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** I am very sad about this, but it appears that my health has taken a serious turn, and I must step away from Swapping for awhile. I do hope to return someday, please be kind to one another, and remember, this is supposed to be FUN!

I apologize that I must shut down my swaps, but I will be without internet for awhile.

I am old enough to remember what keeping a locked diary under my pillow meant, especially with a pesky older brother!

I have been crafting and letter writing, most of my life, and really love anything hand-made. and if it's cute and tiny, I will love it even more!

I'm also a stamp collector, and have enjoyed all the beautiful papers from all over the world. A letter-writer at heart, I have written to soldiers who do not get any mail, for over 30 years!

Educated as a teacher, I taught 4th grade for many years, then another many years taught middle school math- - - I am also very involved in Boy Scouting, have been all my life, since my brother is an Eagle Scout..) -

when I was in middle school, I would love going to the Scout meetings - I mean, WOW - being in the room with all those cute boys....and they HAD to be nice to me, my dad was the Scoutmaster!).so Yes, I love Scouting, I love Scouts. I love the lessons it teaches our young boys, and helps them become fine men.

Swapping: I host a lot of different kinds of swaps, and most of them are newbie-friendly, with just ONE "rule": you MUST have a completed profile. Your swap partners want to get to know you, your interests, and anything else you'd like a new friend to know about you.

A good "rule of thumb" to follow: When I open your profile page, I should have to scroll down to read it!

There are many good tabs to help, in swapbot, or just use your imagination.

There is never a 'rating minimum' to join any of my swaps. I do not start a project by NOT trusting people. If someone flakes on a swap, THEN they have damaged my trust.

I DO welcome newbies, and hope you have a great swapping experience, and make lots of wonderful swapping friends.

The "profile rule" is to just help us out here, and let us get to know a little more about you!

So often, when reading the info about a swap, I read about partners needing to check profiles to find something their partners might like.

Well, I already have lotsa things that I like, 😉😀!

And this is about having FUN! I hope if you ever get my name in a swap, you will artistically 'let yourself go,' and come up with something that YOU love!

I promise you, I will like it too! I want to see your interpretation of the swap!

I have been involved in swaps of all sizes, I have hosted many swaps, including "round robin journals", which were some of the most fun projects I'd ever seen! Be sure to look for them SOON! (More about them below)

I promise to rate!

(I've seen some nice graphics that use a picture...I haven't figured out this iPad yet, enough to do that. Hopefully it's coming soon!

I often host a "Swap Card" swap, and encourage every swapper, whether they join or not, to please always include the name of the swap, YOUR swapping ID, your first name, and the date it was mailed.

Several reasons: lots of us use nicknames here, in Swap-bot, and we'd like to know who you are, when we get your swap, so we can thank you! I have received swaps, and had NO idea who they were from! We might be involved in several swaps of the same type, so please help us out!

The other reason, maybe even more important: if you don't include the date that you mailed it, somewhere on the swap, even if you drop it in the mailbox on time, maybe the mail has already been picked up....or maybe it's a Friday, and might not be picked up for several days.

Please don't risk a lower rating, just because your partner might have nothing but the postmark to check on.

paper crafts of all kinds, I prefer inches/twinchies a bit more than ATC's, but promise to love anything that has been hand-crafted by my partner!

I also love pin cushions and needle cases,and am part of a wonderful group with that name.

I enjoy seed beading, rubber stamping, and fabric crafting, including quilting, counted x-stitch, felt work, and kumihimo and Temari (beautiful Japanese thread arts)

I love surprises, and hope my swap partners express themselves with their creativity!

I am not a very talented painter, but I enjoy it, and can follow numbers pretty easily to end up with a nice picture!

I play piano, guitar, and flute, so especially enjoy listening to either or all of them. Especially enjoy listening to Kenny G, David Lanz, and other instrumentalists.

I also give piano lessons.

I am not much of an "electronic" book reader, altho I really love to read - - I enjoy turning the pages!

I like everything from humor, romantic comedy, historic fiction, drama, legal suspense, mysteries, and more - - but not horror.

One thing I've learned about myself, if the word "organize" appears anywhere on the cover of a magazine, I HAVE to get it! Actually getting my crafting room organized, however, is still only a dream of mine!

Fave Authors: Scott Turow, John Grisham, and other "legal drama" writers

I think The Princess Bride is one of the best movies ever made. I also like Miracle, because it's a true story, and is about Minnesota winters! A couple other favorites are Two Brothers, (because I love Tigers!), Mrs. Winterbourne, The Cutting Edge, American President, the Pirates of the Caribbean series...

I am also slightly addicted to Netflix, and enjoy getting the marathon "fix" it gives me, making it possible to watch the entire season of House of Cards!

I've been asked quite often, to tell people more about the RR Journal Swaps I've hosted. These have turned out to be some of the most FUN! Swaps I've been involved in!

You can read about them, as well as some of the rules and ratings, etc, if you click on the number that's shown under the "star" on the upper right, to see a list of the swaps I've hosted. In that list are the RR swaps, and you can click on any of them, to read the specifics. (As for "rules", etc, they are all pretty much the same.

My plan is to start again, hosting Round Robin Journals (RRJ's) in mid to late March.

I shut it down at about 6-7 swappers, because it would take too long, with each person allowed one week, before sending the journals onward. I will run a USA only one first, then possibly in June, or July, an International version.

I've been offline for a few years, tending to family issues, so yes, there is a "gap"in my timeline, but I always knew I'd return to swap--bot.

I do welcome all the new swappers, and hope you will find a lot of FUN swaps, and make some great friends here!

also, there are pictures of these journals, in Flickr, if you do a search for "swap-bot, round robin journals". Three of them should come up. There is a "Kimberly's", the friendship lounge, and "Round Robin Journals", with a pink striped circle avatar. That's the One! Hope you enjoy the tour, and feel inspired!