Yup all done. Until the next time.

Ann

Lets have another one real soon!!!Looking foward to a Summer Swap. No limit though!!!LOL Thanks Ann, it was fun!!!Diana55

Thanks Ann, it's always so much fun to have a swap.

I cannot even imagine how much time and effort this takes..That's really so nice of you Ann.

Thank you, Ann, for all you do with our swaps! I'm already looking forward to the next one.

I love the swaps and thank you Ann for taking all this time to organize it!!

I'm more then ready for the next swap!! I'm with Diana, I vote to have the next swap unrestricted!

Michelle

Ann,

Thank you so much for hosting this swap. Also thanks for being so nice about my destroyed swap box and helping me to make things right.

Now about a summer swap, with the baby coming July 23rd hope that we do it before then:)

Stacie

I actually prefer the three item limit and most of the feedback I have received is in favour of it. It seems that many of us already have more than we need and are running out of room. So it is nice to just received three items rather than a dozen.

I think that this type of swap, with only three items does take a little more time and thought. I know it isn't easy to come up with the perfect three items for your partners. But going back and looking at all the wonderful swap boxes from this exchange and the last one, the gifts have been amazing, so I know that you are all up to the challenge.

We will just have to start thinking of some more interesting "themes" to go a long with the "three item limit".

Stacie, you are welcome. And thank you for going that extra mile. Difficult enough to put together one swap box, but you did it twice.

Ann

Ack Diana and Michelle the 'unrestricted' swaps were fun and carefree, but they also got reeeeaaaallllyyy out of hand. Even with these 'three item' folks (including myself) are adding stuff in! I vote for stick to the three - I'm comfortable cheating within 'categories' (a P-Touch?).

I also got around the rules by sending my partner stuff after the fact as a surcie but don't tell Ann

Ditto Ann. I prefer the three item limit also. After participating for a few years I can honestly say this route make it much easier for me to narrow down and zoom in on personal preferences. I must admit though that it's hard at times to restrain myself ;-)

Another big 'Thank You!' to Ann for coordinating the wonderful swaps. They are always such fun. I like the three item limit too--makes it a little more challenging, but also less stressful!

Off to do more oohing and aahing on the threads!

I'm comfortable cheating within 'categories' (a P-Touch?).

Jessy, I got my P-touch the other day but haven't had time to even open it up yet. Thanks again for all the information!

I did think of a few categories:

Movie or record
Mysterious or unusual
Wind, fire or ice
Exotic

Michelle

Thanks Ann, it was a fun swap. I think that the three item limit is a good idea. We just get too carried away with out any limits.

Nancy

I'm all for a 3 item swap too.

Thanks again for coordinating these swaps Ann! They're so much fun!

Catherine

I third or fourth support for the limits.....but I really have to say, handmade is my absolute positive most favourite category. I didn't do it this time around, but saw some beautiful stuff! It seems to me, that it is the most personal.

Yes, let me add my Kudos to Ann..She is a fabulous swap hostess!
And I like the smaller limits..because I have to watch my budget, but I can't help adding in a few "small" extras..I always will. :o)

I had a great time with this swap and hope to participate more in the future! Thanks to everyone for allowing me to play!

Brenda

Oh Michelle.....I'm in favor of the "Exotic" category!!!LOL Thanks, once again Ann, for all your had work and time!!! It's always so much fun and I'm good with the "Three Item Limit"(I think)....as long a we can cheat a little.LOL Thanks!!! Diana55 P.S...."Exotic"....yes I can see it now....Leopard print aprons,.....sexy potholders,...Is that what you mean? Oh you said "Exotic"...LOL

Ann, you are the best! Even your match-ups are interest to the swap.

I'm okay with an item limit because I tend to be excessive.

The Decorating Forum is trying to organize a swap but can't get someone to volunteer to be swap coordinator. I think I should step up.

I know Ann went beyond the call of duty for me, by making several calls to my partner when the USPS said my package had been delivered but she hadn't even received a notice. Thanks Ann, for keeping me from hyperventilating!!

I like the limit, although I cheated a little within one category because my partner really needed all three items to make it work. They were inexpensive, anyway, so I didn't feel too guilty ;)

Diana! LOLOLOLOL! You're thinking of errotic and I said exotic. LOLOLOLOL!!!

But that apron is sort of cute!

Michelle

i too really enjoyed being a part of this swap and already have ideas for the next one. actually, i had so many ideas for this go-round, but could never make all three jive as a theme. now i am raring to go seeing first hand how everyone else put things together. i had so much apprehension and fear of not doing things right or living up to the rules.

thank you ann for allowing me to participate and a big FAT THANK YOU to stacie for really making my first swap all that. there was terrible mistreatment with the shipping company of the first box, but my goodness what an exceptional partner to treat me to a fantastic second box just jammed packed with goodies.

i enjoyed being partnered to michelle and sending to her and thrilled that she was pleased with my choices.

i loved reading how everyone put together their packages. i love the idea that others used a few extra items to wrap in and i kind of liked that some lost count - i didn't feel so bad after sending mine LOL

ann, you are exceptional. it takes a lot to organize such a big crowd. being a newcomer to this side of the forums, i have felt accepted and welcomed and i thank everyone for that! i enjoyed our telephone conversations and putting a voice to all those wonderful items you cook and bake and post!!!!!

if my vote counts, i too like the three item limit. it does wonders for the imagination and also allows a little leeway making items fit into a category.

looking forward to the summer swap. (stacie - watch out, i'm stealing your original theme LOLOLOLOLOLOL)

maryanne

(LMAO erotic as a theme. so many items can fit that category)

First, thanks to you Ann for taking it on once again!! I had a great time shopping, sending, receiving, and reading about all of the great boxes. I hope I didn't miss any, if I did, I didn't mean to.

The three item limit is cool with me too, I guess. It is a little more challenging. Hey, maybe 3 - 5??? Every now and then. I'm in reguardless, love swappin'! I wouldn't mind just saying lets "swap" with no limits once every couple of years??

Thanks again Ann and everyone else too!! This is and always has been too cool with me and my group. They love it as much as we do. Looking forward to the next one.....erotic and all....ROFL!!

David

Fun swap! I can say that I did my part yet again (unintentionally) to drag it out as long as I could....

I enjoyed it too. I think themes make it so much easier. You put a lot of work into this, can't thank you enough~

Knowing from experience how much work it is to organise a swap, I think Ann deserves all the praise that has been given to her and more.

Just to pitch in with my opinion, I think the three item limit is great for a swap, as I live in a country with extortionate postal rates, and can not afford to send big or heavy packages abroad.

Thanks for another great swap, Ann! You really rock!
I like the three item limit, too, but I have to say that even when everyone "promises" to stick to three items, there are always a few who go way overboard. Makes the three item limit kinda pointless. Maybe three categories, as that seems to be the way some interpret three items anyway.
Not trying to come off as whiney, here, but when I stick to three items and then someone sends 2-3 times that many, I feel like a cheapskate. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Linda

Linda,

I feel the same about some of the swaps being so big. I do know that I sent more than an exact 3 but that was for my second box to Maryanne:( I think a 3 catagory would be a good way to go. I live in the middle of nowhere and to travel to a nice store is 300 miles round trip and don't get out much, so I may send more than 3 items, but just because so many of you have access to higher end things that are so neat, and I make due with more "unique" items LOL.

I do know that after seeing some of the boxes I felt bad and rethought about what I sent. Some of the boxes were so out of the limit that I hope my partner didn't feel like I was a cheapskate.

Stacie

Thank you, Ann, for all your efforts in organizing this swap!! I like the 3 item limit as well.

Another big THANK YOU to Ann for running another wonderful swap.

I'm another who is more comfortable with the three item limit. I'm going to try to say this correctly. It isn't that the smaller items aren't great -- they are! But I just think I like three, let's say, more meaningful items, as opposed to a slew of smaller items. And I feel this way from both the giving point of view and the receiving point of view.

It makes it MUCH easier to shop because there are three categories and three items to buy so I don't feel like I'm pressured to sort of fill up the box with lots of items but instead I hunt for three items I think my partner will really love.

Linda,
I can see the cheapskate angle, which is why (to be honest) I also wish people would stick to the limits on number of items. I don't feel like one, because instead of buying a bunch of smaller (less $$) stuff, I concentrate on getting three medium $$ items, which as I noted above, I feel are more meaningful. But sometimes when a box arrives with a bunch of stuff in it, I wonder if my partner feels cheated for only getting three items from me.

I think it's cute when something is thrown in for the pets or kids, but aside from that I definitely feel better when the limit is three, when we have clear cut categories and when folks stick to those guidelines.

Just MHO!!! Hope I didn't step on any toes for those who sent more than three, because all the packages were fabulous!!

Well said May. I agree with everything that you said.

If we look back over all the swap boxes received this time around and the swap before this, I think that you will find that most participants did try to play by the rules.

Ann

I didn't participate in this latest swap, but I agree, I like the limit because it is interesting to see how people interpret it, and like others have said, I have felt like a cheapskate in the past without intending to because I felt like I hadn't sent as much as others. Thanks, Ann, for all you do in organizing the swaps.