A few small site changes were made over the weekend. Here are the details:

• We added a Type section to the Rating Overview on everyone’s profile page. You can now see the number of swaps each member has completed according to their swap Type.
  • Type 1: Electronic swaps – internet-based, email, messages, links, digital photography, etc
  • Type 2: Flat mail – postcards, letters, mail swaps that require one stamp (store-bought postcards would go in this type)
  • Type 3: Crafts & Packages – any time-intensive crafts, packages, most swaps will fall in this category

  Right now, these numbers do not have any functionality (i.e. you can’t click on them to see a list of the completed swaps), but we hope to keep working on this feature. We hope that seeing the number of completed swaps for each Type will help coordinators determine who to allow in their swaps. As for the uncategorized swaps, Types were introduced in May 2009 and any swaps completed before then were not “Typed.” However, swap coordinators can go back and “Type” their old swaps by going to the “Edit the swap” page. </li>

  • Based on user suggestions, we have now implemented a rating lock after six months. Each swap is “closed” six months after the send deadline. Previously, that just meant that everyone’s addresses were removed from view in that swap, but now it also means that it is no longer possible for any of the participants to leave a 1 or 3 rating for the swap. This change will prevent users from rating unfairly long after a swap has been completed. You will still be able to leave a 5 rating, or to choose the “I do not wish to rate at this time” option indefinitely. That means that users can still remove a low rating or change it to a 5 at any time. (It also means that potentially a 5 rating can be removed (by choosing the “I do not wish to rate” option), but I think that would be a very rare occurrence.) We still want to allow some flexibility in the rating system so that old swaps can be made up and mistakes can be changed. FYI: Users have noted that this changes makes it impossible to change a 1 rating to a 3 after six months (like, say, if a returning flaker has come back and is trying to make up swaps). I agree that this could be a problem. Join in the discussion about this new feature here in the forums. Together we can work toward the best solution. **UPDATE 5/12/2011: We have removed the time limit on leaving low ratings. We have reverted the system back to its original functionality. You can now leave any of the three ratings at any time (except for the usual two week wait after the mail deadline for the 1 and 3). </p>

    The six month limit on when you could leave low ratings was intended to prevent users from changing good ratings to low ratings. Unfortunately, it seems to have only caused problems with rating swappers who have returned after a long swap break and are trying to make up past unsent swaps.

    We would like to implement a way to “lock in” 5 ratings in the future, but we are still considering the best way to do it. For now, if you have problems with a user changing a previous 5 rating, contact me – rachel [at] swap-bot.com. It is a rare occurrence and I can lock ratings manually as needed.</b> </li>

    • On group home pages we have now reduced the number of mini user avatars that appear in the bottom right column. The avatars took forever to load on groups with lots and lots of members, so now you will only see a maximum of 100 random members on the homepage. This is not a big change, but we don’t want you to worry that you suddenly lost a bunch of group members!</ul>

    That is it for now. Let me know if you have any questions!

March has flown by way too quickly for my liking, but I am finally starting to catch up! I’ve got a great list of links for you that I collected over the last few weeks… there is always something new to see on the internet!

• The colorful photo seen above is an image of the house created by National Geographic that was inspired by the movie Up. The small house was suspended from 300 balloons and flew for over an hour! It will be featured on a new National Geographic television series in the fall.
• Letters From Lauren – Lauren is writing a letter a day in 2011. She might even send one to you!
• Crochet your own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!
• BookCrossing.com is kinda like Swap-bot, but it is all about sharing books. Some of the site’s members are organizing a convention in Washington DC on April 15-17th – Learn more here!
• I just discovered Print-A-Craft.com. It is a site wear you can buy and sell craft patterns and tutorials.
• Another new discovery: YourATCStore.com – an online store dedicated to selling ATC supplies.
• My love of S’mores strikes again: tiny s’more bites recipe and a fun “Scout” cookie idea from Cookie Crowd.

  • Just for fun: Check out SisterDiane’s review of Kirby’s Epic Yarn. It is a video game with graphics created completely with craft supplies! Very cute!</ul> A few links for St. Patrick’s Day, which is coming up on March 17th:

  • Sheek Shindigs shows you how to set an adorable and inexpensive St. Patrick’s Day party table.
  • Craftzine.com shares a tutorial for making cheery rainbow pudding cups that would actually be fun any time of year.
  • I love this super-simple, pot of gold party favor idea from It Is What It Is that uses rainbow-colored licorice.
  • For the adventurous, a Guinness Extra Stout chocolate pudding recipe on Sprinkle Bakes.
  • Twig & Thistle has free, printable St. Patrick’s Day coaters that would help make your day festive.
  • And, Penny Candy Studio has free, printable, shamrock cupcake wrappers available.

  What links am I missing? Feel free to add more in the comments.

You may have noticed that once again the Swap-bot blog has been a bit quiet… well, this time I have a very good reason!! Last week I took a trip to Kentucky (to visit my sweet grandma) and I got to check out The National Quilt Museum in Paducah. Paducah is a city of about 30,000 in western Kentucky with a thriving arts community.

I love museums and will visit one anywhere I can, but The National Quilt Museum was a real treat because it combines my love of museums with my love of craft. I did not know what to expect from the The National Quilt Museum, but I was blown away by the gorgeous building, the amazing quilts, and the professionalism of the exhibits.

The National Quilt Museum was opened in 1991 and honors today’s quilter, meaning that it mostly displays contemporary quilts from around the country. The Museum “is the portal to the contemporary quilt experience through traditional and non-traditional quiltmaking. It is the gateway to the discovery of quilts, quiltmaking, and the quilt artist. The Museum is committed to be the best in quilt exhibitions, quilt education, and quilt experience.” The quilts on display were truly stunning and many of them are winners of the American Quilters Society annual contest. Most were machine pieced, but hand quilted, and the detail was mind boggling!

Above is a photo of the stained glass quilts in the Museum lobby. Sadly, photography was not allowed within the exhibit halls, but you can check out the Museum’s entire collection online via The Quilt Index. The online photo does not do it justice (nor does it show the jewel-encrusted pattern on the back), but Sedona Rose</a> by Sharon Schamber was my favorite of the quilts on view. </p>

The National Quilt Museum also focuses on education and community involvement. Above are some of the yo-yos made by the Yo Yo Club of Paducah which meets at the Museum. The Museum also hosts an annual School Block Challenge, a quilting contest for children. The 2011 School Block Challenge winners are currently on view at the museum and it was fun to see all of the creative things submitted by students from all over the country. The best part: while I was at the museum, two teenage boys came through to check out their quilt block which had won a third place prize! Not only is The National Quilt Museum getting teens interested in art and craft, but they are breaking down gender stereotypes, too! I love it!

If you are ever in Kentucky, I strongly encourage a trip to The National Quilt Museum, especially if you want to be inspired to take your own crafting to the next level.

—-

Now the fun part – a Giveaway! I have a few items from the Museum gift shop to give away to one lucky winner!!

You could win the mini quilt kit seen above (which includes the pattern, fabric, backing, and binding needed to make a 16 x 16″ quilt), a souvenir National Quilt Museum pin, plus some Swap-bot goodies. To enter, simply comment on this blog post and share one memory or experience that relates to quilt making. Have you ever made a quilt? Were you gifted a quilt made by someone special to you? Has a quilt you saw in a museum inspired your crafting?

The details: You must be a member of Swap-bot to win this giveaway. Please include your username in your comment. The contest will be open for entry through next Friday, March 18th. The winner will be randomly selected and announced on Sunday, March 20th. Good luck!

Oof. I am feeling under the weather and the poor Swap-bot blog is suffering as a result. boo. But never fear, I have brought you all of the cool links from last week in a special Tuesday edition link love! Perfect for the first day of National Craft Month. Enjoy!

• Learn how to make the decorative pom poms seen above using recycled t-shirts on Craftoholics Annonymous.
• I have two incredible recipes for you today: Homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs and Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies. Yum!
• Have I already shared this blog?100 Days of Snail Mail – the author shares a piece of snail mail every single day.
• The Creative Place has a bunch of free and very descriptive craft tutorials, including this Button & String Mini Journal.
• Download these cute, air-mail-themed, printable cards and tags from the Nimbus Factory.
• Would you like to advertise your small business right here on the Swap-bot blog? You can always contact me (rachel at swap-bot.com) for rates (they are quite good!) OR this week you can enter Unanimous Craft’s Anniversary Giveaway to win one month of advertising! (You can also check out Swap-bot’s profile on Unanimous Craft and leave a review if you are so inclined…)
• Just for fun: watch this fun, little stop-action video, “Organizing the Bookcase.” I love the color coordination!

I’m a little late on letting you know about this swap, but this week I am featuring the Knit or Crochet a Cupcake swap hosted by cinderella730.

I love cupcakes and am always admiring the adorable crocheted cakes I’ve seen on the internet. I know that our Swap-bot members could whip up some cuties!

For this international swap, you knit or crochet one cupcake for your one partner. For inspiration, check out these online patterns:

• Crocheted Cupcake on Canadian Living
• Ana Paula’s Amigurumi Cupcake
• Blah, Blah, Blahhhg Knit Cupcake
• Newton’s Knitting Cupcake Pattern
• BeeKnits: Cake Glorious Cake
• Cupcake Pincushion
• Carissa’s Creativity Space Cupcake Dishcloth
• Spud & Chloe Cupcake Pincushion

If you love cupcakes, sign up for this swap fast! The sign up deadline is March 1st. Then you only have ten days until the mail deadline on March 11th. Have fun!

I took an unintended hiatus from blog posting this week. I hope you are not in despair over the lack of swappy goodness! The good news is that I am back with a stellar Friday Link Love!

• Many of us in the USA have Monday off work in honor of the President’s Day holiday and why not commemorate the occasion with a presidential craft?! Learn how to make the cute mini president figurines seen above on the Etsy’s blog.
• Check out these two lovely craft blogs I discovered during the Crafterminds tweet-up this week: The Casabella Project & Nethering Our Fest. (You can join in on the Crafterminds chat on Twitter ever Monday at 4 pm EST by following the #crafterminds tag.)
• Fortune favors the brave… and the crafty! I love this DIY glitter garland on Creature Comforts.
• Use this pattern on Kat Crafts to crochet adorable flying pigs with golden wings.
• This time of year I use a lot of tissues for my runny nose, so I really want to make one of these cute “tissue monsters” on Better Together. Kids would love to carry around tissues in a monster pouch!
• I like these clever Twitter and technology inspired greeting cards from PaperWheel press featured on The Crafts Dept.
• One of my favorite illustrators, Lynn of Jinjerup, created some totally lovable animal gift boxes that you can print, fold, and share… and she is giving a few away! Click here for more details about the giveaway.
• Cute! A plush Polaroid camera!
• This neapolitan S’more recipe on Oh Joy! looks like heaven! Yum!
• The Academy Awards are coming up on February 27th. Check out the round-up of Oscar party ideas on Pizzazzerie!

If you are lucky enough to have one, enjoy your three-day weekend!!

Check out the new Ernie buttons that just arrived today! Aren’t they cute?! Stay tuned — there may be an opportunity for you to get your hands on some of these cuties in the near future.

Now, on to the links! I only have a handful of things for you this week…

• Mega round-up of free printable Valentines over on Dollar Store Crafts.
• I like these DIY Valentine Poppers made out of toilet paper tubes over on Chasing Fireflies.
• These are so simple, I might make them this weekend: chocolate dipped marshmallow pops on Glorious Treats.
• Not Martha has a bunch of great Valentine’s Day links.
• And lastly, this is just cute: a tiny book made out of buttons!

Share more links in the comments!

Postcards are such fun, easy, quick things to swap. This week I found two unique postcard swaps to share with you:

Hablamos Espanol – For this swap, hosted by ssshauna, you send one postcard (in an envelope) to your one partner with a message written in Spanish on it. Sign up before February 21st.

Pi Day Cards – Did you know that March 14th is Pi Day? If you are a match lover, sign up for this swap hosted by thesuester and make or buy a Pi-themed postcard for your partner. Sign up before February 23rd.

Both swaps are international and have only one partner. You are allowed to send traditional style greeting cards for each swap, if you prefer. Both swaps allow new users.

Yes, I am still thinking about Valentine’s Day…. but there are a few non-lovey-dovey links for you, too. Have fun!

Valentine-y Stuff:

• Such an easy idea from OneCharmingParty.com to make Valentine’s Day dinner a bit special: heart pizza!
  • Another tasty idea – Calzone Hearts!
  • Cute Valentine’s Day Traditions on Say Yes to Hoboken.
  • Martha Stewart’s round-up of heart-shaped crafts.
  • Cute ninja Valentine downloads on CraftZine.com.

  • Curbly.com’s round-up of awesome Valentine’s Day cards for the men in your life.</ul> General Craftiness

  • This fluffy stuffy bunny pattern is just about the cutest thing ever, on the cutest website ever: Jenny B Harris’ AllSorts.
  • A few crafty ideas for Super Bowl Sunday over on CraftZine.com.
  • DIY yarn-wrapped monograms – very pretty, and simple!
  • CraftCritique’s 2010 Best in Crafting list!
  • Pssst. Did you read about my recent craft night with Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane? Or my recent trip to a Martha Show taping? fun times.

  As always, feel free to add more fun links in the comments… Thanks!

I combined my two loves and searched for “glitter valentines” on Etsy and found a bunch of sparkly goodness! Like the “LOVE” garland by tutucrafts seen above. Here are some more glittery wonders to check out:

Sorry for the Valentine’s Day overload — I just can’t get enough of the lovey-dovey holiday!