iamthatis

Back after a long hiatus! I swapped a lot several years ago, and am interested in getting back into the swing of things :)

My hobbies and interests include: ~Making jewelery, ~quilting, ~needlecraft, ~reading (I love love love reading), ~cooking (especially baking), ~photography (especially film photography),

Things I collect: ~Interesting rocks, ~Little one-of-a-kind knick knacks, ~Things that sparkle, ~Teas, ~Beads (especially crystal ones), ~Books, ~Fire King glassware, ~Nail Polish ~Candles

Colors I like: Blues, Greens, Purples, Dark Red, Pale Pink

I love tea, coffee and candy, so food items in swaps are always welcome (especially CHOCOLATE), along with food-like items like tea balls and cookie cutters.

Animals I like: Birds (especially owls, raptors, chickens and tiny tiny tiny birds), elephants, bears, cats (from house to tiger), reptiles, goats, cows, deer, bats

A request to swappers: Please follow the requirements of the swap. Sending charms instead of beads, or plastic instead of glass, is not in the spirit of the community and is disappointing to receive. Thanks to all the people who put so much effort into getting swaps right, you make this community worthwhile.

I saw this in another profile and thought it was a great idea:

Candies I really really like: Coconutty ones, chocolate covered toffees like Heath or Skor, Jelly Belly jelly beans (though I like all jelly beans except the spice ones), chocolate with fruit/fruit flavored fillings

CHOCOLATE:

Milk or dark? Dark is preferred.

Nuts? Peanut butter is awesome, almonds are good too.

Flavors/fillings you like mixed with your chocolate: I LOVE FILLED CHOCOLATE. Caramel, nougat, fudge, orange, raspberry, white chocolate, mint, coconut, pretzels, malted milk, key lime, raisins, toffee

Do you have a chocolate staple (i.e., chocolate that you always keep on hand): I really like ghirardelli a lot, especially for baking. Lindt chocolate bars (not the truffles) are also high on the list

Favorite mass market chocolate treat: Reeses, Heath, M&Ms, Junior Mints, Skor, Charleston Chew, Boxed chocolates

Least favorite mass market chocolate treat: I don't care for plain milk chocolate, and I don't like Lindt truffles.

Favorite holiday/seasonal chocolate: Russel Stover eggs/trees/santas/pumpkins/etc with fruit fillings

OTHER CANDIES:

Favorite non-chocolate candy: Jelly Bellys, Sugar Babies, Reese’s Pieces, Trolli sours, Skittles, Starbursts, Candy Corn, Mellow Pumpkins, butter mints, Werthers originals, pop rocks

Do you like sour candy? Hot candy? Hard candies? Chewy candies? I hate sour candy (except for Trolli gummies), don't care for hot candy, will eat hard candies and will eat chewy candies.

Flavors or candies you love: Mint, Strawberry, Raspberry, Vanilla, Lime, Lemon, Orange, Caramel, watermelon, toffee, coconut (MMM),

Flavors or candies you avoid: Black Licorice, Honey Dew, Canteloupe, Banana, Cinnamon, Rootbeer, Sprees, Smarties (American smarties, not European/Canadian smarties [American smarties are awful little chalky sour discs of candy and grossness])

Favorite holiday/seasonal candies (e.g., candy canes, candy corn, Peeps): Candy Corn/mellowcreme pumpkins, Jelly beans, candy canes, Brachs peppermint nougats

There are too many to mention, so I'll give the genres I like the most:

Historical, Historical Fiction, Classics, Craft books, Cook books, Science books, Humor, Comics, good short stories, SciFi,

Fargo, The Royal Tenenbaums, Secondhand Lions, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Gone with the Wind, Hello Dolly, The Addams Family, Rosemary's Baby, The Innocents, Silence of the Lambs

Golden Girls, Mama's Family, Arrested Development, Bob's Burgers, Archer, House of Cards, American Horror Story

Beaded jewelery, Knitting, Weaving (I'm a novice though), Clay work, Sculpture, Painting, Sketches, friendship bracelets, cooking.

Crafts I'd like to get into: Working with resin, leather tooling, embroidery, soapmaking

BEADS: I really love crystal beads, i love pearls, and I collect hex cut seed beads (aka 2 cut), especially in a satin finish. I think I collect beads more just to collect them than to make anything with them, though I do make a lot of jewelery. I do not like polymer clay beads, plastic beads (unless they're truly interesting), or most wooden beads, nor do I especially care for cheap metals.

Classical: Dvorak, Copland, Mahler, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovski, Gershwin, Schubert, Debussy, music from the 10th and 11th century, Elgar, Handel, Rachmaninoff

Oldies: Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Irma Thomas, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, The Temptations, Yma Sumac

Classic Rock: Led Zeppelin, Cream, Arlo Guthrie, David Bowie, Cat Stevens, CCR, Crosby Stills and Nash, Sly and the Family Stone, Steve Miller Band, The Kinks, The Who, War

Cheesy 80s and 90s music

Contemporary: MIA, Cage the Elephant, The Horrors, Animal Collective

--Beads! BEADS! I love 'em :) Rhinestones are good too.

--Lace appliques, especially vintage ones.

--Die cast cars; I don't want any NASCAR ones, but cool shiny/metallic/weird ones are just so much fun!

--Things that have a special meaning to you--this could be photography, mementos, even a stick of gum that is your favorite flavor. I like hearing people's stories, and getting to know them.

--Good books. I know this is subjective, but if we don't agree on the definition of "good" I can always swap them to someone else!

--Old movies. I'm talking pre-1960s mostly, but also really enjoy 1980s and 1990s comedies

--Candy! MMMMM. Also tea, and I'll take coffee too.

--Cool fabrics. I will probably never use them, but I like looking at them. Maybe someday!

--Sciency things: Because science is fun! I swear, it is. Promise!

These aren't meant to be too picky or anything, and if you already have it in your swap for me, send it please (nobody needs more work in their lives)! This is just a list of things that if you are going on a special shopping trip, to not add to your list for me (but possibly for others):

--Yarn: I have way too much and should use it up before I get more

--Potpourri/wax tarts/other fragrance items; it drives the husband batty, but candles are okay

--Cheap things: I wish this went without saying, but I don't like flimsy items, things like charms that have metallic paint flaking off them or are easy to break. I try really hard to send nice things, and I'd love to receive the same in return.