aralyn

Hello all! My name is Emma and I'm very excited that I found this website. I'm hoping it will force me to craft more since it's something I love, but don't do it enough.

I love lists, so here's one about me:

• I'm 32 years old.

• I live with my wonderful boyfriend and our 4 adorable cats- Kit Wonder Powers aka Peep (cream, flame point Siamese), Duke Techno aka Big Boy (solid black, Maine Coon?), Luna aka Lady (tan and silver, Himalayan/Maine Coon hybrid?), and Wylie aka Tiny (black with caramel, long-haired Tortie). I also have a super cute Kenyan Sand Boa named Lois.

• I love to be outdoors, anything nature-related.

• Hobbies include: Reading, fishing, kayaking, hiking, crafting, gardening, and cooking on occasion.

• I LOVE animals (except monkeys, sorry).

• My favorite music is classic rock, 70s/80s, and disco- anything upbeat. Also Celtic music.

• My favorite food is bacon, well any kind of meat really, and fruit. I love lemon flavored anything.

• I work as a large animal vet tech and I LOVE it! We work with about 95% horses/donkeys/mules, but also see the occasional goat, sheep, pig, dog, cat, cow, llama, and alpaca. Job history: Camp counselor at the YMCA, dog kennel, another infinitely better dog kennel, groom/do-it-all woman at a dressage barn, quality manager/purchasing/inside sales/backup shipper and machine operator at a company that made automotive labels, back to the barn once they sold the label company, and now my current job.

• It is my life goal to live to 120, own a library greenhouse, and live in a treehouse in the mountains.

• I'm of Scottish descent and very much love the culture. I'm also interested in my genealogy, so if you happen to be of the Cameron clan- feel free to message me!

• My favorite flower is wisteria and I love all things viney.

• I love card games, board games, and puzzles! Some of my favorites are Catan, Boggle, Squares, Cribbage, Rook, and Double Solitaire.

Sci-fi and Fantasy are pretty much the only genres I read, but I will occasionally read books written by comedians ( Amy Poehler, Jim Gaffigan, etc.) I do not like Romance novels at all. I love a good diy/crafting book and anything non-fiction about gardening or the outdoors.

Favorites:

The Dragon and the Unicorn - A. A. Attanasio

The Andromeda Strain- Michael Crichton

Sabriel/ Lirael/ Abhorsen - Garth Nix

the Mistborn series- Brandon Sanderson (ok, everything by Sanderson!) The Kingkiller Chronicle books

the Narnia books

Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls - Jane Lindskold

the Eragon series

The Sight - David Clement-Davies

Currently reading: Island by Aldous Huxley

Animals - my favorites are tigers/all cats, wolves, foxes, otters, dogs, snakes, and eels. I also love deer, elk, fish, octopi, seals, bunnies, chipmunks, hummingbirds, osprey, eagles, crows, ravens, and hawks, just to name a few!

Anything mini!!

Plants, moss!, trees, flowers, vines, waterfalls, all things nature

Favorite colors: green, blue, and rainbow. I love things in "peacock" colors/patterns

Mythical creatures - favorites include dragons, elves, phoenixes

Tea and fruit juice, although I'm not a big fan of green tea. My favorite is Crème Brûlée from Spice Merchants. If you ever have the chance to get some, I highly recommend it!

Mountains

Old / vintage stuff. There are a few amazing antique shops in my town. We have one so big that you could spend an entire day looking and not see everything :)

Favorite TV Shows: Parks and Rec, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Office, King of the Hill, The Mighty Boosh, and Rick and Morty

Favorite movies: Anything with Will Ferrell!! Anchorman, Blades of Glory, Step Brothers, etc. I also love Studio Ghibli films, Disney animal movies (The Lion King was the first movie I ever saw in theaters), The Secret of the Kells, Ace Ventura, and most space and zombie movies.

I love stand-up comedy - some of my favorites are Theo Vaughn, Sebastian Maniscalco, John Mulaney, Kathleen Madigan, Jim Gaffigan, Tom Segura, Mike Birbiglia, and many more!

Science, space, fractals, patterns

I like to play video games, although don't have much time to do so. Xbox favorites include: Resident Evil series, Witcher 3, Left 4 Dead 2, and the Fallout series. N64 favorites include: Mario Party, Super Smash Brothers, Pokemon Stadium (I love Pokemon on all platforms), Super Mario 64

Anything soft

Anything silly/strange/bizarre

Anything mystical/magical

Anything fishing related

Puns! I crack myself up thinking of stupid puns. If you want to incorporate one in your note I would love it, the dumber the better!

Crochet - that's my go-to craft. My sister just had her first child, so I'm having a blast crocheting for her. I completed my first blanket February 2019!

Drawing

Painting, although I'm not particularly good

Building things

Wood carving - I'm an extreme beginner, but having fun with it.

Embroidery/rudimentary sewing. I don't know how to use a sewing machine, so I'm left to do everything by hand :)
By the way, I have a TON of fabric from my grandma (still in great condition) so if you want any, I'm willing to send a few squares to you for nothing in return. Just send me a message with square size, let me know if there is any specific color or pattern you would like, and I'll do my best to match it. I would rather it go to someone who would love and use it rather than just hoarding it at my house!

BLANK POSTCARDS!

Yarn - the softer the better! I'll even just take a few feet.

Stamps

Seeds

Anything with animals on it (although please no monkeys if you can help it :) )

Notepads - any size and shape is fantastic. I especially love the ones on boygirlparty's Etsy shop, so cute!

Recipe cards and recipes - I'll eat anything except olives and tuna salad :)

Pens

Notecards / Letter sets / Stationary

Cat toys or treats - my cats especially love toys with fur, feathers, or catnip

Magnets

Washi tape samples - At first I didn't understand the hype ("flimsy decorated tape, who cares?" I thought), but now I use it with every swap I can :)

Feel free to browse through my Etsy favorites via the link at the top if you want any more ideas.

I'm really easy to please, so if you don't have something that I mention in my profile, just send anything! I'm sure I will love it :)

Holiday or religious items, unless specifically called for in a swap

Keychains

Highlighters (I have more than I will ever need!)

The colors pink and pastel purple

I'm not crazy about rhinestones

In early 2016 I was moving and changing jobs, but still attempted to keep up with some swaps. Unfortunately, this went poorly and I did not have the time to complete them. Even more unfortunate is that I felt so guilty that I avoided the site altogether rather than speak candidly to my swap partners. I've carried that guilt for over two years, so I can guarantee that there will not be any repeats. I have reached out to each swap partner in attempts to rectify my stupid mistake and am making sure that I only join swaps I absolutely know I can commit to. I do understand if I am let go from a swap because of my previous mistake, but I hope this will help the hosts feel more comfortable about allowing me to join.

Update 10/26/18: One partner responded to me in September and I resent the swap and an extra care package. She changed her 1 to a 5 (thank you!). Another partner responded and her items went out today.

Update 10/31/18: The second partner changed her 1 to a 5, thank you!

Update 11/12/18: I sent another message to one of my partners who had not been on since 2016, but recently logged on again. I am awaiting her response.

Update 12/1/18: A fellow member kindly suggested that I contact the hosts of the swaps of my unresolved 1 ratings. The host of my partner who recently logged in again has not been on since March 2016, but luckily the host of my partner who has not been on since August 2017 is still active. I messaged her to see if there is any of my partner's information that she still has access to and would be willing to share with me so that I may contact her outside of swap-bot.

Update 12/5/18: The active host mentioned in my last update responded and had a good suggestion (thank you!). If anyone has the contact information of my 2 partners from my current 1 ratings and feels comfortable passing that information to me, I would really appreciate it!

Any other questions, please feel free to message me!