krismakes

17/11/09 Update::Now I have some ratings I am slowing down to concentrate more on handmade swaps and hosting such swaps. I'm going for quality not quantity now! I am still up for private swaps and pen palling so PM if you're interested.

Put your feet up and grab a beverage...this may take a while! I am a craft lovin' aussie gal who is particularly enamored with papercrafts. I have eclectic tastes in the way I dress, decorate my home and craft/make art. I have slightly alternative tendencies and am recently getting into organic beauty products and general earth-loving non-toxic living!

I scrapbook and make cards as well as other papery creations. I do love fabric too and have been accumulating a nice little stack but I am yet to hack into any of it and sew something...one day! I love looking at patterns for handbags, cushions, softies and such. I like to cook and bake as well. I seem to be collecting lots of recipe books as well as random recipes printed from the internet.

Other odd bits and bobs: I like aprons (particularly vintage or modern ruffly things), lollies/candy (I had salt water taffy when in the states and I loved it sooo much), notebooks and journals, upcycling, bird, birdcage and chandelier images, cute robots, stationary to write to all my new swap-bot friends, chocolate, wine, drink mixes like the iced teas and lemonades in the states, beads and charms for jewelry making and so on! I also have a deep infatuation with cheese however I don't think it mails well :o)

I have a partner (boyfriend sounds too teenager for my 34 years), two dogs (both adopted, Cavaliers; Bella and Charlie) and two cats (regular ol' tabby's Scratchy and adopted Clematyne) whom I love dearly. In my younger days I was an avid "pen paler" and had pen pals in England, Japan and America. I loved getting their letters and any little tid bits they included like stationary, bookmarks, pictures etc. I miss those days and hope to make new friends that I can send goodies too. There is nothing sweeter than getting home from a bad day at work and finding a letter/parcel in your letter box. I also enjoy giving so am looking forward to brightening someone's day too! I think I'm up for private swaps too so drop me a line if you're interested or would like to exchange letters. I am interested in doing private swaps that are not "like for like" eg. if you want something that is easy for me to get in Australia and you can give me something that I can't get here. Does that make sense? PM me to discuss options!

By the way here is a link to what you can't post to Australia - hope it helps! http://www.daffa.gov.au/aqis/mail/cant-mail

Hmm this is always a hard one for me. I guess I have an eclectic taste in music too and like most types. In Australia we have a great radio station called Tripple J and I listen to them a lot and like probably 90% of the music they play. I guess they are more "independant" and they support a lot of Australian music. I tend to shy away from commercial radio and "the charts" as I have to listen to it at work and they play songs to death! I like old songs too from all era's and generally anything that gets me "boppin' along".

Well I did get taken in by the Harry Potter and Twilight phenomenons, what can I say? I mostly read fiction, mysteries, crime/detective stuff, books with a light sprinkling of history and/or romance. Patricia Cornwall, Sue Grafton, Micheal Crichton, John Grisham, JD Robb, Nora Roberts, Barbara Delinsky, Jodi Picoult, Nicolas Sparks etc. If I think of more I will add them! Am attempting to read through some of Angus and Robertsons (bookstore) Top 100 list. Oh and I know this is about books but I "read" a lot of blogs; mainly crafty ones or design/home deco ones!

I love watching movies, some of my all time faves are The Goonies, The Lost Boys, Grease, The Prestige, Groundhog Day, Bridget Jones' Diary, The Holiday, most disney/pixar animations, the Harry Potter movies of course. Was dissapointed by the Twilight movie, hopefully the new ones will be much improved! Watched Jane Ayre the other day and enjoyed it so might get into some of the classics.

Ahhh TV! I have a love hate relationship with tv. There are some good shows that I do love and then there's a lot of crud! We don't have pay tv for fear I will turn into a couch potato! I have recently begun to enjoy watching tv on dvd as I can watch it in my own time and more than one episode at once if I so wish. Some of my regulars (both old and current shows/mini series) are Heroes, Grey's Anatomy, Seinfeld (best ever tv show), Veronica Mars, Desperate Housewives (it makes me laugh), Glee, Private Practice, The Cook and The Chef, Jekyll, Ghost Whisperer (mainly for her wardrobe), any of Jamier Olivers shows, the old shows like Magnum P.I., Degrassi Junior High, The Cosby Show, The Dukes of Hazzard, Beverley Hills 90210...need I go on? Sad I know! I swear I don't watch that much tv.

I will try to keep this short and sweet! I have always been into stationary so it just kind of follows that I have become a scrapbooker and card maker! I have way too much paper and stamps but I don't care lol. I do it as a part time hobby/business too so I can always say "it's for work" ha ha. I love patterns and so I also love fabric. I have collected a fair bit of it now but I am not familiar with sewing and find it hard to cut into that gorgeous material for fear of stuffing up. I am trying hard to overcome this issue. I have a sewing machine which has been used a total of two times. I really wish I could make some of the loverly handbags and toys that I see on craft blogs and site. I will take that plunge one day...I hope! I also make a little beaded jewelry here and there too, and would like to improve my skill in this area. I have an appreciation of all art and crafts especially now I know how long it can take to make something and how much of yourself goes into it.

Where to begin, maybe with a list of things I like/collect? I will refine this list as I figure out what I am doing.

• anything scrapbooking/card making eg paper, ribbons, embellishments, tags, brads, buttons etc

• any stationary - pens, pencils, notepads, journals, envelopes, writing paper, address labels, stickers (any sort but preferably cute!) etc

• magazines, newspapers and books in languages other than english or just pages if it's too expensive to post (if you want the same in english PM me for a private swap!) Also pages from old childrens illustrated books.

• stamps, rubber/mounted/unmounted/clear

• cute Japanese type stuff - Kawaii

• recipes esp. for baking and recipe books that I can't buy here (like local ones in other countries)

• old swap cards

• Alice in Wonderland and Little Red Riding Hood, actually any of the old fairy tales

• fabric (vintage, retro 50's, modern like Amy Butler or cute Japanese prints)

• patterns for sewing or templates for papercraft

• stuff with cute/pretty/antiquey/quirky/vintage things like mushrooms, birds, keys, tickets etc on them

• chocolate, Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, Salt Water Taffy, candy and chocolate from other countries

• funny little handmade doll/softie/creatures - you know the ones that are really popular right now!

• I don't really like much brand stuff like Disney etc (unless it's vintage!) except I do love Hello Kitty and My Little Pony and cute Japanese brands like Sanrio for things like stationary, wallets, purses etc just not things that go on a wall. I do very much love Emily the Strange so anything Emily is quite welcome!

• I love socks, particularly stripey ones and I would love to own a pair of handmade knitted socks one day. I also like hats and beanies.

• anything handmade for me! I'm not much of a sewer, knitter, crocheter, drawer, painter etc so if you are good at these things I would love to receive a surprise :o)

My favorite colours? I like lots of colours so it's hard to single out a few so don't worry too much about this bit but. I don't think there's any colours that I really don't like.

I do have a blog www.krismakes.wordpress.com and I may put pictures of my swap goodies on there. I will not put pictures up of things I am swapping until I have sent them out and been received. If you prefer me not to show pictures of swap items you have sent me please let me know. If you have a blog please let me know and I will drop by have a read - I don't have a big following so any other small time bloggers let me know and I will leave a comment or two to bolster your spirits if needed! Cheers

Although I am new I will always send out swaps!!!! If I have any unforeseen circumstances I will make contact with partners and co-coordinators straight away. Please contact me if you are waiting for something from me or have not received anything please let me know and I will chase it up. I like to hear from people so don't be hesitant to contact me if you are unsure about anything - just be friendly like I endeavor to be! I rate as soon as I receive and hope that you will too. Thanks so much!