bruin2013

Hello!! My name is Ashley and I'm absolutely crazy about reading, arts, and crafts...unlike most girls who own more shoes and purses than most can fit in their closets, my library and art supplies stocks grow at a much faster pace than my wardrobe does! I was on something of a swapping hiatus for a while because of lack of time, and even though I'm still tight on the latter, I'm super excited to begin easing back into it!

I post a lot about my reading and planning on Instagram; if you're interested, you can check me out @clearwings crossing :)

I really love a lot of music from a lot of different genres (with the exception of most rap and electronic/disco). Here is a list of some of my favorites, not necessarily in any particular order: *Muse *Yellowcard *Billy Joel *Silversun Pickups *Band of Horses *Lifehouse *Matchbox Twenty *The Calling *We The Kings *The Maine *Josh Groban *Michael Buble *Chris Isaak *Led Zeppelin *Heart *Journey *The Cure *Bon Jovi *Bryan Adams *Coldplay *Edwin McCain *Elvis Presley *Five for Fighting *The Fray *Foreigner *Hoobastank *Andy Grammer *Elton John *Phil Collins *Jason Mraz *James Blunt *Melissa Etheridge *The Shins *Madonna *Red Jumpsuit Apparatus *Linkin Park *Lonestar *Boyz II Men *Bruno Mars *Counting Crows *Celine Dion *Cheap Trick *Berlin *Debussy *Craig Armstrong *Hans Zimmer *James Horner *Savage Garden *Duncan Sheik *Enrique Iglesias *Frank Sinatra *Colbie Caillat *Jewel *Kelly Clarkson *Maroon 5 *Michael Jackson *Backstreet Boys *N'Sync *Norah Jones *O.A.R. *The Script *Switchfoot *Train *Scores from musicals: -Les Miserables -Phantom of the Opera -Wicked -Spring Awakening

I absolutely love reading!!! I read a fair few genres, although I feel that I typically err on the side of Contemporary ("comfort" and light reading, when I need a pick-me-up), Classics, or Fantasy (I have found that I need to space these out, though, since I can only take reading about so much war/battle in a short space of time). I sometimes also enjoy re-tellings of some of my favorite fairy tales, when they're done well. I have quite an extensive TBR for these genres, but any recommendations are always appreciated!

Some of my favorites include: *Mistborn Trilogy *Warbreaker *What to Say Next *The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse *Anything but Typical *Beach Read *The Kiss Quotient *The Scarlet Pimpernel *All Harry Potter *The Picture of Dorian Gray *The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler *The Girl With the Pearl Earring *Rebecca *Jane Eyre *Dog Meets God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead *To Kill a Mockingbird *Lord of the Flies *Matilda *The Witches *The Glass Menagerie *Pride and Prejudice *Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist *The Hunger Games *The Friday Night Knitting Club *A Bend in the Road *Message in a Bottle *The Choice *The Rescue *The Last Song *Night *Drown *The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao *Northanger Abbey *Twelfth Night *Taming of the Shrew

Some Nonfiction reads I have enjoyed and learned a lot from: Big Magic, Atomic Habits, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

*The Princess Bride *Garden State *Breakfast Club *Just Friends *Saved *50/50 *He's Just Not That Into You *Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist *17 Again *Look Who's Talking *Mrs. Doubtfire *P.S. I Love You *Beauty and the Beast *Aladdin *The Sword in the Stone *Peter Pan *The Little Mermaid *Tarzan *101 Dalmatians *Tangled *Moana *Finding Nemo *Anastasia *Fools Rush In *Love Actually *The Holiday *Les Miserables *Uncle Buck *My Girl *Bruce Almighty *Charlie Bartlett *Just Like Heaven *Legally Blonde *Dirty Dancing *Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights *West Side Story *A League of Their Own *Juno *Two Weeks Notice *Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 1,2 *all Harry Potter *Overboard *Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl *The Devil Wears Prada *Center Stage *A Walk to Remember *Driving Lessons *How to Train Your Dragon *Despicable Me 1, 2 *Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian *Stick It *The Hunger Games series *The Heat *10 Things I Hate About You *27 Dresses *Mean Girls *Sixteen Candles *How to Be Single *To Kill a Mockingbird *12 Angry Men

*Project Runway *Once Upon a Time *CSI: Crime Scene Investigation *Girls *Craft Wars *Ace of Cakes *Cake Boss *Boy Meets World *All That *That '70s Show *Scrubs *How I Met Your Mother *The Big Bang Theory *Say 'Yes' to the Dress *Good Luck, Charlie *The Mindy Project *New Girl *Brooklyn 99 *Friends *The Office *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel *a great deal of stand-up comedy

I've sort of dabbled in a bit of almost everything, and my focus can shift between them sometimes, but here are the ones I have spent some time with: *scrapbooking/junk journaling *beading *knitting *crocheting *painting *drawing *needlepoint/plastic canvas *cross-stitch *painting ceramics (think Color Me Mine ^_^) *home stuff (ie decorating and painting different things)

In addition to all of the above, here are some of my other random favorite things:

*butterflies! I love butterflies! If you saw my room, you'd understand...lol

*anything Disney (Disneyland is my favorite theme park of all time). On that note, "Beauty and the Beast" is my FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE

*anything Harry Potter (I'm a proud and true Hufflepuff ^_^)

All the things I would love:

*rhinestones *fibers and ribbon *fun and/or colorful brads *metallic accents - bottlecaps, etc. *stickers/rub-ons *washi tape *cute sticky notes *pens

I love working in dimension - it's very rare that I'll send something that's completely flat - so anything along those lines is fabulous :)

Also, anything to do with Disney, falling in love (see "hopeless romantic"), butterflies, minions, or anything under my "favorites" section is golden!

Please, NONE of the following:

-anything political -anything to do with major sports teams (nothing against them...I just don't really follow sports at all) -anything too heavily scented

I put a lot of effort and love into everything that I make and send, and I appreciate when others do as well. This includes sending on time. I do my best to make and send everything as early as possible (usually within a few days of the sign up date), so if you don't receive something I was supposed to send you, please message me first so I can either check up on it or explain myself. :)

Similarly, I understand that life gets in the way sometimes, so if you can't send your item by the due date, just send me a message - I promise not to rate until I receive the swap, and I promise to be fair. As long as I receive it within a reasonable time and it follows the criteria of the swap, I will still grade as though it came on time :)

Just please note* - if a swap is sent late (especially if it's VERY late), I won't include a heart in my rating (unless it was the mail's fault...I understand it can be screwy sometimes, especially during the holidays). I think it's just fair to those who do get it out on time.

Also, I PROMISE TO RATE!!! :) If for some reason you don't receive a rating from me within a reasonable amount of time after sending the swap, message me so I can double check that I received it, and rate accordingly.

Happy swapping!!!