Usually, I try to highlight international swaps that everyone can participate in, but this week I am featuring a USA-only swap. In the US, our general elections are coming up on November 2nd, so this week’s featured swap is the Vote on November 2nd! A Postcard Reminder swap hosted by melusina.

This postcard swap is quite easy, but it will help to spread the message that voting is important no matter what your politics. Simply mail one postcard to your one partner – the postcard must have an image that will help remind others to vote on November 2nd. The recipient of the postcard can then hang it in a public location as a voting reminder.

Sign up for the Vote on Nov. 2nd swap by this Friday, October 15th. It is a great way to help get ourselves and others involved in our democracy!

Look at all those Swap-bot goodies! Wouldn’t you like to receive that pack in the mail?!

There is still time! Donate $5 (or more) to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through my Team in Training fundraising page and the swag pack is yours! I (racheljohnson, your Swap-bot Admin) am training for the NYC marathon with Team in Training while simultaneously raising money for the LLS. Many Swap-bot members have already donated – in fact I have already sent out more than 70 packs! – and I greatly appreciate the support. I just wanted to announce the swag pack bonus again today because I will only be continuing this offer through the end of October.

Here are the details of what you will receive in your swag pack:

• 7 Ernie the Envie postcards
• 2 “Love Snail Mail” postcards
• 1 original Swap-bot postcard – these are in limited supply!
• 4 Swap-bot 1″ buttons – 2 of each style
• 3 two-inch square Swap-bot stickers

Donate Now!</a> </p>

All donations go toward the mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, to find a cure for all blood cancers and to support patients and their families while they are fighting the diseases.

That is me running over the Manhattan Bridge last weekend. The New York City Marathon is exactly one month away, on November 7th! I am extremely excited, but I’m also getting nervous.

I recently received a copy of the amazing “Going Postal Gallery,” a mail art zine created by Swap-bot member TangleCrafts, and I just had to share it with you…

From the zine’s cover description: “In January 2010 TangleCrafts launched a new mail art project, inviting artists and crafters worldwide to submit a postal or mail art themed ATCs (an ATC is an Artist’s Trading Card – the only requirements for them being that they are only ever traded – never bought or sold – and that they each measure 2.5″ x 3.5″). All contributions received a free copy of a mini-zine featuring their artwork in exchange. The project drew to a close on August 31st, 2010, and this zine-shaped ‘gallery’ showcases all contributions received, plus notes on inspiration, techniques, and crafty habits from the artists. Enjoy!”

For more information about the project, check out the mail art section of TangleCraft’s blog.

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I can’t share all of the awesome ATCs included in the Going Postal zine, but here are a few examples…

The top ATC is titled “My favourite time of the day: Special Delivery” and it was created by oliviarrow using pen and watercolor.

The lower ATC by farstarr was created with upcycled materials including a cancelled fish stamp, and is titled “Fish in the Mail Make my Heart Beat Faster.”

The top card here is actually an ACEO (Art Cards, Editions and Originals) created by Hazel Fisher. It is a gouache painting of a British postbox.

The bottom ATC is a moveable collage created by TiaBel of Swap-bot. The flag can be moved and inside the tiny envelope is a personalized postmark.

All three of the ATCs seen above were created by peony. They are collages utilizing stamps, maps, envelopes, and other ephemera. I love the use of the airmail stripes!

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To see all of the submissions to the Going Postal Gallery, you can purchase a copy of the full-color, 32-page zine here. If you are looking for even more mail fun, TangleCrafts has a fabulous blog all about zines and mail art. She also has cool mail art products in her Etsy store.

This week, I am getting back to Swap-bot’s roots and featuring the October Magic Yarn Ball Swap. The very first featured swap here on the blog was a Magic Yarn Ball Swap, but recently I haven’t seen many similar swaps… until now!

The October Magic Yarn Ball Swap is hosted by cinderella730 and it is international. Make sure to sign up before the deadline this Friday, October 9th!

So, what exactly is a magic yarn ball? Basically, you wrap cool, little treasures up in a ball of yarn, and give it as a gift. As the recipient crafts with the yarn the treasures fall out one by one, and they discover the fun as they knit or crochet. You can search “magic yarn balls” on Flickr and view many examples.

Since it is now officially October, I couldn’t help but put together a list of Halloween-inspired links…

• Now this is a themed dinner party! A very detailed and wild Witches Dinner Party on pizzazzerie (and seen above).
• Classy DIY Pumpkin Place Cards on Twig & Thistle.
• These are adorable: Monster Brownies on Amanda’s Cookin
• This seems a little bit complicated, but creates a very cool effect: Spider web balloons on Crafty Crafty.
• These are totally gross and totally cool: Bloody Brain Cupcakes on Bake It In a Cake. There is a little marzipan brain inside each cupcake!
• Theres a round up of unique Halloween decorating projects on Wise Craft
• No, I haven’t been paid to say this, I just really love the new Halloween stuff from Martha Stewart Crafts.

And, if you aren’t in the spooky spirit yet, here are some general crafty goodies…

• Snail mail lovers are everywhere! Check out the You’ve Got Mail Project. Write to Your Pal Carl, and he’ll write back!
• This blog has been going on all year, so you may have already see it, but if not: Lisa Congdon’s A Collection A Day 2010. She has some very interesting collections!
• I love the look of these DIY colored mason jars on 100 Layer Cake.
• This is sweet and colorful: Printable Owl Mobile on Skip To My Lou.
• And speaking of printables, Whip Up has a pretty extensive round-up of free printables. There is some really cute stuff on that list!

As always, feel free to add more crafty links in the comments!

I love aquamarine gem stones. Turquoise is my favorite color and I am always drawn to the lightly colored stones… so pretty. The beautiful aquamarine necklace above is from the Kahili Creations Etsy shop. It is so simple, yet unique! Here are some more handmade, aquamarine (some real gem stones, some not) jewelry picks from Etsy…

What is your favorite gem stone? Do you have a favorite jewelry maker on Etsy or another handmade marketplace?

I don’t often feature electronic (Type 1) swaps here on the blog because craft swaps usually seem a bit more creative… but I realized that some of the things we do online are just as creative as physical crafts. For example, I spend a lot of time on my personal blog. I take lots of photos for it and spend time writing about things that are important to me. It is like my scrapbook and I love to share it with others, which is why I joined this week’s featured swap: I Love Your Blog!

This international email swap is hosted by Jex, and all users with a 4.85 rating, or higher, are welcome to join. Everyone will be assigned seven partners, and here are the swap instructions:

1. Send your partners the link to your blog.
2. Then, go to your partners’ blogs and grab a button or graphic. You have to link to them in your own blog, so your followers and readers will know your partners later.
3. Write a blog entry talking about this swap, and write what you like the most of your partners’ blogs.

Sign up for the I Love Your Blog swap by October 15th and discover some awesome new blogs! (Like Jex’s blog, for example!)

September is nearing its end — pure craziness, but it is true! My link line up is a little lean this week, but I think you’ll enjoy it anyway…

• My sweet tooth seems to be in control of my blogging brain lately… I couldn’t resist sharing the how-to for these Cotton Candy and Chocolate Ganache Macarons!
• Glow-in-the-dark Glitter! Perfect for Halloween crafts!
• I plan to make these Doughnut Muffins this weekend. Yes, Doughnut muffins!
• CrusherDog could write his own tweets?!
• An informal survey: If you are a Twitter user, what type of content would you like to see shared by the SwapbotNews twitter account? For that matter, what would you like to see more of on the blog?

Please add more links in the comments… I feel like I must have missed some good stuff this week!

I had a candy craving today and decided to satisfy it in a calorie-free way: searching for fun lollipop creations on Etsy. It is amazing how much handmade candy sweetness you can find! (Above is a gorgeous art print from the Stoopidgerl shop.)

Are you a candy lover or more of a savory fan?

It is always exciting to see how our members utilize Swap-bot in unique ways!

Swap-bot user, Rainbowlicker, hosted a fantastic swap last month that combined postcard swapping with an appreciation project at her local library. In the I Love My Library swap, we each sent a postcard to our one partner describing why we love our local library. Then, we each ALSO sent a postcard with a similar sentiment to the Aurora Memorial Library in Ohio. Rainbowlicker is a librarian there and she used the postcards from the 60+ swap participants to create the display shown above. (Check out Ernie at the top! yay!)

Here is her description of why she wanted to complete this project:

“As a librarian and avid reader, I do not know where I would be without mine. With the recent downturn in the economy libraries were hit especially hard so I think it is time to show them some love! …I want to show our children and patrons how much people from all over love their library!”

Libraries are such amazing community resources. (I used to work at my local library in high school and it helped me discover countless new books and authors.) I am thrilled that Swap-bot could help make this library appreciation project possible!