charophyta

I'm a 27 year old girl living in an apartment in Austin, TX with my 2 cats and my many plants. No kids, just the kitties. I recently started a job doing marketing at events for a resort company. I currently have a lover who is a crazy hypnotherapist/healer/grand master shaman, but he doesn't live with me. He's kind of a goth and he loves board games and everything purple.

My style: rainbow colored stuff, neon and super bright colors, big chunky jewelry, loud patterns! Yes to animal prints, polka dots, huge jewels, glitter, and sparkly things! I can be tacky and over-the-top... weird, wild... I don't really do subtle and understated. I also love anything with a forest/nature theme, or any shade of green/earth tones... some people say I am a wood nymph!

I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut for 5 seconds. I can't shut up! I'll talk to anyone. And now that's my job... I actually found a job where all I do all day is get random strangers to stop and talk to me, and I sign them up for stuff. At one point I was in a Ph. D. program and I was on the path to becoming a serious scientist, but I got real burned out working in the lab and I dropped out. Think I found something that will be better for me now!

Things I like: animals, art, bdsm, biology, board games, books, burning man, camping, cats, cheese, critters of all sorts, cuddling, dancing, drinking, food, frogs, gardening, garlic, genetics, halloween, hiking, insects, invertebrates, journaling, laying around in the bathtub, learning, live music, makeup, modern art, mud, mushrooms, music, my little pony: friendship is magic, narwhals, nature, new experiences, olives, painting, parties, peppers, photography, plants, polyamory, rain, raves, reading, road trips, science, singing, skunks, snails, tea, the outdoors, thrifting/reusing old things, tomatoes, travel, trees, tropical rain forests, used books, vampires, vegetables, watercolors, words, writing.

ATCs (any, but especially hand drawn or painted)

dotee dolls (I love how expressive they are, how each one has its own individual personality! I like the weird, creepy, funny looking ones just as much as I like the pretty, fancy ones! I love how they're all so different. I am happy to swap dotees with beginners as well... all skill levels welcome.)

any zines (I received one and I'm so intrigued! I'd like to collect a few more from different people and I'm thinking about how I'd start my own!)

doodles, drawings, art pieces, mail art

craft supplies, things I can use to make dotee dolls and ATCs, fabric, buttons, ribbons, beads, yarn, etc. I love loud, bright prints on fabrics, and I could use more glass and stone beads!

glue runners and refills, glue dots, zots, elmer's dot runners, photo mounting tape, glue sticks of all types, any similar products. Any adhesives that are good for papercrafting or scrapbooking!! (I am working on a huge smash book project and I am going through these way too fast! It's a little scary how much money I can spend on adhesives and how quickly they get used up! If you have any glues/adhesives to spare sitting around and not being used, PLEEAAASE send them my way!)

scented shower gel, bath bombs, bubble bath, lotions, body sprays, other bath products (Lush is AMAZING, but don't worry, I'll use cheap stuff too! I especially want those bath bombs from Lush, though!)

anything rainbow colored/rainbow themed. Also love prints that have rainbow colored stars or hearts. (GLBT pride stuff too!)

anything forest/nature/biology/plant/tree/animal themed. I was a scientist in a former life and I'm still a big nature lover.

any items or art featuring insects or other invertebrates, or any animals! I love "cute" animals (cats, all those furry mammals), but I also love the less popular: bugs, worms, snails, snakes, frogs, lizards, etc. The mantis shrimp is my power animal.

anything you wrote, drew, or made, a personal letter or note, a story you want to tell, any handmade crafts. Heartfelt handwritten letters, included with any swap, sometimes really make my day! (If you want to send something extra, a thick juicy letter is probably the best extra to send.)

any images, art, photos, drawings, etc. that portray big fat girls in a positive light. Big round fertility goddesses, sexy fat girls, gorgeous plus size fashion, whatever! I am all for self acceptance, body positivity, and celebrating the beautiful range of variation I see in women's bodies! Seeing these images always helps me with that.

nail polishes in funky, bright, or unusual colors. I understand getting tired of one color and wanting to try new colors, so I am happy to take a used nail polish off your hands... I probably won't ever use the whole bottle so a half full bottle is fine! I'm into glittery, neon, metallic, bright rainbow colors, jewel tones, cool effects like the crackle/shattered polishes, etc. I have enough of the classic pinks and reds. Love green, blue, teal, purple, yellow, orange, metal/chrome colors, etc.

headbands, hair clips (handmade or store bought)

cool looking flat stuff/paper stuff to smash into my smash books, funky looking papers that could be used as background pages in my smash books. Also stuff that can be used as pockets or clips to hold things in my smash books. I'm not interested in only store bought or name brand stuff... stuff like found objects, ephemera, junk, clippings, ads, old photos, etc. are also good as long as they are visually stimulating. I am kinda obsessed with smashbooking right now! (I also use these paper odds and ends sometimes in my ATCs, and for collage and decoupage projects.)

Magic the gathering cards (any). Recently started playing again and I hardly have any cards... so hey, if you have magic cards sitting around, I'll take any that you aren't using, any random old cards are fine! It'll be fun to start collecting them! (It's a nostalgic thing for me, so older cards are quite welcome. I used to play with my little brother back in the day... gosh that was at least 10 years ago!! Wonder what happened to those cards we had...)

tote bags/reusable shopping bags with fun designs (any... new or used, cheap/free ones or nice fancy ones, storebought, and especially handmade! I'm always a sucker for tote bags of any kind, but I really love handmade totes!)

interesting flavored teas (I like herbal teas, green teas, fruit flavors, berry flavors, chocolate/dessert flavors, white teas, red teas, mint teas, teas for sleeping or relaxing, etc. I love to receive unusual teas I haven't tried and teas from all over the world. I'm NOT a fan of strong, plain black teas, earl grey, english breakfast, etc.)

stickers (I have tons, but they are fun to collect and trade!)

For postcard swaps: My favorites are art postcards. I also like any postcards with nature themes, animals, national parks/state parks, handmade postcards, and funny, quirky, dirty, or weird postcards.

jewelry (especially your handmade creations, but store bought is good too, AS LONG AS IT'S BIG ENOUGH! I am a large individual and many standard sized pieces will not fit me, I usually can't wear store bought bracelets. I just measured myself so let's see... bracelets should be 8-9" long, necklaces at least 19". I am sensitive to nickel.)

cute, gently used plus size clothing you don't wear anymore (I wear sizes 2X-4X, 22-26. I wear soft, stretchy dresses a lot of the time. But I'll take anything cute and fun that isn't too long for my stumpy legs or too fitted in the arms! My arms are huge so I wear either stretchy sleeves, loose flowing sleeves, or sleeveless stuff...)

cute plus sized pajama pants

makeup (Love to try lots of new products!! I can use foundation, concealer, powder, lipstick, lip gloss, blush. I like eye makeup too but I don't wear it on a daily basis and I already have TONS more than I can ever use! I'm pale and always buy the lightest shades of foundation, etc. that I can find.)

lip gloss/lipstick/lip balm (My favorites are sheer, shimmery shades of coral, peach, and orangey/coppery colors. Clear or tinted flavored lip balms are great too. Pink or red shades are ok, but purplish or dark brown lip colors just look bad on me!)

notecards, envelopes, stationery (handmade or store bought)

candles/scented stuff (I appreciate anything that doesn't smell like cat butt (stinky cats here!)... but I usually choose edible scents, such as baked goods or fruity scents.)

purse (would especially love a cool handmade bag, or it could be a thrift store find or one you have but aren't using anymore that seems like my style... something bright and loud!)

NICKEL SENSITIVITY is the main one to be aware of. Nickel touching my skin gives me a big, flaky, red, oozing rash... uncomfortable and nasty looking!

If you send jewelry (especially earrings) containing metal, be sure it is "hypoallergenic" "nickel free" or "for sensitive skin." If it's a cheap metal and you don't know what kind of metal it is, it probably contains some nickel.

I'm not particularly into SPORTS or POLITICS. I don't really like COFFEE or coffee flavored things, and I don't really eat gummis.

I'm not that into pastel shades or whites (Prefer vibrant intense saturated rainbow colors, and deep earthy colors).

Don't send me baby/kid stuff. I have no use for it, I have no kids or babies in my life. (I mean I like babies, I just don't have any. So if it's like a postcard with a cute baby on it, that's cool, but don't send me something for a baby, that an adult cannot use.)

I'm NOT into religion, but I love science. I do appreciate the diversity of nature and the relationships between all the different living things. Feeling connected with all the plants and creatures of the world, rolling around in the mud naked and looking at bugs on plants, is as spiritual as I get. I am basically agnostic, but the joy I find in the natural world is more spiritual to me than anything else in my life. So NO CHRISTIAN ITEMS, and NO RELIGIOUS ITEMS except earthy pagan type things and big fat goddesses.

I love to reuse things, I hate to see things go to waste or be thrown away if someone can still use them, and I have done plenty of thrifting and dumpster diving, so I am definitely not hung up on things being brand new and sealed in a package. I am happy to receive used items as long as they are in good condition and still perfectly usable!

Until I joined swap-bot, I mainly did journaling/blogging, photography, silly doodling, decorating various things with Sharpies, gluing shit onto other shit, and gardening. From time to time, I have also done painting (I took courses in watercolors and in oils years ago), drawing, beading, crochet, decoupage, collage, and mosaics.

Because of swap-bot, I have gotten into making, swapping, and collecting ATCs and dotee dolls! I am also currently working on putting together smash books out of all the tons of old drawings, photos, etc that I have saved over the years. I like mail art too... have made some cool handmade postcards and art envies! I am starting to get back into bead jewelry again, and I might like to get into more sewing projects. I have my mom's sewing machine and I have no idea how to use it but I'd like to learn.

Some authors I like: Barbara Kingsolver, Daniel Pinkwater, Christopher Moore, Roald Dahl, Francesca Lia Block, Phillip Pullman, Jasper Fforde, Herbie Brennan.

I read a lot of goofy, fun, light novels, chick lit, romance, funny novels. I enjoyed Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.

I also enjoy children's and young adult novels. Have read Harry Potter, a lot of Christopher Pike, a lot of William Sleator.

Magical, fantasy, scary, or spooky supernatural books are fun.

I like a book that's light, fun, amusing, silly, weird, etc. These days I like reading that just lets me relax, unwind, escape, take my mind off things. Nothing too dark or depressing right now, please!

As far as non-fiction goes:

I have all the books a person could want on biology, entomology, evolution, genetics, etc., so I probably don't need any more of those... anything you'd send, I probably already have. (I have read WAY more of this stuff than anyone ever should. It is my area of expertise, so if you have any bug related or biology related questions, go ahead and ask.)

I also collect books on sexuality, sex, bdsm, relationships, body postivity/acceptance, feminism, gender, etc. My gurus are Dossie Easton, Mama Gena, and Dan Savage. I have taught college courses on sex and sexuality, so it's an academic interest of mine as well as a personal interest!

I do enjoy raunchy, kinky, perverted things. I love naked people (of diverse ages, genders, colors, shapes, sizes)!

I'm not offended at all by nudity, pornography, or explicit language. I DO find it extremely offensive when people make jokes about rape or women being abused... that's the quickest way to piss me off. And I can't handle anything that's hateful towards gay or transgender people. Other than that, go ahead and send me your dirty thoughts and images!

I might have a bit of a reputation on swap bot as "that freaky chick who draws porn on ATCs." I have done ATCs that are very graphic, but don't worry, I generally only send these for swaps that have a pervy theme. You probably won't get something like this from me unless you signed up for something like the "Suck my big hard cock" themed ATC swap. (Yep, that was an actual swap that I did participate in...)

However, I'll always be happy to receive erotic themed ATCs if you would like to send one! And for penpals/letters/journaling type swaps, don't be afraid to share your intimate details! I love it!!