choke

choke's current status:

Bill and I set our wedding date: September 6, 2014

SPOILER ALERT: If you dig around in my flickr account you may find some things I've made. If you prefer to be surprised, don't look!

Above all else, I'd love it if you'd check my collection and try to send me a postcard I don't already have. If you can't find a new one, it's not the end of the world, I don't mind doubles as long as they say more then "Hi this is me and this card is for swap xxx. Bye!"

If you haven't received a swap from me please contact me before rating a 1!!

I graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in August 2011 and started my new career soon there after. I am SOOOOOO happy to finally cross that off my to do list. Next in line is getting married, buying a new house, and maybe squeeze a masters degree in there somewhere.

I am mostly into paper crafts but have tried to dabble in jewelry, painting, clay, wire and thread.

I plan on sticking to quick and easy type swaps like postcards and ATC's, and maybe a couple tags here or there. I do love putting together nice packages but I'd probably be more apt to do larger swaps privately. I put a lot of time and effort into my creations so it tends to take quite a bit to finish handmade projects.

I'm looking for someone to trade a art journal with, so far all journal swaps I've ever tried to set up never went anywhere.

• My username: About 10 or so years ago I used to play in a trivia chat site on WinMX and my nickname was givememusicorgivemedeath. The room admin didn't like me much because I know a bunch of random trivia and can type fast, and therefore won lots of points. One day they decided I needed to shorten my name (just to mess with me, I think) so I chose dontcomplainjusttypefaster. They really didn't like that and threatened to ban me if I didn't make it shorter. So, at the time "Choke" by "Jack Off Jill" was playing - hence choke was chosen, it stuck, and I didn't play in their sandbox anymore.

• I often struggle putting my thoughts or feelings into words, the simplest thought can take days if I feel very strongly about it. The world makes more sense to me using numbers and patterns. Other than letters being in the proper order to form words, I'm not a big fan.

• I can find a contradiction in anything I could ever tell you about myself.

• I prefer a simple life and can't stand drama. I don't have tons of real-life friends and find myself happier with my own thoughts than in a group of more than 3 people.

• I am head over heels in love with my fiance Bill. He is everything to me and I am so thankful to have him in my life. He is very good to me and makes me so happy :)

• I have a 13 year old son named Tristan who is my world. He is my savior. I am not sure I'd still exist in this world had I never given birth to him.

• I would look a LOT more grunge/heavy metal on the outside if that life hadn't lead me towards an early death in previous years.

I'm the founder USA Only Storebought PCs so if you're in the USA and you love storebought touristy postcards, please come join us!!

I'm also the co-founder of The Postcard Place which is for swapping all types of postcards!!

I always prefer written and stamped cards unless I already have them in my collection (i.e. feel free to send blank in an envelope if I already have it, even if the swap calls for written and stamped). I bought myself a flickr pro account for Christmas and have put up all my cards there (sorted for your convenience). I would greatly appreciate if you would check my collections before sending me a card to avoid sending me one I already have. But honestly, if it's a great card just write a nice message on the back and I will always treasure it.

I prefer the regular touristy storebought postcard and I'm not too fond of handmade/zazzle/vistaprint/etsy/art/freebie/ad cards much.

My absolute favorite type of postcards are maps!! I'd love if you could find one that I don't have :)
I would never be sad to find blank maps in my mailbox, it's nice to have something other than just Michigan to trade with.

Other types of cards I adore are Anne Taintor, history, aviation, facts, "Legend of", US State capitols/symbols, flags, bridges, outer space, crystal clear reflections in water, UNESCO, bridges, lighthouses, National/State Parks, autumn, traditional clothing, Albert Einstein, Che Guevara, Bob Marley, Happy Bunny, Hello Kitty (pretty much any sanrio character except Deery Lou), faeries, and on and on.

If you'd like to do a private trade for postcards, you can find my offers here. Some of the more expensive or particular themed cards I will only trade for similar cards, but feel free to send me a message if you see something you like!

The craft room is officially back in action! I destashed most all of my had-too-long lovelies and refilled some bins with new lovelies and even got some new tools! YAY!! I'm also getting better at taking pictures/scans of my made lovelies so beware of spoilers in my flickr!

Alphabetized list of things I like or wish for:

~ Numbers ~
* 7 Gypsies.

* π

~ A ~
* Anne Taintor notecards (I have all of the postcards I can find, but can rarely find the notecards. Feel free to write on them as I collect these, I don't plan on using them for swaps unless I find a double.)
* Audioslave.
* ATC blanks cut from sturdy materials.
* Albert Einstein.
* Animal prints (leopard, zebra, giraffe, tiger, lizard, crocodile). Disclaimer - faux only please!!
* Autumn.
* Alice in Chains.
* Alcohol Inks.

~ B ~
* Black, but not as much as green.
* Beads (on the smallish side. I probably have enough...but...)
* Bob Marley.

~ C ~
* Click-a-day Websites
* Chalks for rubbing (so far I only have green).
* Che Guevara.
* Clovers.
* Chains.
* Circuits. (No I didn't spell cricut wrong...) The lovely @NaughtyElf custom made this awesome bracelet for me, I wear it with pride nearly everyday at work!
* Creepy and Cute. Or just creepy.
* Coffee (very, very, very, very dark - almost like mud).

~ D ~
* Dotee Dolls.
* Dotee faces.
* Decos (unthemed only please).
* Donate to Diabetes Education Camp a non-profit organization my friend is starting up for adults with diabetes. Send an adult to camp!
* Distressing crafts.
* Darkest of the darkest dark chocolate for my soon-to-be hubby!
* Derivatives.

~ E ~
* Embossing.
* Eyelets (3/16" only as I have enough 1/8").
* Engineering.
* Electronic components. (small) I use them to make stuff like this:
* Emily the Strange.

~ F ~
* Flames.
* Faeries.
* Fabric scraps (please only very, very high quality fabric like hand-dyed and only very, very small scraps to use on ATCs and Rolos).
* Fastenator Staples - a huge thank you to @lilspotteddog for filling my stash up! By the gazillions, literally.

~ G ~
* Green is my absolute favorite color, just regular crayola green or grass green.
* Gelly Roll gel pens.
* Glitter (I don't need any glitter, but I don't mind seeing loads of it on your crafts...or a "normal" amount I guess...)
* Geekery (Especially humorous like this).

~ H ~
* Handmade lovelies.
* Handmade envelopes sized for sending 4x6 postcards.
* Heavy metal girl stuff.
* Hello Kitty.
* Happy Bunny.

~ I ~
* Iridescent.
* Intelligence.
* i.
* Inchies.
* Integrals.

~ J ~
* Jack Off Jill (The band).
* Japanese (I just started learning this language as of Feb 2012).

~ K ~
* Kinder Hippos (sent in a box - they always gets smashed when sent in envelopes).

~ L ~
* Lettering, books on how to do.
* Little bitty things for ATCs.
* Leopard Print.
* Little Twin Stars.

~ M ~
* Metal embellishments (I probably have enough...but...).
* Magic Mesh.
* Mowed Lawn (the color by TH).
* My job (I'm a Hardware Design Engineer).
* Maps (used in artwork, not the fold-up kind).
* Mark Ryden.
* Monkeys being silly or doing things that make people freak out.

~ N ~
* Needles small enough for seed beads.
* Ninjas.
* Nikola Tesla.

~ O ~
* Office supplies (work friendly, preferably geeky/engineering related).
* Ohm's Law.

~ P ~
* Punk girl stuff.
* Postcards.
* Pinky & The Brain.

* Pantera.
* Perfect Pearls.

~ Q ~
* Quiet time.
* Quirky.

~ R ~
* Rolos (altered of course).
* Rilakkuma.
* Rub-ons.
* Red, but not as much as green.
* Rock/Riot girl stuff.
a huge thank you to @rainbowafterrain81 for the awesome rolodex punch!!!

~ S ~
* Sharpies (prefer the fine tips).
* Skulls.
* Stitching Tips (I can't close a seam properly for the life of me).
* Slams.
* Sublime (The band).
* Silver, but not as much as green.
* Stars.
* Shiny and Sparkly.
* Skateboarding/Snowboarding type stickers.
* South Park.

~ T ~
* Tools for destroying/roughing things up.
* Textures.
* Tim Holtz (Not really into his "found objects" as well, they're bought not found - and ridiculously expensive for that matter. But I do like the inks/pads/prints/dies and learning some of his techniques.).
* Tare Panda.

~ U ~
* Unthemed.
* Unique.
* Used postage stamps (from rare countries especially).

~ V ~
* Vellum.
* Very large stickers (like big enough to seal an envelop with, especially of bands or rock/punk/metal style).
* Vintage stuff (not so much with the repro type stuff).

~ W ~
* Winter.
* Wood.
* White wine.

~ X ~
* the 'X' shape.
* xkcd.com
* Xacto knives.

~ Y ~
* Your best excuses for getting out of doing chores.

~ Z ~
* Zines (I don't make one but I do love to read the very strange ones).
* Zentangled stuff (not sure I have this figured out enough to try it on my own yet, examples please!).

Things I have more than enough of:
* Paper!! I am fond of specialty papers that I can't find in stores, but please no more storebought paper!
* Ribbon!!
* Stickers!!
* Notecards!!
* Glitter!!
* Pens!!
* Fabric!!

Dislikes:
* Not being able to use my sewing machine - I just don't have the room as my postcards and papercrafts have taken over my space!!
* Drama.
* Arrogance.
* Racists.
* Loud-mouthed, drama-infested, obnoxious, proud-to-be a bitch/asshole type people - however I love a smartassed, opinionated, intelligent individual :)
* Gold.
* Lime Green.
* Friendship Books.
* Makeup & Nail Polish.
* Girly frou-frou crap.
* Spring/Summer themes.
* Flowers.
* Big or chunky crafts or craft objects
* Jewelry (I hardly wear it and am pretty picky.)
* Flakers.
* Rape (well if I put flakers on here I might as well put rape too).
* I get really aggravated when I RAK something to somebody and they don't even have the decency to say "Thanks!".

Swaps I've sent out but never got rated on:

Long Letter Pen Pal Swap #2 - was not rated by either parter @yvonne1968 or @samscat both sent on 09/22.

100 Things That Give Me Joy - Letter Swap - sent 09/30 to @jemki (made her a fun book too :/)

Getting To Know You - June - sent to @stampnMT on June 28th, sent message on July 30 inquiring which has been read but have not received a reply or a rating

Quick and Easy Postcard Swap #3 sent on 10/18 not rated by one of seven partners @Raylyn (partially suspended Dec. 08)

Random Scavenger Hunt sent to @AuntieM on Nov. 13th, user is now fully suspended for being a scammer!

A.R.T. ~ Little Things not rated by @spencersmom

A.R.T. ~ Display Your Inchies not rated by @spencersmom

Swaps I can't rate on:
DoodleBugMom - Sent Christmas card without swap name
Cinnjenn (?) - Sent Christmas card without swap name
LoriJean - Sent Christmas card without swap name

Swaps and tags I got flaked on: I joined swap-bot in August of 2008 and made it to the end of the year without getting flaked on!

2013
None so far!

*2012

Dedicated to Complicated flaked on by @stephh

Map Decos via Deco Books flaked on by @sanae

Super Small Decos flaked on by @kristinjp

Sons of Anarchy Jax Teller ATC flaked on by @moonlightjade

2011

MEGA Postcard Swap - USA Only flaked on by @Luv2Swap80

2010

SH - Handmade Christmas Card with a Surprise! - flaked on by @DanaJeanWard

College postcards-newbies R welcomed too - flaked on by @Valentina76 who is fully suspended, angeled by her partner as well as swap host

Make me a Postcard Swap - never received anything from @ladyval143

2009

Religions swap (break the barriers down) - flaked on by swap host @Sharila

2008

FAD - Fabric Scraps for Notions - Flaked on by @Dorkside (angeled by @LindaRuthie , @Loralyn also angeled this for me too :D)

Tag Flakers 3P's Take a Couple Tag - tagged @almahill on April 13th for a green ultra fine tip sharpie and pack of rub-ons (random) and haven't received anything.

State Capitols needed:

Delaware DE
Massachusetts MA
New Mexico NM

State Flags needed:

Alabama AL
Connecticut CT
Delaware DE
District of Columbia DC
Florida FL
Guam GU
Hawaii HI
Idaho ID
Illinois IL
Iowa IA
Maine ME
Massachusetts MA
Michigan MI
Minnesota MN
Missouri MO
Montana MT
Nebraska NE
Nevada NV
New Hampshire NH
New Jersey NJ
New York NY
North Dakota ND
Oregon OR
Palau PW
Pennsylvania PA
Rhode Island RI
South Dakota SD
Vermont VT
Virgin Islands VI
Washington WA
Wisconsin WI