JossieAyame

Extremely important! If you are sending a package from outside of the EU and fill in a customs declaration, make sure to mark the contents as a gift! As of 1 July 2021, we need to pay import duties and VAT on all commercial packages from outside of the EU, regardless of their value.

17 June 2021:
My elbow is healing well and I am able to sign up for swaps again! I will still need to take it easy for a while though, so will only be signing up for a few swaps here and there.

12 May 2021:
I am going for my elbow surgery next Wednesday (19 May) so won't be able to participate in swaps for at least 6 weeks. My husband will help to package the swaps I am currently in, so they will all still be sent on time, but I won't be joining new ones until I am fully recovered.

27 April 2021:
It's been a while since an update. I'm now on my 3rd job since November (due to lots of retrenchments as a result of Covid), but I got my contract at my current job renewed until October so it looks like I have some more stability now. I'm also currently busy with a forex trading course, as well as a French course. I still have problems with my elbow since my fracture last year, and need to go for an operation. This might happen before the end of May, otherwise only in December / January, due to my calendar and needing to plan around events that might still happen (if Covid allows it). When I go for the operation I will not be able to participate in swaps for at least 2 months.

24 November 2020:
Things have been going a lot better! I found a new job that is absolutely perfect for me, and we have adopted a kitten who we have named Lily.

29 June 2020:
I am now reusing packaging wherever possible! I am trying to buy less disposable plastics and boxes.

Hi everyone! I'm Josslyn, but I mostly go by Jossie or Joss. I'm a 27 year old alternative model from South Africa now living in Belgium. I speak English and Afrikaans fluently and am moderately fluent in Dutch - I would love a Dutch penpal to further improve my language skills!

I love dyeing my hair weird and wonderful colours - it's currently dark green and black (although it's mostly been varying shades of green and black for years now, I do sometimes change it to blue or purple for a month or so every once in a while). I also love body modifications and have a few piercings and tattoos. I love hearing the stories behind other people's tattoos. I'm also very much into the goth subculture and everything it entails.

I have three beautiful kitties, Ritsie, Mavis and Lily!

I love traveling and hope to be able to travel again soon. I particularly love visiting places with medieval history with castles and forests. I literally picked the city I now live in based on the fact that it has a castle in the city centre :D I also love viking and celtic history. I could spend the entire day inside museums learning about history.

I am the founder of The Darker Side of SB and Swapping in Belgium! as well as co-founder of the Swappers in South Africa group along with @Hoosfoos

I have a 3DS & Nintendo Switch and play Pokemon (and Pokemon Go!) so message me if you'd like to exchange friend codes :)

I'm into the following crafts:
* Bone wall art - I am still very new at this but having lots of fun with it! All bones used in my creations are ethically sourced
* Jewellery making (elegant beaded jewellery - see my website link - I've also just started getting into electroforming)
* Jewellery / trinket box making - I paint and decorate fancy boxes to different themes

Supplies are always appreciated!

I also like doing private swaps with other crafty people :)

I also recently got a 3D printer and am enjoying printing fun things with it. I am going to learn how to design my own models for printing when I am done with the current courses I am working on.

Here are some things I like if you're looking for inspiration:
* Anatomical themed items, especially hearts
* Animal bones or animal bone jewellery (ethically sourced please)
* Animals - bats, rabbits, cats, ravens, rats and wolves
* Cat toys or other items for my cats
* Classic horror - I love Nosferatu, Dracula, Elvira, Frankenstein, Vampira etc inspired items!
* Coffins
* Colours - black, ivy / forest green, dark blue and dark purple
* Cooking and baking recipes (I am not vegan, but my mother is, so I do not mind receiving vegan or vegetarian recipes! Please check the next section though for food allergies)
* Creepy cute / spoopy items - especially cute black cats or bats
* Crystals (I am really connecting with Labradorite lately, but any crystals will be appreciated)
* Dried or pressed flowers
* Fantasy (elves, dragons, magic, mythical creatures, etc - I'd LOVE to receive something jackalope themed!)
* Gaming related items (see favourite games)
* Harry Potter (I'm a proud Slytherin)
* Lace and velvet
* Letter sets & note cards
* Medieval items - anything to do with castles, medieval fashion, monarchs, etc. My favourite era in history is the Tudors but I love hearing about medieval history all over the world!
* Moon themed items
* Mythology - particularly Celtic, Egyptian and Norse
* Pokemon (my favourite Pokemon are Pikachu, Ninetales, Eevee, Umbreon & Espeon)
* Postcards - I prefer non-touristy postcards with art, or postcards with castles or other medieval elements
* Runes - Elder or younger Futhark. I have a strong connection with Kenaz and Raidho
* Scents - if you are sending me anything scented, I absolutely love berries (especially cherries), vanilla, patchouli, cinnamon, peppercorn and coffee
* Seeds - we are busy planting a little flower garden on our balcony! Purples and blues are my favourite but I like all colours. We already have sunflowers, forget-me-nots, lavender, dahlias and some flower mixes (blue flower mix, butterfly mix, purple flower mix)
* Spooky things
* Tarot / Oracle card deck - I've been looking for the perfect decks for quite some time now. I am specifically looking for one with forest animal imagery but don't mind receiving a different kind to start with!
* Taxidermy or taxidermy themed or inspired items
* The Addams Family (I love Wednesday and have a huge tattoo of her on my thigh)
* Victorian themed items, especially cameos, filigree, damask and lace!
* Viking & Celtic inspired home decor
* Washi tape - I love gothic style washi tape with things like moons black cats, ravens, bats, forests, damask, cameos, etc, as well as Pokemon washi
* Witchy and Pagan themed items (I have a gravitation towards Celtic, Norse and Egyptian symbolism)

Beauty products I love:
* Glitter & gems to stick on my face
* False lashes - interesting or really long ones!
* Perfume
* Makeup brushes - currently looking for a small fluffy brush to blend eyeshadow, and a tiny brush for making dots
* Stick on nails - spooky themes or black with accent details

Candy / food / recipes etc I like:
* Berries & berry flavoured things
* Caramel (especially salted caramel)
* Chocolate - any kind but my absolute favourite is ruby chocolate! No nuts or fruits though please - chocolates with other things like gummy candy, caramel, etc inside are fine!
* Cinnamon
* Ginger
* Gummy sweets
* Liquorice
* Sour things
* Sweet things
* Tea - my favourites are berry / ginger / cinnamon / liquorice, but I love trying new things!
* Turkish delight - this is my absolute favourite treat but I haven't been able to find any since moving to Belgium, so I would love to receive some!

Please don't send me any of the following:
* Baby / children related things - I am childfree by choice and so are all of my friends so I don't even have anyone to gift things like that to
* Bath products - our boiler is only on in the morning when I am still sleeping, so I cannot bath at our current apartment unless I get up early :(
* Bookmarks - I've recently received three new bookmarks so I have enough for now!
* Cartoon / Hello Kitty / Kawaii items (cute cat items are the only exception)
* Christmas themed items. I grew up in a family that did not celebrate Christmas so it means nothing to me (when I enter stocking stuffer swaps I don't keep the items as stocking stuffers, I open them right away. But of course in these kinds of swaps I do not mind Christmas themed wrapping papers or cards as they might be part of the swap requirements)
* Colours - gold, copper, pink, brown and orange
* Dia de los Muertos or "sugar skull" themed items
* Fridge magnets - our fridge is not magnetic so I have nowhere to put them :(
* Girly or super colourful items
* Jewellery - I have my own jewellery business and mostly wear my own creations to promote my brand
* Ouija board related items
* Makeup - I am a promoter for Notoriously Morbid Cosmetics and almost exclusively use their products
* Postage stamps - I sometimes keep a pretty stamp that was on a swap I receive, but I don't really collect stamps
* Religious items or symbolism (including Gothic crosses! NOTHING to do with religion please, EXCEPT Norse / Celtic or other pagan imagery. Please no pentagrams though - pentacles are fine if the point is facing up)
* Skull and crossbones items (the pirate style - other skull or bone themed things are fine!)
* The Nightmare Before Christmas items (other Tim Burton related items are fine)

Please don't send me any recipes / tea / candy, etc containing the following:
* Fish
* Mint
* Nuts
* Orange or orange flavourant (I'm allergic!)
* Spicy / hot food
* Tea - Earl Grey, English Breakfast or Rooibos. I prefer fruity teas
* Tomatoes - yes I know you probably won't be sending me tomatoes, but please keep this allergy in mind when sending me recipes as I am extremely allergic!

I mostly listen to goth music (goth rock, post punk, wave, etc), folk metal and power metal, with a bit of symphonic metal and neo-folk. Here are some of my favourite bands:
Absurd Minds, Alestorm, Ash Code, Assemblage 23, Avantasia, Boy Harsher, Cruex Lies, Death In June, Depeche Mode, Der Klinke, Diary Of Dreams, Eluveitie, Elvenking, Epica, Faun, Fields Of The Nephilim, Finntroll, Hammerfall, Hapax, Joy Division, Korpiklaani, Linea Aspera, Manegarm, The March Violets, Merciful Nuns, The Merry Thoughts, Northland, NU:N, Nosferatu, October Burns Black, Ordan Ogan, Powerwolf, Serious Black, She Past Away, She Pleasures Herself, Sisters Of Mercy, Solar Fake, Sonata Arctica, Twin Tribes, VNV Nation, XIII. Stoleti­, Ye Banished Privateers

Movies:
The Addams Family & Addams Family Values, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Beetlejuice, Elvira Mistress Of The Dark, Frankenstein, Frankenweenie, Harry Potter, Hotel Transylvania, Lord Of The Rings, Nosferatu The Vampyre, The Princess Bride, Resident Evil, Underworld, Van Helsing, World War Z

TV Series:
The 100, The Addams Family (original 1964 series), American Horror Story, The Big Bang Theory, Forever, Game Of Thrones, iZombie, The Last Man On Earth, Modern Family, Penny Dreadful, Pokemon, Ru Paul's Drag Race, A Series Of Unfortunate Events, The Tudors, Van Helsing, Vikings, The Witcher, Z Nation

Alice Madness Returns, Bioshock Trilogy, Dead Island, DOOM, Dragon Age, Dying Light, The Elder Scrolls (Online, Skyrim & Morrowind), The Forest, The Legend Of Zelda, Pokemon, Splatoon, The Witcher Trilogy, Vampyr.

My husband and I have also just started getting into Warhammer, and are really enjoying it so far. We are playing Age Of Sigmar and are still busy collecting pieces for our armies and to add dimension to the battlefield.

Sent:
* Random fabric swatches stuffed envie to @usacricket (received)
* "I've Got What You Want" tag to @Nevermore (received)
* "I collect...send to the person above you" tag to @Purplmyst (received)
* Global Swap Tag to @piratecaptainmo (received)
* Destash tag to @notme78 (received)
* "I've Got What You Want" tag to @TeaP (received)
* "I Offer Tag - Europe" to @notme78 (received)
* "I wish for....." to @SatisHuman (received)
* Menagerie Tag to @GrrrMeoww (received)
* Menagerie Tag to @Lonestarchild (received)
"Quick! I need... Tag" to @52901m

Received:
* Kawaii Memosheets Envie from @missxkay
* "I've Got What You Want" tag from @sjayana20
* Stamped notecards from @user2637
* "I collect...send to the person above you" tag from @mgallardo68
* Destash Tag from @Lonestarchild
* "I've got what you want" tag from @GrrrMeoww
* "I Offer Tag - Europe" from @thelocalman
* Global Swap Tag from @user6937
* Menagerie Tag from @JuneRosebud
"Quick! I need... Tag" from @Emzycal

Pending
* Receiving Menagerie Tag from @pkpeace

I have been flaked on by:
* @cancerianmoon626 for Pokemon Card Swap #1 and Pokemon Pen Pal - Generously angeled by @brokenwings - Thank you!
* @threelittlebirds411 for "I wish for....." tag. They have since deleted their account