Must See Flickr Page: Spring Time In Paris!

Be sure to check out our Flickr page for more wonderful Spring time in Paris photos!!

Thank you to all of our loyal Sweet Goodness Swappers!! As always, it was lots of fun :)

Mail Day Coming Up!!

Hello Paris Swappers!!! The time is almost upon us to ship out your lovely Spring Time in Paris packages (holy smolly, where does time go???))!

Send out date is: April 28th

PLEASE upload your photos either sent or received to our Flickr Group:

Last but not least, please drop your partner a line and let them know when you received your package (and thank them...lol).

We hope you had some creative fun as well as made a friend along the way during this swap!! We appreciate you joining and playing along so nicely :)

Stay tuned for our next swap coming up this summer!! Whooohooo--it's going to be a juicy one!!

Fondly,

The Goodness Girls!

Pars Swap Button

Attention Paris Swappers! Here is your button for the sidebar of your blogs!




Bonsoir!

Partners Paired

Hello, Swappers!

Partner emails were sent out last night. Please let us know at parisswap@hotmail.com if you have not received your email.

Please be sure to email your partner, introduce yourself, and exchange addresses.

Happy swapping!
The Goodness Girls
Rebecca, Lucy, Heidi, Leigh Ann

Springtime In Paris Swappers--

Paris Swappers--partner information will be out this weekend!

Hold tight, we are traveling across the creative waters for this swap!!

We can not wait to see what all you wonderful ladies are going to come up with this time!

Cheers!!

The Goodness Girls

Paris Swap is now Closed!

Thank you for the quick responses! The Paris Swap is now closed and emails have been sent to all 60 participants. Partner information will be sent out shortly!

Cheers!
The Goodness Girls

I love Paris in the Spring!

Bonjour, Swappers! The Goodness Girls are happy to announce our new spring Sweet Goodness swap!

PARIS IN THE SPRINGTIME SWAP

Sign up by: Monday March 31st - SWAP IS CLOSED! SWAP IS FULL!

Partner names will be sent out by Friday April 4th

Send out by: Monday April 28th

Description: You will send your partner a swap package including one handmade item, one thrifted item, one sweet treat and one craft supply. Feel free to send more but not less! Get to know your partner! :) Anything goes as long as it sticks to following rules:

Colors: Pale blue/teal/aqua, white and black

Theme: Must include at least one item that is French-inspired. Examples, something must say France or Paris, or include an Eiffel tower or the fleur de lis. Be creative! If you are signing up for this swap you most likely have some French-inspired ideas already rolling around in your head!

Open to: The first 60 swappers so sign up quickly! Just PLEASE remember that if you sign up you MUST complete the swap ON TIME. Please please see the sidebar for details.

Value: Please try to make your swap value $20 (not including shipping).

Please email us at parisswap@hotmail.com to sign up! Remember to let us know if you are willing to ship internationally should we have any overseas participants. Also make sure to include a link to your blog or Flickr page in the email!

We're excited for this swap and think it will be so much fun! :)

The Goodness Girls
Rebecca, Lucy, Leigh Ann & Heidi

Spring Sweet Goodness Swap Sneak Peek #2!

Bonjour mes amis! Got any ideas about our theme yet? :) Remember, sign-ups start Monday, March 24 and will run for a week. This swap is limited to 60 participants so make sure to sign up early! Have a wonderful holiday weekend and we'll see you on Monday!

love,
The Goodness Girls

Spring Sweet Goodness Swap Sneak Peek!

1. 4. Aqua Crystals Faceted Round Blue, 2. Aqua Blue Candies, 3. Pale blue W, 4. pale blue, 5. Pale Blue, 6. robins egg blue3, 7. robin's egg blue hot rod, 8. robins egg blue buttons, 9. Robins Egg Blue Nest Mixed Media Collage

Remember, sign-ups for this swap will begin Monday, March 24! We are limiting this swap to 60 participants so be sure to sign up early! Stay tuned for another sneak peek sometime this week...

Coming Soon . . .

The Springtime Sweet Goodness Swap will be announced on Monday, March 24th!

Happy Easter

The Goodness Girls

Time to get the Hanging Hearts Swaps in the mail!

Hello Swappers!

Monday February 4th is the deadline to send out your Hanging Hearts Swap to your partner! If for some reason you think you'll miss that date PLEASE contact your partner!!

Don't forget to post pictures on Flickr here. There are some amazing items in there already!

Cheers!

Heartfelt Apologies!

Sweet Goodness Heart Swappers--
We apologize, we missed a few swappers on our list from the looks of our comments in the last post!! Please check your in box now if you were missing your partner info, we do believe we have everyone's information taken care of now. However, there are a couple messages that keep returning with delivery failure so there may be someone left without a partner info still.

IF BY SOME CHANCE there is still a swapper out there that has not heard from us, please email me (lucy) directly at:

johl3 at windstream dot net

or leave a comment on one of our blogs (links found on the sidebar).

If you and your partner need a couple extra days to complete because of this delay-please touch base with one another to confirm on an agreeable time frame.

We hope that you all get to know your partner during this swap and have lots of creative fun with it!!!

Please post photo's of your package sent and or received on Flickr:

HERE

You must join the group to upload photos. After joining, upload your photos to your flickr page. After uploading photos, go to your flickr page. Click on the photo(s) you want to add to the group. At the top, there will be a button that says "Add to Group" when you click on that, your groups should appear. Click on the SGS Heart Swap link and it will send to the group. You can add a description by clicking under the picture. A yellow box will appear that will allow you to write details about your photo.

Thank you again for all of your patience while we sort out the swap list!!!

xoxo

The Goodness Girls

Hello, Swappers! Partner emails have now been sent out. If you didn't receive anything, please email us at heartswap2008@hotmail.com to let us know! Please be sure to email your partner and introduce yourself and exchange addresses. Remember, the mailing deadline for this swap is Monday, February 4. Happy crafting!

Swapper Needed!

***Thank you for everyone who responded. We have an even number of swappers now! You should be receiving your partners today or tomorrow.***

Hello! We ended up with an odd number of swappers for the Hanging Hearts Swap. If you wanted to sign up but missed the deadline please send us an email. The first we receive will be our last swapper!

Cheers
Rebecca

Hanging Hearts Swap Button!

Thanks to Tamy we have this fabulous swap button to offer! Thank you!



Just right click, save and add to your blog!

cheers!
Rebecca

******UPDATE*******
We have some swappers replying on our comments that they would like to join but not emailing us....please reply back to us on our email with your info so we can count you in officially!!

heartswap2008@hotmail.com

Please include your blog if you have one and whether or not you will ship internationally.

HURRY--sign ups end on Friday!!!!!

Hanging Hearts Valentines Day Swap!

Happy New Year! We're back and ready for a great year of swapping in 2008! Didn't think you'd hear from us so soon, heh? Well Lucy and I now have TWICE the amount of help and we're off to a bang up start!

Leigh Ann will be joining us again now that she's all set up in her new home in Kansas and please welcome our newest Goodness Girl, Heidi! So look out swappers, you've got a load of crafty women over here ready to get your creative juices flowing! (and let me tell you, the ideas already being discussed for future swaps are amazing!)

And the first swap of 2008 is . . .



HANGING HEARTS VALENTINE'S DAY SWAP


Sign up by: Friday January 11th (hurry up!)

Partner names will be sent out by Tuesday January 15th

Send out by: Monday February 4th

Description: You will send your partner one Hanging Heart Valentine! Be creative! You can use any media as long as your Valentine is smaller than 8x10. We want to keep this a quick and easy swap, aim to fit your valentine into a small box or padded envelope.

Your Valentine doesn't even have to be a heart, just something related to the holiday that your partner can display by hanging. Ideas: fabric hearts, paper hearts, dolls, mixed media collages, fabric post cards, you name it! If you can attach a ribbon to it and call it a Valentine it will work. :) (And we know you'll most likely include a heart on it somewhere.) This is your chance to really put your brain to work and come up with something unique!

Colors: You can do the traditional colors of Valentine's Day or be creative and shake it up a bit like pink and aqua or pink and brown. (Rebecca's personal favorite!)

Open to: All swappers! As this will be a fast and fun swap anyone can join. Just PLEASE remember that if you sign up you MUST complete the swap ON TIME. Please please see the sidebar for details.

Please email us at heartswap2008@hotmail.com to sign up! Remember to let us know if you are willing to ship internationally should we have any overseas participants. Postage should be low on this swap!

Swap button and Flickr groups to come!

Cheers ~

The Goodness Girls

*******SIGN UP ON THE SIDEBAR TO GET OUR POSTS RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX AND BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN WE ANNOUNCE NEW SWAPS!! As we only do a few posts a month you won't be overwhelmed with emails. ;) **************

December Swap!!

Hello all of our Sweet Goodness Swap Sisters!!

This post is just a little late. I'll blame it on the dog-he ate my mouse and couldn't post anything for a few days...snicker....snort! ;) Okay, so it wasn't really the dog. I've got holidayitis which means that everything is running a few days late but it will all get done even if I have to stay up all night to do it a few nights! Why do we do this to ourselves??? My 2008 resolution needs to be, don't put too many things on your list, don't bite off more than you should chew, and not wish for Fridays as the days go by fast enough as it is.

With that said-hopefully most of your final swap packages are safely in route to your Sweet Goodness Swap Sister and you have all enjoyed getting to know your partner! Rebecca and I have heard a lot of good feedback on most of the pairings so we hope you agree this was a successul swap.


Please be sure to upload your pictures to ,Flickr on our December swap group. As soon as we have more pictures uploaded we will recap the 3 swaps, and have a final posting.

Thank you all for your participation, you holiday and sisterly spirit, and for sharing your creativity with a friend you had never met before.

Happy Holidays to All!!

Lucy

and

Rebbeca


PS---if you should need to contact us, please do so through our blogs or regular emails through the end of December.

johl3 at windstream dot net

Are you Ready for the Holidays?

December 1st is Saturday which leaves only 25 days until Christmas! Can you believe it? Time sure does fly. I'm am so not prepared. Ugh.

Anyway, by the time all the November "Swags & Tags" packages should be out and everyone should be thinking about their December package. Lucy created a Flickr pool to share all your November swap goodies. You can find it here. Don't forget to post your photos there, we all want to see the goods!

December swap packages should be sent out by December 15th.

DECEMBER SISTER SWAP DETAILS

Please send your sister, by 12/15/07, a Sweet Holiday Goodness package!

So what should you send?

Please include a few recipes for your sister to treat her friends and family. Put your recipes on recipe cards and include them in a hand made "bag" of some sort. Suggestions: fabric bag, decorated gift bag or brown paper bag. Also include something to encourage her to make one of your yummy dishes, a whisk, a spice, measuring spoons, you name it! Please also send a hand made or purchased/thrifted small gift of your choice. By this time you should know your sister pretty well and will know if she will enjoy some scented lotion or a vintage kitchen tool or a thrifted apron. Just a little something to say Happy Holidays! Try to limit your spending to between $5 and $8 per package if you are asked to supply something you cannot make from your stash.

If you have any issues with your swaps please let us know! Leave a comment or visit us!

Rebecca
Lucy

hugs!
R

November Swap Challenge!

The Blessing of Friends

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."

--Anais Nin
(A little hint about my project...which is not finished, and may not work out according to plans...ahem....but it's coming along :)


Is November already almost halfway through?? Ummmm where did these last couple of weeks go? Where did October go for goodness sake?? I feel like Sleep Walking Not So Beauty lately, with my life on fast forward. I'm not prepared, I'm not ready, I'm standing here wondering how I'll get everything done....but done I will do, done I do well, at the last minute (normally) but oh how I wish I was one of you...who is so well prepared for everything, who has the decorations out and ready, the crafts for the holidays in full swing, shopping under her belt, cards all signed and addressed, the gravy made ahead, the lists more than half crossed off---how I wish I was more like you who has their life under control and ready to rock and roll at every waking minute. That is you, right?? :)

Well, without further ado--please check your email for a reminder of our upcoming swaps and some important links! I'm sure most of you probably have your packages just about complete and heading out to the post office already. Or, maybe you are more like me and finishing up (or ahem...just getting started) and will be sending out closer to actual ship date. Either way, please communicate with your partner and let her know when your items are shipped--and I know I don't need to remind you, but our "legal" advisors say we must disclose this--don't forget to send a "Thank You" to your partner when your package is received!!!

We had a lot of great feedback and tons of responses to our last survey, so we thought we would do another "get to know you" post. Here's this month question/story we would like you to share on your blog (for all of us nosey Sisters) or via email to your sister. Please do this BEFORE Thanksgiving and LEAVE A COMMENT here if you choose to blog it, so we can visit your post!

What is it we ask?

Please share one of your favorite quotes (thank your Breanna for the question poised to Rebecca for our inspiration for this post), and tell us how it relates to a favorite Thanksgiving (or holiday) story of yours.

Hmmmm.....I could say "Everything Happens For a Reason" and tell you about the Thanksgiving my refrigerator went south.....that was a fun year!! NOT!

Or--maybe I should tell you about.....well....I'll save that story for my post ;)

We can't wait to hear what you have to share with us!

Tags and Swags!

All you Sweet Goodness Swap Sisters out there, our October swap date has come and gone, so it's almost time to get your Tags and Garland on for our November swap. Check out this photo here, courtesy of Gigi who started early with this luscious candy garland for her partner.

Here's some info that she so "Sweetly" passed on:
Hi ladies~
So these are my first attempts at garland making in general so I pretty much "winged it" ~ that's how I roll these days : ).... love to "not "know what I'm doing! LOL
I wasn't sure how long they would take to do so I didn't precut my length of yarn. I spread out on a nice clean vaccummed floor ontop of a picnic cloth. If you have pets I suggest this (noone wants kitty hair tied up in their garland)!
I tried to figure out a pattern first before I started to tie the candy on.
For the main string I used regular cotton yarn (nothing stiff but not flimsy either). Then for the string that I used to tie on all the candy I used that really thin crocheting type of thread (nice and cheap 400 yards for $1.50). I tried to pick candy that is twisted at both ends so it's easy to tie onto the main yarn. I imagine you could tie them into bows if you wanted to but I opted for tying them into knots for security. The one garland that has all of the Smarties on it took a few hours, but the one with pom poms went very fast. I used a thin string with a needle and strung the pom poms on first ~ spaced them out how I wanted and came back to tie the candy on last. So I think that about does it! Hope the directions make sense : ) Please message me if you need more info! Thanks : )
***

To see more of Gigi's fun creations check out one of her several blogs!

***

Be sure to upload your October pictures here!! There are already a bunch of fun "Sweet Goodness October Treats" featured, and that's no Trick! :)

*****

Reminder for November, your package should include a selection of handmade gift tags & a garland, banner, or swag for our "Swags and Tags" portion of our swap. Tags are simple and so fun, there's tons of great pictures on flickr or check out etsy for inspiration! Banners & garland celebrate the coming of a season, a celebration of someone or something, or proclaim the oncoming of a grand occasion. Use your imagination, go with the season, or perhaps celebrate your partners "Creativity". Or, shout it out with her name on a flag!---Whether it's your first banner, swag, or tag--be creative and make something your partner would hang proudly on her mantle, doorway, window, or above her desk! Most of all, have fun!. For more ideas, check out the links I featured in our discussion on the October swap page.

Send out date is on or before November 20th!

***

If any one wants to share tutorials or links, please leave a link in the comment section for more tags and swag ideas!

October Swap Deadline!

(Picture from Martha Stewart's Halloween section of Martha Stewart Living)

Hello Sweet Goodness Swap Sisters!!

Rebecca and I had good intentions to send a mass email out to all of our sister swappers however we have over 50 on our mailing list and it's not letting us send out in a block nor is it letting us break down that group to email for some reason....so hopefully most of you have your BLOGLINES or other feed set to this blog and will receive this post update! Hopefully we will figure out the issue before long so we can send email updates as well as blog updates!

This Saturday, October 20th, is the send out deadline for your Halloween/October swap, here is a reminder of the details:

OCTOBER SISTER SWAP DETAILS



Please send your sister, by 10/20/07, a Sweet Goodness Halloween Treat! Please include one hand made item with a Halloween theme (Halloween cone with treats inside, a trick or treat bag for your swap sister's kids, Halloween ATC, Halloween potholders, fall pincushion, note cards, a home decoration, etc.) and some sweet treats. Please make sure to check with your sister to see if she has any allergies (chocolate, nuts, etc.) or cannot have sugar.

We now have a flickr group set up for your pictures, please join the group and upload the swap received (and if you want to, sent items).

For those of you who haven't uploaded much to flickr here's a basic recap on how to do it:

Join in the flickr group.

Upload your pictures to flickr (I downloaded a flickr uploader and it sits on my desktop which is very easy to use, just drag and drop).

Click on your picture.

On the top of picture, there should be a little box that says a variety of things....click on "Add to group" and it should list in another drop down box all the groups you belong to.

Click our flickr group and it will automatically upload picture.

Repeat for as many pictures as you have.

2nd option:

On your main page, click on the top button that says "Organize".

A grey box should appear and then you click on Groups which is on top of the grey box.

Your groups should appear in the "Pool".

Drag and drop your pictures which should be at the bottom of the screen to the correct group.

Let me know if you have any issues. I'm not an expert but I can hopefully help you to upload. :)

*****

Stay tuned--Next week we will be doing Part II of our "Get to know you" posts for our November swap!

*****

I'll leave you with a fall recipe favorite of mine:

Coconut Pumpkin Loaves
5 eggs
2 c. canned pumpkin
1-1/4 c. vegetable oil
3 c. all purpose flour
2 pkgs. (3.4 oz. each) instant
coconut pudding mix
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 c. chopped pecans
1 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and pumpkin until smooth. Add sugar and oil; mix well. Combine the flour, pudding mixes, cinnamon, soda, and nutmeg; add to the pumpkin mixture. Stir in the nuts.

Transfer to three greased and floured 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350º for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. You can wrap and freeze these loaves for up to six months.
****I like to add cinnamon sugar mixture to the top of loves about 1/2 into cooking as well as some raisins to the mixture above*****

*****

Can't wait to see your "Spookatcular Swaps"!!

Ga-Ga for Garlands

Did you miss our Holiday Sister Swap or are looking to add another swap to your to-do list? Head over to Ga-Ga for Garlands and sign up for the Holiday Garland swap hosted by Tamy the creator of our lovely Holiday Swap Button.

cheers

What people are saying . .

I wanted to share some things we have heard from our swap participants:

"I had so much fun with the summer swap and I'm so excited about this swap! "
Tamy

"Thanks so much, looking forward to meeting a new friend!"
Diana

"To me, the best part about swapping is the connection you make with your partner. I like the idea of the Holiday Goodness Swap because it really promotes connection and communication beyond just the one standard package."
Sid

"WOW!! I am so in :) This sounds awesome...just reading about it made me a little teary eyed. It is just these sort of swaps where we find new friends for life :) Thanks!!!"
Raesha

"Oh, I am excited for this one! I was just at the Goodwill today and thinking that I would love a Halloween swap! All three holidays! Wonderful!"
Jane


I can already tell this is going to be a wonderful swap! If you haven't yet filled out your 20 questions post please do so! Soon we'll be posting a reminder about sending your sister a card as part of this swap and also setting up Flickr groups for each part of the swap.

Happy swapping!

cheers ~

Sister Swap Button

Thank you to everyone who sent in buttons for our swap! Thank you Laurel S., Tamy B. and Cindy H. Please email your snail mail info to sgsisterswap@hotmail.com so we can send you a little goodness!

And thank you to Tamy O. who's button we have chosen as the official Sweet Goodness Holiday Sister Swap button.



Button is on the right side bar, click and save and put it on your blog! Please visit Tamy's new blog Ga-Ga for Garlands! Tamy is hosting a holiday garland swap with sign ups starting on October 10th. I think I'll be signing up and making two garlands for swaps this holiday season!

Keep sending in those links for the 20 Questions!

Cheers ~ Rebecca

20 Questions!

(photo courtesy of my friend Tonya :)

Let The Fun Begin!!

All the partners have been assigned for our Holiday Sister Swap, so if you signed up and DID NOT get an email, please let us know ASAP!!!!!

In the spirit of getting to know your “sister” we are asking you to answer some questions and post them on your blog no later than October 10th....earlier would be better so your partner can start collecting things that will be to your liking and get to know you!! Please leave us a comment so everyone can link back and get to know you too. This will be good information for future swaps as well!

If you don’t have a blog, just email your partner directly!

1. Favorite Color:
2. Chocolate Lover? Milk, Dark, White, or none of the above?
3. What is your favorite craft hobby?
4. What is a craft/art hobby that you would like to start?
5. What craft do you NOT have an interest in or just not great in ( so your partner doesn’t send something you wouldn’t use)?
6. Do you have any allergies? (we don’t want to send anything with peanuts if it’ll make you blow up like a balloon!)
7.What’s your favorite part of Halloween? Decorating, candy eating, costumes, or something else?
8. Do you decorate for Thanksgiving/Fall?
9. December Holidays--what holiday do you celebrate? What type of decorations do you like to put up in your house for that holiday?
10. Do you have any children, if so what are their ages, boys/girls?
11. Do you have any pets, if so what kind?
12. Are you a reader? If so, what type of books do you like?
13. Are you celebrating a birthday or anniversary in October, November, or December? If so, what day and what is the occasion?
14. Do you collect anything? If so what type of things do you collect?
15. What type of things do you like to cook? Are you an appetizer person, cookie maker, dessert freak or a take out type of person??
16. What is your favorite scent? Is there one that you can’t stand?
17. What’s your favorite song?
18. What’s the last movie you went to see at the movie theater?
19. What’s your favorite Candy?
20. Tea or Coffee or other?

****

This should get everyone going on get to know your partner! Remember to leave a COMMENT when you have your post up & email your partner!

OCTOBER SISTER SWAP DETAILS



Please send your sister, by 10/20/07, a Sweet Goodness Halloween Treat! Please include one hand made item with a Halloween theme (Halloween cone with treats inside, a trick or treat bag for your swap sister's kids, Halloween ATC, Halloween potholders, fall pincushion, note cards, a home decoration, etc.) and some sweet treats. Please make sure to check with your sister to see if she has any allergies (chocolate, nuts, etc.) or cannot have sugar.

Tick Tock . . . .

Hello!

Tomorrow is the last day to sign up for the Sweet Goodness Swaps Holiday Sister Swap!! So get your names into sgsisterswap@hotmail.com and make a new crafty friend this holiday season!

********************

Is anyone out there handy with graphics? Would anyone like to make us a "button" for this swap that we can share with the group? If anyone has the time and would like to help us out, please send us an email to sgsisterswap@hotmail.com. We'll send you a little goodness for your contribution!

********************

COMING SOON!

Partners for the Sister Swap should be to you by Monday 9/24!

We will soon have a post with some ideas on what to ask your sister to get to know her.

We would also like everyone to write a special post on their blog to their sister with a few things about them to help her get to know you. We'll ask you to share the link to that post with us so we can share them with the group and learn a little about all of our swappers. The deadline to make that post will be Wednesday October 10th.

Cheers!

The Goodness Girls

The Sweet Goodness Holiday Sister Swap is Here!!

Sweet Goodness Holiday Sister Swap



A new kind of swap from Sweet Goodness, the first annual Holiday Sister Swap! This swap requires a commitment of three send outs over the next three months so we are limiting swappers to those who have successfully swapped with us in the past OR come recommended from one of our trusted swappers. We hope this will cut down on the amount of "flakers" and also make it easier for us to keep track of. We will also be limiting the number to 50 participants but will consider extending that depending on the amount of interest.



Please know that when you sign up for this swap that you are making a commitment to send THREE small swap packages to your swap sister. This will be a great way to get to know another crafter and will put you in the holiday mood!



So what are the facts?



Sign up by: 9/20/07

First Send Out: 10/20/07

Second Send Out: 11/20/07

Third Send Out: 12/15/07



As there are three packages to send, your monthly swap should be small and meaningful. There is one for each month with an upcoming holiday: October, November & December. We also encourage you to email with your sister and read her blog to get to know her. There is also the requirement of sending at least ONE snail mail card or letter to your sister but you are welcome to send more! It's so much more fun to get a card from a friend than it is to get bills. :)

The main idea of the swap is to develop a bond, find out about each other and do little sweet things for each other within the theme each month.



OCTOBER SISTER SWAP DETAILS



Please send your sister, by 10/20/07, a Sweet Goodness Halloween Treat! Please include one hand made item with a Halloween theme (Halloween cone with treats inside, a trick or treat bag for your swap sister's kids, Halloween ATC, Halloween potholders, fall pincushion, note cards, a home decoration, etc.) and some sweet treats. Please make sure to check with your sister to see if she has any allergies (chocolate, nuts, etc.) or cannot have sugar.



NOVEMBER SISTER SWAP DETAILS

Please send your sister, by 11/20/07, a Tags & Swags Swap package! What is that you ask? Well tags could be any kind of holiday gift tags hand made by you for your sister to use in her holiday gift giving. And swags, why a banner of course! Make a banner/garland for your sister for Thanksgiving or one of the December holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc.) to display in their home and show their holiday spirit.



DECEMBER SISTER SWAP DETAILS

Please send your sister, by 12/15/07, a Sweet Holiday Goodness package! So what should you send? Please include a few recipes for your sister to treat her friends and family. Put your recipes on recipe cards and include them in a hand made "bag" of some sort. Suggestions: fabric bag, decorated gift bag or brown paper bag. Also include something to encourage her to make one of your yummy dishes, a whisk, a spice, measuring spoons, you name it! Please also send a hand made or purchased/thrifted small gift of your choice. By this time you should know your sister pretty well and will know if she will enjoy some scented lotion or a vintage kitchen tool or a thrifted apron. Just a little something to say Happy Holidays!


Try to limit your spending to between $5 and $8 per package if you are asked to supply something you cannot make from your stash. So you see, this is a SERIOUS swap and we will only take serious commitments. We had a lot of disappointed people after the summer swap and don't want that to happen again!



To sign up please send an email containing your name, email address and blog address to sgsisterswap@hotmail.com by 9/20/07. We will send your partner name to you as soon as we can!

Sign up quickly, the window is small!!

cheers,
The Goodness Girls

And the Winners Are!

Drum Roll Please!!!!!

The Goodness Girls Proudly announce the finalists in our Container Contest portion of our Summer Bucket Full of Fun Swap!

Decorating or creating a unique container was a big portion of the swap and our participants did not let us down, we had everything from boxes, buckets, bags, to balloons (and more) to choose from and it was a VERY VERY hard task as you all were winners!

But a contest is a contest, we had to make a choice so here in reverse order are the winners:

In Third Place, we have Jessie's bag from Jump and Down Blog--vintage fabric, sweet ruffles and wonderful craftmanship won us over on this beauty!! Congratulations Jessie--Rebecca will be sending you some Sweet Goodness Treasures next week!
Next is our Second Place finalist--Linda of Yellow Rose Cottage Blog. This package totally LIFTED us up out of our swap seats when we saw this most inventive packaging for her container! Inquiring minds wanna know how you shipped this Linda!! Totally cool container--congrats on your 2nd place finish!!! Be on the look out for a Sweet Goodness Treat from me next week!!!

Last but not least is our 1st Place winner----Paula from On a Rainy Night. Paula hand crocheted this lovely bag with raffia ( I had no idea you could even do that!), lined it with some sweet yellow and orange fabric and embellished with a hottie looking orange and yellow mermaid! We loved this ultra cute container and wanna give you a round of applause for trying something totally outside of the box for your container!!
Miss Thrifty Goodness will have a Sweet Goodness grand prize pack out to you next week!!

****
Thank you all for participating in our Summer Swap!!

Keep your bloglines set---we will anounce our next (and last swap) of 2007 sometime in September!

Thanks for playing with us this summer!! :)

Now--get busy on your Holiday crafts!!!
YIKES!

Last Call for pics

Last call for all container photos--If you haven't yet posted your Orange and Yellow goodies, please be sure to do so this week as Friday, August 17th is our deadline date for photos!!! We wanted to give a few participants some extra time that were running late with their packages.

For the sake of time...okay and less work for us Goodness Girls (summer has given us a case of lazyitis....don't worry we will be back to normal in a month or so), we are going to pick the winners with out running a vote from everyone.

In reality--you all are winnners and it's going to be very hard to pick the top 3!!! You all out did yourselves with the creativity of the containers--I don't believe there was any two alike!

We will post the the winner and 2 runner ups NEXT Monday, August 20th (which is also my lil man's 7th birthday...which has nothing to do with anything, I just thought I'd through that in there). So, stop back to see who is the Queen of the Summer Bucket Full of Goodness Swap!!

****

We know many of you are waiting for us to announce our last swap of 2007 and it's going to be a good one---it's totally different than the others that we've hosted so keep your bloglines set to Sweet Goodness Swaps--you won't want to miss out on the fun!!

This one will requre a bit of a commitment so we are going to limit the participants and require a set of criteria to participate-but we haven't ironed out all the details as of yet so again, stay tuned for the announcement in September of our next swap!!

*******

Last but not least, a BIG THANK YOU to all the participants who have made our swaps so much fun and successful!

Your commitment, creativity, and friendship makes all the work worthwhile :)

The Goodness Girls!

Take a LOOK!

Just a few of our swap packages
1. Vintage Sayings, 2. swap from Andie to Jenn M, 3. Summer Swap, 4. Mintbasil Summer Swap, 5. Sweet Goodness Swaps, 6. HPIM6513, 7. HPIM6526, 8. Sweet Goodness Swap Summer Fun 2007, 9. IMGP6644, 10. IMG_1572, 11. Bag of Swap Goodies, 12. SGS Bucket (Box) Full of Sunshine, 13. summer goodnes swap ( orange and yellow), 14. Swap Container, 15. Sweet Goodness Swap Container, 16. My summer swap basket, 17. DSCN2370, 18. Summer Swap, 19. 0044328-R1-017-7, 20. Sunshine Tote Lining, 21. Dana's Summer Fun Swap Container, 22. All wrapped up & pretty, 23. Basket of Sunshine, 24. IMG_1583, 25. dcp_5391

Be sure to check out more

Here

Here

HERE

Wait a Minute Mr. Postman!!! I have a package for you!!

It's hard to believe another swap is coming to close, but just like everything---time flies when you are having fun!!!!

SEND OUT DATE: July 23rd

Are you all knee deep in glitter, glue, tape, paint, and fabric too as you create your containers?? I've seen some really great photo's---don't forget to upload your containers to a separate flickr group so we can choose the Summer Swap container Queen!!

For those of you who played along this swap, we want to sincerely thank you for making this swap one of our biggest yet!!! Timing has been a challenge for some of us (Leigh Ann is in the middle of a huge move across country!!), and Rebecca and I had vacations this last 2 weeks so we appreciate your patience if we had a delay in email response lately.

If you are ready to post your pictures of your swap (sent or recieved) please post here!!

Out of all of our swappers, we did unfortunately have 1 person not respond at all to her partners emails, so this is just a plea from us---if anyone wants to join our next swap, please do so with honest intentions as swapping is a commitment and we really hate for anyone to be disappointed in a flake partner. Luckily she didn't ship anything to her--but still, it is a disappointement.

Okay enough about business---let's get hopping along and finish our projects so they can board the mail lady's truck to your Summer Fun partner's door step!!! Whoooo hooooo!!

Don't forget to join our contest!!!! Post your container (only) to enter here.

*****Stay tuned for our next color swap---it will be warm and fuzzy, on the rocks or frozen, tasty and smooth--anyway you choose, these colors will surely cure away those summer blues!!

***Also upcoming we will have a couple of smaller swaps for the upcoming holidays---so keep your bloglines marked for our next swaparoo!!!!

SUMMER FUN SWAP SEND OUT DATE!

Just to clear up any confusion, the send out date for the Sumemr Fun Swap has been extending to Monday July 23rd. You can send when you are ready, be sure to let your partner know it's on the way! But please try to have all packages out by Monday the 23rd!

Getting a delivery confirmation number is always a good idea! Last time we asked that you send us that number, however this time I think that if we have a problem with a package not arriving that then we may ask you to send us the number so just keep it handy!

Thanks and SWAP ON!

And the Swap goes on . . .

Hello Summer Fun Swappers!!



How is it going? The swap is in full swing now and we can't wait to see what you've come up with! Not only are the Goodness Girls hard at work on our own swaps but we are also gathering items for prizes! Oh yes, don't forget about the prizes for the most interesting and creative containers! So before you send off your swaps remember to take a clear picture of your decorated container to be loaded into Flickr.



This is the group for uploading ALL of your Summer Swap photos: http://www.flickr.com/groups/summerfunswap/



For the contest we will have a different group for you to load up a picture of your container if you'd like to enter. I wanted to post that today but Flickr is not working very well at the moment. :( So that will come later!

IMPORTANT

Has anyone NOT heard from their swap partner at this point? Please contact us at sgswaps@hotmail.com right away!!

Cheers
Rebecca

The Summer Fun Swap Partner Info

***UPDATED WITH NEW BLOG LINKS!!***

Here it is. The swap partner information that you've all been waiting for. We have 35 pairs!

Everyone should have received an email with their partner's information. Please let us know if you have not received it. Also let us know if we did not link to your blog below.

Jen H. & Sarah K.

Paula N. & Jennifer W.

Tammy O. & Ginny K.

DJ H. & Heidi B.

Amy M. & Sarah B.

Carrie A. & Alexandra M.

Monica W. & Jolena M.

Stacey C. & Tonette B.

Jessica B. & Jane A.

Cindy H. & Kirsten K.

Maureen T. & Felicia

Tara B. & Karla F.

Jennifer M. & Andie

Renee K. & Amy P.

Chara P. & Gabreial

Lois C. & Karen H.

Lisa C. & Wendy P.

Anne P. & Catieann P.

Elise R. & LeeAnn H.

Trudi A. & Patti L.

Tamy B. & Rachelle C.

Linda P. & Christina J.

Denise W. & Mary A.

Laura G. & Jodi R.

Cheryl C. & Jeannie R.

Heidi G. & Leigh Ann

Dinah M. & Evelyn L.

Jenn M. & Jane L.

Monique & Lynsey

Raesha & Katie B.

Kara S. & Mandi K.

Shara S. & Christy H.

Rebecca & Dana B.

Heidi S. & Sarah J.

Breanna & Jodi

Connie & Dita (no blogs, ladies think about starting them! :) )

Em R. & Cindy

Ok, ladies - go forth and create, thrift, and have some fun!

Cheers! The Goodness Girls

Last Call for Swappers!

Hurry, don't be late--tomorrow's the last sign up date!!!

Join us for the Summer Bucket Full of Fun Swap--see a couple posts below for more details and sign up info!!

((Bucket--can be interpreted as a container of sorts, bag, basket---anything your little heart desires as long as you embellish it and it is in one or both of the swap colors)

Thank you to ALL of our swappers, veterens and newbies for making all of our swaps so successful--your creativity inspires us, and your friendship makes all the hard work, worthwhile!

If you are new and thinking about joining a great group of thrift/craft girls, please do so!! As always, we take pride in having an awesome track record with the last few swaps having a 99% completion rate---but--we are committed to ensuring we have 100% completion rate for all future swaps, so please only join if you are sure you can complete the swap and fulfill the guidelines. We don't want anyone to be disappointed!

So now---we are about to let the swap begin---sign up now if you haven't already!

The Goodness Girls!

Summer Fun Swap Button

Leigh Ann has made us a wonderful button for the Summer Fun Swap!



Right click and save or go here for a URL address.

Thanks, LA!

xoxoxo

Drumroll Please . . . . Summer Fun Swap News!

Well here it is, the moment you've been waiting for! Details on the upcoming Summer Swap from Sweet Goodness Swaps!

SUMMER FUN: BUCKET FULL OF SUNSHINE SWAP

Sign up by: Friday June 15th

Send out by: Monday July 13th

Cost Cap: $20 (not including shipping)

Theme Colors: Orange & Yellow

Details/Rules: Fill a container with SIX items in the theme of summer and orange and yellow.

1 - You must include at least ONE HANDMADE ITEM and ONE THRIFTED ITEM.

2 - You can use anything as your container, be creative! (Does not HAVE to be a bucket) You must decorate your container in the theme of the swap. BONUS: We will have a prize for the most creative container used! Details to come on the contents of the prize package.

3 - Have fun!

Please remember that when you sign up you are making a commitment to your swap partner. Please try to have your package sent out on time and have it contain the items listed in the swap details. It is the worst feeling when you make a wonderful package for your partner and receive nothing in return.

Please send an email to sgswaps@hotmail.com with your information. Please write SUMMER FUN SWAP in the subject and include your name, mailing address, email address and blog address (if you have one.) ***NOTE - If you are willing to ship internationally please let us know. This will determine if we can admit our crafty friends from overseas to participate! ***

Thank you!

Rebecca, Lucy & Leigh Ann
The Goodness Girls

A Teeny Tiny Hint . . .

Well it's almost that time . . . time for the next Sweet Goodness Swap! Lucy, Leigh Ann and I almost have all of the details worked out and will announce the official "rules" by the end of May. But do you want a teeny tiny hint??




Does that help? :)

Details coming soon!

ta!

Rebecca, Lucy & Leigh Ann

Coming down from the Pink and Green high!!

Hello Everyone!!
We hope you all enjoyed the S-P-R-I-N-G fling Swap brought to you by "Sweet Goodness Swaps!", the flickr photo's and all of your blog updates have been just out of this world! You all did a fantastic job! I know there are a ton of peeps out there that wish they had joined in, just from the feedback I've been reading!!
Just some housekeeping notes (most of you don't need any nudging but we have a "job" to do, so we must carry on!):
*Please be sure to let your partner know when the swap package arrives if you haven't already
*If you haven't uploaded to flickr, please do!! There is a link provided on the Sweet Goodness Swap site. There are tons of delicious, fun, creative, wonderful pictures out there already but there are only 28 members and we had over 70 in the swap...so nudge nudge...please post your goodies! If you don't know how to post on flickr here are some basic instructions: join flickr (and download their uploader program--it makes everything easy peezy), then upload your photos. Join in our group, and then go to "organize" on top. You'll see your photos at the bottom of your screen and a grey box in the middle. Then click on Groups. The Pink and Green group will be in the grey box. Then, drag your pics (one at a time) to the swap icon. Waloh..this should work...hopefully...I think it works...ummmm let's keep our fingers crossed my instructions work ;)
*We hope just about everyone has received their packages....if you HAVE NOT....please email us. Let us know if you have heard from your partner, and if they communicated the mailing was going to be late. We want to make sure we have 100% completion, and no one disappointed!
*Anyone not completing the swap will not be able to participate again (obviously), and negative feedback given on our swap blog--but we know that won't be an issue with our swap..because everyone has been so great...it's just one of those housekeeping items we have to put out there.
Last but not least, Thank you everyone..for joining this fantablulistic swap, it's been alot of fun!!
Please stay tuned for the next one at the end of May, fresh and new with some new twists and bucket loads of fun! :) hint...hint...in that sentence...it will be another 2 color swap...not pink this time and not green, that's as much as we are saying ;)
Hugs,
Lucy and Rebecca

Post your Pics!!!

Hello Everyone!!!

We hope everyone is having a grand time collecting, crafting, and thrifting away on their Pink and Green Swap items!!! Don't forget, the deadline to ship is April 23rd, so hippity hop yourselves in motion this week to finish up your packages!! Don't forget to take pics of your items you make and recieve so we can all share in your delights!! We are nosey lil peeps around here, ya know!

And speaking of pics, be sure to post on our fickr group for this swap. We just set it up today as several of you lovely ladies (the organized of the bunch :) have already shipped their packages!!

Here's the link to post:

Spring Fling Swap on Flickr

And just to keep all you swap junkies in the loop....we are planning another swap coming up for next month to most likely ship in June, so stay tuned for some "summer lovin" via swap goodies!! Tell your friends that missed this swap to stay in touch, we'll make an announcement after this swap closes for the rules and guidelines (as always, we'll have a twisty turn on this swap to keep your creative juices flowing!!).

Blast from the Past!

Hello all you Swappers out there!! For those of you who are new to the Sweet Goodness Swaps, I thought you might like to check out our last swap posted on Flickr. We had 35 participants last time and this time there's DOUBLE that number, so I can NOT WAIT, to see all the Sweet Goodies you craft, collect, and create in the name of S-P-R-I-N-G!! I'm having a problem with I...is anyone else?? I mean I..how many words begin with I, 3, 4? 5? if we're lucky, that are nouns anyway?? Guess we are going to have to be IN-genius with this letter to make it work!!

We just want to remind you also to take pics of your swap goodies when you send and receive and post a blurb on your blog about your partner as a gesture of thank you AND...when we are near the end of the swap (April 23 peeps...tick tick tick), we will set up another group on Flickr for you to upload and share your bounty! Yahooo---who doesn't love happy mail??

The question has arose about confirmation numbers.....when you ship, please send your confirmation number to your partner and to us at: sgswaps@hotmail.com and hmmmmm, well....I do believe a swap this size warrants a prize to go out to a random pick of everyone who ships on time and sends a confirmation number!! I'll be on the look out for a neat prize while on my 'cashion' (as said by my wee one) next week for one of you timely swap ladies! Rebecca did the Crown last time, so this one is on me. Too bad I couldn't ship you one of those cute drinks with the umbrella I am bound to have (one or two of)!

Oh yes....how could we forget.....best wishes going out to all our gals for a wonderful Easter with you and yours! Dont sneak in the kiddies basket too much now...we have to watch our figures for the summer months ahead now :)

Happy Swapping and Happy Hopping!!

Lucy and Rebecca!!!

I fixed all of the link! I think.

Two notes: we are using last initials to avoid any confusion and if there is no blog link to your name but you do in fact have a blog please let us know!

LeeAnn H. & Dinah M.

Maureen T. & Tessa C.

MéLisa M. & Renee K.

Christy H. & Em R.

Heidi G. & Risa P.

Jennifer W. & Dolores G.

Laura W. & Jane L.

Sally B. & Peta J.

Sarah J. & Arlene T.

Tiffany R. & Julie

Paula N. & Susan S.

Jen H-K. blog& Shara S. (Jen, send us your blog info! :) I linked to your Etsy shop) edit...both are up now :)

Harmony L. & Cuba

Leigh Ann B. & Breanna C.

Laura C. & Fiona Y.

Lynn O. & Christy G.

Monique D. & Dita S.

Bee & Kate B.

Jen F. & Linda H.

Stefanie L. & Sharla M.

Cathy S. & Debbie E.

Stacey & Rebecca F.

Diana F. & Christina G.

Jessica P. & Diana S.

Michelle W. & Carrie A.

Kelli & Trudi M.

Heather P. & Monica W.

Annie P. & DJ H.

Rebecca W. & Elizabeth H.

Leanne H. & Sonya F.

Vallen Q. & Tara B.

Karla N. & Jennifer M. (JennsNook)

Lucy O. & Raesha dRZ

Rebecca R (nee K) & Jenn M.

Nancy & Heidi S.

Kate P-B & Colleen S.

If there are still issues please let me know!

Rebecca

***Note from Lucy, I fixed a couple of more so again, please let us know if we missed anyone or have jumbled the links :) Swap away spring peeps, swap away!

Swap Partners Revisited

Okay, I have corrected the Partner List, please click here to view it. For some reason those people wh were missing weren't showing up when I hyperlinked to their blog. I will attempt to fix that in a new post or create a side bar with all Spring Fling Swappers blogs so you can visit.

In the mean time Lucy has been working hard to get emails out to everyone, please let us know if you still have not received partner info. We thank you for your patience!

Rebecca

Partners/links not quite finished yet...

Hello everyone!! This is a work in progress as far as getting the links up....as you can see we have to fix a couple of links. What I'm going to do tonite is work on the emails and then I will try to post again on Sweet Goodness partner info w/o the links for sake of time.

We appreciate your patience and understanding (Rebecca and I are working during the day so trying to type and cordinate during lunch/breaks).

Have no fear...partner info will be solidifed by tomorrow, 3/29!!

Don't let that stop you from getting all that's Pink and Green and everything
Spring!

Lucy

***Editorial--everyone (with the exception of a couple of latecomers) should have received an email from me tonite with your partner info. Please let us know if you did NOT receive this email!!! We have to go back and edit the link post so please be patient as this is a work in progress! Thank you for joining in on the fun! It's a little to late for me to list on the partners again but we will have an official post up hopefully tomorrow! Whooo hoooo we are Swapping On now!!

Thank you again everyone for joining in and playing nice! :)

Wishing you all things Sweet and Good!

Lucy

Spring Fling Swap Partners

UPDATED: I don't know why some of the partners disappeared! All I can think is that it's typical "blogger ate my homework." I'm so sorry! You will notice some of the links are missing, I believe this is why some of the names weren't showing up. - Rebecca

Hello! FINALLY we have your partners for you. We will also be sending you emails with your partners email and home addresses. Without further ado . . .

Two notes: we are using last initials to avoid any confusion and if there is no blog link to your name but you do in fact have a blog please let us know!

LeeAnn H. & Dinah M.

Maureen T. & Tessa C.

MéLisa M. & Renee K.

Christy H. & Em R.

Heidi G. & Risa P.

Jennifer W. & Dolores G.

Laura W. & Jane L.

Sally B. & Peta J.

Sarah J. & Arlene T.

Tiffany R. & Julie

Paula N. & Susan S.

Jen H-K. & Shara S. (Jen, send us your blog info! :) I linked to your Etsy shop)

Harmony L. & Cuba

Leigh Ann B. & Breanna C.

Laura C. & Fiona Y.

Lynn O. & Christy G.

Monique D. & Dita S.

Bee & Kate B.

Jen F. & Linda H.

Stefanie L. & Sharla M.

Cathy S. & Debbie E.

Stacey & Rebecca F.

Diana F. & Christina G.

Jessica P. & Diana S.

Michelle W. & Carrie A.

Kelli & Trudi M.

Heather P. & Monica W.

Annie P. & DJ H.

Rebecca W. & Elizabeth H.

Leanne H. & Sonya F.

Vallen Q. & Tara B.

Karla N. & Jennifer M. (JennsNook)

Lucy O. & Raesha dRZ

Rebecca R (nee K) & Jenn M.

Nancy & Heidi S.

Kate P-B & Colleen S.

WHEW! That is 72 participants! WOW! We are so excited that so many of you have stepped up to the challenge! And speaking of challenging, we will work to get emails out to you guys with your partners info before the end of this week.

Let's run down the "rules" again, shall we?

SPRING FLING SWAP

Sign up by: March 26, 2007

Send out by: April 23, 2007

Theme: SPRING! and a bonus theme of Pink & Green

Details: You will send your partner 6 items that are in the color scheme of pink and green. At least one of these items should be hand made and one should be second hand or thrifted. The others can be crafting supplies, candy, paper, you name it! Easy right? Well here's the catch . . . each item must represent one letter in the word SPRING.

So for example (but not limited to):

S - sewing supplies
P - pencils
R - really pretty yarn
I - "in my opinion this is a cool mug" (LOL)
N - nicely knit monkey
G - gummi bears

As you can see, you have room to use your creative license to make things fit. HINT: Both P for pink and G for green are in there and no we didn't plan that.

Cost - we have put a dollar amount on this swap of $20 not including shipping. Please try to keep the cost under $20. You don't have to spend that much (or be exact) but we want to make sure everyone is on the same page.

This is the first swap for many of you and we hope it's a wonderful experience! We will be asking you to send your shipping confirmation numbers to us once you send off your swap goodies.

SWAP ON FRIENDS!

Always be sweet and good!

Rebecca & Lucy