CandyRavenDesigns

UPDATE: I am only getting internet on my phone right now. It is a little slow and cumbersome (especially typing) but it's functional. I am sorry for any auto-correct faux pas that may occur. I've caught some pretty awkward sentences before I've published them. My phone does not know words that it should sometimes. It auto corrected "Yum!" to "Yuck!" when I was telling another swap-botter about the tea she sent me. That could have been awkward.

Before I get into anything else let me just say you're not going to find a whole lot of dislikes in here. There's a reason. If I said, for example, "I don't like country style art", I could get partnered with someone for an ATC who does GREAT country style art. I'm the one who will be missing out. I want to experience as much of the world and the people in it as possible. Avoiding entire categories of food, art, or anything else goes against that goal.

I am a craft addict working at a craft store. This can be a bad combination. I have a degree in graphic design, although mostly I apply the principles I've learned to my art. I have a crafting stash that many would envy, but has gotten a bit out of control, covering many art and craft disciplines. But by far my passion is for PAPER. I have wanted to do exchanges because I want to share some of my finds, while injecting new life (and hopefully inspiration) into my collection. Hopefully I can also send a little of that inspiration your way too. I also can't deny that I want to swap because I LOVE getting packages in the mail. Little prezzies no matter how trivial can make your day.

I'm all about reduce, reuse, and recycle. Feel free to reuse notecards (cut the front off and write on the back if the last person only wrote on the right side of the inside) or anything you can when sending to me. I know some people don't like envelopes made of magazines. I say go for it. I've seen some pretty cool looking ones.

My preferred form of art is collage. I tend to limit them to 2D objects so I can frame them. I like bright colors and bold patterns, but also have an affinity for the strange and macabre. Lately I have been finding myself drawn to utilitarian papers and embellishments, such as grid paper, measuring tapes, etc. I have an extreme talent for cutting out finely detailed paper shapes. This can be tiny objects found in magazines, or larger paper cutouts used to create art for my home.

When I watch TV I want to get away from reality and usually have a little chuckle. This means my average show will usually have a sci-fi or fantasy element and a sense of humor (sometimes a dark one). Examples would include Dr. Who, True Blood, Stargate, Walking Dead, Haven, Under the Dome... I do NOT like sitcoms, or reality TV. I watch a lot of cartoons. I love the art and it's just as important as the content. I wont watch an excellent cartoon if I don't like the animation. Some current favorites are Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, Bee and Puppy Cat, and Bravest Warriors. I also watch anime, but have a much harder time finding shows that I want to watch. Studio Ghibli is a consistent winner and I very much enjoyed Steins Gate.

Hmmmm. Music is a little tough for me. Usually I just listen to NPR in the car if anything at all. Yah, I'm boring. A few bands I enjoy would include: Weezer, White Stripes, Killers, Cake, Beatles, Credence Clearwater Revival, Green Day... It's pretty eclectic... in a rock sort of way.

Books combine the rules of TV and Music. Escapism is a must, and nothing will hold my interest for long. My list of half finished series must be a mile long. Sci-fi, fantasy and humor still tend to be the main themes. Piers Anthony, Robert Asprin, Douglas Adams, Christopher Moore, Tom Holt, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, Isaac Asimov all stand out as good'uns. Currently I've started in on some graphic novels. Just finished Locke and Key book 5, and I'll be starting the Walking Dead compendiums next.

OK. While I can't resist an animated movie, I also can't stand when people break into song. I'm looking at you Disney. This being said I haven't missed a Disney movie. :) Even better than animation is stop motion, a fantastic art! But hands down, some of my favorite movies are the cheesiest B movies. I love them even more if they've been riffed. Mystery Science Theater! I didn't put it into the TV section because I've always thought of them as the movies they are. What would my life be without Killer Shrews?

I have no food allergies & love trying new things. One of my favorite games is the mystery food game. We go to the international market here in town and buy something with no English on the package and try it. Granted this has worked better with snack foods and candies than other things. Once I bought a can of concentrated fish sauce :( I have a huge sweet tooth so you can never go wrong with cookies, cakes, chocolate or candies.

As I said before I like bright colors and bold patterns, my favorite color is teal. The small apartment I will be moving into soon will be decorated in black and white and teal, with sharp clean lines and straight simple curtains. I like super cute kawaii items, and I have a collection of tiny toys (up to maybe 1.5 - 2 inches) that I keep in a typography drawer attached to my wall. I also love typography itself. Letters and numbers have a simple beauty all their own. I love nature and animals. I've rehabbed a Canadian goose and squirrel so I'm particularly fond of them. All this being said about my love of the cute, I also love the strange and macabre. I have a large collection of skulls, and my current apartment has a large installation of paper bats swooping through the living room. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I love the dark side of Victorian. The steam punk without the steam.

Besides things I've mentioned in other categories, I love found objects and papers, random game pieces or cards, pages from dictionaries and books, medical diagrams, old or strange photos, old advertisements/ newspaper bits... Scrapbooking paper, Pens/pencils, Sharpies, foreign coins, origami paper, and jewelry charms or supplies, any tea except fennel, And of course FOODS! Especially if you are from another country or area and have a candy, snack, or food that we can't get here in Indiana.

I've realized since starting swapbot that one man's every-day is another man's exotic. The things you may consider too common-place to send may be crazy unusual here and vice versa. I would love to get anything with local flair, from a photo you took, to an advertisement or newspaper clipping (especially if they are in another language). I would like to travel, but until I can, I'll take any little glimpses into other worlds that I can get.