thehappyhoneybee

Just a quick note to say that I've slowed down on my activity here quite a bit. I'm still logging in occasionally, but I'm taking a little bit of a swapping break. If you need something urgently or just want to say hi, please feel free to message me.

Hello there! I love sending and receiving mail, so I'm really happy to be on Swap-Bot. I'm in my 30s, and I live in sunny Los Angeles, California with my husband and three cats. FYI that I do update my profile frequently, and for those who don't want to have their surprises spoiled, I do post swap photos on my blog.

I'm including info below on things I like (plus blog, Etsy, Amazon links), but please don't think of these as specific shopping lists--they're here so you get a general idea of things that are pleasing to me. Please note: I like a lot of vintage, but I'd appreciate receiving things that are in good shape and aren't musty, stale, or in poor condition.

Super duper important: I keep my word, so I will always, always complete whatever swap I'm signed up for. So please, if you haven't gotten your swap for any reason, send me a note. I'm probably just as anxious as you are that you receive it. I also rate promptly, usually on the same day that I receive, and I'd appreciate your remembering to rate as well.

I'm hosting some fun swaps at the moment, too, and I hope you can join in! See the current ones to the right of my profile. For PC swaps, I enjoy pretty cards, but I'm mostly interested in seeing what you find beautiful and reading about your little corner of the world. As such, I prefer my postcards naked, written on, no envelope. 'Cause, um, otherwise it'd be a card.

Groups I founded/was appointed Co-Founder of:
The Hundred Acre Wood
District 13: YA Book Lovers
Dress that Cupcake!
Once Upon a Time

One last thing. The way to my heart for anything you send me, no matter how big or how small, is to put a little bit of thought and a little bit of you into it. Even when I receive something that might not necessarily be my own taste, I am always touched when I can tell that my partner took the time to think about what I would like or put a lot of him/herself into it. Some of my favorite swaps so far have actually been the simple written ones where I learned something about my partner, either directly or indirectly. I honestly feel as though we could all just as well be out there buying our own stuff or donating it or selling it, so the most important thing to me here on Swap-Bot are the human connections, as well as the occasional wonderful, unexpected surprises that gladden my little heart.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my profile. Here's to great packages...and meeting new friends!

Mail-Related

• real letters and notes telling me a little something about you
• anything to do with mail-related stamps, stickers, and vintage paraphernalia
• pretty stationery and stickers
• pens with great ink flow
• sealing wax and seals

If you're sending me a postcard, please write on it and stamp it! That's part of the charm. The only exception would be if you're sending me a packet of unused PCs with a separate note.

Animals I especially love:

beavers, manatees, pigs, sea dragons, narwhals, koala bears, hedgehogs, owls, hummingbirds, polar bears, rabbits, elephants, whales, penguins, chickens, dragonflies, wombats, butterflies, ladybugs, turtles, red pandas, regular pandas, and of course, honeybees

Arts & Crafts

• things handmade by you
• small illustrations or paintings by you, including ATCs and ACEOs...not so much into collage, though
• pretty rubber or acrylic stamps (nothing too cutesy, please)
• ink pads
• vintage sewing items, esp. velvet or grosgrain ribbon, rick-rack + other trims
• millinery flowers, esp. vintage + velvet
• pictorial buttons
• wool felt in pretty colors
• cotton, linen, velvet fabric (vintage styles, Heather Ross fairy tale lines)
• pretty embroidery patterns and floss
• nice craft kits and craft punches
• vellum
• shrink paper
• temporary tattoo printer paper
• full sheet sticker printer paper
• any Martha Stewart craft item
• flocking or embossing powders
• Stickles glitter glue
• watercolor markers
• pretty washi and deco tape
• cigar boxes
• tiny bottles
• empty acrylic iPod boxes, any size

Paper Ephemera

• beautiful illustrations from science books of animals or botanicals
• unused library card pockets + enclosures
• vintage Bingo cards, and other clean vintage paper ephemera
• vintage-style paper dolls
• illustrations from vintage children's books
• illustrations depicting reading or writing
• photos of interesting notes written or tucked inside books (originals with story would be GREAT)
• please see specific book interests listed in a separate section below....

Cooking & Baking & Food

• tea accessories
• Black Lychee tea from Red Blossom Tea Company in San Francisco
• Nirvana tea from American Tea Room
• fun cookie cutters, especially Springerle cookie molds
• striped bakers twine
• interesting measuring spoons
• pretty, unused paper straws, esp vintage
• great recipes with fresh ingredients
• unusual spices, especially from non-U.S. countries
• pink swirl fire king salad plates + bowls
• sweets + snacks from countries other than the U.S., or something local/special to your area if you're here in the states
• pretty aprons, especially full-length ones

Christmas

• vintage Christmas items, 1960s ish or earlier
• Christmas ornaments from countries other than the U.S.

Miscellaneous

• girl scout pins and badges
• vintage handkerchiefs + gloves
• pins and brooches
• hair accessories (Anthropologie-style)

More info below with general themes I like...

• For The Hundred Acre Wood group, I'd enjoy crafts related to authors I love, such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, L.M. Montgomery, Philip Pullman, P.L. Travers, Beverly Cleary, C.S. Lewis, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Antoine de Saint Exupery, Roald Dahl, Eleanor Estes, A.A. Milne, Robert Newman, plus the Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and Three Investigators series. I also really enjoy hearing about children's books you love.

• For the District 13 group, YA books I've particularly enjoyed recently include Clockwork Angel, Angel Burn, Unearthly, Delirium, The Hunger Games, Shiver, the Vampire Academy series, the Chicagoland Vampire series, the Evernight series, and the Darkest Power series. If you can't tell, I've totally been on an urban fantasy kick recently! Werewolf faves are (again) Shiver and Derek from Kelley Armstrong's Darkest Power books.

• For the Once Upon a Time group, my favorite Hans Christian Andersen, Grimm, and Perrault fairy tales include: The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Little Match Girl, The Tinder Box, The Little Mermaid, The Princess and the Pea, The Wild Swans, Snow White and Rose Red, Hansel and Gretel, The 12 Dancing Princesses, Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, Rapunzel, The Snow Queen, The Nightingale, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella

Books I am Searching For:

• Victorian or gothic novels you've actually read and enjoyed
• postcard books (with unused postcards)
• cookbooks themed to children's books
• Marry Poppins and the House Next Door in hardback
• any books (or anything, really) illustrated by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite
• John D. Fitzgerald's The Return of the Great Brain in paperback
• non Betsy-Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace
• The Three Investigators paperback series with Alfred Hitchcock silhouettes
• specific Little House books from the Caroline, Martha, and Charlotte series (in hardback) and Rose series (in paperback)
• nice hardback copies of Beverly Cleary's autobiography The Girl From Yamhill, Beezus and Ramona, Ramona and Her Mother, Henry Huggins, Henry and the Clubhouse, Henry and Ribsy
• great newer craft books (not vintage adult craft books, please. I do like thicker hardback vintage children's craft books, though.)
• Edward Gorey anything

Please note: unless you actually read many of the same types of books I do and are sending me something you think I'd love (in which case I'd be very happy!), I'd prefer not to receive other kinds of books that are not listed here. Thank you!

• woodland/forest-y animals, mushrooms, etc.
• fairy tale and storybook themes
• mermaids
• bird/owl themes
• things that are British, French, or Japanese
• vintage carnival (but no scary clowns, please)
• vintage magic
• matryoshka
• literary, especially Jane Austen-related
• generally speaking, my tastes run to "pretty or sweet" rather than "cute or cartoony"

• things that reek of smoke, mustiness, rose or vanilla scents, or anything too overpowering
• things that are just old or used, rather than vintage
• Debbie Mumm, Mary Engelbreit, or things that are too "country cottage"
• funny sayings on touristy mugs, keychains, etc
• things that are overtly political, religious, etc
• white chocolate, cherry/watermelon/coconut/banana flavors, black licorice, marzipan, raisins, fruity tea
• collecting collage ATCs (I do like painted or drawn ones, though), dotees, inchies, FBs, slam books, journals. I appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into them, but I'd rather not accumulate.
• foam crafts
• postcards without real notes

But honestly, if you took the time to send me a package, I'm generally appreciative anyway. :)

I get very frustrated with rudeness of any kind, so I don't like swapping with partners who don't acknowledge receiving anything, don't rate, or don't take a minute to send a quick thank you in a timely manner (if it's a tag).

I also don't care for swap snipers, copy lifters, liars, and flakers. I get really upset over people who flake on members in my groups--honestly, if you can't play nice, don't play at all! If you've made a mistake (and we all do), making amends and being apologetic holds a lot of weight with me. I'm really, really nice. Unless you give me reason not to be.

Swaps Never Received:

• Design a Character Calling Card from @IsabellaSnow

Tags Never Received:

• September WTA Naked Postcard from @Lieve / kindly angeled by the wonderful @mquilt

Additional Swappers to Watch Out For:

The following swappers have shamefully flaked on swaps with wonderful members in my groups:

@SchmeeBee
@irishfaerie9 (double profiler @irishdancefaery )
@SpewKnitter
@haveyoumetlisa

Swaps Never Rated:

• Postcard Confessions: Trip of a Lifetime by @lbg
• Useless Facts #2 PC by @CK

To keep myself organized, I'm listing tags I'm participating in.

Completed:

• HAW surprises to @Onyx @Stephyni @greenknowe @frankcheez @Aria @ohpossum @DeidreArt @BigHillGoddess @JessiPancake @Loonstruck @FeeBeeDee @PenguinParade @Hollyhox @ftdlynn @wrongtree @pmj1959 @ChinaCat @haveyoumetlisa @TheArtfulDogger @fairypretty7

Need to Send:

• RAK to @ShadowAkiyah

I'm open to private swaps, and I especially like the idea of swapping handmade, vintage ephemera, or even just written postcards if we have things in common.

Things I enjoy making for swaps:

• cupcake toppers
• handmade bookmarks
• handmade felt ornaments
• pretty address labels

I'd probably also be up for doing an interesting 1:1 written swap as well. I generally enjoy postcard challenges, etc. that are a little more unusual, thoughtful, or creative.

Hope to swap with you soon!