2015 Arena Official Holiday Customs Swap; Get to shipping!

[CustomSwap]

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please clearly mark all PMs with "Holiday Swap". We are sharing this account with the Halloween Swap for the next couple weeks and I'd hate for your PMs to get mixed up and lost.

Hi there! Welcome to the Arena Official Holiday Custom Swap!  Come join us for some glittery Holiday fun! The ponies for this swap will be themed to anything to do with the Holidays or winter. Please keep your partner's interests and likes in mind when you are creating your custom, other than that the sky is the limit. You many choose between two categories; Classic Ponies or Ponies Plus. A description of the categories can be found below. So get to reading the rules and filling out your forms if you want to play in this year's reindeer games!

Please remember to always check your organizer's feedback before joining a swap.
kaoskat's feedback
Uninu's feedback



Signups: 10/16-10/25
Partners: 10/25-10/27
Check In: 11/3
Photo: 11/24-11/30
Int ship: 12/2-12/9
Ship: 12/8-12/15


Rules:
1. You must have 10 positive Arena feedback and no negative Arena feedback. At least 5 of those feedback need to be for selling or trading.
2. You must have been an Arena member for at least 6 months before sign ups are over.
3. You must have pictures of at least 3 of your most recent customs to show the quality of your work. This is a skill based swap and we need to know where to put you.
4. Ship on time! We realize real life issues come up sometimes. If this happens, We want to know about it as soon as you realize you will be late.
5. No shipping early! We will be withholding addresses until shipping time to prevent this. The exception will be after final check in and your partner is ready to ship as well. We don't want anyone disappointed in this swap, so it's best for everyone to hold off until we are sure their partners haven't disappeared.
6. Be prepared with progress pics during progress dates. If you are without letting us know beforehand, you WILL be pulled.
7. Send us pictures of your completed custom before you ship. We want to know your custom is complete before it goes out.
8. Let us know right away when you ship your pony and when you receive one.
9. Do not let anyone know who your partner is. It is secret.
10. Extras are required. Around $5 of holiday gifts/treats should be included.
11. This swap includes all generations of ponies (G1, G2, G3, G3.5, and G4), if there are any of these you do not like, include that in your form. Do not use any fakies unless your partner requests it.
12. You must be in no more than 2 other custom swaps (total of 3).
13. The title of your PM should be "Holiday Swap Rudolph", so we know you read the rules. If the title of your pm is not right, you will not be added to the sign up list.
14. PM the sign up form to us (CustomSwap) by the sign up deadline. We will do our very best to get partners out on or before the October 27.
15. You must check in with pictures for the final check in 1 week before shipping. If you do not check in, you will not be receiving a pony.
16. KEEP YOUR SHIPPING RECEIPTS! You need to be able to produce proof of shipping when asked. You need to hold onto your receipt until your partner confirms that they have received their pony. We also highly recommend delivery confirmation for those not shipping internationally.
17. IF AT ANYTIME YOU DO NOT ABIDE BY ANY OF THESE RULES, YOU WILL BE PULLED FROM THE SWAP. This includes, but is not limited to, missing check ins and sharing partners. Make sure you are familiar with the rules before you sign up. You are expected to follow them.


Swap categories to choose from:

Classic Pony Swap - This category is for customizers who appreciate the traditional custom pony. Most customs in this grouping will be kept fairly simple with a few minor embellishments such as jewels, small accessories and simple wings. The end result is up to you.

Ponies Plus Swap - Get creative, this category is where you can get a little crazy. Be prepared for sculpting, sewing or intricate paintwork.




Form:
Arena Name:
Real name and shipping address:
Email address (for contacting you off forum if we need to):
Link to feedback:
Links to pictures of at least 3 of your most recent customs (more than one image if each is welcome) {Please send pictures that show off the qualities you intend to possibly use on your custom. Sending me a bunch of ponies that are heavily sculpted but don't show off your painting skills when you only plan to paint or showing off ponies with no sculpting when you plan to sculpt is not very useful for pairing you up. Please choose what you feel are the best of your recent ponies displaying the qualities that would be useful for this swap.}:
Will you ship internationally?
Do you have any allergies?
Do you smoke, have pets, or any other things we should be aware of in case your partner has allergies?
What other swaps are you in?
Which generation(s) would you like to receive?
Which generation(s) do you prefer to customize?
Is there any generation you do not want to receive?
Is there anything you do not want on your custom?
Is there anything you favor on your custom?
Which category would you like to participate in (plus or classic)?

What are your favorite colors?
What are your favorite things about the holidays/winter?
What are your favorite Holiday treats?
Is there anything else you would like your partner to know about you (other interests, hobbies that may be useful to them when choosing a design)?

Classic:

Plus:
aflame
aintnobuffalo
brighteyes
Okami_Amaterasu
granate
kaoskat
gemini_pony
jwalraven

Custom by Aflame - http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,375205.0.html
Silent Night & Gingerbread Lane by kaoskat - http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,375244.0.html
Peppermint Hot Cocoa by Okami_Amaterasu - http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,375313.0.html
Cocoa Mint, Holy, and Pepper by gemini_pony - http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,375223.0.html
kaoskat Learning Spanish by granate - http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,375374.0.html
Vintage Ornament Pony by aintnobuffalo - http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,375471.0.html
Snow Angel by brighteyes - http://mlparena.com/index.php/topic,375611.0.html

[archidraca]

 

[CustomSwap]

I have responded to the application messages! If you have sent an application already and have NOT received a reply, either I did not receive it for some reason, or you failed to read and follow the rules. Please try again.

[CustomSwap]

Last day for sign ups!

[cloverofmist]

has anyone signed up?? I am just seeing this I want to signup we have until tomorrow night or today by midnight??

[gemini_pony]

Meep I almost missed this!! I sent mine in!!!

[kaoskat]

LOL Yes, people have signed up!

[CustomSwap]

All right all, you should have partners! Please let me know today if there are any issues or if I've sent you your own form. It happens.....

[Okami_Amaterasu]

Yes, I have my partner, now think in the pony.

[LittleKirara]

I don't have enough reviews BUT I wanted to know if it would be alright if I just volunteered to be a back up artist (ya know just in case someone doesn't get their box)? I know I wouldn't actually get my own box but thats MORE than fine with me; I actually far more enjoy making swap boxes than getting them. You can see my work over at my DA http://littlekirara.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=/

[gemini_pony]

Yay got my partner!! Now to plan!

[aintnobuffalo]

Yay! I love my partner's interests and I already have some clear ideas forming! Super excited! I'm starting to feel Christmasy and may make a Pinterest board to show my atheistic preferences for all the Christmas swaps. (But it's of course, it's fine if you already have an idea and want to go for it before I do so, partner.)

I don't have enough reviews BUT I wanted to know if it would be alright if I just volunteered to be a back up artist (ya know just in case someone doesn't get their box)? I know I wouldn't actually get my own box but thats MORE than fine with me; I actually far more enjoy making swap boxes than getting them. You can see my work over at my DA http://littlekirara.deviantart.com/gallery/?catpath=/

Perhaps you could try a private swap? Last year I didn't have enough to be in the Halloween swap, so I put out a request and had an absolutely amazing time. I didn't think of trying a private swap, but when I lamented I didn't have enough feedback yet, someone made the suggestion.

[gemini_pony]

I have my pinterest board for inspiration!!
https://www.pinterest.com/tiffanygreen925/holiday-swap-ideas/

[brighteyes]

Got my partner.

[brighteyes]

Okay- a couple questions

Would you be okay with your custom having a base?  How do you celebrate the holidays?  What is your favorite thing to do at this time?  Do you have a Christmas tree?  If so, how do you decorate it, does it have a theme?  If you don't feel comfortable sharing, that's okay!  But if you don't mind my nosiness, I'd love to know more about how you celebrate the season.  Do you celebrate Christmas, Yule, Hanuka, Kwanzaa, Non-Religious secular general celebration? 

As for me,

I am totally fine with a base for the custom to sit on. 

We aren't religious in my house so we do a more secular celebration.  Our winter holiday involves FOOD, lots of it  We go to Michigan to my husband's family for Christmas Eve dinner and have a big dinner on Christmas day at home.  Leading up to the season we bake a lot, especially gingerbread and Christolen bread.  My family was Sweedish so bread and coffeecake spiced with cardamom and coffee is a must. 

We also do a lot of hiking this season.  Winter hikes are the best, if you're bundled up.  Especially if you bring coco in a thermos    We always watch Charlie Brown's Christmas and Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer (my daughter's favorite!). 

We often do an advent calendar of some kind leading up to the winter solstice.  We do the solstice because, since we aren't religious and don't celebrate Christmas per se, we wanted a holiday that was an observable natural phenomenon.  One year I did one with 25 days of science for my daughter- with each day having a different science experiment to do together or science related small gift.  We also decorate our tree in science related things- colored microfuge tubes, pipe cleaner ornaments like atoms and other things my daughter made and then soaked in borax solution to make crystalline (it's a fun experiment I can post if you want!) and make the season a kind of celebration of science.  Sounds really random I know, but we are huge geeks and just love it   Before I moved and had more room, we also had a pony room tree but living in a smaller apartment there just isn't room this year- so sad.