The deadline for signing up is Wednesday, September 19th at midnight EST.

This is not a closed call which means you can invite anyone and everyone you would like, the more the merrier and the more good we can do! Please, pass this around to anyone you think might be interested. With the fact that we are doing this as a sheet then cutting it up into 88 pieces, I can max out this swap at 39 participants so everyone has two (2) Inchies from each player OR 26 players with three (3) each and still have enough for 10 or more limited edition auction pieces!

In order to sign up for this swap you will need to email me at renmeleon@gmail.com with the words “Art For Cures LLS Inchies” in the subject line so I can keep track of everyone. In your email, PLEASE include the following information:

Name
Art “Nickname”
Full Mailing Address
Email Address

I keep a swap database just in case I can’t read your return address on the envelope. I will never sell or give out your information to anyone. The only time you will hear from me is for swap updates or new swap announcements. If you are a member of my Non_Cents paper arts group or the Art for Cures group, you also have the option of signing up on the list and/or posting your address in the group database.

Everyone will have three (3) full weeks to make and mail their Inchies.

The POSTMARK deadline for your Inchies is Wednesday, October 10th, which will give you plenty of time. You are always welcome to get them done and mail them early too!

PROJECT DONATIONS ACCEPTED

If you are feeling industrious and would like to make more than one collage sheet of Inchies - must be cut before you mail them - feel free to drop me a note and send in as many as you would like. I will continue to mount the Inchies and have them framed for auction pieces. If you would like to donate money toward the framing, I will happily accept it though keep in mind that whatever is unused will be pooled for the next charity’s framing; i.e. If I run out of Inchies for LLS then host the Breast Cancer swap, any remaining monies from the LLS swap will go toward helping the next swap. I will post totals on a regular basis.

If you would like to donate money to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, you will need to do that directly through them as I will not be taking donations unless you are a participant and send in extra with your swap and designate that it is for them and not for the framing costs. I will post totals and add your donation in with the final amount before making the donation through Missionfish.

https://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_donate?item_id=8072

Unless you have someone else you would like to donate on behalf of, I would love it if you donated “in honor of” Art for Cures under the Designate Your Donation section. Also, the section below that allows you to “Notify Someone Else of Your Donation” and I would like to ask that you fill in the following information so that I can track donations made as a result of this project:

Ana Maria Seaton
Art for Cures
PO Box 830635
Ocala, Florida 34483
USA

This is only to notify me so that I can count your donation amount in the project totals; I will provide a complete breakdown for everyone of all the donations and auction totals as they come in. Again, keep in mind this is a project and I do not have non-profit status despite the fact that I will not be benefiting from this project; this is a 100% donation project for the selected charities. I will be looking into making Art for Cures a non-profit in the future though I think; still researching everything. For now this is a way for me to host swaps that do some good for the community.

COMMUNICATION, Mandatory

I’m blunt as a trainwreck so I’ll just say it: If you run into issues PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just email me. I don’t mind delays if you are having health issues - you know, like decapitation, death j/k - but I need communication so I know what is going on. I do not like making participants wait because of one person and have been forced to get ‘harder edged’ about this. No communication, hospitalization not withstanding, will get you banned from any other swap I host; no excuse for “no shows”. Life happens, just email me. :)

COST (postage and framing)

All participants will need to include $10.00US in cash or postal money order (must be a postal one) in with their Inchies or PayPal it to me at renmeleon@gmail.com - this will cover the POSTAGE for returns BUT it will also be going toward the FRAMING for the auction pieces as well. I have a friend here locally who owns a frame shop that I will be going through for the final pieces. I do not want to take money out of the totals under any circumstances for the framing so I really need your help with this.

If you are outside the US, drop me a note if you cannot include US funds and we will see what we can work out.

MAILING ADDRESS

You will need to mail everything to me, preferably in a small bubble envelope, at:

Ana Maria Seaton
Art for Cures - LLS
PO Box 830635
Ocala, Florida 34483-0635
USA

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT SO PLEASE READ THIS PART!!!!! No skimming. :::smirk:::

ALLOW DRYING/CURING TIME FOR YOUR PAINTS AND ADHESIVES. Let them dry! If your Inchies arrive allstucktogether and I am unable to pull them apart without damaging them I will mail them back to you. Freezer paper is your friend and the shiny side doesn’t stick, usually. Repeat this mantra: f r e e z e r p a p e r I s m y f r I e n d o h m. Lay your pieces out with paper in between them if you aren’t sure. When in doubt, play it safe. There is nothing more heartbreaking than getting a ‘glob’ of what could be beautiful art in the mail and having to mail it back.

THE BACKS OF YOUR INCHIES & CONTRIBUTOR SHEETS

PLEASE make sure to put your name and email address or site on the back of your Inchies. The information on the backs of your Inchies will not be visible in the framed pieces but I will be making contributor’s sheets for all of the auction pieces. If you would like your name, email address and one link listed please let me know prior to the postmark deadline.

QUANTITY & SWAP OUT

You will be making 88 inchies from one sheet of collage. Depending on the number of participants we have, is how the returns will be divided up. I will let everyone know once the signup is closed what the returns will look like. We need either 26 or 39 participants total including myself to make this work right.

The cool thing is that doing it this way allows you to start making your sheets now if you want to get a head start. Once I have everyone’s Inchies I will swap them out and mail them back. You WILL be getting some of your own back, so don’t worry about making extra for yourself.

COPYRIGHT

All inchies remain the copyright of the individual artists. Once you have your returns, if you want to use someone’s inchies in an art piece of your own, you should contact the individual artist themselves for permission. I recently saw someone posting other artists’ work as part of their own with no credit given to the original artists. This is something I believe to be not only in bad taste but blatant theft of someone else’s work. This is just my opinion but I think an email to the artist as common courtesy should prevail.

QUESTIONS & SUGGESTIONS

I try to be thorough (read long-winded) but if anyone has questions, please feel free to email me at renmeleon@gmail.com and I will do my best to answer you. If you are on a list where I have posted this, please use your own judgment as to list etiquette in replying to outside swaps. Non_Cents, Art for Cures and Flickr members can reply to the list or posting.

Thank you to everyone for participating, I could not do this without all of you. I am looking forward to seeing everyone’s art and raising some money for a great charity!!!

Namaste,
Ria :)
aka Renmeleon
Art for Cures, founder
Non_Cents, founder

In light of several personal events, I would like to get a discussion going on what we could do as a charity project for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society…

TYPE OF PROJECT

What kind of project would we like to do?

…a book? It could be a chunky, (4.25″ square), skinny (3″ wide x 7″ tall) or other collaborative (half sheet and/or shaped) book. We would make enough to swap plus an extra one (or more) books to auction off.

…Inchies? We make enough to swap plus enough extra that I could have a friend (who owns a frame shop) shadowbox frame for me and we auction off the framed final.

…artistamps? We could auction off a collection of full sheets of artistamps in a binder.

…any other project ideas?

I am not adding ATCs to the list because there is too much of a rivalry between those who think they should not be sold and those who create ACEOs. I have actually been wanting to post a discussion topic about the whole trade vs sell debate BUT I was afraid to open that can of worms because I have seen other lists, really active stable ones, spiral down into chaos and I do not want that here. There are several people here who, in the past for personal reasons (all valid opinions), have let me know that they would leave the list if I supported the sale of ATCs. Hence I am avoiding that.

I have also not added a round robin journal or altered book because I want this to be more of an “immediate good”. Passing around journals or books take a lot of time, sometimes months and even well over a year, and it runs the risk of getting misplaced or lost along the way. I want something we can do and get results from within the next couple of months.

100% TO CHARITY

No matter what we choose to do, we will be making enough to swap so we can all play and make some money for a good cause! All the proceeds (100%) would go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through Missionfish, a global charity fundraiser that you can use via eBay. I will be providing receipts and stats on everything.

Anyone wishing to make a personal donation is encouraged to and can do so either to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society directly or through me with your artwork and I will add it to the final project donation. Again, I will provide details publicly for everyone throughout the project.

GLOBAL INVOLVEMENT & AWARENESS

We have a chance to do something for the greater good if we open this up to offlist players too. We would get a) more players, b) more promo and higher bids, and c) I can divide things up to keep it manageable for everyone. We had a lot of players when we did the Coffee Cartel book and I divided it up into three separate books.

I have two assistants (technically four) that will be helping me with this here at my house. I also have other plans that I am looking into to make this a much more lucrative project for the charity including getting them involved.

THEME

Another thing we need to consider (thank you Elsi) is “theme”. I think something that symbolizes global awareness should be incorporated. While we are in the planning stages, we can focus on the color choices as they can be done no matter what type of project we decide to do.

I found an excellent resource for awareness ribbon colors at Personalized Cause. They also have “Know More” bands, which is a message I really like, in all the colors. They have the colors listed as follows:

• The ribbon color for Leukemia is green or orange.
• The ribbon for Lymphoma is lime green or red.
• The color for Lymphedema is light blue…which is, ironically, my favorite color (pale glacier blue).

If you have ever lost anyone to these you would add black in memoriam to your piece. We could do any combination of these colors, two or more, plus white.

YOUR FEEDBACK IS NEEDED

Please post your suggestions, ideas, tips and tricks, etc for this. Once we decide, I will work on getting guidelines in place and start the ball rolling. I will be making promotional banners, small downloadable flyers, etc for this that we can all use once the auction is posted. I will also be blogging our progress on this and encourage others to do so.

Looking forward to hearing your responses. I hope to make our artfulness here count for something more than just trades and I need your support to do that. I would love to see everyone get involved and see us do more charity work, not just on these issues.

Thank you for your help with this, it means a lot to a lot of people.

Namaste,
Ria :)

In light of several personal events, I would like to get a discussion going on what we could do as a charity project for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society…

TYPE OF PROJECT

What kind of project would we like to do?

…a book? It could be a chunky, (4.25″ square), skinny (3″ wide x 7″ tall) or other collaborative (half sheet and/or shaped) book. We would make enough to swap plus an extra one (or more) books to auction off.

…Inchies? We make enough to swap plus enough extra that I could have a friend (who owns a frame shop) shadowbox frame for me and we auction off the framed final.

…artistamps? We could auction off a collection of full sheets of artistamps in a binder.

…any other project ideas?

I am not adding ATCs to the list because there is too much of a rivalry between those who think they should not be sold and those who create ACEOs. I have actually been wanting to post a discussion topic about the whole trade vs sell debate BUT I was afraid to open that can of worms because I have seen other lists, really active stable ones, spiral down into chaos and I do not want that here. There are several people here who, in the past for personal reasons (all valid opinions), have let me know that they would leave the list if I supported the sale of ATCs. Hence I am avoiding that.

I have also not added a round robin journal or altered book because I want this to be more of an “immediate good”. Passing around journals or books take a lot of time, sometimes months and even well over a year, and it runs the risk of getting misplaced or lost along the way. I want something we can do and get results from within the next couple of months.

100% TO CHARITY

No matter what we choose to do, we will be making enough to swap so we can all play and make some money for a good cause! All the proceeds (100%) would go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through Missionfish, a global charity fundraiser that you can use via eBay. I will be providing receipts and stats on everything.

Anyone wishing to make a personal donation is encouraged to and can do so either to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society directly or through me with your artwork and I will add it to the final project donation. Again, I will provide details publicly for everyone throughout the project.

GLOBAL INVOLVEMENT & AWARENESS

We have a chance to do something for the greater good if we open this up to offlist players too. We would get a) more players, b) more promo and higher bids, and c) I can divide things up to keep it manageable for everyone. We had a lot of players when we did the Coffee Cartel book and I divided it up into three separate books.

I have two assistants (technically four) that will be helping me with this here at my house. I also have other plans that I am looking into to make this a much more lucrative project for the charity including getting them involved.

THEME

Another thing we need to consider (thank you Elsi) is “theme”. I think something that symbolizes global awareness should be incorporated. While we are in the planning stages, we can focus on the color choices as they can be done no matter what type of project we decide to do.

I found an excellent resource for awareness ribbon colors at Personalized Cause. They also have “Know More” bands, which is a message I really like, in all the colors. They have the colors listed as follows:

• The ribbon color for Leukemia is green or orange.
• The ribbon for Lymphoma is lime green or red.
• The color for Lymphedema is light blue…which is, ironically, my favorite color (pale glacier blue).

If you have ever lost anyone to these you would add black in memoriam to your piece. We could do any combination of these colors, two or more, plus white.

YOUR FEEDBACK IS NEEDED

Please post your suggestions, ideas, tips and tricks, etc for this. Once we decide, I will work on getting guidelines in place and start the ball rolling. I will be making promotional banners, small downloadable flyers, etc for this that we can all use once the auction is posted. I will also be blogging our progress on this and encourage others to do so.

Looking forward to hearing your responses. I hope to make our artfulness here count for something more than just trades and I need your support to do that. I would love to see everyone get involved and see us do more charity work, not just on these issues.

Thank you for your help with this, it means a lot to a lot of people.

Namaste,
Ria :)