racheljohnson

NOTICE: I am more than happy to answer administrative and site questions via the messaging system, but it can take up to a week, or two, for me to respond. I am also not able to accept group invites at this time and I have dropped from most groups. I just have not had time to be a good group participant... Thanks for understanding.

I am one of the creators and administrators of Swap-bot. I came up with the idea of Swap-bot after participating in some really cool blog-hosted swaps. I think swaps are a great way to meet fun, creative, new people. I have been swapping for a long time and I am still having lots of fun with it.

I live in Brooklyn, New York, with my husband, Travis, and little dog, Crusher. I grew up in Missouri and Kansas, went to college in Iowa, and lived in Oregon for a few years.

Travis and I started Swap-bot in 2005 and we have been staying busy keeping it running ever since! I graduated from the University of Oregon in June 2007 with a masters degree in Arts Management. My thesis covered the topic of internet marketing for indie crafters, and I used Swap-bot in some of my research projects. I was most recently working as a graphic designer at a national greeting card company, but now I am working on Swap-bot and other independent project full-time.

It took me a little while to get comfortable, but now I am loving New York City! I just ran the New York City Marathon in 2010 with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training. (Thank you soooo much to all of you who donated to my fundraising efforts!)

My favorite color is light blue/green - like turquoise or teal. I also like pink and yellow and grey, lately. Really, I love any colors, but I am drawn to washed-out palettes.

For crafting, I love any type of scrapbooking embellishments - I use them for all sorts of altered art projects, not just scrapbooks. As of just recently, I also really love felt. I bought a new book of felt projects, so any felt would be much appreciated. I also really, really love glitter! Oh, and kawaii! Anything kawaii!

My favorite foods are sweet espresso drinks. (I guess they would technically be considered my favorite drinks, but I sometimes eat them as food for lunch. I know, I know, totally healthy!) I also really love sushi, soup, and pickles - but you can't really send those in a swap! Hmmm... I love chocolate, and I really like Junior Mints and Good 'n Plenty candies.

My favorite holiday would probably have to be Valentine's Day (I was born in February). My favorite Harry Potter character is Neville. My favorite cold weather sport is ice skating.

I love wacky and cute things, gel pens, glitter, rubber stamps, stationery, Star Trek, scrapbooking embellishments, sharpie markers, the space-time continuum, ribbon, gum and candy, stickers, patterned paper, the internet, handmade plushies, handmade anything, Martha Stewart, puppies, short pants, 1" buttons, flowers, fashion magazines, anything miniature, kleenex, friendly people, and honest politicians.

I do mostly paper crafts, but I love making anything! I also paint and do some crochet. I design stuff on the computer, too. Matchboxes are my signature craft. (You can download my free matchbox template here and create matchboxes from scratch out of card stock!)

I want to sew more... my mom gave me her old sewing machine, which I love. I have made lots of curtains and mended pants, but that is about it.

The Walking Dead, Justified, Fringe, The Soup, Tosh.0, True Blood, 30Rock, Deadwood... ST:TNG is my all-time favorite. (I have a huge crush on Captain Jean Luc Picard.)

I like futuristic movies and also anything fun...

Children of Men was superb. I am also really attached to the Terminator series. I wouldn't mind being Linda Hamilton when I grow up. Anything post-apocalyptic is fascinating to me.

Love Actually, Zoolander, and Lilo & Stitch are also faves.

Han Solo and Indiana Jones are my ideal leading men. (I used to have a major crush on Harrison Ford in high school.)

Two of my favorite books:

Mr. Wilson's Cabinet of Wonder - for museum buffs like me this is a real kick in the pants. It helps you to think about all sorts of things like the nature of reality and authority and truth.

Middlesex - Everyone is different and gender is not black and white. I am glad this book is now one of Oprah's book club choices because I think it will help broaden many people's definition of gender and sexuality.

I also must admit that I just finished the Twilight Saga. I love Jacob!!

Tom Petty is my all-time favorite, but I listen to anything that is good! Recently, I am really digging Florence and The Machine, Nikki Minaj, The Killers, Vampire Weekend, Black Kids, Weezer, Angels & Airwaves, Gym Class Heroes, Arcade Fire, Prince, Paul Simon, Wyclef Jean, JayZ, and The Weepies. I also like Ben Lee and Bright Eyes.

One of my very favorite songs is the Ignition Remix by R.Kelly. My guilty pleasure is Bruce Hornsby.

I am hesitant to list my dislikes because I love to get random things from people all over the world. I do not want to limit anyone's creativity by giving them limits on what they can or can't send me. If you like it, I will probably like it, too. That being said, I don't really like ranch dressing or closed-minded people.

@travisj