[nycfem]

Just bumping the sign up for this project! We have a few spaces left. We love our oldies and welcome reliable newbies!

Originally Posted by Gemme

Welcome to the 2018 MatchBox Round of Crafty Goodness!!!

Quantity: one for each person that signs up minus yourself. There is a cap of 11 participants total.

Theme: Getting to Know You. When you sign up, list 10 things that you enjoy/love/adore/like/etc. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or even tangible things, but there should be enough variety that someone can find at least one thing to base their box to you upon.

Here is an example: love, the color yellow, pigeons, old books, the smell of gasoline, fast things, graham crackers, Etta James, pens, selfies.

Instructions: Procure your matchboxes as soon as we have a final tally. Sometimes, there are shipping issues and this project will take a bit longer than usual to complete, so you'll want to get a jump on it as soon as possible.

The boxes must be no larger than 3 1/8 inches long. Anything smaller is fine. You may get them at Walmart or a grocery store if you want to use the typical matchboxes (minus the matches, of course) or you can buy them online. They come in craft paper, white or multicolored. See HERE for options.

Parameters: Choose one or more options from each person's list of 10 things and build your box to them around your choice(s).

Note: EVERY box should be addressed to someone as each box will be personalized for each participant.

The Boxes: you can fill the box with goodies or you can paint or draw a mural inside...you can paint the boxes or cover them with paper or you can washi tape the heck out of them or cover them with grass....the goal is NOT to spend a ton of cash on trinkets or charms or whatever....the goal is to be creative and have fun. It doesn't take much money to do that. One thing you MUST do is make sure the inner box can slide in and out so that the box can be opened. You will need to keep this in mind as that will become harder and harder with each coat of paint or layer of tape. This project will require a bit of noggin doodling on your part.

Newbies to matchbox art: this will take longer than usual because you are working on a multi-dimensional project. Not only do you need to do something to the outside of the box but the inside must be decorated as well. Also, each piece will be designed for the person in mind. No cookie cutter, assembly lines this time. It's more time intensive, but I promise you; the work is worth it. These are great projects and mean so much to the recipient!

See examples HERE.

Dates to Remember:

Signup: 2/17/18 to 2/24/18
Deadline for finished projects to be in my grubby little hands: 4/14/18
Officially late, and on the naughty list, if not received on/by 4/21/18.
Completed projects will be mailed out on/before 4/28/18.

Postage: Send $8.00 with your projects if we have 6 or less participants and $10.00 if we have 7-11 participants. This is because all projects will be mailed out in the 'if it fits, it ships' boxes and only about 6 will fit comfortably in the small box without getting squished so I may have to go up to the larger size if we have more people.

"For 2018, 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 2018. 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 2018. 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 2018 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 2/21/18. I can start participating in new projects on 8/21/18. I have added myself to the list below:

1. Tony (missed the late date of 1/28/18, able to participate 7/28/18)
2. Bitsy (missed the late date of 2/21/18, able to participate 8/21/18)'

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."

Sign Up:

Have fun and if I've missed something or you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask!

I'm excited! Matchboxes are sooo much fun!!!