kaypendragon

I graduated college with a BA in Latin American Studies, which is a generally useless degree. (I wrote my senior thesis on Piracy in the Caribbean and the usefulness of pirate ships to marginalized society.) I am currently a part time public library employee and spend my "free" time making a wide variety of art and crafts and volunteering at ZooAmerica. I have held many varied jobs in the past, including zoo intern, nature councilor at Chautauqua Institution, Renaissance costume seamstress, waitress, omelette chef, data entry clerk, Bath and Body Works retail slave, framing specialist and a digital photographer at the attractions in Hershey PA.

I currently live in the Harrisburg PA area with my husband (we've been married for 2 years but lived together for 5 before that) and our elderly black cat, named Blue. My husband and I are Lifetime members of the Universal Gamers Guild - our motto: "Play Games, Have Fun.

I have done (and know how to do) the following crafts: Sewing - by hand and machine; Cross stitch; Redwork embroidery; Scrapbooking and other paper craft including ATC/ACEO;
Drawing/Sketching; Watercolor Painting; Pysanki - ukranian easter eggs; Knitting; Spinning; Chocolate Molding; Origami; Floral Design; Stenciling; Block and silkscreen printing; Small scuplture - with fibers and with Crayola Model Magic; Collage; Quilting; photography; food decorating (I'm newly into bento and love to have fun with icing.)

I collect ATC's and lapel pins. I love animals and books. My favorite book genres are Romance, Fantasy and cookbooks (although I don't really like to cook, I just like to browse the recipes). My favorite colors are black and jewel tones - expecially blue and green. I love mythical beasties - particularly dragons. I am a tea snob - I love tea, but only good tea. My favorite brands are Stash and Twinnings. I prefer the plainer black teas, like English Breakfast, and spiced teas. I also like herbal teas. (I'm aiming for tasting 101 different teas by 2010. You can see the list at the links at the top of the page if you're interested.) I also love tea baked goods: scones, biscuits, buns and desserts - tea time is the only time I cook for. I love playing games - board games, card games, RPGS, video games - any kind of games!

Since I signed up for an apron swap - I should probably put sizing information here. I much prefer full aprons to half ones. I'm probably a small - waist measures 28", bust 32".

There's not a lot that I don't like and most of the stuff I'm not fond of I can give to people around me who do like it (IE: I don't drink coffee but Hubby does).

But there are a couple of real dislikes: I don't do artificial sweeteners. No "sugar-free" anything. I can't even give it away.

In Teas, I don't like Lipton brand or Bigelow. I do not like roobios tea. Most anything else, I'll at least try. I'm not fond of most flavored black teas but if you think it's really good, I'll try it.

I'm highly allergic to cigarette smoke. So, if you are or live with a smoker, drop me a note ahead of time.

I'm looking for a nice tea cozy - I don't have one!

My cat would love to get toys - expecially handmade ones, catnip ones and/or ones that make crinkly sounds.

Games - board games, card games, dice games - especially portable ones.

I have a shiny new DS Lite which would love some hand crafted accessories or used games.

Bento - boxes, acessories, recipes, even photos of ones you've made!

I'm collecting handmade soft play food.

Tea icons - I'm particularly hunting for a tea cup or teapot stencil and/or rubber stamp.

Baking supplies - I have almost no cookie cutters. This needs to be remedied! I love making small baked goods and would adore tested recipes and mini pans.

I rate stuff as soon as I receive it.

My mail service, however, is somewhat unreliable. Plan on your package taking an extra couple of days to get to me, especially if you're sending from overseas.

Also: I have a small apartment mailbox and my mail carrier loves to stuff things into it. So if your package is at all fragile, please pack it really well.

I reuse packaging. Be good to mother earth!