I plan on hosting some FB-making swaps on Swap-bot, and want to have examples of the different types of Friendship Books that can be made and swapped. I'm certainly not "the authority" on Friendship Books, and have no desire to be the FB Police... but I've been swapping them for over 50 years, and I can tell you that there's a big difference in how these books are made. It's disappointing when someone invests a lot of time making High Quality FBs for a swap, but receives Friendship Sheets in return. Hopefully, these descriptions and samples will help prevent that from happening and keep us all on the same page.
For starters - we know that all FBs are made by one person for another. Sometimes, people make FBs for themselves and will say "Made For and By" on the info page. The maker of the FB sends it to a pen pal or swapper, who adds her info - could be a label, stamp or handwritten - and then she sends it on to another pen pal who does the same thing. Each FB is a few pages long with room for anywhere from 6-20 people to add their info. Once there's only room for one more person, the FB is officially a "HOMER" and the last signer should send the booklet to the person for whom it's made. That's what all FBs have in common.
Here's how they are different:
These are categories or types that are widely accepted in the swapping world. Note that each type gets more detailed and builds on the one before it. The photos I'm sharing are from books I've received over the years. I've blurred out the names for privacy.
FRIENDSHIP SHEET (FSS): Simply a piece of paper, usually folded to booklet size. No decoration or cover.
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REGULAR FB: A few sheets of paper stapled together, usually without an actual cover or maybe a small piece of paper that's smaller than the booklet itself, stapled on top (like a gum wrapper, movie ticket stub, etc...) |
| Note the small ad stapled as a 'cover' |
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| Die-cut memo paper |
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| made from memo paper |
NICE FB: A few sheets of paper stapled together with an actual cover that is the same size as the booklet itself. Most often, the cover is a magazine cut-out, photo or postcard mailer. Sometimes the cover has a sticker or two on it, but typically isn't what I'd call a "composition". Staples can be in the corner or across the top, or sometimes in the crease of a notecard.
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| Cover |
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| Inside |
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NICE & NEAT FB: These FBs have front and back covers that are made from one piece of folded cardstock or a notecard, and are decorated with some embellishments and/or stickers. Unlike a Nice FB, the NN FBs do have some artistic components to them, and they're usually covered with clear tape or plastic for protection. Staples shouldn't be showing on the cover.
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| Front Cover |
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| Inside |
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| Back cover |
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HIGH QUALITY FB: These FBs are little works of art and typically have several components/layers. Often, the books are held together with hidden staples, brads or ribbon and often that's part of the composition. These are always covered in plastic. Often referred to as HQ FBs.
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| Front Cover |
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| Inside |
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| Back Cover |
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These are just samples, of course! And there can be books that fall between 2 categories - For example, I've received some books in the style of a "NN FB" where the maker stapled paper inside a notecard but didn't decorate the cover. Even though the FB has a front and back cover, there's no artistic element added, so it really isn't a NN FB. Still, it's not a Regular FB either 😄it's somewhere in between.
I hope these examples and explanations offer clarity to the types of FBs I swap. Reach out any time with questions, and I hope to swap soon.
