newest update 7/21: ok, I'm back. I am so discouraged that my packages haven't arrived and I've been getting one 1 rating after another. I was tempted to forget it all and run but that would be very uncool. It's been a few weeks and I'll make the packages that never arrived but then I think that I'm done with swap-bot. It's expensive and a lot of the stuff I get in return is not so great. Some of the packages have been awesome but too many people don't care what they send to you and it's disheartening.

Update: As of 6/23 I've been waiting for my package sent either late april or by 5/5 to make it to S. Australia and to get rated.... So far I haven't received any responses to my messages so I can only hope that she is ok. The Button Heart and Button Charms were sent in the same package so that makes 2 ones that I'm waiting to get rated for. Besides that everything else is ok on my side and I can't wait to start swapping again. Slowly this time and with great care. No more international swaps for a long time. All of my swaps have gone to Australia lately.

updates: 5/29/11- as of 5/23/11 all of my 1 ratings have been remade or just made and sent. I'm working on a few of the swaps that went missing and that I didn't know about until recently. Most of my 1 ratings went overseas to S. Africa and S. Australia so it seems it will be quite a while for those to be ones to get changed to a more respectable number. I am quite bummed about this because I would hate to be thrown out of some of my most favorite groups or to be thought of as a really bad swap partner to have. I take pride in all of my swaps I;ve just had some bad luck lately. Anyone who has ever received one of my packages knows I try not to send sloppy or subpar work (at least I try to sent good work, I don't mean to sound snobby). If anyone else is missing a package from me, please please please pm me. Eventually I will go thru all of my ratings vs swaps sent and get in contact with people to see what has been received or is missing. I have realized that I am also missing swaps :(

update 5/21/11- ok, so it seems that a lot of packages were stolen off of my front porch in March. I'm not sure how many but quite a few from all of the feedback that I'm receiving from my swap partners not receiving their swaps from me. There were a few resends that I completely forgot about and I am honest about that and two that took me a couple of months to send at all. They have been sent. I do wish that my swap partners would contact me before rating me a one but once you see a bunch of ones then I guess it's easy to go ahead and rate a one instead of contacting me.

Some of my resends, 3 so far are going overseas so the ones will be on my profile for at least a month or more, I am marking when they have been sent or resent.

February to April was a very trying time for me from Appendicitis in February to my grandmother in law moving into my parents in law which took a lot of time from me in March everyday (she passed away early in May and we had her funeral on Monday), then my grandmother getting very sick with cancer and I went to Texas to sit with her and einded up staying for almost a month. She is doing better.

Everyone who has received packages from me know that I try to do my best work which sometimes makes me a little slow in sending. I read profiles and make each swap profile based even if it's not supposed to be.

Update 5-5-11- I'm back and either making up my unsent swaps or resending a whole bunch of packages that I think were stolen from my front porch in March. This has happened twice before (possibly more )in the last 2 years so now I have totally learned my lesson and will make the trip to the post office rather than leave them for the mail person to pick up. What bothers me more than the shipping costs and supply costs to remake and reship is the frustration that I may be causing my swap partners. I swear I would never just not send, I would at least let you know that it's taking me more time to send. For example the swaps that took me two months to send out button heart and button charms- Those were a special case first due to shipping cost to S. Australia and my unemployment taking longer than I thought to go thru, then I got appendicitis, then my grandmother in law taking sick- (she passed away on Monday), getting the flu from the in-law dramatics and hard work, then me taking me a month in Texas with my grandmother who has cancer again and is refusing treatment and chemo. If you haven't received a package from me please let me know. I'm not joining any new swaps until I know that everyone is taken care of. I refuse to send out work that I'm not 100% proud of so I can take longer than some to make and send my work.

Update 4-25-11:

Ok guys, so I'm back from Texas. My grandmother is doing ok but I could be called back at any moment (lets hope not and pray that my grandmother listens to reason and takes chemo- again and makes a recovery). So, since February I've had appendicitis and got really sick from the antibiotics they put me on. I got a really bad stomache and body flu that I couldn't take any medication for since they had me on all those nasty antibiotics and didn't want to give me more. I was sick for weeks. Then in March, my inlaws decided that they had to move my grandmother inlaw into their house immediately. I had just signed up for a lot of complicated swaps that were all due at the same time. But I had to go to San Francisco from Berkeley by public transit daily and help get the Grandmother inlaws house in order, plus go thru my husband and my stuff in storage from 17 years together and 5 moves plus his stuff from when he was a teenager plus some of my inlaws stuff. That lasted pretty much the whole month and I got really sick again with the flu I think from my grandmother in law. I had about two weeks of peace then in early April I got called to Texas for 3 weeks because my grandmother who raised me (practically) was literally on her deathbed and I wanted to be with her. (luckily I am unemployed so could do all of these things). They say I could be called back to Texas at any time if my grandmother actually passes. I"m hoping that she will listen to reason and take the chemo but she's been battling cancer since before I was born (I'm 37) and she's tired of life and of chemo.... heartbreaking. So to make a long story less long, I've neglected some swaps and a few that I did send overseas seemed to have not made it to my partners at all. I've tried to stay in contact with my partners but in the end you do get a one if you don't send. It's making me get off my self pity party and get crafty again. The three ones that I have are the only swaps that I neglected as far as I can recall- but at this point I'm not sure, I'll let you know if you contact me. I know that I've sent the less daunting ones out but if you have't received anything from me I will either track it down or resend. I am not joining any new swaps until everything is tidy, sent, and taken care of. Even once I'm not partially suspended I promise to take care of swaps that are either missing or weren't sent.

UPDATE 4-13-11:

I'm still out of state in Texas. I will be coming home probably no sooner than next Wed to Fri. My grandmother is stabilizing (we think). I am so sorry that I never got to mail the packages that were ready to go. They are sitting on my crafty desk at home but not packaged or labeled and I really can't trust my dear heart to do this himself. Besides, he would never know how I ponder each and every profile for what extra's to send (nor how much I usually send). Please everyone, try to pray or just think good thoughts for me and my family. We could really use them right now. I am so sorry that I'm letting my swapping partners down. I love the Bot and I hate being such a lousy swap partner. I know that I have many overdue packages that need to be sent out. As soon as I am home next week S-bot is my first priority (ok, besides cleaning up the mess by guy has probly left, looking for a job, and catching up on my bills and things. Other than that, I Miss being crafty. I considered bringing crafty items to Texas to do things in any spare time but so far there really hasn't been any. I may make a trip to the local Michaels tomorrow to work on some overdue swaps. Take care, Karen

UPDATE 4-7-11:

I've been called out of town for at least two weeks, my grandmother is losing her battle with cancer and will soon pass away and I am going to be there with her until the end and help with the funeral (hopefully this won't happen and she'll be ok) and help get her house in order. This has been a very trying two months for me as some of you may already know. I will drop out of any future swaps and try to get my current swaps sent out today but I don't think it will be possible to send them all, current and past that are due. My grandmother helped raise me during a trying time in my childhood and I can't leave her bedside until I know that she is well... but the cancer has spread into her lymph nodes and she has tired of chemotherapy and is "ready to go". She has been battling cancer for all of my life and before I was born (I'm 37). Please pray for her and also my family.

If I'm rated a one for missed packages I will try to make it up as soon as I come back. I think that I will be gone at minimum two weeks, I haven't seen my family in over 15 years so I am planning on visiting and catching up while while offering support while there so hence the long absence.

Thank you for your understanding, I leave 4/8/11.

My profile is way too long. I apologize in advance. I'll be working on shortening it soon.

Just a bit about me and what I love:

I don't do scrapbooking but I LOVE scrapbooking embellishments. There is amazing stuff out there. Glue on or stick on gems. Brads, eyelets, beautiful filigree and engraved metal bits. I'm so in love with brads that look victorian, black paper flowers,. Especially the glue on frames in copper and brass. I love it.

Favorite Themes

Dark Victoriana, Baroque, Marie Antoinette, steampunk, Graveyards, creepy children (sorry if I've offended anyone but I think we've all seen creepy images of victorian children), the Addams Family (especially Wednesday and Morticia. Alice in wonderland anything (please no Tim Burton). Anything Elizabeth Bathory or Catherine the Great.

Skulls, skulls, and more skulls (and skeletons).I love human and Bird skulls, But, I don't care for silly skulls or skeletons. I love anything romantic and dark.

I LOVE making ATC's and matchboxes. I've just started since joining swapbot and I'm addicted. Little bitty treasures are my newest passion. Especially steampunk, Marie Antoinette, Halloween, Dark Victoriana, mermaid themed, unusual themes, etc.

I've recently started a polymer clay fascination. The possibilities seem endless and I can't wait to get really going. If anyone has any tips or tricks, extra skulpey or molds hanging around, think of me.

I'm very interested in altering items. Especially domino and scrabble tiles (I don't need any more of those) Images of preraphaelite or any images that would fit on a domino tile would be awesome.. Flat things that I could glue onto the Domino Tiles - think of my favorite themes.

Newest Wishlist items:

My very newest wishlist item is one of those handwriting stamps- major expensive I know but they are so so cool. So, if anyone has an extra (received an extra in a swap) or is feeling extremely generous one day- I would be you major bff. (I recently got laid off this June so I can't buy any new supplies (not even stickles!).

*Ranger's/Tim Holtz book "The Compendium of Curiosities." I really do love this book. It has so many great techniques. Anything would do: used, new, or a scanned copy either printed or saved to a disk). I wish I could get it myself but .... oh well.

I just got a heat gun for Mother's Day (I have 2 furbabies) so I really need stuff to heat and melt.

EMBOSSING POWDERS!! If you'd like to share your embossing powders w/me I would be so appreciative.

INK PADS!! I'm in love with ink pads. Especially those little tiny things with all the different colors, like the cat's eye ink pads. Any type of ink or colors. Oh my goodness, just thinking about all the ink pads out there and all the different colors makes me all quivery inside.

A non-stick craft sheet or even just part of one. New or used doesn't matter to me.

Edgar Allen Poe postage stamps!!! New or used I do not care. You can buy them online at usps.com.

Glue Dots.

Also, I'm in love with pink and black Parisian styles and Marie Antoinette, and all types of barouque. Especially images. Actually any type items and embellishments would be welome. Cream and black, . Pink and Black.

I love Chandelier anything- silhouettes, rubber and acrylic stamps.

Label Plates - like you find on a card catalog at the library.

Clear acrylic or glass cabachons any size.

Acrylic or rubber handwriting stamp. so beautiful and so many options!!!!

*glue dots

*I have a long addiction to rubber and Acrylic Stamps!!!!

I am in desperate, desperate, need for a Handwriting Stamp.

My favorite themes that I love but do not have are parisian, chandelier, vintage postal cancel stamps , steampunk, victorian, celestial, suns moons, hourglass, pocket watch, skulls (but not cute skulls) oh my gosh, there is just so much out there!!

Please NO daisies or cute stamps like monkeys or horrible words like memories and love.

*paper punches!!!!!!!!! or things punched from paper punches. Someone sent me some borders of a graveyard and beautiful skeleton trees. They are almost gone and I'm So Sad. So anything punched out or from one of those crickut type machines. I love the Martha Stewart Raven and Bat punches. If you have one of her punches could you send me some black ravens or bats. Maybe some creepy borders.

*Beautiful and mysterious papers.

*Black cats

*Ribbon- see below.

*Black Buttons with rhinestones or cameos.

*Really nice paper and cardstock, etc.

*cameo's- you can get these at bead stores.

*black lace, cream lace, especially black crochet trim.

*rub on letters and images!!!!

*dry embossing templates.

*stencils. Really cool stencils of skulls and things.

*french parisian style cardstock or paper

*Velvet ribbon any color

*satin ribbon any color

*ribbon ribbon ribbon. please NO disney characters or holiday themes or childish images.

*museum quality art- especially pre-raphaelites and rennaisance.

*Apothecary type items and bottles. Antique prints of animals and insects.

*Sideshow oddities.

*napkins for decoupage with beautiful roccoco designs. preferably black and white. Please no floral themes. I don't really have the same tastes as most people.

*black and white striped paper or tissue paper.

*Postcards with Museum quality art- preraphaelites, the decadant periods, and rennaisance art are my favorites.

*crafty magazines like Somerset or a stamping magazine. Cloth paper scissors, Stamplers' Sampler.

• If it's a profile based swap and you're still not sure or in a hurry a Gift Card to Michaels or Borders books. (I'm trying to find places everyone can get a gift card for. (I don't have a target or walmart near me)

I'm really not hard to shop for:

Lately I've been getting a lot of people saying they had no idea what I'd like. So I'll try and make it a bit easier. I understand that I have esoteric and strange tastes compared to a lot of people out there but I am easy to shop and pick stuff out for.

Recently I went to Michaels for the first time in more than a decade. I Love their awesome scrapbook paper. I'm not sure how to describe it. I love paper with chandelier type scroll designs and antique looking designs. I love old looking writing. They had paper with diamonds that shimmered. Oh, I bought many pages of it. I LOVE it.

I LOVE skeleton keys and metal bits in the shapes of keys. I collect little drawer pulls off jewelry boxes and antique door plates and key holes. I love old strange metal bits. I use them in art work and crafty projects.

I love little bitty things especially wood and metal itty bitty things. I've found really amazing things that were used to decorate doll houses with. Little frames, clocks etc. I guess I love antique and really really old vintage dollhouse decorating bits and peices. like frames dishes and books. I love little metal charms and bits. Little picture frames that are 1 to 2 inches.

I love love love cameo's, silhouettes, and cabachons that have images engraved in them. They aren't expensive at the bead store. please no colored glass rocks or cute sayings in them. I really don't like cutsie stuff like happy sayings, bad drawings of people doing stuff or a monkey saying hang in there. yuck.

I LOVE lace. Especially black lace. Next time your at the fabric store go to the trims section for lace and you can find black and cream lace for like 1 or 2 dollars a yard. I'd be your new best friend if you sent me black lace trim.

I have a new passion for acrylic stamps and of course rubber (my forever favorite). Especially stamps that have lots of vines and filigree. I would be your new bestest friend if you sent me rubber or acrylic stamps with awesome designs. Especially from Clearly impressed - stampington.com and other Victorian type, steampunk type, tim holtz type, You guys know what I mean- right? I think they are referred to as Art Stamps these days.

I would love paper punches that are in the shapes of things- flowers, ravens, bats, spiders, insects, birds, butterflies, anything.

I love paper. I prefer darker colors like, black, burgundy, navy blues, etc. But I've seen really beautiful paper at Michaels and many other craft stores. I love beautiful scrapbook paper. Many of you out there buy cardstock in bulk packages. I'd like the ones that are too dark or strange for you to use. I also love love love sparkly paper in pink and rose colors- again with the marie antoinette theme. I love sheetmusic. I love old dictionary pages.

Paper, paper, paper. More and more paper please. I really love and need plain colored and beautifully patterned cardstock. I love vintage, jewel tones, patterned paper with bats, cool antique chandelier designs, etc.

Favorite Colors

Colors I love: Black, Grey, Cream, Jewel Tones, odd colors like olive green, chartreuse, strange colors mixed with black ie: olive green and black, black and pink. etc. Anything black & white, black & grey or black & pink.striped is a plus.

I love Ribbon

I love Ribbon and embellishments in Jewel Tones, Black, and Cream: velvet, satin, lace, cotton, organza, grosgrain, tulle- anything goes with ribbon - just no cutesy images please or plastic ribbon that you wrap gifts with, or childish ribbon.

Beads. I'm prone to jewel tones and of course black, grey, and gunmetal. I love metal seed beads and tiny metal beads in general.

Favorite Themes:

• Victorian images.
• Creepy and artistic rub on images but- no sayings or words please.
• Owls, Ravens, Crows..
• Halloween- especially vintage.
• Skulls and Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), Santaria, Voodoo.
• Cats- especially black ones.
• Spiders and insects in general.
• I love Anatomy-zoology and human.
• Zombies, vampires, monsters in general.
• Creepy Gargoyles, Gothic Architecture,
• Vintage zodiac and esoteric images are always appreciated and loved.
• I love rennaisance style era icons and religious iconography- I love Art History. Especially Saints.
• Gothic and gothicky stuff,
• The Addams Family- the original,
• Poe,
• Lovecraft,
• The Nightmare before Christmas-anything Tim Burton or Burtonesque- especially black and white striped anything.
• Ravens, Crows, Owls.
• Taschen- the publisher.
• Antique patterned paper.
• Film Noir,
• Tiki, Voodoo, Santaria, Dia de los Muertos
• Gargoyles, Gothic Architecture,
• religious iconography, rennaisance art.
• Colors like jewel tones and olive green.
• Vintage zodiac and esoteric images are always appreciated.
• Zombies, Horror, Gothic,
• images from Victorian, Art Nouveau,
• Black Cats,
• Zombies,
• Spiders,
• Cool Font Letters,
• Anything Vintage Halloween or Scary Halloween.
• Anything with Victorian Images.
• Day of the Dead.
• esoteric and zodiac images.
• Religous Saints- especially dutch masters and rennaisance art.
• Art Nouveau, Symbolist, the Decadents.

Food stuffs:

Black & Chai tea- I do Not like fruity teas or ginger tea. Chocolate- I do NOT like cheap milk chocolate or super dark chocolate. I love anything with caramel and nuts- yumm. I don't eat fish or anythng fishy. I"m a vegetarian. I do love sesame candy.

Accessories: Knee hi socks Vintage buttons and new buttons- especially black and rhinestone.. Jewelry with cameo's.

Favorite movies

I love watching movies: *Universal Horror movies *Hammer Horror films *Zombie Flicks *German Expressionism. *Film Noir *Silent film *Really awful science fiction movies from the 1950's ("Frankenstein meets the Space Monster"). *Love anything slasher and gratuitous from the 1960's and 70's.

Favorite books

I read a lot!! Lately: Urban Supernatural stuff, Horror, Mystery, Laurel K Hamilton, Jim Butcher. I love the old classics: Poe, Lovecraft, etc. I love: Vladimir Nobokov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Kafka, Gibson, Anne Rice, I read a lot of Poetry, Keats, Byron, Baudelaire Rimbaud, Poe. I love Jungian philosophy and old medical texts.

Favorite Music

MUSIC- I listen to A LOT of late 70's & 80's Goth and Punk. The Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, etc. I love Gypsy music anything with violin and cello. New music I love- The Dresden Dolls, Miss Derringer, Sopor Aeturnus,

I have strong crafty tendencies and have been really crafty lately. I go thru long periods of collecting ephemra (sometimes weeks once a couple of years) then I'll go crazy with the craftyness. I love to make Jewelry, I've started getting into cutting and pasting onto anything I can get my hands on. I've been collecting cards books and clip art for years and have finally started putting it to use. I just got a color copier and scanner (free street find!!) so I don't have to cut up and use up my wonderful collection.

Dislikes

• I don't like alot of things but mostly:
• Tourist postcards.
• Cheap dollar store items- I'd rather get dollar items from other stores.
• Disney Characters (except the villians)
• Anything like Spongebob
• Mary Englebright type stuff
• cheap stickers,
• stickers with sayings on them (unless they say death, and die, and morbid curiosity).
• abstract art
• polyester
• tie dye/peace signs
• pop music, top 40.
• cute country styles.
• things for children or nursery items.
• bright colors -unless they are ironic pairings like bright green and black.
• please no dollar tree or dollar store items (I can buy them myself). I prefer other dollar items from other stores.

I have 2 cats, a tarantula, and a wonderful husband- Vajra

Flaked on- but if the person sends I always take off their name and swap- of course. This is just to warn others out there. I always give people many chances to make up for their missing packages.

Profile Matchbox- March 2010- flaked byAllison Passero (somuchlaughter) and the coordinator has been suspended.

Jewelry Findings Oct. 2009 by jill roebenack (jillville) I was looking forward to this one.

Ancient Egypt ATC by Valériane Eulry (Bastet)- Angeled by Amy (the juicebox)- beautiful.

Quick Happy Halloween Matchbox by Melissa Naftel (MinnieMelissa)- Angeled by Rachel Johnson- (beautiful winter wonderland matchbox)

Handmade Halloween Ornament swap by- Aleena Yaktine (matchboxbaby). Angeled by Sheilabeepers (yay).