Yarnigras! Annual Handmade Christmas ornament swap!!!

This year the theme is "HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!"

When I started thinking of the theme, I was thinking of what makes a home....a home!  I had the theme down pat and was ready to move forward.  But then this summer, while cleaning out my bluebird nesting box, I realized people aren't the only ones who have homes.  I mean, I knew it all along but I hadn't given it much thought as far as the swap.  BUT.... as I pulled out the nest, I found straw wrappers, leaf litter, straw and RED Christmas tinsel.  Some industrious little bird had woven red tinsel into her nest....along with a lot of those small crinkly candy cane wrappers.  (It made the springiest nest!)  Maybe they smelled of peppermint, or maybe she just hit the mother lode of wrappers...either way, it was one of the prettiest and springiest nests I'd ever seen!

So with that in mind, you do NOT have to stick with a human dwelling.  Wherever you live, people and animals build houses or some type of dwelling.  Be it human, animal, supernatural or even alien....make something SOMEONE would be excited to go home too.  

"People have homes, gnomes and fairies too. Birds, squirrels and owls make nests for their broods.  Mice in the garden, beavers in the pond, they all have homes, all year long."

The info:

Once again, We are doing a "5 for 5"  swap.

What this means is that you will be sending me 5 handmade ornaments and receiving a variety of 5 ornaments back. You may use ANY MEDIUM you want to create these little pieces of art!  This is especially exciting for house building!!!

You do not have to have a blog or be on social media to join.   So many times I want to join a swap but the deadline has passed so here is MY rule:
There is no deadline to sign up, as long as you can get the ornaments to me by mid November, you are in! 

I am a bit under the gun with time this year as we are moving our daughter back to TEXAS during November so the EARLIER you can send them to me, the better.

To sign up, send me an email at valpowery(at)yahoo(dot)com with your name so I can put it on the sidebar.  I will send you my address when I get your sign up email. Please reply to ANY emails once you join.  I try not to bug people but I do have to send out notices and ask questions from time to time.

This will be a USA only swap due to shipping.

Please create something you would love to receive.  

*All ornaments must be either in a clear treat bag or some other "holiday" type wrap with a tag from you.   It doesn't have to be fancy, but do take some time to do a good job, no throwing all the ornaments in a box with no gift tags , wrapping or tissue.  

Remember, these ornaments represent hard work and all participants want to OPEN them as they would a Christmas gift.  

*Also, be sure to ship your ornaments in a nice, re-usable box so I can mail your new ornaments back to you in it.   Include a self addressed return label for me, along with return shipping of $10.00.  If you send HEAVY ornaments, please send a couple extra bucks to cover shipping cost and take care when wrapping to make sure they are cushioned, etc.  We want all our ornaments to arrive in pristine condition!  

**If ANY of your ornaments reach me broken, they will be returned to you.  That being said, if 2 break, you will get 2 of your own back along with 3 different ones for a total of 5.

*New Rule:  Many of us have become dear friends and I even have family members joining now too.  Please understand that in shuffling these ornaments around, your friend or family member may get an ornament you planned on giving them privately.   I ended up giving away my own ornaments from the swap to make sure everyone received a unique assortment.   I am no longer doing this.

May I suggest you either send in extra ornaments to keep this from happening or refrain from giving the ornaments privately until AFTER everyone receives their box.  (Some of you already do that, thank you!)

Let me repeat...Shipping:  $10.00 is sufficient to cover the cost of sending ornaments back to you unless they are oversized or heavy.  In that case, please send in a little extra.  Again, please include a return address label already filled out.  

Ship in time for me to receive them by EARLY to MID November...no later than the week of Thanksgiving. That way, I can get them in time to mail them out by the first week of December.  

Sadly, I can't guarantee you getting an exchange box if your ornaments do not reach me in time.  (If that happens, I'll gladly return your own ornaments to you using the money you sent for shipping.)  
Shipping funds are important!  If you forget to include shipping, your ornaments can't be sent/returned until you have sent me the funds to send/return them to you.
You can send cash, check or Venmo.  Again, this is not a fee for me, it is a return shipping.  I love hosting swaps but don't feel I should incur the cost of shipping them all out!  

If you finish your ornaments early, feel free to send them to me early so I can start organizing them.  The earlier the better this year!

If time gets away from you and you need to back out, no big deal, just drop me an email and I'll remove you from the list.