morwesong

Some of my ATCs and swaps are on Flickr, so don't look if you want to be surprised! :-)

15 January, 2012 It's official! I am moving into my very own apartment on the 26th of this month. I will officially change the my address in the swap-bot database a bit closer to my move-in date. Please continue sending to the current address. It is my parents' address, so I will continue to receive mail from there. I do not plan on forwarding my address through the USPS as I have found this to cause trouble for me in the past, but anything sent to the current Virginia Beach address will get to me because I will still see my parents once a week or so. Thanks!

29 December, 2011 I have drastically slowed down on swaps. I am trying to pack all of my stuff and hopefully move to my own place soon. I may do an occasional tag or small swap, but most of my swapping stuff will be boxed up. Of course, if you have not received something from me I will absolutely resend and I will not leave any outstanding swaps.

21 November, 2011 I realized I was a member of way too many groups, so I left several of the ones I had not actively participated in for a while. Please don't take it personally if I left a group you invited me to; I just wanted to declutter a bit! Also, I wanted to note that if you have sent me a message regarding a tag, RAK, etc., and it is unread by me, it is because I leave them unread until I have the tag/RAK ready to go. The "New!" thing behind the messages helps me to remember that I have obligations to fulfill. If you are concerned about me ignoring you, don't be. If you want to check up on it, feel free to send me another message and I will reply promptly. Also, I always mark the messages 'read' and I reply to let you know your stuff is in the mail. Thanks! :-)

I graduated from university with an English Literature degree. I have officially made the decision to go to grad school, and I am working on applying to several schools! I will definitely update here if I get into grad school. Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

I am atheist, and I can definitely be a bleeding heart when I want to. I have strong opinions, but I try not to overstep boundaries and annoy people with them. I am always happy to find like-minded people or people who would like to converse with me about my beliefs. I am capable of being respectful towards others' beliefs, and I ask that the same courtesy is given to me.

I love my pets dearly. I have a cat named Alley and a rabbit named Macbeth. My amazing dog Jake died on December 26, 2010. He was the most incredible animal I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I miss him with all of my heart.

I enjoy making ATCs. I am not artistic in terms of drawing, but I try to use other methods to make nice cards. I do use stickers occasionally, but I would like to think that I do more than "sticker-slapping". If I do use stickers, they are usually the 3-D scrapbooking kind. I also like using ribbons, brads, paint, scrapbooking paper, buttons, etc. If you feel like my ATCs are sub-par, please send me a message before leaving me a bad rating. I will be more than happy to make you another, hopefully better, ATC.

I love T-shirts! I usually wear men's T-shirt because my shoulders are too broad for women's T-shirts. I wear a medium or small.

If you look below you'll see a more comprehensive list of my interests/likes, but here are a few likes and dislikes:

Likes - Ducks - especially rubber ducks and plush ducks!, ATCs, pressed pennies, chocolate, stationery, books, music (see below), trinkets, stuffed animals, tea, movies, and things from foreign countries.

Dislikes - Religious paraphernalia, anything related to Twilight, coffee, seafood, butterscotch, licorice, make-up/nail polish (I just don't use it), and that's about it. I am really easy to please!

Food I love chocolate, fruity-flavored things (grape is my favorite), peanuts. I do not like spicy, licorice, butterscotch, lemon, coffee.

Chocolate I know chocolate is food, but I love it enough that I figured it deserved its own section :-) I am completely addicted to British chocolate. Cadbury Buttons, Flake, Twirl, Aero, Aero Caramel, Curly Wurly, Happy Hippo, etc. Milk chocolate is my favorite, but I am also perfectly happy with dark and white. I like chocolate with nuts, crispy rice, caramel, dried fruit, toffee, and more. I would rather not have chocolate with any spicy or coffee-flavored.

Favorite animals - ducks, cats, dogs, rabbits, owls, squirrels, and hamsters.

Favorite colors - purple, green, and grey/silver.

I am okay with foul language and nudity.

I am NOT okay with sexism, racism, homophobia, classism, ableism, etc. I can't imagine why anyone would want to, but if you are even feeling slightly inclined to include these beliefs in your swap to me, don't.

NOTE: I do have pets, so there is a chance that some pet hair will sneak its way into the package. I will try very hard to avoid that at all costs, especially if you note that you are sensitive to it (I will keep all swap items away from the pets). Also, I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke, so please keep any items you send me away from it. I can handle a tiny bit, but I don't want to open a package reeking of smoke. Thanks for understanding!

Music

My absolute favorite musicians are The Beatles and The Smiths/Morrissey (I know, I know. The guy is a bit of a jerk, but I can't help but love his music!). I'm also really digging Panic! at the Disco right now (I met them recently and saw them in concert - it was a fantastic show!) Some other music I like:

311, Adele, Arctic Monkeys, bagpipes, Bay City Rollers, The Beach Boys, Bloc Party, Brand New, Broadway, Celtic music, classical music, The Clash, The Cure, Duran Duran, Elton John, Elvis Costello, Fleetwood Mac, Flogging Molly, Florence + the Machine, Green Day, Hot Hot Heat, Imogen Heap, Jack's Mannequin, John Lennon, Johnny Cash, The Kinks, The Kooks, Korn, Lily Allen, Men At Work, Modest Mouse, Nine Inch Nails, The Offspring, Orgy, Paul McCartney, The Pigeon Detectives, Placebo, The Psychedelic Furs, Queen, The Ramones, Rancid, The Rolling Stones, The Sex Pistols, Silverchair, Simon & Garfunkel, Something Corporate, Three Dog Night, U2, The Wombats

Movies

My favorite movies are Love Actually and Pirate Radio. I have a pretty wide variety of movies. I don't like westerns, mob movies, most comic book movies, or super action-y stuff (Wanted, Transformers, etc). Some stuff I love:

Across the Universe, Amélie, An Awfully Big Adventure, Atonement, Benny and Joon, Big Daddy, Billy Madison, The Breakfast Club, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Chasing Amy, Clerks, Closet Land, Corpse Bride, The Crow, The Dark Knight, Dogma, Edward Scissorhands, Finding Neverland, From Hell, Full Metal Jacket, Girl Interrupted, Happy Gilmore, The History Boys, Hot Fuzz, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, Mallrats, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Phantom of the Opera, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Pride and Prejudice, Rent, Secret Window, Sense and Sensibility, SLC Punk, Snow Cake, Sweeney Todd, Tristan + Isolde

Television

My favorites are LOST, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and Doctor Who. I recently got into Torchwood, and I am slowly becoming obsessed with that as well! Some others:

Are You Being Served?, Blackadder, Boy Meets World, Degrassi:The Next Generation, Flight of the Conchords, Forensic Files, Fraiser, The Graham Norton Show, Jeopardy, Project Runway, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, The Simpsons, Skins

Books

Here are some authors that I enjoy in no particular order: Jane Austen, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ian McEwan, J.K. Rowling, John Steinbeck, Sophie Kinsella, Tim O'Brien, Willy Russel, William Shakespeare, Robert Cormier, Geoffrey Chaucer, Kurt Vonnegut, John Saul, C.S Lewis, S.E. Hinton, J.D. Salinger, Oscar Wilde, and many more. I love love love John Saul-esque supernatural novels (especially if they involve creepy ghost children!). I also enjoy memoirs, historical fiction, historical non-fiction, and "the classics" (okay, not all of them, but I am your fairly typical English Lit major!)

I am so thankful that I found this site! Before swap-bot, I rarely did anything crafty. Now it is my goal to try almost all crafts that I come across her! Here are just a few of the crafts I enjoy:

• ATCs! I had been on swap-bot for several months before I worked up the courage to try these, and now I am totally addicted!

• Jewellery-making - I am still incredibly amateur when it comes to this, but I have so much fun! I especially enjoy making glass tile pendants and bottlecap pendants. I just started making earrings!

• Magnets - I have been making bottlecap magnets and glass marble magnets

• Sewing - I have been trying to get the hang of sewing since I was a kid, but I think I am finally getting it!

• Polymer clay - I enjoy making little pendants/figurines/etc. out of polymer clay!

I haven't made any matchboxes yet, but I recently received one and I love it!

I would love to eventually learn how to knit/ccrochet (I can do a basic crochet, but I'd love to learn to make amis), cross stitch, and make soaps/candles/etc. Any tips, booklets, information, or supplies for these would be greatly appreciated!

I collect ducks (stuffed animals, trinkets, rubber ducks, etc), anything rabbit-y (but I especially love lop-eared rabbits!) anything related to Snoopy/Peanuts, pressed pennies, anything Beatles, autographs, trinkets from other countries, and anything Shakespeare-related.

I love random rubber ducks!! Shakespeare duck is my favorite!

Here is a ridiculously long wish list. Feel free to skim!

• Rubber ducks - I love to get unique rubber duckies. I have close to 200 ducks (though repeats are always welcome; that just means I get twin ducks! :-D). Right now, my MAJOR want is flag ducks like this and fun ducks related to your country like this I would LOVE those two that I listed as examples, so if anyone in the UK can hook me up, I would be thrilled to do a private swap!
• Actually, anything duck related (stuffed animals, stationary, etc)
• Steampunk craft supplies (I'm just getting into steampunk and I love it!) I am especially interested in Tim Holtz stuff!
• Bunnies! Plush, art, jewellery, postcards, pictures of your bunnies; anything rabbit-y makes me happy :-)
• Anything library related - I especially love quotes about libraries/librarians
• Hand crafted things - Currently I am especially smitten with amigurumis and cute little stuffies
• Anything Snoopy/Peanuts
• Frog-related things for my mom
• Souvenirs from other countries
• Supplies for making ATCs
• Anything houndstooth (papers, fabrics, etc.) It's my favorite pattern!
• ATCs made by you
• Pressed pennies
• Anything from my Etsy favorites (I also use that as a wishlist for my family members, so disregard the expensive stuff!)
• Chocolate (milk chocolate is my favorite, but like chocolate just about any way they make as long as it doesn't have something I don't like in it such as coffee or butterscotch) - If you are sending from April-September, please wrap it well as it will likely melt!
• Anything Beatles
• Cute stationery (especially if it has Snoopy or other Peanuts characters on it!)
• Anything that represents where you live
• Stuffed animals
• Jewellery (I have pierced ears and I like necklaces, pendants, bracelets, and rings. I prefer silver-colored jewellery to gold)
• Trinkets
• Socks (I like them all, but I love the "no-show" socks that do not go above your ankles)
• Tea - I highly prefer black teas to all other sorts.
• Cute pens
• Sharpies (especially black; I can never seem to find my black Sharpies!)
• T-shirts - I wear a small/medium/large depending on how small the sizes runs (American sizes are usually small for men T-shirts and medium for women shirts. For most foreign countries, I am probably a medium/large).
• Anything history related! (I am especially fond of British and American history)
• Anything British. I am especially fond of Scotland as most of my ancestry traces back there. I consider London my spiritual home, and I hope to live there someday. I would also looove if someone from the UK would want to do a private candy swap with me. There is a disappointing lack of Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons and Aero Chocolate Bars here in the US! And Cadbury Twirl! I just tried these for the first time and they are amazing!
• Anything for my pets (a Maine Coon cat and a mini-lop rabbit). The cat loves any kind of toy or treat, but she does not like wet cat food. The bunny loooooves dried papaya, plush toys, and wooden toys.

I am really not a picky person when it comes to swaps. If I get something I am not incredibly fond of or cannot use, I will try to pass it on to someone that will use it (I will never regift anything that you made for especially for me. If you took the time to look at my profile and think of me when you made something, it will mean a lot to me.) Just for reference, these are things that I would rather you not send to me.

• Anything that used to belong to an animal (skeletons, bugs in amber, etc.) I want my rabbit feet to be attached to a warm fuzzy bunny, thank you!

• Religious pamphlets, books, etc. - My religious beliefs have been unchanging and constant since I was 8 years old. I do not need anyone telling me that I am doing it wrong or that I need to do it your way. To be clear, I will not rate you down or be upset if you write me a note on stationary with a Bible quote. I will, however, express dissatisfaction if you send me a pamphlet in the swap that says, "You are going to Hell! The only way to redemption is * insert tenet of faith * See the difference?

• Completely unusable stuff. I try to use every bit of ribbon and scrap of paper I receive in a swap, but please don't send it to me if it belongs in a trashcan. I have actually received things so dirty/torn/small that they went straight from my hands into the trashcan.

• Similar to the above, please nothing massively stained or damaged. One person's trash can certainly be another person's treasure, but in some cases the trash will only ever be trash.

• Flavors I do not like: butterscotch, licorice, lemon. I do not drink coffee at all, and I do not like anything spicy.

• I do not use makeup or nail polish (unless it is the clear stuff that is supposed to harden your nails). My hair is only long enough for the smallest of ponytails. I do not use any extremely girl-y things like pink barrettes. I basically only use hair ties.

• ATCs that you did not make. I know there are lots of swaps on here for "regifting" or trading ATCs, but I do not sign up for those. If I am your receiving partner for an ATC swap, I want something made by YOU. Please do not pass someone else's work off as your own.

• At the moment, I am not in need of teeny tiny stickers (teacher reward, etc.)

Sending

I always send my packages, and I always send them on time. If, for any reason, I am unable to send it on time I will let you know that it will be a bit late. (And just for the record, only one of my swaps was sent late. I had to mail it a couple of days after the deadline because something I had ordered for my partner to longer to get to me than I expected. My partner was made aware and was very understanding!)

If you do not receive a package from me or you do not like what you have received, PLEASE send me a message. I am always willing to try to work something out. I try very hard to send people things that I think they will like, so please talk to me before giving me a 1 or 3 rating.

I mark "Sent" as soon as the swap is out of my hands. Sometimes that may be on a Sunday or holiday, or sometimes it may take the post office a day or two to postmark the swap. If you have a question about the postmark, please PM me before giving me a 3. I am honest. If I mailed it a day or two late, I will let you know and I won't mark sent until it is actually sent.

Receiving

I am usually in a large number of swaps at once. It would help me GREATLY if you including a little note somewhere with your swap-bot username and the name of the swap. It will help me to rate promptly!

Rating

I pledge to rate!!! I want all of my partners to know how much I appreciate them sending to me. Since I started swapping on swap-bot, there has only been a time or two that I forgot to rate. Chances are that if I have not rated yet, I have not received the swap. If you are concerned, feel free to PM me with the swap information and I will double-check to see if I've received the swap or not.

I ask that the partners that I send to do the same. Please rate me as soon as you possibly can! If there is any issue at all with the swap, PM me so we can work it out. I want everyone to be happy with what I've sent. :-)

I am going to use this space to thank EVERYONE who has rated me! I used to respond to each rating individually, but I have gotten busy and I just don't have time to do that anymore. Thank so much for rating me, and I truly hope you enjoy what I have sent for you! :-)

Thank you so much!

I think it is very sad to put a lot of time and effort into something just to have your partner flake on you. If someone flakes on me, I will definitely try contacting the person before leaving a negative rating. Once I have concluded that I am getting no response or package from the person, I will leave a 1 and if I ever see the person in another swap with me I will make sure to e-mail the swap coordinator to let her or him know that the person is a flake. I will also post all of the names here so other trustworthy swap-bot members know to avoid them!

If a flaker does eventually send me a package, I will change the rating and remove them from the list, but I still think it is really important to send your swaps on time!

I rarely go searching for angels, but they would be absolutely wonderful and much appreciated for any of these swaps unless otherwise noted.

People that flaked on me:

@emthottie for Ye Ole Cup and Saucer--March USA Only swap

@drgnlady801 for Note cards swap - angelled by @ladonnatwinmom

@roarlikedinos for #2 Big Fat Stuffed Envelope International Swap - angelled by @Peanutbutterrhino

@Gobblidigook for Your Choice Swap - angelled by @NaughtyElf

@bronzfrog for 5 Kitty Cat Surprises - angelled by @LinketJewelryDesign

@imburton for Thriftstore Find #5 - angelled by @ladydy5

@Kerttu for Where I want to live ATC swap! - angelled by @NaughtyElf

@zombietheo for Rubber Ducky Swap - angelled by @blueapplegallery

@mellie for International Big Fat Stuffed Envelope Swap #5 (I've signed up for 3 of these swaps and was flaked on for 2 of them. What rotten luck!) - angelled by @Andriginals

@CraftyTweetie for Peanuts comic strip handmade craft swap!

@southernsara for British Comedies on PBS: ATCs

@Goggabos for A-Z Movie ATCs: A (I do not need an angel for this as I set up a private swap to get the A card)

@autumn for Secret Santa Swap LARGE ENVELOPE - angelled by @HookNMirrors

@ILovetheBlues for Christmas card and a confession - angelled by @daarhon

@LADYHIGHTOWER for Christmas Candy From Where You Live in the World

@haveyoumetlisa for Ransom Note ATC - angelled by @PenguinParade

@michelle32855 for Fives, fabulous fives! is back!! :) USA only, plz! - angelled by the wonderful swap host @shabbypink123

@sylv1a for {Reusable bag Nr.:6} Februar - kindly angelled by @lexidh

@Pepper for A-Z Movie ATCs: L (No angel needed for this swap as I got what I needed in a private swap)

@RavynDarkrose for A-Z Movie ATCs: V (no angel needed)

@CitrusFruchtchen for 11-11-11 postcard swap - angelled by the lovely @susieq11

@phillyzee for Christmas ATC

Tag Flakers

@MommyTheMaid for the Not Crappy Tag in the Crafting Queens group - angelled by the lovely @bobogrl

People that flaked for swaps that I hosted:

@JillyStar for Peanuts Characters ATC!

@cammyjones for The Beatles ATC swap!

@Kerttu for Where I want to live ATC swap! and LOST ATC swap!

@Goggabos for A-Z Movie ATCs: A

@rickeystrawberry for A-Z Movie ATCs: C

@Whiskey for A pressed penny to three partners

@mauiwahine for Make Up ATC Swap A-S

@Pepper for A-Z Movie ATCs: L

I have a big internet hug and eternal gratitude for the wonderful swap-bot users who angel the swaps in which I have been flaked. I think it is just amazing and fantastic that there are such wonderfully selfless people who are willing to pick up the slack for the bad users.

Thank you soooo much!

@Peanutbutterrhino for #2 Big Fat Stuffed Envelope International Swap - I was not expecting to get an angel for this swap, but I was VERY pleasantly surprised to receive a fantastic Peanuts-themed package that just made my week! I wish I could leave you an actual rating, but since I cannot here is a five and a bunch of hearts -> 5 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Thank you!

@NaughtyElf for Your Choice Swap - I got a message from this user saying that she noticed that I was flaked on for the swap and offered to angel it for me. It really touched me as she was not part of the swap and just happened to notice through the course of looking at profiles that the original user flaked on me. I received an absolutely wonderful package that clearly had a lot of thought put into it. Thank you SO MUCH, NaughtyElf! Your random act of kindness has inspired me to pay it forward and find some swaps to angel.

@ladydy5 for Thrift Store Swap #6 - After my partner flaked on me, the coordinator of the swap very kindly set me a great stationary set - what a cool find for a thrift store! Thank you so much for ensuring that your swaps end with all happy swappers! I really appreciate it :-)

@LinketJewelryDesign for 5 Kitty Cat Surprises - I received a message with an offer to angel a swap that I had listed on my flaker list, and LinketJewelryDesign sent me an absolutely wonderful envelope of perfect kitty cat goodies. Thank you SO MUCH LinketJewelryDesign!! I wish I could give you a 5 and a heart for your kindness! You have no idea how much I appreciate it!!

@NaughtyElf whose angelling of the Your Choice Swap got me interested in ATCs in the first place, kindly angelled for the Where I want to live ATC swap by sending me a gorgeous ATC. Thanks so much @NaughtyElf

@blueapplegallery the swap coordinator, very kindly sent me a very cute rubber ducky for the Rubber Ducky Swap in which I was flaked on. Thanks so much!

@ladonnatwinmom sent me a package for a regular swap, and I was very surprised to see that she had sent me some notecards as an angel for the Note card swap. That was so thoughtful of you, and I was touched. Thank you!

@Andriginals sent me an envelope of goodies for Big Fat International. I was very excited to see the tins of tea. I have already enjoyed a cup of it! It was so kind of you to send me that great package! :-)

@HookNMirrors angelled for the swap that she hosted, Secret Santa Swap LARGE ENVELOPE. The swap ended up with a lot of flakers, but I truly believe that @HookNMirrors is trying to do her best to make up for the flakers. I received a wonderful package stuffed with all kinds of scrapbooking goodies, candies, fun souvenirs, and more. Thank you so much!

@daarhon sent me a gorgeous Christmas card for the "Christmas card and a confession swap" that she hosted and I was flaked on. The card is so pretty that even though Christmas is over, I am keeping it displayed on my wall. Thanks @daarhon !!

@shabbypink123 very kindly angelled for the Fives, Fabulous Fives! swap that she hosted and I was flaked on. I got an absolutely wonderful package chock full of goodies including lots of great crafting supplies for my ATCs. She was quick to offer the angel after I mentioned the flaker in the Swap-bot Flakers group, and she sent the angel package within a day or so of offering the angel. Thank you so much @shabbypink123 !! The great hosts like you are the reason I stay here even though I have been flaked on so many times!

@lexidh saw my post in the Swap-bot Flakers group about being flaked on for {Reusable bag Nr.:6} Februar and quickly offered to angel the swap for me. Not only did I get a fantastic bag that is easily rolled up and store in my purse, but she also sent me some lovely teas and her kitty sent my kitty a toy! Alley and I both thank you, @lexidh !!

@PenguinParade was my partner for an ATC swap and, after seeing that I had been flaked on for Ransom Note ATC, very kindly offered to angel this swap for me. I received an adorable ducky ransom note ATC that I love! Thanks so much @PenguinParade !

@bobogrl was quick to offer an angel when I posted that I had been flaked on for a Crafting Queens tag. She was not able to send exactly what I tagged for (as it was something that would not make it to me in hot summer weather), but she sent me a wonderful recipe book to make all sorts of delicious desert-y goodness! She also sent a gorgeous Alaska-themed magnetic notepad as well as a wonderful long letter that made it clear that we have lots of good things in common :-) Thank you so much for your fabulous angel package, @bobogrl !

@susieq11 angelled the 11-11-11 postcard swap for me. She was not only kind enough to send me a postcard, but she took the time to send a postcard that would make me smile! She sent me a fabulous Beatles postcard that made me smile. It will now part of both my postcard and my 'Beatles stuff' collections! Thanks @susieq11 !!

I am always up for private swaps as long as you have good ratings (I won't privately swap with anyone who has 1s, sorry) and have completed as least 5 package swaps. I would especially love to trade with anyone outside of North America.

I can offer souvenirs from Virginia, beach-y items, and military items from my hometown. I also live near an Asian grocery market that has loads of specialty foods and treats like Pocky.

If you are looking for something in particular and want to know if I can get it, feel free to PM me.