Cabinet of Curiosity goodies!

Please read the whole description carefully before signing up!
For this swap you will be sending each of your two partners at least 5 items that would be a good fit in their personal curio cabinet--or a good start for a beginning collection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinetofcuriosities

You can send items from nature, interesting antiques, or something handmade. Send a variety of items, try to make your package a mini-collection all by itself. "Interesting" is the key word here, but keep in mind that something commonplace in your area (like a beach find or a local fossil) might be exotic where your partner is. Also include a list of what the items are and possibly where they are from and/or what is interesting about them--attractive presentation and labeling is optional, but a plus. There will be a full month between signup deadline and send deadline so you will have plenty of time to collect things, although it's a good idea to have at least some idea of what you'll be sending before you even sign up.

Examples of items you can send: - clean animal bones or skulls
- insects (please package in such a way as to stay dry, and with a packet of silica gel or at least rice or salt or something so they don't get smelly)
- shed snake skin
- antique photos or illustrations, particularly of something unusual.
- pressed/dried plants or flowers (include a variety if you do this unless there's something particularly interesting about it)
- unusual seeds or seed pods
- interesting rocks, minerals, or crystals
- Sea shells or other beach finds (if ordinary shells include a variety, but other finds like crab shells or sand dollars are fine on their own)
- "specimens" in jars or bottles (polymer clay is great for making your own)
- "exotic" items from far-off places (again, interesting is key--an old coin would be cool but a modern tourist postcard not so much.)
- Anything you think is interesting and would be a good addition to your partners' collections!

It is probably best not to send feathers or anything else from birds as the laws in the US are very restrictive about anything bird related.

I'm not putting spending requirements on this because in all likelihood you will be able to meet requirements mostly with things you find or make, but do expect to put some effort into tracking down interesting things for your partners, and don't send trash. If you have any doubts over whether an item is interesting enough, you can always send it as a bonus instead of counting it as one of your 5 items. Err on the side of generosity. Also, please don't harm any animals when assembling this swap.

You will have two partners since you can send the same or similar items to each partner, and that way we get more of a variety. If you would like to do a similar swap with only one partner I would be glad to do this as a private swap with anyone who is interested (I have a pretty huge stockpile of applicable goodies :) )

This swap will be USA only because the rules for sending nature items across country lines can be complicated and I don't want anyone's package seized by customs.

Because this is a high-effort package swap, you must have completed at least 10 type 3 swaps before joining. Rating of at least 4.95 and if it's less than a 5.0 I will be going over any non-5s--if you have not done everything in your power to resolve it, or otherwise handled it poorly, you will be removed from this swap. I can angel this if I have to, but I seriously shouldn't have to. Don't flake.
And most importantly, have fun!

I encourage anyone who likes this swap to join the wunderkammer group as well. We're still pretty small but this is the sort of thing we love. And we could use more officers if you're interested in hosting too! http://swap-bot.com/group/f04ed4f26e950f1cdc600dbe6dd7a196/about