captkristi

IMPORTANT - Sept 2023 For whatever reason I have more mail going missing this year than ever before. WAY more than during the real COVID struggle. I am going to be cutting down on the number of swaps I do and kinda moving away from SwapBot for a bit. It's getting expensive anyway - and then I have to mail things out more than once. Last month I had to mail a postcard swap 3 times before she received it. I truly have no idea why this is happening. If something doesn't get to you I will happily get a resend out to you immediately. I am really sorry to anyone affected by this VERY weird issue I'm having.

As always please don't hesitate to contact me if something hasn't arrived. Sending swaps that people will love is my primary reason for being a part of Swap-Bot. I want you to be happy with your swap and I am happy to resend if you are not, for any reason. I live in the middle of nowhere and have stopped mailing from here as much as I can. It's unreliable.

My 3 rating I earned - completely and irrevocably. I was so focused on the painting that I created for the swap that I wasn't paying attention to the requirements of the swap and sent to the host in a plain envelope.

Thanks so much for visiting my profile! Look forward to swapping with you!

I love all things art!! About 4 years ago I got back into Zentangle. I let it push me beyond the things I thought I could do and I am so happy that I committed to making art and believing in my talents. I owe much of my early success with 3D form, shading and depth to Eni Oken. She is an absolutely amazing artist. If you are looking to learn some techniques to make your art pop, she has several ebooks that are super helpful. These days I am not Zentangling all that much but I AM drawing, painting, collaging, lots of wonderful art making!! Feeling inspired is such a happy feeling.

For my day job I am a pediatric mental health therapist (clinical social worker) in Nevada. Opening my own agency and serving the children in these rural areas has been the highlight of my life thus far. I have two dogs that I absolutely adore - they are super active so they keep me going!! I also have a flock of chickens that I am frequently adding and subtracting from. My dad and I "trade" chickens as I am a vegetarian and wouldn't hurt a spider (literally) and he is a farmer that doesn't buy meat at the store. Win-Win All my chickens have names and I have two favorites currently. They follow me around and call at the window for breakfast when they hear me coming into the kitchen in the morning. Lately there are ground squirrels that run in and take a bite of Flock Block out there for the chickens to snack on. When the chickens notice the squirrel they run full speed to chase off the squirrel. It's SO funny; running chickens are absolutely hilarious.

TL;DR I love nature, animals and value quality over quantity. Other loves - watercolor paper (hot or cold press are both fine) or quality scrapbook-type paper; coffee and sunshine + happiness

I am a lover of colors! As a watercolorist I get to explore pigments and mix up some amazing shades from the world around me. Rainbows and happy, bright colors are the best. I tend to lean towards turquoise, pink and purple - but, truly, I LOVE colors!! I don't know that there is a color that I would say I don't like.

I like inspirational quotes - especially handwritten little art pieces. Botanical line drawings, florals, fun illustrations - any artistic endeavor or watercolor paintings/prints/postcards are awesome!

I make ATCs here and there as I have time to put my attention to it, but lately have been drawn to paper crafting. I am loving the swaps in the YouTube Paper Crafters group. I have learned lots of new skills. Lots of my creativity goes into postcards that I watercolor and/or draw.

I like getting vintage ephemera and samples of watercolor or other interesting papers. Graphic 45, Stamperia, Carte Bella & Tim Holtz are top favorites for paper crafting. If anyone wants to do a private swap for these I would love that. I want to buy almost every new paper set that comes out - Always thought it would be cool to have someone to trade 50/50 so I can get a variety!!

Life goes on. No more boyfriend. Still looking...and dating in your 40's is NOT for the faint of heart. I still haven't gone back to watching TV - Instead I usually spend my evenings at my art table where I paint/draw/listen to Audible/watch tutorials on YouTube.

I love to cook vegetarian meals, bake homemade bread (the smell?!?! oh my!) grow things (houseplant addict over here) and spend time with my friends and my pets - and sometimes my family. But honestly - my free time is mostly spent on inspired creating and reading audiobooks or listening to music.

Let me see - what else. Social Work is my passion. I wholeheartedly believe in giving of myself to all those I meet. Even a warm smile and nice word can brighten someone's day. The kids I work with are often the ones who have been left by every person that was "supposed" to love them and keep them safe. That can be hard to witness at times. Not being able to make things better for them is one of the most challenging parts of my job.

I am spiritual but definitely not religious. I am big into the "mystical" (I can't really think of any other way to put it) and I am a GIANT tree hugger.

currently reading - The Oremere Chronicles by Helen Scheuerer

My all-time favorite author is Stephen King. I wouldn't say that I am typically a horror person. I am easily spooked, but King's writing style is phenomenal …so, yeah, I love him!!

I have an hour long commute to and from work, so I am an avid Audible listener. You will see below - I enjoy books in a series because you can stay in the land and life of the characters you have come to know. Wonderful!!

In 2021 some of the books I finished include: the Riyira books by Michael J Sullivan; Shadows of the Apt series by Adrian Tchiakovsky; the Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski (a recommendation from my little brother. Excellent series!)

Some of the other books I have read in the past year include: The Wheel of Time series books 1-5 by Robert Jordan; The Traitor Son Cycle by Miles Cameron; Don Winslow's crime series with a big plot section in rural Nevada super close to where I grew up; The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner; the Hell Divers by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. All the King's Lake Investigation books by Peter Grainger and I finished Outlander too. Reread the Expanse recently by James SA Corey.

I joined the monthly Book Club in the Sunshine Swaps + Mail group and that has broadened my horizons. One of the frequent participants is a librarian so I have been introduced to books I probably wouldn't have come across in my regular browsing. I am always open to book recommendations. Tell me your favorites. I go through my Wish List quickly.

Hard to say definitively what my top reads are but I think The Stand is my all time favorite story. Police procedurals and cozy English crime dramas are often on my TBR list. Some of those favorites are the King's Lake crew; Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellicott investigations and Inspector Ian Rutledge.

Some all-times faves are the Narnia books; The Time Quartet; Harry Potter: Game of Thrones, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Outlander and the Hunger Games.

TL;DR don't need - kid or planner items; magazine cutouts; random de-stash stuff with the exception of nice papers or vintage ephemera (already trying to cull my hoard); hateful or exclusionary messages

I had to add some things as I have found in my time as a Swap-Bot swapper that there are things I don't like that I wouldn't have necessarily thought of before.

I prefer not to receive teacher/reward/kiddie stickers. If they come on a roll, I don't really have a use for them. I don't have kids and prefer a more grown up aesthetic. Other things I don't use: catalog/magazine cutouts or random photos of things in your life (Polaroids or vintage photos are an exception); planner stickers or related accoutrements.

No food or tea/coffee please. I have specific stuff I eat and drink and probably won't drink the tea that gets sent my way.

I don't like creepy, dark stuff (with the exception of Halloween time). And don't like anything that's hateful, based on bigotry or superiority. To each their own, but I don't want to see that stuff in my mailbox.

I don't really like adult cartoons. I would say I don't like crude humor, but I am not sure that's what you call it. I love Step Brothers the movie, don't like Rick & Morty; Big Mouth; American Dad and King of the Hill.

Saw this on a couple of profiles and thought it would be fun. Allows some prompts to help give ideas of things that I like and/or that I would enjoy receiving should you be looking for ideas. Recently "heard" that some swappers see the ABC's on profiles as arrogant and "a little much" - if you don't like this section you literally don't have to read it. For those that like ideas - read on for a long list of them :D bold for faves {always evolving}

A: huge animal lover; art; ATCs; astrology; Amazon and Audible; angsty teenagers; Americana decor; Australian accents (meaning spoken word!!); argyle; authenticity; (human) attachment (this is my area of study and expertise in my work - SO fascinating)

B: books; (old) book pages; best friends; botanical art (drawings, stickers, etc); bravery; berries; (my) backyard; board games; bees

C: cussing; cooking; Cavallini Paper Co.; chickens (alive!); cuddling; Corgis; classic country music; children; COFFEE (so much coffee); card games; citrus prints; cactus; (actual) cowboys; Carte Bella paper

D: dogs (especially my own); dreams; the desert; dinosaurs; dancing; dolphins

E: ephemera. vintage especially; elephants; eggs; Earth; energy fields; envelopes; empowering others, Echo Park papers

F: frogs; fish; farmhouse aesthetic; festivals; flames; friends; fruit; folk/indie music; funny people

G: girls (we rock!); ginger; glass; galaxy theme; getting lost with someone I love; gerbera daisies ; Gary Allan; Graphic 45

H: herbs; healthy food; horses; home; helping others

I: indigenous tribes; ink; imagination; ivy

J: journaling; joking around; junk journal aesthetic

K: knights; kites; kids

L: lily flower; learning; laughter; leaving work early; love and light; LCN stationery (and similar illustrative designs)

M: Mexican food; mentoring other therapists/interns; Mason jars; maps; mysteries; melon; movies

N: nature and a natural aesthetic; nests; narwhals; 'never give up' outlook; Nevada

O: organ donor; owls; oceans; opportunities; outer space; ocean animals (minus realistic great whites, this scares me)

P: pebbles; Primitive stuff; postage that's unique; Plants; play therapy

Q: quiet times in the morning before the dogs get out of bed; questions; quirky sayings

R: rain and rainbows; rebels; robots (cute kind as well as functional housecleaning kind) Rooster (and chicken) home decor; rocks

S: stickers; sunsets (Nevada sunsets are incredible!!); sharing; Starbucks; Superman and other Superheroes; summer; sloths; Subaru (have a Crosstrek and I love it!!!); Stamperia; sparkling water; social workers

T: therapeutic everything (I love learning about, talking about, engaging in - I love everything about being a therapist); turtles; Tim Holtz aesthetic and energy/inspiration; tutorials

U: underwater things; upcycling; Unicorns; underappreciated little pleasures of everyday life; the Universe as a living entity that is constantly responding to all the stimuli/energy that is life

V: vast spaces; vintage everything

W: warm water, warm clothes out of the dryer, warm bread - WARM ANYTHING :) the Spirit of the West; weekends; whales

X: X-MEN; XCITEMENT; X-tra special surprises

Y: yellow; yelling (it's fun sometimes); Yosemite NP

Z: Zentangle; zen feelings; zero bullshit