[nycfem]

Hi Nina,

My apologies if I came on strong. I know you have wonderful intentions but what we were finding is that when we excused people and just made the projects donation to them if they told us a life crisis was going on and that they were not going to send out their cards is that often the same people had that happen pretty regularly. Therefore, it felt uncomfortable to be working hard on projects and receiving minimal return. It really is not a punishment. Like we have written in the past: “artists on hold.” We do understand things happen, which is why we came up with the one week grace period which felt reasonable.


Here is the rule (using this project as an example). We were all used to it so we stopped explicitly posting it but we do have new members join which is wonderful and we really should go back to posting it with each project so it’s not confusing for people.

Originally Posted by Gemme

Changing Seasons Project

Those who love fall can lean into that and those who are excited about winter can go wild with all the crazy delights that winter brings.

Parameters:

• must not be any larger than 5x7 but can be any size smaller
• must be able to lay (lie?) flat (aka no embellishments that stick up off the piece)
• can be anything (store purchased card, homemade ATC, an index card with charcoal sketches or crayon scribbles, et cetera) that is your interpretation of what the theme means to you
• can be literal or abstract, light or dark, funny or serious
• on the back of each piece, please have the project name, your screen name and if you want it to go to a particular person, that's person's screen name...pieces with no specific recipient listed will be assigned by the wrangler after a rousing game of Eeny, Meeny, Miney and Mo.

With 9 sign ups, you need to send me 8, unless you want one of yours back and then you will send 9 in this example.

Each participant will also include $5 for postage and repackaging materials.

Deadline for sign up: 10/24
Deadline for receipt of projects (NOT the deadline for mailing them out...I need to RECEIVE them by this date): 11/12
Deadline for me to re-mail the projects out: 11/16

Projects are officially late if they do not arrive via USPS, UPS or FedEx by 5pm EST on November 12th. It's a Saturday. Once the deadline for sign up ends, I will get the address to send the pieces to all of the participants. Please keep in mind that November 11th is election day and that may affect delivery services in some areas.

Some things to consider....not everyone loves glitter. If you have glitter on your piece, please make sure it's sealed so it doesn't get loose and attack. Also, if the pieces are created in a smoking environment, some of our crafters are sensitive to smoke. I will air out what I can, and all pieces will be dusted with Lysol but please be considerate and try to not send strongly scented pieces out.

Due to inconsistencies with life, unexpected events and sometimes just the carelessness of some of the participants, we had to draft rules to ensure there would be consequences for those who seem to drop the ball with getting their projects completed and/or received in time, which can be hurtful for those who put effort into their work and got their things in on time. This isn't a work or school environment but a deadline is a deadline and a promise is still a promise and putting your name on the is a promise to all of the other participants that you will participate fully.

RULES AS AGREED UPON TO BE ADDED AT THE END OF EACH PROJECT:
"The rule is if one of our projects is received by the wrangler more than seven days after the due date, or one of us drops out of a project for whatever reason, that person is welcome to continue posting but is not allowed to sign up for a group project again until six months from the latest date that the project was supposed to be due. No exceptions. This rule applies to participants and to wranglers. Wranglers must mail out projects within one week of the latest date that the projects were supposed to be due. In addition to waiting six months before being able to join a penpal project, the person who has not met the latest deadline must post directly on the penpal thread within a week of missing the latest deadline stating that they have not adhered to the deadline (reason is welcome to be included or does not have to be) and, most importantly, the date on which they will be able to return to participating in the penpal projects. They must scroll back and add themselves to the bottom of the list of any other participants who have not met the late date for any project for 2022. If that is not done, then the member is welcome to participate in the thread with "thanks" and reps and thread chat but not to participate in any future projects for 2023. The reason for this is personal responsibility, so that we have a running record right on the thread that is easy to refer back to when needed. And for the purposes of clarification, if someone drops out before the deadline to sign up has been closed then they are not excluded from future projects because they are still following the rules.

Example: Bitsy misses the late date for a project. Within a week of that late date she must scroll down and find the most recent list of people who have missed the late date in 2022 and copy that list to a new post and add herself. Bitsy's post would look something like this:

'Sorry, I had the bird flu and missed the late date of 2/21/22. I can start participating in new projects on 8/21/22. I have added myself to the list below:

1. Tony (missed the late date of 1/28/22, able to participate 7/28/22)
2. Bitsy (missed the late date of 2/21/22, able to participate 8/21/22)'

This rule must be posted in its entirety at the bottom of all new projects that are being wrangled so that members can thoughtfully consider whether we wish to commit to a new project."


OFFICIAL SIGN UP----CLOSED!!!
1. Gemme
2. clay
3. Orema
4. GeorgiaMa'am
5. cricket26
6. Besame*
7. nycfem
8. CCB
9. Nina03