maranda222

5/11/15 Hello again everyone! I will be back swapping a little here and there. I have missed it so. It is crazy how much this site and the people I meet really mean to me. So with that said, I am glad to be back but completly understand your reservations if reading my ratings and you choose to ban me from some swaps. I will join what I am allowed and will do my best to take of my partners. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I thought of just erasing everything below and starting over, but then thought it best to share myself with you and keep it.

1/8/15 Update: I am finally feeling 100% again. That was the worst I have ever been sick! I definitely do not want to go through that again, my husband was sick at the same time and we did not take any time off of work we just sucked it up and worked right through, thankfully this time of year is light for business and the holidays falling where they did gave us some extra "weekend" days. Anyways I am all caught up on my swaps and will be taking a break for a little while. I have gotten another 3 and I need to focus on getting my personal/ business life in order. There is a lot requiring my attention now and I cannot devote the time and focus that swapping requires. I understand if I will be dropped from some groups, hopefully when I come back I can rejoin. I truly love Swap-bot and swapping but I need to take a break right now. I will still be monitoring messages and logging in to read them so feel free to PM me if you like. Thank you for your understanding.

12/14/14 I have caught the flu and it has turned into pneumonia. I am slowly recovering but will be slow to return ratings. I am very sorry if my end of the swap was late to you. I tried to contact everyone. It is very hard to do anything right now. Thank you for your understanding

My husband and I own a print shop in Tempe, AZ, called 3monkeys print & design. We have 3 daughters ages 16, 12 and 8. I love animals. We have 2 cats, 2 aquatic turtles 1 Sulcatta tortoise, 1 parrot (green-cheeked conure), 1 red eyed tree frog & various fish. I love cats and birds. They are my 2 favorite animals. I love swapping, and crafting/making art. I work with many mediums: paper, beads, ephemera, fabric.I also enjoy cooking and spending time with my family. I would love to spend hours at my crafting desk just playing : ) Swap-bot helps me to "steal" time to be creative. I have learned so many techniques and have really improved my artistic skills just by participating in so many fun and challenging swaps. They are like mini classes sometimes. I tend to prefer make-something, and destash swaps as opposed to buy-something swaps. I like to use what I have on hand or reclaim/ reuse as much as possible. I love handmade things, both making and receiving them. I appreciate it when things are made with care and love of the craft. I don't like things just thrown together to fulfill a requirement. If the skill is so/so but you can tell it was done with care then it adds to the charm and loveliness of it : ) I love swap-bot because of the inspiration and challenges I get from all the different swaps, and meeting different people from all over the world.

I love music. I love Pandora and have found a lot of new faves this way. Some of my favorite bands are Interpol (I love Interpol!!), Morrisey, Radiohead, Modest Mouse, Peter Murphy, The Knife, Bjork, Underworld, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, Teagan & Sara, Fiona Apple, Incubus, St. Lucia, Billy Bragg......the list goes on. New favorites as of spring 2015, Bastille, Fences, Snowmine, Macklemore, and discovering more all the time. I love music.

I love, love, love craft books: sewing, paper crafts, jewelry etc. I love old hard cover books and newer hard cover books. I love the feel of the paper and print on the pages. I like to collect all sorts of old books and cook books. I just finished "The Radiance of Tomorrow" and am looking forward to reading Ishmael Beah's first book "A Long Way Gone". I also read the "Goddess Chronicles" and it was amazing.

I love movies; all kinds, dark, fantasy, period, sci-if, romantic (like Garden State was romantic) nothing too mushy, or too girly, though they can be fun in the right mood : ) My family and I watch a lot of movies together, my husband is an avid collector. I also love PBS and documentaries. My husband usually has control of the TV so in the rare moment that I have control I will put on PBS. I love Antiques Road Show and Downtown Abbey and Masterpiece Theater, though it is rare that I get to see those, we have 1 TV in the house : ) My favorite TV show right now is American Horror Story, I own all 3 seasons.

Sewing was my favorite craft but it seems I am growing away from it. Lately my favorite crafts have involved paper. I enjoy smaller projects that I can complete in one sitting. It is hard for me to come back to finish a project once I leave it. I love paper embellishments, and pretty papers. I recently scored a Sizzix Original Die cutter for a great price and am working on getting more dies for it. I also enjoy working with beads and chunky embellishments, to embellishing fabric and paper crafts and making jewelry also. I love multi media crafts. The hot glue gun is my favorite crafting tool : ) I love to save pretty or unusual, usable scraps from anything (like packaging) for a potential future project. I have lots of collections of things for future projects, I like to reuse everything possible. I also like having all kinds of options for whatever project comes up. I will usually try to make something myself before going out and buying it.

I love colors; purples, pinks/ fuscia, bright greens and blues are my favorites but I am open to artistic expression. I love birds, plants, flowers, fish and nature themes with water, I also like swirls and stars and celestial themes. I love stickers, but not cartoon character or really cutsy, kid stuff. I like pretty, unusual designs, some with good sayings, I don't like catch words or slang phrases. I like classy stickers if that makes any sense. * Please don't send me any Christian themes. I do like god/goddess images, like ancient Greece or Ancient lore. I love renaissance art and Victorian styling, my visual tastes tend to be romantic/ dreamy/ beauty over gore and childish themes. Although I do like Steampunk and Tim Burton style darkness.

I love Dia de los Muertos and Mexican culture. I love all the bright colors and all the decorations of Dia de los Muertos. If you want to send me anything of that theme that would be awesome : )

I am very interested in sustainability and conservation. I am also very into local food organizations/co-op's, and handmade wares. As a business we belong to Local First AZ, which is a non-profit group devoted to keeping money/ business local. I recyle everything so if you receive a package from me it is more than likely packaged in a salvaged envie : ) I also belong to the Tempe Freecycle Group.

I love tea, especially iced tea, any blends good for iced are welcome. Also, I prefer black tea over green, but still enjoy it every now and again and my husband only drinks green tea. I don't like white tea, I think it is too weak. I love chai and Earl Grey and I will gladly accept marked loose leaf teas. I do not like decaf teas or herbal teas. I love chocolate and unique candy from your region or country. I love spicy candy too like chili covered mango and chili chocolate.

Wish List/ Likes List:

• Rubber Stamps

• Prima Flowers (I love these)

• Postage Stamps (used/new/vintage)

• Letter Sets/Pretty and/or unique stationary

• Note Cards

• Ribbon/Pretty Trims & Rik-rac

• Pretty Necklaces or pendants

• Quality Stickers

• Scrapbooking Supplies & Embellishments

• Paper Punches

• Pretty Papers

• Glass Beads

• Gemstone or Natural Stone Beads

• Charms

• Jewelry findings

• Flat backed gems/bling

• Tiny things

• ATC's

• Fine Art Postcards

• Vintage/ old used postcards

• Old photographs

• Craft Kits

• Paper Crafting Books or Magazines

• Beading Magazines (for inspiration)

• Vintage Stationary and Postcards

• Natural Soaps

• Gluten free cook books or recipes. My husband cannot eat wheat and I have switched the whole families diet to work with it so any are gladly welcome.