HelloCupcake

::UPDATED February 2015::

I love food, cooking, going out to eat, trying new recipes, enjoying old favorites...did I mention I love to eat?

I love sending and receiving mail and am always looking for new people to write to.

Used stamps? I'm always surprised by how many people get rid of their cancelled stamps, don't throw them out, send them my way! They'll always be loved and put to good use with me :)

I love scary movies and haunted places.

• Fancy Rats!
• Floral print, polka dots and stripes!
• Hello Kitty!
• Cute owls!
• Alligators!
• Cows, piglets, cute farm animals!
• Moose!
• Giraffes!
• Bats!
• Baby Deer!
• Cute foxes!
• Cupcakes!
• Bows! & Bow headbands!
• Letter writing and pen pals
• OFFICE SUPPLIES! My heart skips a beat for pens and stationery!
• Fabric and ribbon!
• The beach! Seashells, anchors, anything beach related or nautical themed.
• Halloween & Christmas!
• Board Games! I enjoy classic American games like Monopoly, Scrabble, Battleship, but especially love Euro games like Dominion, Carcassonne, Ticket to Ride, Coloretto, etc.
• Gray. I also like brown, yellow, turquoise, pink, etc. Basically gray is my favorite.
• Finding treasures in antique shops
• Anything airmail themed
• My cursive typewriter
• Craft stores! Michaels, AC Moore, Pat Catans, Joann Fabric
• Envelopes!
• Ultra Fine Sharpies!
• Marvy Le Pen
• I love lots of things!

Not that this applies to swaps, but why not? It's fun to know peoples favorite things!

• Chicken
• Sushi
• Tacos
• Pasta
• I don't like chocolate but I love white chocolate
• Rice
• Green beans
• Stuffing
• Turkey and gravy
• Toast and gravy
• Chicken and dumplings
• Any yummy crockpot meal
• Soup!
• Anything Italian
• Breadsticks, garlic bread, pumpernickel bread
• Pickles
• Pretzels
• Salt and Vinegar chips

I hate to have a dislike section as I'm generally a very accepting person. Especially in terms of a swap when I think people are being generous as it is, I hate to have a negative side to it but there are certain things that I really have zero interest in.

• cat things. I know some people are cat people. I'm not.
• anything religious. This should seriously be avoided. I respect the fact that not everyone has the same beliefs but I have a serious problem with people thinking that they need to sell their religion to others. I would never be in your face about my beliefs or lack there of, please give the same respect.
• Cartoons. Precious Moments. (Exceptions: Hello Kitty/Sanrio & Pokemon are cute too!)

I never realized people could be so picky with postcards! I like them sent as is; I collect them but not as a collector would (pristine, insist on them being in an envelope, no writing no stamps, etc.) I LOVE to see what stamps people choose, what they choose to write, what card they picked out. That's what makes it special! Feel free to fill a postcard up and send it my way.

I like most all postcard themes especially from specific places (state, country, landmark, etc.), map cards, anything! Same as in my dislikes, the only kind of things I don't like are cutesy cat things and cartoony things (except Hello Kitty, I love her).

Honestly, even if I hate the design of the postcard, I'm still going to be thankful that you took the time to send something my way and I'll still thank you for it. The picture isn't nearly as important as the fact that an actual person took the time to send a postcard.

I love so many crafts! I make mail art, envelopes, bracelets from thread, scrapbook, Smashbook and recently got a sewing machine. I can't wait to start making my own things like accessories, bows, bags and things for my house. I really can't wait to learn to quilt but I think I'll start small first :]

I went to art school for Graphic Design but I'm pretty terrible at traditional "art" besides that. We were required to take drawing, painting, ceramics etc. and for the life of me I still can't draw. I'll stick to crafts rather than "art."

I cannot stress this enough! I am an incredibly understanding person. Life is so unpredictable and even if someone looks like they're doing fine on the outside, their life could really be crashing down around them. Things happen very unexpectedly, often without any notice.

The key is actually communicating this to your swap partner. I can guarantee most people on this site would be very understanding of any situation to arise, as they all have lives outside of swap-bot too. However, no one is a mind reader! If you don't send a swap out or send late, please don't question why you're being scored accordingly. The rating system is there for a reason and if it weren't, people would be flaked on way more often. I understand that some people may be more private about their lives but fear not, you don't have to go into every last detail about why you won't have your swap out on time. A very simple PM on or before the send date is all it takes to have a very understanding swap partner. A late swap with prior communication from a swapper that feels badly about getting it out late, yet is doing the best they can, is still grounds for a 5, while a late swap with no communication will earn you a quick 3.

One thing I don't have sympathy for is people that make their own problems and whine to anyone who will listen to feel bad for them. Don't complain about being overwhelmed when you have 15 swaps on your dashboard and you keep signing up for more.

Bottom line, most people on here genuinely want to give you a 5. Give them a reason to.