bethmcv

I've been away from Swap-bot for a long time, and have only recently returned. I received a "1" rating about 6 years ago. The member who rated me is no longer active on the site, but I did still try to contact her. In fact I tried again today, as I was just dropped from a swap I had already prepared to send because of it. Sadly email swaps sometimes get lost in spam folders or folks change their email addresses. Anyone who has swapped with me knows that I always go above and beyond what is required. I do this because I like to, and I always keep in mind what I would like to receive from someone. Please, if there are any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact me.

I am an avid crafter who enjoys all kinds of crafts. I'm a married mother of one, and I joyfully share my life with my beloved husband. We've been married nearing 30 years now, and have the wondrous experience of raising our beautiful, scary smart and wickedly talented daughter to adulthood. My hubby and I have now been empty nesters for almost 10 years (hardly seems possible). I'm disabled so I spend a lot of time pursuing various hobbies and crafts. I was raised by my grandparents who were both very crafty and taught me the value in making things yourself. I love everything about the process of crafting, from designing a project right through to its completion. To me there is no greater gift than to give or receive a handmade item. To know that someone took the time and effort to create something for you is a sign of their of both their love and respect.

I like crafting of all kinds, but I would have to say the my number one favorite thing to do is scrapbook. I enjoy just about every single aspect of it, and I am always amazed at the new techniques and supplies that are constantly available. I also like making ATC's and greeting cards as well as mini-books and the like. I do counted cross-stitch and plastic canvas projects as well. I dabble at painting and wood crafts now and then. I also like to make jewelry and other beaded crafts. The list never ends. I often try to teach myself new craft forms, sometimes I am successful and others....well.... a least I gave it a try...right? Right now I'm a kick with crochet, but I find I have to limit myself because I've developed pretty painful tendinitis in both my arms, and my hands and fingers are often quite painful as well. I was taking orders for baby blankets and hat and bib sets, but it got to be too much and now I'm back to just doing my own stuff.

Crafting and reading are often neck and neck as my favorite past-time. I rarely leave the house without both a book and something that I'm crafting with me. I caught the "bookworm" bug when I was little girl, and have (thankfully) never gotten rid of it. I started out reading the usual childhood fare, but discovered romance novels in my early teens. I stuck with those, mostly historicals, until my 20's and then started to broaden my horizons with horror and medical mysteries. I have a great many favorite authors, but a few standouts would be Johanna Lindsey. Catherine Coulter, Julie Garwood, Dean Koontz and Michael Palmer. Several years ago I got swept up in the who "50 Shades of Gray" phenomenon, and have been (happily) riding that wave ever since. A few fav authors there are Sylvia Day, Shayla Black, Maya Banks and Kristen Ashley. In an attempt to broaden my reading horizons, and to get out of the house and socialize more, I started a monthly book club. We call ourselves "The Happy Bookers", and we have reading some very interesting fare. Look me up on Goodreads for more on my reading bio

Movies are another love of mine. I enjoy all kinds of movies, and currently have a DVD collection that numbers well over 600. In fact I'm currently trying to decide what kind of storage system to use as I can longer house what I have, let alone add to it. "Date Night" around here generally includes dinner, a movie and lots of cuddling (not necessarily in that order). I like to have rnoise while I'm crafting, so if not music then I tend to have a movie playing. I love all kinds of movies, but I generally lean towards action, adventure and dramas. Some of my all time faves include, "The Shawshank Redemption", "Gone With the Wind" and anything animated by Disney or Pixar (both classic and new). I also own and regularly watch (or rather rewatch) all the movies in the "Underworld", "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" series. My guilty pleasure movies are either scary (not too gory) movies or musicals. I know a rather odd gamut there, but Hey! you enjoy what you enjoy, right? Whose to say I can't watch "28 Days Later" (the absolute best zombie movie EVER made) followed up by "Hairspray" or "Chicago".

I enjoy listening to all kinds of music, but I particularly like songs that tell a story. Country music is primarily what I listen to but I also enjoy a lot of the classics. From easy listening to classic rock, with a bit of classical and Broadway show tunes thrown in for good measure, A few of my favorite artists include Little Big Town, Gary Allen, Rascal Flatts, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban. I will listen to just about anything as long as I can understand the lyrics and it doesn't give me a headache. I enjoy listening to music while I am crafting or reading. I'm absolute fan of Sirius XM's "The Highway". I also listen to Pandora and I Heart Radio while crafting.

I watch a lot of TV, perhaps it could be called an obscene amount of TV. It is just my husband and I in the house, but we have FOUR televisions with DVR units on each. I would think that qualifies as obscene. I like noise while I craft so music, movies or TV....something is always playing in the background. I watch a few of the newer shows, my current favorite being "The Walking Dead" at the moment, however, the majority of my TV viewing would be reruns. I love to watch Law & Order (SVU is my fav), CSI (New York and Miami were the best), and Criminal Minds. I also (re)watch a lot of other series on Netflix, like Charmed and Sons of Anarchy, but I've really enjoyed finding new-to-me series like "Lost Girl" and "Copper".

LIKES vintage anything retro color patterns shabby chic distressed worn look soft romantic floral patterns celtic designs green (all shades) black brown (all shades) lilac giraffes (animals in general) cats dogs

DISLIKES insects cutesy cartoon like things hello kitty