What's Cookin'?

gallery is up!

2007-04-14T23:19:00.000-04:00

And here's our flickr gallery!

(Sorry for the delay, it's been a rough week). If I did not get a photo from you and you'd like to be added, or you'd like to replace a photo with one on the recipient please drop us a line!

our mini party was a success!

2007-04-09T09:45:00.000-04:00

Everyone's packages (should) have arrived and it's time to celebrate! We had a bit of a party collision this weekend, as we didn't realize we were ending the swap over Easter weekend when we set it up! But all's well that ends well, right? And now it's time for the BIG REVEAL!

Here's the list of who drew who; with links to everyone's posts.

Thanks again to all our lovely guests for making our party so much fun!

Amy drew Raesha
Ann drew Amy
Cate drew Catrina
Catrina drew Shanna
Crystal drew Lauri
Danesha drew Megan
Kirie drew Patricia
Lauri drew Cate
Mary drew Danesha
Megan drew Sarah
Nancy drew Ann
Patricia drew Nancy
Raesha drew Mary
Sarah drew Kirie
Shanna drew Crystal

A Marvelous Mini-Meme!

2007-02-15T17:50:00.000-05:00

This go-round the meme is not actually required, since you are just about all already at work on your aprons! But, still, we're tagging ALL of you to do this for fun and to get to know a little more about each other. Please answer as soon as you're able and we'll post links to everyone's answers when we're all done!

1. What is your first food memory?
2. What was your favorite dish/food as a child?
3. Name one of your mini's favorite foods:
4. What was your mini's first solid food? Did they love it or hate it?
5. What was something you were excited to make for your mini for the first time?
6. What is your favorite food memory?
7. Your mini's birthday party : All out theme with perfect kid food ala Martha? or Quiet family home party with scrumptious cupcakes? Something in-between?
8. Name one thing you absolutely love to make and eat when you are feeling like a kid again:
9. Name something you ate as a kid that you now look back on and wonder "what were my childhood taste buds thinking??" :
10. Name 3 things your mini loves (doesn't have to be food related):

All About Recipe Cards!

2007-02-09T15:41:00.000-05:00

Here's the scoop on the recipe cards. You need to pick out three recipes that fit the theme. Then make three 3"x5" recipe cards (if you really need more room, you can make a 2-part card in there if you need to) to fit the theme and maybe even coordinate with your apron! Craftiness is encouraged, with a few limits: no significant 3-D elements, and nothing projecting outside of the card's edges. Also remember; while the recipes all need to be kid-tested favorites, the recipe cards are for your swap partner, not their mini!

Here's some samples from previous swaps:

made by Thien-Kim for swap 2

made by Sarah for swap 1

made by Kim for swap 2

You can check previous swap posts for lots more ideas!

If you are not all that crafty on paper, it is totally fine to go find yourself some cute pre-made cards and use those. There are tons of cute 3x5 cards out there, I looked on etsy and found these adorable parisian motif cards, cute owl cards (no size listed though, so check before buying!), and my favorites, the Domestic Divas cards! If you want to print something out, I found a cool recipe card maker online that will format 3x5 cards for you (with art!) for free; or you can download free recipe card templates for MS Word.

Any questions? Drop us a line!

meet & greet!

2007-02-08T22:59:00.001-05:00

Well, our party is started, and here's this go-round's guest list:

Amy
Ann
Cate
Catrina
Crystal
Danesha
Kirie
Lauri
Mary
Megan
Nancy
Patricia
Raesha
Sarah
Shanna

Now mingle, everybody!

apron ideas!

2007-02-07T16:01:00.000-05:00

Hey everybody! This party's about to get started -- in the meantime, how about a little inspiration...

Are you all ready to start thinking about aprons? Just remember, you'll need to keep your partner's mini in mind: what kinds of things they'll be doing and what sort of fabrics and colors they might like. (And don't forget, size will be important!) Since we're talking kids here, washable and dryable is probably a must -- a test pre-washing of fabrics, notions, and maybe even the finished apron may be a good idea here. (Although please use no scented products when washing & drying -- washing alone with no products at all is probably best!)

from Babyfairies' photostream on flickr

Some neat ideas I've found floating around the web:

How cute are these adorable kid's aprons from Furnis? I'm partial to the egg, but the cheese and duck are cute too!

"Apron-dresses" from L'oiseau Bateau - the design is great and the decorations amazing. Totally knock-off-able!

Isn't this little boy's art smock from our beloved Ticky Tacky awesome? (Pattern here and some girly versions here.)

Check out this sleeveless smock - I love the kappa pocket detail!

Don't forget the half-apron, it works surprisingly well on a little one -- this one was a birthday present for my mini from Mary Ann.

I am having real trouble finding a photo of the classic pullover Japanese art smock (the one that you will find in practically every Japanese pattern book) -- here's the best I could do. And how about the aprons on his two friends?

This Marimekko apron is a classic design in an eye-popping print - great idea!

And for a million other ideas (okay, 222 as of right now), check out kid's aprons on flickr.

the doors are closing

2007-02-07T12:19:00.000-05:00

We're going to close signups tonight around 9pm and get this party started! See you then!

still some seats left!

2007-02-06T09:47:00.000-05:00

We've still got a handful of openings, so let us know if you want to join us.

ALSO: I found one sign-up email in our spam folder last night, and I'm afraid there may have been more. If you emailed yesterday and did not hear back, please write us again! thanks!

sign up today!

2007-02-05T02:14:00.000-05:00

We'll start taking sign-ups at noon today! Please send us an email with your name, a link to your blog, and where you are located.

And in case you were wondering, since I totally forgot to put it in the last post...aprons and recipe cards will be due to your partner by April 5th, and we'll be asking everyone to post about their swap goodies (both sent and received) between April 6th-8th for our big apron party! (Sending early is okay! But please don't post until the party starts on April 6th.)

it's... a... Mini Swap!

2007-01-31T23:23:00.000-05:00

Hey there! Time to get on your dancin' shoes and gear up for our next party - which is our Mini-Swap! Yup, this time around we're going to make aprons (or smocks) for the minis in each other's lives. You don't have to have a kid to play -- nephews, nieces, cousins, godchildren, neighbors all qualify...just grab a little one and get to sewing!

Aprons should be appropriately sized for the mini belonging to the person whose name you draw, and anything in the apron category is fair game. Cooking aprons, art smocks, cover ups for crafting, whatever! You will be swapping one apron for one apron, so if you have multiple minis in your house, you're going to need to ~~choose favorites~~ figure out which one would appreciate a new apron the most. Minis need to be between 2 and 10, but if you have a smaller mini and will accept a size 2 apron for them to get later, go right ahead and sign up (it's really not easy to make something smaller than size 2).

Recipes should all be kid-friendly and/or kid-tested favorites that you'd like to share. You'll need to pick out 3 recipes and make 3" x 5" recipe cards that you'll send along with the apron.

Please read the rules and FAQ to familiarize yourself with our swap (or re-familiarize yourself if you participated in a previous swap!).

Also, and this is important: if you are one of our party guests, we will have to expect you to abide by house rules. Don't make us take your keys away! We will need you to: respond to the sign-up questionnaire that you will receive by the end of the week; read all posts to this blog for the length of the swap (bookmark it or subscribe to our rss feed); answer our swap meme (posted next week) as quickly as possible. And, finally, you will have eight weeks to make your swap package and get it to your recipient. This should be plenty of time to complete your package. You need to get your swap partner their apron and recipe cards on time! And of course, we understand that sometime emergencies do come up...in which case, please notify us asap and we can try our best to help you out! Please be aware of house rules and help us out here, ladies!

Sign-ups will begin on Monday (February 5th) at noon EST; no sign-ups will be accepted before then. There are 20 slots open and they are first-come first-served. As soon as our guest list is full we will send you more info, post more details on this theme and assign you to your partner!

Also, I'd like to announce our Special Guest Hostess! Mary is taking some time off to finish school (pesky pesky school!) so Cate has gallantly stepped in to assist me in running this shindig this time around! Mary will be peeking in to keep an eye on things, though, so don't think she's not watching you!

And finally, big BIG thanks to Molly over at Mommycoddle who runs the very cool kids-and-mommies Mini Swap - we named this theme ages ago and only found out about her swap recently, but she graciously had no objections to our using the name just this once! Thanks Molly! Go check out her site and give her some thank-you love! (And ooh, I hope she keeps doing the Mini Swap so I can get us in someday!)

watch this space!

2007-01-30T14:13:00.000-05:00

What's Cookin' swap #3 is about to launch - check back later this week for full details and sign-up info! See you then!

gallery is up!

2006-12-16T22:41:00.000-05:00

The gallery of Holiday Hostess aprons is up on flickr! Now you can check them all out in one place. In other news, we are calling this party a wrap! Thanks to all our lovely participants who make it so much fun! We'll be tidying up and then resting for a bit, but watch this space for our next swap -- we plan to announce it in just over a month! Yikes! See you then!

look at all our pretty aprons!

2006-12-02T16:21:00.000-05:00

See everyone's cool aprons, and find out who got who's name in the swap! Since the party is just about over, we're going to post the whole list whether posts are up or not. IF YOU ACTUALLY DON'T KNOW WHO IS SENDING YOU AN APRON STOP READING RIGHT NOW!! We will add any more links that come in.

First links are posts about making the aprons, second links are posts about getting them.

ann drew: nickie

cate drew kim p.

catrina drew: sandy

coleen drew: jen

debi drew: sarah

erin drew: debi

eviedee drew: sarah geek

heather drew: patricia

jen drew: shanna

kim p. drew: coleen

lisa drew: thien-kim

mary ann drew: eviedee

melissa drew: erin

nickie drew: heather

patricia drew: lisa

sandy drew: ann

sara drew: melissa

sarah drew: sara

sarah geek drew: selena

selena drew: mary ann

shanna drew: cate

thien-kim drew: catrina

And our bonus swap! Sasha wrote from Canada asking if she could be matched up with anyone else who wrote in from outside the US, and when no-one did, we offered a mini-swap to the people who missed the cutoff, and Amy was the lucky gal who wrote back first! Here's Sasha's apron for Amy, and Amy's for Sasha!

let's get this party started!

2006-12-01T10:16:00.000-05:00

Today's the day our party starts! We're looking forward to seeing everyone's aprons and what you all have to say about them -- as posts go up, we'll start a list here so you can come back for links to what everyone has to say. (If you post separately about the aprons that you made and got, we'll link to both posts so don't feel you have to do one big post all at once.) And don't forget to send in a photo of the apron you made for the flickr gallery! As soon as most aprons have been received we'll be putting that up. Now, grab yourself a holiday cocktail and let's mingle! Mini calzone, anyone?

Holiday Hostess meme answers!

2006-10-15T23:26:00.000-04:00

sandy (go to blog then scroll to Oct.11th entry)

sara squinch

sarah

sarah geek (scroll to oct 4th entry)

selena

shanna

thien-kim

a Holiday Hostessing meme!

2006-10-04T16:53:00.000-04:00

Greetings guests!

As a part of the getting to know each other dance, we thought it would be fun for us all to do a holiday party meme! Answer the questions below and post on your blog (by this weekend would be fab!)! If you have pics to include that relate, then by all means, include them along with any stories!

1. what kind of holiday party food do you like best? finger food buffet or sit down multi-course style?

2. do you make/use those little name cards for your table seating or is that just another little something that magazines are trying to add to our already long holiday to-do list?

3. do you miss sitting at the "kid's table"?

4. any particular holiday party traditions that you like to do every year?

5. Which is your favorite winter holiday?

6. do you make or have you tasted any good egg nog recipes...whether using it in a dish or as a drink?

7. fruit cake .... do you love it or think it should be used as a door stop?

8. What do you like to do to get yourself in the holiday sprit (ie. certain music, visiting certain seasonal sites, enjoying winter weather, ect.)

9. What is your favorite holiday song and who sings it best?

10. Any ideas for interesting holiday themed parties? (Even if it's really out there -- like renting a snow machine and having everyone build snowmen if you live in a no-snow areas!)

our dance card is full!

2006-10-03T15:14:00.000-04:00

Well, our guest list filled up pretty fast once again! Sorry if you didn't make it in, but we plan to expand our seating area for Swap #3 in early Spring, so check back then and hopefully we'll be able to accommodate you!

If you are one of our guests, your name should appear shortly in our blogroll -- once it's up please check and make sure your name and link are correct!! And watch this space for more info very soon!

Also, if you're adding the button to your blog -- if you have a place you can upload a gif and you'd like the original gif version, please drop us a line and we'll send the file to you. (It is cleaner -- but for those of you who can only use jpgs, really, the jpg version is fine!)

Swap #2 -- Holiday Hostesses!

2006-09-30T10:33:00.000-04:00

Our second swap is a holiday apron and recipe swap, for all your party hostessing needs during the holiday season!

The apron: a hostess/party apron (this doesn't mean it has to be non-functional, though!) that can be for one of the December holidays (Hannukah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa or New Year's Eve) or simply winter-themed.

The recipes: party fare! Finger food, cakes, dips, drinks, whatever you'd serve at a swanky holiday season party.

RSVP: October 2nd -- signups begin at noon (EST) that day. Our guestlist for this swap is set at 20.

The party happens: December 1st! That's the day we'd like everyone to post about their aprons (the ones they made and got) and send in photos for our flickr gallery. So aprons must be in your swap partner's hands by the middle of that week! (Sending early is okay, but we'd appreciate it if neither of you post about it until December 1st.)

Want to be a guest? Please read the swap rules to be sure you know what you're getting yourself into, then drop us an an email (after 12 noon on Oct 2nd) to sign up! Thanks for coming!

your hostesses,
sarah and mary

swap #2 is coming soon!

2006-09-06T13:28:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Those of you who read our blogs know things have been hectic for me and Mary lately, but we have still been putting our heads together and making plans for our next big shindig! And it looks like our second swap will be happening soon -- keep an eye out for updates near the end of the month! See you then!

aprons!!

2006-07-28T23:49:00.000-04:00

The flickr gallery is up of everyone's lovely creations! Feel free to leave a comment on your photo with links, info, whatever you'd like.

And thanks again for joining us at our little shindig! Stay tuned for the next one!

The big apron party!!

2006-07-16T13:11:00.000-04:00

And here's the big list of apron posts from everyone who posted about their What's Cookin' experience! Thanks to all of our guests for making this so much fun!

alicia drew: melissa

amanda drew: mary

barb drew: thien-kim

cate drew: crystal

crystal drew: sarah

denise drew: flo

elizabeth drew: kyrie

erin drew: jennicakes

flo drew: alicia

heather drew: vanessa

jennicakes drew: cate

kim drew: rebecca

kyrie drew: erin

mary drew: mary ann

mary ann drew: meredith

melissa drew: shanna

meredith drew: barb

rebecca drew: denise

sarah drew: heather

shanna drew: amanda

thien-kim drew: elizabeth

vanessa drew: kim

It's almost party time!!

2006-07-10T15:22:00.000-04:00

Hey ladies! That time is just about upon us! Hope you've all had a lot of fun, and hope you all enjoy the swanky swap aprons you're about to receive!

You should have gotten the email asking for links and photos once your swaps have all gone off -- by next Monday we expect to have a gallery up and links to everyone's posts! (Not to mention, the match-up list will finally be revealed so we can all see who drew who!)

So get those packages out, start getting excited about your cool new apron, don't forget to send those links and photos and remember to check back here next week to see what everyone else got up to!! (And remember -- do not post details about your apron until you know your recipient has gotten it! Don't spoil the surprise! PS - don't panic! sneak peeks and teasers are fine, and fun!!)

See you then!

meme answers!

2006-05-30T13:55:00.000-04:00

Want to see how your fellow guests answered the little apron/cooking meme? Here you go! Update: everyone's finished now! So go visit your fellow swappers and see what they have to say!

alicia; amanda; barb; cate; crystal; denise; elizabeth; erin; flo; heather; jennicakes; kim; kyrie; mary; mary ann; melissa; meredith; rebecca; sarah; shanna; thien-kim; vanessa

All about aprons!

2006-05-29T13:36:00.000-04:00

sommerdesigns' Blue Willow Apron on flickr.

Are you all ready to start your aprons? Hope you've got some designs and fabrics in mind already! Just remember, the All Purpose and Kitchen Tested apron needs to be practical and functional (no matter how sassy and cute it might be); and it needs to be wash-and-wear, able to survive many trips through the washer and dryer. Pre-washing of fabrics, notions, and maybe even the finished apron may be a good idea here. (Although please use no scented products when washing & drying -- washing alone with no products at all is probably best!)

Here's some inspirations if you haven't made your choices yet:
tons of links to photos from Red Current to drool over
Amy Karol's fabulous Tie One On apron challenge
aprons at anthropologie
some free online patterns
some links to really cool articles, shops and sites about vintage aprons (found on a blog that's new to me but looks interesting, btw!)
more resources can be found at Vintage Retro Aprons
a history of aprons from the Saturday Evening Post
And there are tons of aprons on flickr, but if you want to narrow it down a bit try these searches: handmade aprons; vintage aprons; apron patterns; the vintage apron pattern group; and the vintage apron group.

frenchie_b's Vintage apron on flickr.

Recipe Card Galore!

2006-05-28T03:01:00.000-04:00

sarah's kick ass recipe box!

Let's talk recipe cards shall we? First off, keep in mind your guests food preferences and the fact that the recipes need to be staple type ingredients that we all generally have on hand (flour, sugar, mayo, basic fruits and veggies, ect). The recipes need to be "Kitchen Tested", tried and true dishes that you think your guest would enjoy as well.The cards themselves need to be on 3x5 card stock type paper. The swap requirement is to do up at least 3 recipes for your guest but if you want to send more, by all means, go ahead! The recipes, as a whole, could have a theme and/or make a complete meal or perhaps your gal really loves cakes and cookies then they all could be sweets.

Decorating the cards is going to be the fun part! Keep in mind that the cards need to be fairly flat so don't go too crazy with the embellishments. Some ideas for 2D decor could be rubber stamping, scrapbook papers, photocopied images, printed graphics/clip art from the computer, stickers, and fabric. The edges of the cards could be cut with decorative scissors. Some low relief 3D embellishments could be eyelets or trims like rick rack or ribbon. Looking in the scrapbook section of your craft store is great for ideas. The recipes can be hand written (if you don't have chicken scratch handwriting..he he) with colored inks perhaps or typed up.

Here are a couple of recipe card ideas to get you thinking:

These bunnylumps recipe cards used to be carried by plain mabel.
Cute illustrations with the saying "I think I'll make some ______" !

cutesy cards by the small object. These cards are for recipes and other crafty type stuff.

If you have any questions/concerns about the recipes themselves or the cards...just ask!

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

For the fun of it, here are some recipe card accessories out there in eBay land:

Recipe boxes:
a beautiful red one; the classic herb motif; and one for the mod 60s lovers.

Lots of modern boxes and card sets are out there too!

and a recipe card holder that is quite funny!:

FAQ

2006-05-26T10:34:00.000-04:00

Since we've been getting some (good!) questions we decided to start a FAQ; we'll add to it as things come up!

Is this a secret swap?
Yes! No-one knows who drew you, or who you drew, not even us. So feel free to give people a peek at what you're doing as long as it doesn't reveal your intended guest.

Can I add extras that go with my apron/recipes?
Of course! Just don't go overboard or everyone will be asking us to rig it next time so they get you!!

Are we limited to 3 recipes?
No -- you are required to make three recipe cards (3" x 5" so they'll fit in a file box) but if you need to add something extra (to, say, complete a meal) please go right ahead!

Do I have to make my personal guest's "dream apron"?
Heck no!! That question was just to help give you a better idea of what they like. You are not supposed to be making an apron on request. The only thing you should do is avoid your guest's dislikes. For example, I like yellow and blue, but I cannot wear orange. That doesn't mean you have to make me a yellow or blue apron; but it would be nice of you to not make an orange one!

Any more questions? Ask away!

it's an apron/cooking meme!

2006-05-24T10:36:00.000-04:00

Greetings guests!

As a part of the getting to know each other dance, we thought it would be fun for us all to do a little apron and cooking meme! Fill out the topics below and post on your blog (by this weekend would be fab!)! If you have pic's to include that relate, then by all means, include them along with any stories!

1. first apron (that you can remember)

2. last (most recent) apron

3. dream/favorite apron

4. dream sewing machine

5. what do you put in your pockets? or what strange thing have you ever found in them?

6. condiment(s) you can't live without

7. do you wear more showy aprons or dutiful ones?

8. favorite cooking gadget

9. cooking gagdet that promised the world but didn't deliver

10. a recipe that you know by heart and any stories behind it

ready...set....

2006-05-23T13:37:00.000-04:00

Hey guests! Check your inboxes this afternoon for a message from us -- we're ready to get this swap started. And watch this space for more info soon!

call to guests!

2006-05-19T11:30:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! If you have signed up and either:

you've been accepted but your name is not in the sidebar -OR-
you didn't hear back from us at all

please email us or comment on this post asap -- we have a few guests who haven't responded to our welcome email and we're trying to track you all down!

thanks!

running out of chairs!

2006-05-17T08:10:00.000-04:00

Wow! Our guest list has been filling up faster than we ever expected -- ~~we've got three openings left~~ and now we're full! Sorry if you didn't make it in, but we plan to do a 2nd swap in late summer/early fall, so maybe we'll see you then!

If you've already been added, your name should be appearing in our list of links over there -- please check and make sure your name and link are correct!! And if your name isn't there, you probably haven't responded to your welcome email -- please check for it and drop us a line!

Also, if you're adding the button to your blog -- if you have a place you can upload a gif and you'd like the original gif version, please drop us a line and we'll send the file to you. (It is cleaner -- but for those of you who can only use jpgs, really, the jpg version is fine!)

Button, button, who's got the button?

2006-05-16T09:38:00.000-04:00

Note to our guests! Thanks to everyone who's signed up so far, we're glad to have you!

Here's our official swap button! Right-click to copy it and add it to your blog (if you like) once you've been notified that you've been added to the guest list. Please upload the graphic to your own blog host/server space, and make the button link to the What's Cookin' site. Thanks!

(And if you haven't gotten your notice yet, sit tight, there's still room -- we're only able to get through the emails as often as two little busy toddlers will allow!)

All Purpose and Kitchen Tested!!

2006-05-15T15:32:00.000-04:00

A functional apron and basic recipe swap! We hostesses figured an apron for getting the job done practically yet stylishly would be a swell way to kick off What's Cookin'!

The apron: should be a practical apron, something that's completely machine washable and dryable and suitable for everyday use. But that doesn't mean dowdy! The apron needs to be utilitarian but still have some sass to it. After all, who doesn't need a little fun injected into their everyday chores?

The recipes: The recipes should be inspired by the basic ingredients we all usually have on hand ...staples like flour, sugar, and even condiments like jelly and mayo. Family favorites, those tried and true recipes you can practically make in your sleep. Comfort food a plus! Remember, you'll need to send at least 3 recipes, so you can make a meal out of it if you like!

RSVP: May 15th-May 26th (or sooner if fills before end date). Our guestlist for this swap is set at 20.

The party happens: July 14th -- aprons and recipes should be delivered to your assigned guest. (Give or take a day or two, since we are all at the mercy of the mailman here!)

Please read the welcome page if you haven't already, then send us an email to sign up! Thanks for coming!

your hostesses,
sarah and mary

Welcome!

2006-05-15T15:29:00.000-04:00

WHAT'S COOKIN'?
An Apron and Recipe Swap!

Hey Good Lookin'! What's Cookin'?

Why, it's a friendly little apron swap and recipe exchange! This swap is as easy as sewing up an apron and gathering some recipes to be put on handmade cards for another such domestic as yourself. Piece of cake, right? And to spice things up a bit each swap has a distinctive theme. So, please, won't you join us and be our guests at our little swap party?

Tidbits on being a guest (a.k.a, "the rules"):

1: You must have a blog and keep it fairly updated. This is to help your assigned guest get to know you better. (We will send out 'getting to know you' questionnaires to aid in this as well.)

2: You must have a mailing address in the US for your swapper to ship to (so no-one gets an unfair deal on the postage).

3: This is a .....shhhhhhhh! anonymous swap. We highly recommend that you stalk your guest and leave anonymous comments on their blog if you choose, but keep your pots and pans on the back burner about who you are. (We will give you a way to contact and question your guest without revealing your identity!)

4: The apron! It must be handmade by you, although you are free to use a pattern or other design for your inspiration. Please remember that it needs to be "gift quality" , in other words, no raw edges, or unwashable elements. Your guest needs to be able to actually use and clean their apron!!

5: The recipes! Recipe cards must be 3" x 5", and be handmade by you as well. Their design should be in keeping with the theme or dish but -- don't go overboard! We want these to be functional recipe cards, so nothing bulky or sticking out anywhere. These cards need to be able to fit into a recipe box without causing trouble! On the other hand, do remember that the cards should be ornamented in some way -- recipes written out on plain cards are not what we're talking about here. Recipes do not have to be original, but we'd like them to be recipes you actually use yourself.

6: The party! Each swap has a party date. Your package must arrive on your guest's doorstep by then (and hopefully at least a few days earlier -- and extra-early is fine too, if you need to send it out ahead of time for whatever reason). On or around the party date, please post to your blog with details on what you gave and what you got, and also send us a spiffy photo of the apron you made for our flickr gallery!

Watch the blog for swap announcements, and when the next one is launched, read up on it and if you're interested, join our guest list by sending us an email with your name and blog link to sign up. We do have a guest limit to each swap so get to steppin'! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. We're friendly gals.

your hostesses,
sarah and mary