Official ATC Sign Up and Guidelines

Here we go, folks!

The ATC Guidelines are as follows:

Sign up for the first round is from now until October 31st. 

When you sign up, you agree to creating one tag per participant on each theme for the duration of the round with rounds lasting one month/participant except for rounds which include December.  (This one does.)  Currently, that means this round would be from November 1st to April 30th, but that could change if anyone additional signs up by October 30th.

Like the circle journals we exchanged at the retreat, each participant will choose a theme for their month.  You should liist your theme when you sign up in this thread.  Themes can be techniques or words or phrases or seasons or events or holidays or ideas .... the sky is NEARLY the limit!  But do be considerate of cost and try to keep techniques to things people can generally do without having to purchase extra supplies.  This may require some survey, and that's O.K.

Once you sign up, you will be assigned a month in alphabetical order by first names.  This way, we can all be watching to see which theme is likely to be first and how they will fall after, and be ready to go on the first day of the each month.

On the first day of the first month following the sign up, we will begin creating our cards for the first theme.  We will create matching cards (identical or similar) for each participant in the round.

On the 30th of each month (or the 28th of February), we will mail our ATCs to each participant, so they can be received within the week.  Anyone who needs addresses for other participants should send PMs asking for them.  No personal information will be posted on the board.

This set-up allows for people who foresee a busy month coming to create their ATCs ahead of time, but the preference would be that they do not get sent until the designated month.

At the end of the round, each participant should have a series of differently themed cards for each month of the round equalling the number of participants in that round, and the choice to sign up for a new round.

i.e.  We begin sign up today.  If the participants are Julie, Karen, Missy, MJ, and Stacy (who have already indicated interest in a previous post), then that would be the order.  November would be Julie.  We can vote here on what to do about December ... general Christmas theme card to each participant?  or skip December?

Everyone would begin making their five ATCs in standard 2.5 x 3.5 size for Julie's theme on November 1st -- one for each participant -- with a completion date of November 29th to mail on November 30th.  You keep one card, and send the rest to each other person in the swap.

You may begin the cards for the (December?)/January theme once your November themed cards are completed, or you can wait til the first of the month to start anew with that month's theme (for the sake of the example, January would be Karen's theme). 

We have eight participating on the board regularly, and some lurkers.  We'd LOVE to have you join in!  If you are interested, please reply to this post with your name and your theme. 

O.K., gotta go ... need to get ready for worship and start thinking about my theme!