JBolech

I just wanted to put a quick note here that I've been having some issues with my outgoing mail. It seems like everything I sent for a couple weeks went missing. I can't prove anything, but I suspect someone was helping themselves to my mail when I clipped it to the door on my mail slot. :( Everything seems to be arriving now that I've switched back to dropping my letters off at the post office. I'm working on contacting all my partners now and resending what went missing. Please let me know if you think something isn't going to show up, and I will resend ASAP!

UPDATE! We bought a house!! I'll be moving in mid September, so with all that's been going on with packing and getting everything in order I haven't had a ton of time for swapbot. I'm trying to keep my swap load light - only doing series I was already participating in for now. If you're missing something or I haven't rated you, please don't hesitate to send me a message - I'll be happy to resend or look for your swap/get you rated. I just am not as on top of my swap records as I usually am so extra nudges help :)

Hi! I’m Jenny! I'm 27 and I love getting mail! I love making things – I’m up for all types of crafting. Check out my blog to see what I’ve been up to (Ok – I’ve been a little bit of a blog slacker lately…) I’m excited to have found swap-bot so I have another outlet to share my handmade goodies!

I’m kind of a homebody, but I love having friends over for some low-key entertaining. People have said that I’m one of the most laid back people I know, but I think that is just because drama stresses me out so bad that I avoid it at all costs – No Drama Please :)

I was raised in Florida, and now I live in Texas. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to live somewhere with a real winter!

I love my husband, and have a great job with great people. All in all, I’d say I’ve got a pretty good thing going on :)

One more thing - before I get into listing my favorites, just know that I'm open to just about anything. I'd love to receive something that lets your creativity shine through, whether or not it sticks to my favorites or not. Please don't feel like you have to send something based on what I like - if you made something that you love, chances are I will love it to :)

That being said, I know there are some swaps out there that require sticking to the favorites so here we go...

Once upon a time, I was a superstar reader. I would read books like there was no tomorrow. Now, however, I’m more likely than not to start a book, read a few chapters, and abandon it on my nightstand. I should take a photo of it to put here. I can think of at least 5 sitting there right now half (or less) read. I feel like I’m pretty good about getting the idea of a book without reading very much of it though. I guess I’ve had this skill for a long time since in 4th grade I made it onto the battle of the books team after only having read 3 or 4 of the books, beating out kids who had read 20+ books. Or maybe I’m just good at reading 4th grade level books.

That being said, I don’t really know what my favorite books are anymore. I tend to like light hearted stories. And I do like to do a Nora Roberts or 2 on vacation (My favorite part about Nora is explaining the stories to my husband. “Guess what honey – ANOTHER one of her ex-boyfriends got blown up!”) I like stories about animals – I raced through Marley and Me much to my disbelief. Oh and I LOVE the Bridges of Madison County.

Mostly I just like to look at craft books though. I’ve got a ton, and I like to leaf through just about any kind, even if it’s not something I know anything about. I’ve been having fun going through my aunt’s old set of the Family Creative Workshop books recently. They even have a section about Gold Panning in there. Who knew!!

As for dislikes – I don’t want to read anything about how difficult it is to be a teenager. I get it, ok? Teenage angst makes me want to gag – I try to stay away from anything for/about/involving teenagers. I also don’t like war/combat stories.

I like just about anything on TLC. When my husband isn’t home I sit around and watch it all day. What Not to Wear is probably my favorite on there. I also like The Office, 30 Rock, Community (my cousin works for this show! No she’s not one of the actors), Friends, How I Met Your Mother (I used to hate this show, until it started being on every channel all the time, and now I like it – go figure!). I do best with 30 minute shows. I have total TV ADD. I can hardly sit through an hour long drama show without getting bored (I can’t handle the DRAMA!). However, I do like the USA original programs, like Monk, Psych (ok, this one is getting a little lame IMO), and White Collar. I really like Men of a Certain Age right now too. And Cash Cab is awesome. And Wheel of Fortune. However, my tastes change so fast, this list will probably be completely different in 6 months.

Shows I dislike in particular: Lost, 24, The Event. Anything like that. Lucky for me two out of those three are gone for good!

I find I’m not very picky about music. I like top 40 I guess, but not as much recently as I did a year or so ago. Too many Lady Gaga wanna-be’s. I think maybe I’m getting old, because I just love everything on the oldies station now! It’s really hard to say any genre specifically, because I find there is something to like in just about every genre. Except for smooth jazz. Or elevator music. Of course there is always something I dislike in every genre too. Are you getting confused? Me too. Let’s just say I’m open to anything! Or how about I just try to stay away from any music related swaps… ;)

I have yet to meet a craft I didn’t like! Or at least wish I could do J I’m pretty pathetic at knitting, but that doesn’t keep me from wanting knitting needles – haha!

I really am interested in trying anything, but some of my particular favorites right now are card making, sewing and counted cross stitch. I’m working on building my stamp collection, and I love carving my own stamps. I can’t resist the dollar stamp bin at Michaels and always have to buy the colored cardstock packs when they go on sale.

I’ve recently started doing a little jewelry making, and I also like to crochet. I’m trying to think if there are any crafts I really hate, but nothing comes to mind!

I have a hard time categorizing what kind of movies I like. I love Pixar movies, especially Up and Wall-E. So great :) I also like westerns. From there it's kind of hit and miss. I don't like too much action or too many explosions, but that's fun every once and a while. I like most movies with a sweet story, good romantic comedies, and I pretty much DON'T like whatever the kids are going crazy over at any given moment (Twilight anyone?) I'm pretty sure that's just a bias on my part - maybe I should give the kids a chance!

What else can I add here... hmmm...

Favorite Color: Purple is my favorite, but I like all kinds of colors. Things would be so boring with just one color right? I'd say reds are my next favorite, and then blues maybe, but purple is the default favorite!

Favorite Foods: I love chocolate! Yum! And other candy - you know those cherry drops you get at Cracker Barrel? Yum yum yum! Oh, and I love the sweet spices like cinnamon, allspice, anything that goes in a pumpkin pie. Yum!

Some major food dislikes are anything pickled, anything very bitter, licorice, and sausage (except I find that I'm really loving the sausages my father-in-law made for us - maybe my tastes are changing!),

Favorite Scents: Going along with my favorite foods, I love LOVE fall scents, like cinnamon, nutmeg, etc (think Bath and Body Works fall scents). I could just sit around and smell that kind of stuff all day! Apple is another favorite scent. Other than that, I'm not a big fan of anything that smells like food. Don't give me a brownie scented candle - give me a brownie! ;) I'm also not a fan of really strong scents. Anything overly floral tends to give me a headache, although I do love authentic orange blossom scent (Florida girl here!)

Favorite Animals: I like most animals. Especially stuffed animals - even better if they are realistic looking! Some of my favorites are okapis, sea turtles, bears and dogs. I can't think of any that I don't like - unless you count roaches! And for the most part, I don't want to encounter any of these things in the wild - pictures are great, zoos are fun, but I'm happy to let the wild animals be wild and do their own thing. I just don't want to be around them, because then "their own thing" might be eating me up.

Here are some other things that I like that don't fall in any particular category:

Care Bears

Christmas decorations

Etched cocktail glasses (we have a fun time looking for these at the thrift store)

Stuffed animals (realistic looking ones are my fave)

Necklaces (simple or fun, nothing too huge though, I'm not big enough to pull it off!)

Earrings - all kinds!

Dresses

I'll add more as I think of them :)

Any and all craft supplies :) Here are a few things I'm particularly interested in:

Stamps - I currently have mostly wood handled, but love clear stamps too

Postage Stamps - I'm always excited to see new and different postage stamps! I have a bunch cut out and want to put them in an album some day - just another thing to add to the to-do list I guess :)

Ink pads - I'm kind of obsessed with the mini studio G ink pads...

Cardstock - patterned or solid colors

Scrapbook paper - any kind!

Punches - I currently have 1 mini punch in my collection (not much of a collection...) so any kind is great!

Glitter

Fat Quarters (of course I'll take whole yards too!!)

Beads

Also, here is a list of things I use for swaps all the time, so would love to have:

Envelopes for homemade cards (A2/4 3/8" x 5 3/4" is the size I use most)

Address labels with my address (sometimes I'm just to lazy to write out my address. Haha!)

Swap Cards (see above ;) )

Notecards - handmade or store bought, I prefer non-square, but will use anything! Love the michael's dollar bin cards

Tape - deco or not - even though I love the dollar bin cards, I'm not sure I can trust those envelopes to stay shut!!

I really am open to anything! I'll either find a use for something or pass it along - no worries!

I will try my very best to have each and every swap sent out on time! If I'm going to be late I will send you a message via swap-bot.

I will try to keep in touch with you if it looks like you haven't received something I sent (aka if I haven't been rated for a swap yet) if it's been 3 or 4 weeks since I've sent it. If you're missing something from me, please check your messages! There's probably something from me in there :)

If it looks like something isn't going to show up, please send me a PM let me know - I'll be happy to resend! I may be a little scatterbrained at times, but I'm not a flaker! If there's a problem I know we can work something out, but only if you let me know there's a problem!