Altered Playing Card Suite: Spades

This swap is for one suite of altered playing cards. I want to eventually swap a whole deck, but I cannot justify the cost of postage, etc. to send one card at a time to someone. So I want to make up my entire suite at a time and only have to send four times. I will be hosting three other swaps to ensure we get all four of them covered over the course of the year.

For this swap, you will make 13 altered playing cards in the suite of spades. Here are the basic steps involved:

--Find a deck of cards. The cards should be at least standard sized or larger. (They do not have to be poker sized cards since I have found they are hard to find and too expensive to alter-- Standard sized and poker sized are not the same) --Remove all the spades cards from the deck. You should have 13 cards numbered Ace through King. --Alter each of these cards, using a variety of techniques and/or mediums, leaving at least one of the numbers/suite markers exposed on each card. --The cards can have 3D embellishments on them if desired. Since the cards can be different sizes as long as they are at least as big as a standard playing card, then they probably won't fit into ATC holders anyway, so feel free to go crazy with these.

Here's the twist for this swap. Each of the cards in a suite should have one thing in common. There should be one element that appears in all 13 cards, whether it is a recurring pattern, design, stamp, button, etc. Although the element will not necessary be the same for all four suites. We're sort of making our own "suites" if you will.

For my suite of hearts, which I have already made, all the cards have a recurring border pattern. That is just one example of the type of thing you could use to unify your cards. Your recurring theme could be a color, a patterned paper, etc. However, the recurring thing CANNOT just be that they are all part of the same suite, since that is the one thing we will not be altering. PM me with any questions about this part.

This swap is for serious swappers only. No newbies. No one with more than one no-send ever, and there must be a filled out reason why that no-send exists, and it can't have been within the last 6 months. No threes--if you have a history of not understanding swap requirements, then this swap, with its very specific requirements probably isn't for you.

No copies--these will be the original altered playing cards themselves. Do not slap a sticker on a card, or do a few doodles, and call it an APC. These should have some effort put into them, with various elements involved regardless of the medium you choose to use. They can be collaged, stamped, embossed, painted, sanded, etc. Let your imagination run wild!

This can theoretically take quite a long time to make, although I personally found it's easier to tie in an element if you make them all over a relatively short period of time (a few evenings or so). You don't want to get in a situation where you've made 10 of your 13 cards and then can't find the rest of that background paper you were using as your unifying element. However, since this is a significant swap, I am going to make the sign-up date a long time from now. Please do not sign up until you have either finished or nearly finished making your cards. That way, if you don't get them finished, you don't have to feel pressured. And you can always use the cards you've already finished to sign up for one of the "one at a time" altered playing card swaps. I know all too well how taking on too many or too major of swaps can really creep up on you, and I don't want my swappers feeling unduly pressured.

So to recap: 13 altered spades playing cards; all at least standard sized or larger; all with a unifying element. You will make them BEFORE signing up, so you don't have to feel pressured during the swap period. PM me with any questions, suggestions, etc.

Happy swapping!

For anyone who prefers to have many artists participating in their altered deck, please visit http://www.swap-bot.com/group/7165d751b107fa3b257f45c5f155fbd8/about for one at a time swapping.