Gwenelle

UPDATE 17 JANUARY 2012:I'm taking a break from Swap-bot indefinitely due to some medical things and an upcoming move. Hopefully I'll be back before too long, but in the meantime if you need to contact me, I'll still check in once in a while for private messages. Thanks!!

I've been called a social networking butterfly, a bookworm, a grammar nazi, a pixie and a hobbit. But really, I'm just me :)

I was born and raised in Oregon, USA, and don't ever plan to leave. I'm crazy about my husband - married in September 2008. No kids of our own yet but hoping for 2012 and enjoying lots of time with our godson in the meantime :)

I love blogging, photography, reading, spending time with friends and family, gardening, and almost any form of snail mail. I love the funny looks I get from my apartment manager when I have pick up a package at the office every other day :)

I like lots of crafts and I'm always up for learning something new. When I get excited about a special hobby or project, I tend to get very absorbed in it until real life gets in the way :)

I have to admit, I'm not good rating right away, but it'll never be more than a few days. I do always send out my swaps on time, but sometimes I drop things in the mail late in the day and then it doesn't get picked up until the next day or day after that. If you haven't received a swap from me in a reasonable time frame, please please please let me know before rating so I can resend if needed! Also, I recycle and reuse packaging as much as possible, so the outside of a box or envelope I send you might be ugly or beat up, but what's inside will be carefully wrapped and I use lots of tape to make sure nothing gets damaged! :)

Crochet: still a beginner but this seems to be my main hobby lately so I'm getting a lot more experience :) I've done several hats and scarves, and two cute dolls, so next up is a belt and cardigan. We'll see how that goes.

Scrapbooking: my first fave craft. I like to scrapbook all my trips, special occasions, and the like. I also enjoy creating mini accordion scrapbooks for friends. My next project is going to be a recipe scrapbook.

Making cards: It's a lot like scrapbooking but on a smaller scale. Check out my blog for photos of my most recent cards!

Bead and wire jewelry: Really new to this, but loving it. I've made a few bracelets, a pair of swirly earrings, and most recently I've been experimenting with some necklace designs. Also trying some non-jewelry bead projects, too!

Painting: Not like painting pictures on canvas, but painting wood signs and decorations, plaster figures, etc. I especially like buying a cheap item at Goodwill and repurposing it.

Cooking: Well, more baking than cooking. I love finding/trying/perfecting recipes for cookies, pastries, biscuits, etc. I have a lot of fun baking and decorating special occasion cakes too - a football for Super Bowl, a baseball field for my godson's birthday, etc. Best cookbooks ever: "The Cake Mix Doctor" and "Hello Cupcake" for goodies, and anything from Williams-Sonoma! Trying to use the crockpot a lot more lately too.

ATCs: Gave 'em try, enjoyed them, but not sure it's my thing. Might pick it up again, might not. Who knows?

And I'm always open to trying new crafts! :) I'd especially love to learn embossing.

This list is by no means complete, but I think it's a good start. If you want to know something specific, let me know and I'd be happy to answer!

Colors: Lime green, sage green, soft pink, any shade of blue, black, chocolate brown, silver, stripes, swirls :)

Music: Country!! Fave artists include Reba McEntire, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Rodney Atkins, Christian Kane, Keith Urban, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, Josh Turner, Randy Travis and Alan Jackson. I also like instrumentals and hymns.

Books, TV & Movies: The Bible, anything by Dee Henderson, Liz Curtis Higgs, Sarah Sundin, Lysa TerKeurst, all Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, Tangled, Bride & Prejudice, Singing in the Rain, RENT, classic Disney (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Robin Hood, etc), Kate Winslet, Johnny Depp, Sandra Bullock, Kung Fu Panda, Burlesque, the Dresden Files ... and I loooove to read, so check out my Goodreads profile too :)

Places: NYC, the Pacific Northwest, Ireland (although I haven't been there - yet!), San Francisco, Seattle, the beach.

Critters: BUTTERFLIES, penguins, dogs, cats, tropical fish, turtles.

Scent(s): Vanilla! And lavender. I'm in love with the "warm vanilla sugar" scent from Bath & Body Works. Oh, and Cherry Almond, too. So basically a lot of "baking" or calming scents.

Foodstuffs: I could eat Pad Thai every day of the week! I love pizza too. And chocolate - pure, plain milk chocolate :) Also chai lattes, strawberries, and vanilla ice cream.

Almost anything related to travel or shoes! Postcards, postage stamps, stickers, luggage tags, things decorated with a travel or shoes theme, especially retro/vintage-looking things.

Postcards: Love them! I prefer to receive PCs that have been written on and stamped, sent naked (unless the swap specifies otherwise). Please also read my "Postcards" section below.

Legos :)

**Candles **(see scents and colors above)

Unique, unusual or handmade beads

Seed beads

Inspirational quotes and Bible verses

Pressed pennies! My favorite type of souvenir - I try to get at least one from every place I visit, but I haven't been able to travel much :( so I would love to swap with you!

PC swaps have been at the top of my list lately. There are so many kinds! Plus, it's a lot cheaper to send a PC than a letter ;)

I prefer stamped / written on / sent NAKED if I have a choice, except for swaps that specify "blank in an envie". I also prefer STORE-BOUGHT. No offense but not a fan of home-made PCs.

I want: Map postcards. Trying to collect one from every state. I still NEED Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, and Wyoming. I like any other type of map postcards too. Also, anything from the Retro Spoofs collection but especially "Shoes".

I have: plenty of Oregon and Washington related postcards and happy to swap for almost anything. Definitely open to private trades here :)

I also like: Non-touristy PCs from outside the US, vintage/retro or similar (the Retro Spoofs collection is awesome), funky/unique/quirky, historical, uncommon stamps, movies/TV, sunsets, lighthouses, and beach scenes. Generic touristy postcards aren't bad, but the more unique, the better!

Again, this isn't a complete list but it should give you some idea of what NOT to send. I won't rate down for sending me something on this list (unless the swap is profile-based), but you won't be getting any hearts, either. Just sayin'.

Colors: Don't like anything neon or clashing. Other than that, I'm not picky.

Critters: I can't stand bees (shudder) or spiders. Not big on wolves, snakes or mythical animals either ... except maybe dragons.

Scents): Anything that smells like cigarette smoke -- I'm allergic. Anything that's really strong. And I'm not big on floral fragrances, either -- they tend to make me sneeze.

Misc dislikes: Anime/manga, Kawaii, zombies, SpongeBob, Family Guy, Southpark, Hello Kitty, anything crude, profane, vulgar, etc.

Anything on my "Likes" list is good (especially pressed pennies, PCs and beads), but here are some things I'm specifically looking for:

Aquarium/Underwater-themed items for my desk @ work. I'm picturing vivid blues, greens, splashes of yellow, tropical fish, sea turtles, maybe a crab. Probably more realistic than cartoon-ish.

Italian / vineyard / chef-style: you know those drawings/paintings of aproned chefs with big bellies, white shirts and those tall poofy hats, striped or checkered pants, a red bandana around the neck and usually with a moustache (image above)? That's the motif in my kitchen. Shades of red, terracotta, bunches and grapes and vines draped along the top of the cupboards, decorative wine bottles ... etc. :)

I'm a big advocate of social media. I have a blog and Twitter account (see my links), and I'm fascinated by all the neat ways people use online social networks to interact, debate, advertise, make money, etc.

I'm also active on Flickr, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, Goodreads and several survey/consumer research sites. I would love to connect with you :)