panthyrr

Nov 30, '12: Being in retail, I'm on a brief hiatus/slowdown during the holiday season. I'm still around, not going anywhere. :)

A quick note: I will occasionally sign something "Kitty". It's still me, that's my nickname. I've been signing swap notes with my name, but the few ATCs I've made I've signed "Kitty". :) I tend to respond just as fast (or faster) to the nickname than the real one. ;)

I'm a geek-of-all-trades: in addition to the crafting I play role-playing games (both computer and paper-and-pencil) and have an interest in many fandoms. I'm an on-again-off-again World of Warcraft player.

My household is non-smoking, and I have one furbaby; he's a gigantic orange tabby dude that goes by Flannigan. I will do my level best to keep his hair out of any packages but I can't promise anything. ;) I also have two Tokay geckos, but they don't shed. :)

About my swapping habits so far: I tend to send through my mailbox place (the guy that owns it kinda rocks; he raises alpacas). I don't click send until the item's left my hands in one of these ways. I recycle packaging.

I rate as soon as I open the package, or at the very latest as soon as I get home from work on the day I get it.

As for lateness, if you're gonna be late, tell me before the send date. Shoot me an email, lemme know what's going on. I'm not mean. :)

I don't plan on ever being late in my own swaps, but nobody really does. If I'm ever supposed to send to you and it's going to be late for some reason, I WILL email/message you before the send date.

If you don't get the package in a reasonable amount of time, PLEASE message me or email me.

I've got my Flickr address listed up there. I love posting the things I receive, and I also try to post pics of the things I send. If you wanna be surprised by something I'm sending you, don't peek until you get your stuff. Feel free to peruse and comment. Suggestions are welcome, meanness is not. ;)

There's also some non-crafty stuff on that Flickr as well; when I get a nice enough selection I may do Moo cards. :)

A note about groups: I somehow ended up joining about six million groups. I'm going to whittle that down a bit. If I leave your group, please don't be offended! It's nothing personal, I just can't be as active as I should in that many groups.

I'm one of five women that get together for the occasional stitch and bitch (really any craft, but I love that phrase). We call ourselves the Crafty Bitchez, and we have a blast. I end up learning new things all the time and I get to teach my own new crafts to them.

I'm a crocheter, but I'm relatively new at it. I have the basics down and am slowly learning more advanced techniques as I go. I am trying to learn to knit, but it's slow going. I've gotten better but still can't do anything fancy.

I've been playing a lot with papercraft lately, from scrapbooking to cardmaking and envelope making (the envelope making is all @amoses1 s fault!). Stamping has become a new mild obsession.

I cross-stitch a bit, and have been learning how to use a dinosaur of a Kenmore sewing machine. I'm to the point where I'm comfortable with it.

ATCs are something I've just started playing with. I've made a few so far and have had a blast with it. I've even made a couple with Perler beads. I've made a couple of rolos (altered rolodex cards) too.

I just started playing with resin casting. I don't have much in the way of molds, but those will come with time.

I've made some basic jewelry in the past and plan on getting back into it soon.

I like to read just about anything, but the types that I prefer to read are fantasy and science fiction (generally not hard sci-fi, but I do make exceptions).

Currently I'm reading the Outlander series (on audiobook, but I'm counting it. :)). The Song of Ice and Fire series is excellent. I'm also grabbing the occasional unknown author book on my Kindle.

I always say I don't read much in the way of romance, but that's not strictly true. I love Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake and Merry Gentry series. I love Kim Harrison's Hollows books, and I recently heard them referred to as romance (though I don't quite get that one).

I'm also a comic book geek.

• I love bags and purses. I don't carry a purse, though. Wallet, keys and phone stay in my pockets.

• I have a mild obsession with learning things.

• I love horror. I keep looking for movies to scare me...it's rare.

• I tend to be very middle of the road on many things. I learned long ago to do my best to see both sides of any situation. This can, unfortunately, backfire, because I don't always choose sides.

I love sci-fi, fantasy and horror mainly.

Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, I enjoy all of 'em.

I think Office Space and Fight Club are the perfect double feature.

I love Joss Whedon's stuff, but sometimes I do want to punch him in the face.

Among my favorites are Psych, Criminal Minds, CSI (Vegas), House, Fringe, Being Human. Warehouse 13 is awesome, American Horror Story is a new favorite.

A little out of my ordinary taste, but still favorites: Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.

I like paper! All kinds of paper. Interesting textures and colors are awesome; I use 'em for cardmaking, scrapbooking, and most recently for ATCs.

Speaking of scrapbooking and ATCs, embellishments! Ribbon, bling, brads, die cuts, any of it works for me.

Rubber stamps and ink pads.

Postcards with interesting photos/artwork are nice.

Interesting crochet hooks.

Any DIY instructions for crafts you do.

Pin-ups are fun. I love Bettie Page.

Cat-related things; especially the big cats. Leopards are a particular favorite.

I love to cook, so fun recipes are nice.

Leather, as long as in a usable amount.

I like vintage images. If it's vaguely creepy, that's a bonus.

I like interesting beads. The material doesn't matter much, but cheap plastic beads don't do a lot for me.

Yarn, yarn, yarn. Any fiber out there will do. I like all kinds of yarn. You can't go wrong with it. :)

Sizzix dies and embossing folders.

Tea! I love trying new teas.

I'm not huge on cutesy things, but Hello Kitty is an exception to the rule. Also, some Kawaii stuff. I don't know enough about it to do any swaps, but I have a few cute lettersets. :)

Anything made by you!

Magic: the Gathering cards. No lands (unless they're exceptionally pretty). Any cards from the "Unglued" and "Unhinged" sets would be awesome. :)

Anything D&D related. I've been playing for over twenty years now. :)

Fabrics! Solids and fun prints are good, but nothing kid-oriented, please. :)

There's always more, so this list will change often...

Honestly, there's not a lot that I won't be able to find some use for, within reason (I had to edit that a little; if the item you're about to send me is something you would throw away, please don't send it).

Please, no religious sentiments. I don't mind interesting religious imagery (and by this I mean Christian, Catholic, Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan, all), but I don't want tracts or other sentiments.

No baby stuff. No kids in this house (other than my boyfriend, but he doesn't quite count. ;)).

No onions. I'll do my best to avoid all swaps involving onions. :)

I tend to like deep rich jewel tones. Burgandy, sapphire, deep greens...all are gorgeous. I like the neutrals as well.

Really, the only colors I'm not a fan of are pastels, especially pink. If the item in question is something to wear, I avoid yellows and oranges as well. They do bad things next to my skin tone.

Silver over gold any day. I love bronze and copper and brass. Iron and pewter are also gorgeous.

I recycle packaging. It's a shame to throw away a perfectly good bubble mailer, so I just slap some tape on 'em and use 'em again.

Speaking of tape, you may get envelopes from me that are just about covered with the clear stuff. These are usually the standard paper notecard-style envies. The reason I do this is twofold: One, I've gotten a few envies that the seams have failed during transport and are either flat-out open or have holes. The tape fixes that problem. Two, I've gotten two that moisture has obscured part of the address. It got to me, but I figure slapping some clear tape over the addy solves that little issue. :)

I do my best to include a note with each and every swap.

I've been making envelopes sometimes out of cardstock and calendar pages, so don't be surprised seeing 'em. I stole the idea from @amoses1 and I love 'em.

If I get sent supplies that I can't use, they'll either get reswapped or donated to one of the women in my craft group. They will find a home.

If I get sent handmade things, they will not get reswapped (with the exception of ATCs, and I think that's kind of the point with those guys. :)). If someone sends me something they make, I consider it something special. I'm either going to use it or, in the case of me not being able to use it, give it to a personal friend.

Flakers:

@sueb flaked on me for the Make Me Six Granny Squares #4 and then deleted her account. @bobogrl who rocks, angeled this for me.

@raychillie flaked on me for the Seven Deadly Sins in a Takeout Box swap and then deleted her account (I'm noticing a pattern here). @vivaladiane , @bobogrl , @bugsandbells and @mizvicky , @leashah , @cajunhillbilly , @taco5518 , @earthnk , and @faeorain all angeled this for me. Crazy, right?? They don't all know it yet, but I'm gonna get 'em all back. grin It was a wonderful wonderful experience.

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