TurtleLove

I'm having an issue with marking my swaps as "sent." I've contacted the hosts...and I'm working on getting a message to each partner. Please be patient as I contact the site tech support to find out how to resolve this. 11/9/18 Sadly I still have not heard back from tech support so the issue is ongoing. ALL of my swaps are going out on time, and incoming are being rated without problems.

Hello! Thanks for stopping by to check out my profile!!!!

Although I love the internet and the abilities it affords me (like swap bot) I am still a pretty ol' fashioned girl who places a lot of value in a good handwritten letter, a nice note, a phone call, or best of all...a face to face conversation! If you'd like to know more I've added an 'about me' section all the way down at the bottom! :) I've also tried to label the sections for those of you who don't want to read the entire profile :)

*** I've rated all swaps I've received as of Wednesday 10/31/18 ***

THIS SECTION DESCRIBES MY CURRENT CRAFTY PASSIONS....

• CARD MAKING- a small project that can be super simple or rather in depth!

• MAIL ART- I usually decorate my envelopes for my partners- even when it is not required. Pretty mail is just happier!

• HAND CARVING MY OWN STAMPS- Chances are if you are receiving a swap from me, it will be stamped with the Swap Bot logo stamp I created during the anniversary craft challenge! :)

• PROJECT LIFE/SCRAP BOOKING- This all began with me as a scrapbooker many, many years ago! It is still what I love. I need to do it more.

• QUILTING AND SEWING- mostly rag quilts and small lap quilts

*BIBLE JOURNALING

• Wedding Album! :)

• DECORATING MY PLANNER- Happy Planner Mini, A5 Carpe Diem, and a regular sized Traveler's Notebook.

• SMALL ARTSY PROJECTS like ATC's, inchies, twinchies, book marks, hand made post cards and altered rolodex cards. (to name a few)

• Stamps- unused USA stamps
• pretty stationery, letter sets or writing papers, blank postcards, and pretty note cards with envelopes.
• Korean style deco stickers- for adding to mail art, tags, etc. (the ones similar to our ephemera packs but usually much smaller- like the size of a nickel or quarter)
• Small envelopes and bags- any colors
• die cuts using neutral colors of card stock(words, images, frames, seasonal, etc)
• Your "tried and true" recipe for the crock pot or instant pot.
• Wedding theme embellishments. The colors are traditional white, gold and silver, pearls, and fibers like lace, trims, and burlap.
  *BOOK/BOOKMARK SWAPS: I enjoy a wide variety of books and prefer (when possible) the trade paper size please. I don't really enjoy books that have strong fantasy or sci-fi themes, romance, horror, or x-rated themes. I lean towards historical, self help, biographies and oddly enough young adult! lol

*WASHI Tape: I bought a lot in the washi 'hay day' so I'd rather have a small sample of a really unique one than yards of the same ol' same ol'

TEA SWAPS: I lean towards fruity, but I'm eager to try new things. My favorite right now is vanilla chai! I'd love to try more by Might Leaf!

• CHRISTMAS SWAPS- I am Christian and religious items are welcome. I have two trees- a classic one with traditional ornaments in red and green with a focus on rustic, plaids and wood. The other one is in my craft room and is a very blingy and feminine white, rose gold, and silver theme...with feather boas, and florals.

More than anything you can include in the envelope, I appreciate your time, thought and talent that you put into it's preparation. A nicely prepared swap that is accompanied by a letter is just a VERY very nice thing to receive! I especially appreciate mail art on the outside of the envelope! Because I participate in a lot of swaps that require you to add an additional little goodie that is profile based here is an extensive list of ideas---not because I need all these things, but rather to give you lots of selection to choose from. :)

My favorite color combinations are red/teal, brown/pink (kraft) and black/white.
I really like all colors but right now my other favorites are orange, green, blues, pinks, black and white. (did I just name EVERY color?) lol

If you want to include small favors here are some suggestions....

• Special or unique washi tape. I'd love samples of religious ones with crosses, "Amen"

PROJECT LIFE: I love getting any project life items, including cards and embellishments. Especially the specialty ones with gold and the special shapes etc.

• samples of stickers I can use in my planner

• shaped paper clips

• small/tiny envelopes, ATC plastic sleeves, and vellum envelopes

• individually wrapped, fruity teas or chai

• Hello Kitty, sock monkey, Pink Panther, Mr. Potato Head, 'old' Sesame Street/Muppets, Dr. Who, Vintage Alice in Wonderland items,

• NEW/unused, purse sized lotions, hand sanitizer, lip balms (i have an addiction!)

• soft, fuzzy socks (women's 6-7 small feet)

• thimbles (not plain "silver" ones)

PLEASE DO NOT SEND ME... * food wrappers * product packaging *anything smelling of cigarette smoke * items that melt in the heat (I'm in Florida) *plain black teas

I strive to make sure that the swaps I participate in exceed the minimum guidelines and I want your experience with me to be a pleasant one. Seriously- my goal with each swap is to make you so happy that I have earned that little heart on my rating! (I'm easily entertained lol) Mistakes happen though, so if you feel that I have not met the requirements, or if you have not received your items on time- PLEASE contact me via a personal message so I can be given the opportunity to make it right.

Whenever possible I do reuse packaging and envelopes. I'm never going to send out something that isn't packaged with care, but the envelope may have been used before- my way of trying to reduce how much waste I am dumping into the landfills.

EXPLANATION OF THE "1"... I sent a hand made item to England twice- both time she claimed she didn't get it? She also said she didn't get items from another partner at this same time. It would appear that the problem was a mail issue on her end. While discussing options, showing photos of the handmade item, receipts from post office, and her having received another swap from me just fine (that she rated a 5 with a heart) communication broke down when I asked for a "no rating" and didn't hear back until I got the "1." I was very upset and never heard from her again. She has not been on Swap Bot since November 2015.

I still have to just hold on to this silly "1" and dilute it with some good swaps. I have really missed this site, and all the fun swaps, and friends I got to meet so despite my foolish statements about leaving, I have returned and hope to return to enjoying the swaps too! I've tried a couple of other things and nothing was as easy to use. Please look at my other swapping history when considering to swap with me before that "1" turns you away... there are a couple of mailing mishaps like lost mail (because it does happen to us all) as you can read about, but from the comments you can see that I kept in contact and resent the items until my partner was happy. If nothing else reading through the beautiful comments reminds you how great this site is and how many wonderful friends we really do meet on here. One person shouldn't ruin all that fun! Happy swapping!

Because of this "1" I created a swapping journal, and track manually all of my swaps. This includes keeping a copy of the receipt from the post office, and pictures of the items before/after they are packaged showing address- just for my records in case there is question of an address being done incorrectly. Truthfully though, like you, I'm just here because this is a wonderful hobby and I enjoy sending and receiving HAPPY MAIL. If something goes wrong in our swap please let me know so I can make it right.

Me in a nutshell...think Dory from Finding Nemo! Yup that just about sums me up. I am a girl who enjoys a variety of hands on crafts...and by hands on I really mean HANDS on! I am most happy when my day includes some form of art and my desk is covered with stencils, paints, inks, and all manner of creative tools! For inspiration I am always on the prowl and enjoy browsing Pinterest---OK that is an understatement...I LOOOOOVE browsing Pinterest! I am always watching You Tube crafting tutorials! (of course while surfing Pinterest! lol) or listening to Audible or an audio book of some sort.

A year ago, I was engaged and planning to get married. Hurricane Irma invited herself (how rude!!) and the wedding ended up being cancelled with all of my family flying home to Canada to escape the storm. We went to my husband's work (at a local TV station) where he was essential crew, and I volunteered for the next few days, and since he has been there for 28 years and many of the people he works with were invited to the wedding we decided to get married anyways! Yes, with Hurricane Irma raging outside, we just went ahead with our plans and got married in the middle of a hurricane...literally in a storm shelter So overcome your obstacles and let nothing stop you!. (a year later we celebrated our first anniversary in the ER...and I joke that at this rate our love story might kill us both! LOL)

Outside of crafts, I enjoy reading, couponing, frugal living, cooking/baking, and 'green' living, pinterest, and social networking on Face Book. My definition of the "perfect" day is a morning of crafting with a nice cup of coffee or tea, birds in the bath or at the feeders, a trip to the mail box for "happy mail," letter writing to pen pals, and then enjoying a nice meal from the crock pot or instant pot! oh and cupcakes! The perfect day just has to have a cupcake in there somewhere! :)

Project will be marked as sent once they’ve been placed in my mail box as outgoing or in the Post Office box. Drop-offs that occur on weekends or after-hours may result in an item being postmarked the next business day.