UPDATE January/February 2025 - I took a break from swapping for the busy holiday season but am excited to trade happy mail with you all again. Current mail times to/from my city: 3 postal days to/from western states, or closer to 6 days to/from eastern states.

I like to send my swaps out EARLY within the first 1-2 postal business days (I'll mark it as 'sent' after dropping it into the mailbox, so depending on postal routines that may or may not match the actual postmark date), and I generally will rate within a day of receiving. If you are missing a swap or a rating from me, or if you get something fallen to pieces or has postage due, please let me know and I'll try to fix it right away! I usually remember to take pictures of my swaps before sending, but will be happy to resend as needed.

🎈 👍 I pledge to rate promptly! 🐘 ☂️

Hi there! I'm Tracey (she, her) and I live in California. I am a crafter, reader, knitter, sewist, negligent gardener, amateur birder, and sender of postcards and friendly greetings. I also play the ukulele and dabble in watercolor. I really don't do all that much collage-y crafts (though I do appreciate the art that people here on s/b are so skilled at creating!), so I'd prefer not to receive a lot of scrappy paper ephemera bits--I am trying very hard to destash/not accumulate more clutter right now, but as many crafters know, this is an uphill battle. :)

I love plants, but have managed to kill a fair number of them, including so-called "foolproof" snake plants, pothos plants, ZZ plants and succulents, so I would not, in all fairness, call myself "a plant person."

🌱 🌿 🌼 🍃 🥀 🍂

I am definitely, however, a dog person, though I don't have any pets at the moment, and am partial to animals and nature.

🍄 🌲 🌲 🌲 🦝 🍄

In Progress

--I'm still working on destashing and decluttering all the little paper scraps and things (please don't feel the need to send me extra paper scraps unless called for by the swap). I haven't actually bought anything new in ages, but it still seems endless, and meanwhile things I actually want to use are hiding somewhere in the piles...

--I've also been making (very amateurish but still cute) small rubber stamps out of chunky gum erasers (part of the stash I'm working on putting to use). So far I've made a couple of simplified darumas, a strawberry, a panda, some leaves, a cat face with glasses.

--I've been birding a lot lately, having discovered that no leaves on the trees makes it SO much easier to see all the things I could only hear before. There's even a night heron roosting in the neighbor's tree who was able to catch (and eat) an unfortunate squirrel. Yipes!

I read a varied mix of nonfiction and fiction, graphic formats and e-audiobooks, with a few teen and children's titles. Some books I have recently enjoyed:

• Jeopardy! (not the same without Alex💜, but I did enjoy watching Amy Schneider win game after game after game)
• PBS Nature / NOVA, because Science!
• Bob's Burgers
• The Amazing Race--and its Canadian spin-off, plus Tough as Nails when I can catch it. I prefer the nice contestants to the nasty back-stabby ones that frequent the other reality shows.
• Any shows that feature dogs being adorable, or (just some suggestions) any shows titled "More Bears!" "Hey, I'm a Dolphin!" or "There's a Raccoon in There!"

In case it helps you, here are some things I wouldn't mind finding in the mailbox:

• art that you made. If it is fan art, you'll want to also include an explanation in case it refers to something I am not hip enough to know about (extremely likely).
• a zine
• some green tea or rooibos tea ☕. I also love a nice cup of black tea! Decaf is good too :)
• unused USPS postage stamps, any denomination (1-cent, 5-cents, 29-cents etc. - forever stamps are always good too)
• postcards, new or vintage - I don't mind handmade (see above: "art that you made"), and interesting ad cards are welcome if they fit the swap!
• a tarot reading (I don't have a Book of Shadows or anything but I do have a deck that I use occasionally and I think it'd be interesting to see how other people practice their art)
• book recommendations
• something Hufflepuff or 🦡 badger-themed, for House Pride 💛🖤 (I do not support JK's transphobic comments, however, so I would appreciate if you not buy any officially licensed merch that she might gain profits from.)
• vintage sewing notions (buttons, trims, etc.)
• comic strip that made you laugh
• funny pictures of animals (cut out from a magazine, etc.)
• favorite gluten-free or veggie recipes, or easy one-pot/Instant Pot recipes

I'll do my best to pass on items that aren't my thing, but please do not send:

• religious items, unless called for in the swap. I do celebrate holidays, but I don't associate any spiritual significance to them.
• flyers from a sports equipment store
• reminder that I am WAY past due for a dental visit
• beetle larvae or smooshed spiders (unless called for in the swap!) I'm easily disgusted by slimy/mushy things and also don't really care for gory/horror, but friendly monsters are alright.
• anything that is moldy (fun fact: items returned to the library with visible water damage have to be discarded because they may develop a mildew which can then spread to the other books on the shelf!)
• things that are hateful or demeaning towards other people