Wow... went to the post ooffice this morning.. early! There were like 30 people in line before it opened! TG the majority were there for passports! Phew!!

So, everything's mailed out! Fingers crossed I didn't jack anything up! :p :blush:

Turns out I spoke too soon on my previous post ... re: not jacking anything up. Everyone should have their packages (I believe) tomorrow as they were sent PRIORITY. This is with the exception of poor Breathless. I sent hers to an old address. Sigh! :( I believe I have it that screw up remedied ... to some degree.

Having said all that... I don't have any extra bits laying around so I think I reassembled everyone else's packages correctly. If (God forbid) you get your package and something's amiss .. please PM me ASAP!

I just got my sweet little packages...:)
 

Fees for Projetcs
 

I personally like a flat five. Although if I’m sending something heavy or something extra I try to enclose a little more. I figure it all kind of evens out since usually most of us main players take turns wrangling.

Please keep in mind that I've only wrangled once as you read the following. Meaning, I have a very limited frame of reference. :)

You make a good point regarding the cost of postage. The "cost" of wrangling is postage but also the cost of packaging, if new packaging is needed. And of course, the size of packaging also impacts postage. I was anticipating eight pieces measuring about 2" x 2" x 1/4 - 1/2" each. Three of the pieces were quite a bit larger than anticipated. One of those larger pieces turned out to be mine... so I'm not complaining! lol SMH :blink:

If we could agree to final products that are no larger than A x B x C ... then cost (and process) should be less (and easier) for everyone.

Also... or alternatively ... we could agree to a specific shipping container size ... and .... each participant could mail their crafts in a reusable container. If we could standardize a couple of things ... it should be a lot easier for everyone ... particularly the wrangler! The wrangler would then just need to resort the crafts in the boxes received, relabel, and ship everything back out in the same containers! Damn near turnkey! :koolaid:

Hope that makes sense... I may have been was in shipping/logistics too long! :p


PS / EDIT ... if ever I wrangle again ... I'm buying one of these below. In that past I just used a box cutter ... this thing makes it look so much easier!

https://c.76.my/Malaysia/prc-2-olfa-...8-PRODIY@6.jpg

Just watch...

Twinchies!!!!! This project surpassed any expectations I could have had. Everyone went all out. There are a few where I am unsure of the artist. But I will try to suss that out later.

As we're talking about potential issues, could everyone please remember to clearly mark your pieces so we can give credit to your amazing art!

The twinchies were sooooooo great!!! OMG, they really were fantastic! Thanks, everyone, and Lyte for a great job wrangling!

In case others are wondering, I'd say FSF's was the calligraphy type style wrapped in perhaps a monkey, unless I'm going nuts! I loved those twinchies!

Remember, folks, if you don't want to sign right on your art, you can always sign in an outer envelope or wrapping. we want to give you credit for your awesome work!

You know what we have to do again sometime soon? Matchboxes! OMG, those are always a big hit!

*Just thinking out loud*

You read my mind.

Yes, Lyte, thank you for being such a great Wrangler!

Little matchboxes, big matchboxes, matchbox shrines, filled matchboxes....gears are turning.

Yes mine were wrapped in white paper bags with monkey stickers on them and inside the twinchies were wrapped in a paper heart shaped doily to help somewhat protect the pieces. :)

This is a good idea. The post office raised shipping rates on January 20th. The small 'if it fits, it ships' boxes used to be $5 and change. The one I sent out to Lyte was $7.20. That's for a small box.

Times are a'changin', folks. We need to keep current mailing costs in mind and choose a cost that's in line with what we are sending. Also, if we send something outside the size parameters, then we need to include enough additional money to account for having to send more expensive packages to all of the participants. Wranglers should not have to dip into personal funds to send stuff out to us. I've had to do it multiple times when enough money wasn't sent or when people never sent any money at all. It's frustrating and why I haven't pushed to wrangle a round lately.

Matchboxes were fun.

I received my package yesterday and was sooo happy. Everyone did exceptional work. I was very excited to dig into my package and see all the goodies sent.

Should we up it to 7 as a new policy to accommodate rising costs?

I usually use priority envelopes, which I guess is the same difference.

Thanks y'all for your kind words re: my twinchie. I am glad y'all liked them. :blush: I did not set out to make anything so elaborate! I crafted my arse into a corner when I added the "flowers." How do I ship it in such a way that the flowers don't get crushed? Great... now my crafty bit needs a crafty carrier! lol SMH Which... I hear didn't fully do it's job and at least one of you has received a tripod moose. :(

So... apparently... there was another screw up by yours truly ... everyone should have one cute lil wrapped package with a monkey on it! I've just learned that a group member received two of them. Please let me know if your package is minus one and I will remedy the issue. Sorry and thanks!

This may be the single best stone that knocks out the most number of birds! :)

If all agree to a fixed box size this is control the size if the crafts and the cost of shipping. It will also eliminate the need for the wrangler to figure out how to reship the finished crafts. if everyone uses the same (similar) small flat rate boxes then the resorted crafts could reship in the same box for the same cost. I particularly dig using the USPS small flat rate boxes because the boxes are free!


P.S. ... Matchboxes??

P.S.S ... The magnet on my twinchie will only hold itself up. lol :p

Well, I am an envelope kinda girl unless I deem the project needs a box so hopefully we can have some flexibility. Priority envelopes are free too.

Glad everyone is on board with matchboxes. They tend to produce some of our best work imho!

Who wants to wrangle is the other question? Just promise us you won't leave town with everyone's 8 dollars :D

I think we should do the small sized filled matchboxes, where you fill the inside of the box full to the brim with tiny treats. Any ideas for themes?

I always have the same worry with matchboxes though with too many people joining and making it a project that's difficult to produce. But I know I'm the only one who likes caps on numbers.

I like it!

I'm going to be a Debbie Downer for a second. This is where my concerns for dong individualized matchboxes for say 10 people, which is about average here. Finding and buying all those disparate different things to fill the matchboxes with could be difficult and costly.

That would be fun. You could put all the same stuff in the boxes and I'd love to see what everyone picks out to represent themselves.

That sounds reasonable to me.

Matchboxes.

You can find examples on Pinterest or YouTube.

As for requiring specific packaging, I'm not a fan. I'm not going to require a flat box when we do crafts that will easily ship in padded envelopes. That's additional expense for nothing. My vote is that we package our goodies according to their size and bulk and to take that into consideration when sending money to wranglers. Some already do that and send extra when their goodies are bigger and/or heavier than most.

Nope; you're not the only one. Matchboxes are far more time and cost intensive than the average project so the list should have a cap to manage those. The only way I'd vote for not having a cap with this project is if we wound up getting twice the time to do it.

This is such a cute idea!

You have a point but don't forget that not all matchboxes need to be filled with 'things'. Some simply have images or drawings inside, like your own personal mural. That would easily be doable and would absolutely be able to accommodate ideas like nan's and also be very cost effective.

I'm down for matchboxes. I'm down for a cap on the project but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me if we get more time to work on the project. I'm not down for a holiday theme but personal themes sound good to me. If no one is up for it, I'd be down for wrangling. Now, this IS that type of project that really needs those shipping boxes, so I'd recommend $8 per participant for shipping.

A box or envelope is fine by me. I ditto'ed the use of the small flat rate box from USPS for a few reasons... the postage is just 'bout $7 ... and... the box is free... and... a box stands up better to being handled by our beloved USPS... and... a box can't be folded and/or shoved into a mail box.

Sending extra dough is great... but... I have a sense that the extra sent may not always extend sufficiently to cover the extra postage and the extra packaging for all of the participants. Larger, heavier or oddly shaped pieces means postage and packaging on all the packages is increased.

If we don't want to create any max/min standards at this time, that's cool! The points I mention above are clearly on my mind right now! If for no other reason, I'm glad I was wrangler on this twinchie project so no one else had to deal with my getting carried away! lol

Excellent points and def priceless! ;)