Halloween Howl

I love Halloween, it’s my favourite holiday! For many years, I hosted an artist trading card (ATC) swap called Halloween Howl. At first it was on SwapBot, then through a Facebook group more recently. For those who don’t know, an ATC is a miniature piece of art that is 2.5” X 3.5”, the size of a standard collectible baseball/hockey card. ATCs will fit in the same 9 pocket sleeve pages made for those.

Each participant would make 31 different and unique cards for the swap. The ATCs were sealed in individual envelopes and numbered 1 to 31. They were then shipped to their partner by mid September. Starting on October 1st, you would begin opening the cards, one each day for the whole month. Lots of fun! We would share photos of what we received in the Facebook group. I got a lot of ideas and inspiration looking at the work of others.

This swap was not for everyone. It was a big commitment. When we started, there were about 30 participants but as the years progressed and interest waned the numbers dwindled down to only 9 people last year. I decided it was no longer viable to continue in 2025. It had a good run but I was very sad to see it end.

A friend in the U.S. reached out to me after I announced the end of the yearly swap to ask if I would be interested in doing a private Halloween swap with her this year. Yes, I am! We are sending three ATCs per month starting in January (4 in October) for a total of 31 cards. We have agreed not to begin opening them until October 1st, like before. I’m putting mine into a small tin as they arrive so they don’t get misplaced before the appointed time.

As always, anticipation is half the fun. In October I will share the ones that I made for her along with the ones I receive. The pictures you see here are the set that I created in 2023 for my partner that year. I’m so happy that I can continue to have Halloween Howl fun this year!