Hello fellow swappers!

Many, many thanks to all who sent messages, cards, flowers, and gifts after my husband's passing in January. The outpouring of kindness was so very meaningful. I'm trying to catch up on ratings, but it's very time consuming since I'm getting a lot of 'bad gateway' messages. Please be patient with me.

My name is Kristy, crafting is my favorite pastime and I love all things handmade. I love shopping online and although I have more craft supplies than I could ever need, I still love to shop for more ;+)

I have lived in or near the Columbus, Ohio area for most of my life. I lived in Raleigh, North Carolina for three years and in Clifton Park, New York (north of Albany) for 2 years. Ultimately, we moved back to Ohio to be near family. I felt it was important for my 4 children to have an extended support system. While Ohio isn't the MOST exciting place to live, I do love the change of seasons (except summer...I'd gladly skip summer). I now live in a humble home in Reynoldsburg, a southeast suburb of Columbus. Next to crafting, my favorite thing to do is sit in my recliner with a cup of coffee and look out the patio door at the wildlife and three huge oak trees in our backyard. I love to watch the birds, squirrels, groundhogs, raccoons, possums, and skunks. I feed them all each day. I've got the raccoons eating from my hand. Each spring, the mama animals bring their babies to my deck for snacks. I just love watching them grow--it brings me such joy! Nothing is cuter than wildlife babies.

I am a big baseball fan, especially the Cincinnati Reds! I follow faithfully, even when the Reds' record is not so great ;+)

I absolutely love being a swap-bot member! I've been here for 16 years and have met so many lovely people. Crafting and swapping give me such a lift. When I'm creating, the hours just fly by!

Here are some of my favorite themes:

• Botanicals and Wildflowers

• Animals. especially bears, foxes, and other woodland critters (not a fan of monkeys)

• Nature

• Trolls & Gnomes

• Cats

• Birds

• Halloween

• Koi

• Snails--especially things that say, 'Snail Mail'

• Vintage Paris & shabby

• Heart-shaped things

• Pretty papers

• Textile snippets

• Vintage stationery (especially Current!)

I love receiving postcards in any of the themes listed above as well as:

• Baseball stadiums

• Bigfoot, Sasquatch or other cryptids

• Bears, Squirrels, Raccoons, and all other animals

• Fotofolio cards

• Inge Look cards

• Nouvelles Images cards

• Elephants

• San Francisco (especially Alcatraz!)

• Unusual images

• Zoo and Aquarium cards

• Map cards

• Interesting black & white images

• Sumo wrestlers!

Short and sweet here:

Harry Potter anything. While I appreciate that it got so many kids (and adults) reading, it's just not for me.

Foam crafts or stickers

Color-your-own anything (including postcards)

Scented products (I get a headache!)

Over-long swapper profiles, profiles that read like a hospital chart, and those that make harsh statements like, 'DON'T send me anything ________! or ________! or ________!(fill in the blanks) It really takes the joy and inspiration out of creating something for a partner.

Some favorite movies: The ORIGINAL Fright Night, Prometheus, The Talented Mr. Ripley (this is probably my favorite movie of all time), Aliens, Last of the Mohicans, Hocus Pocus, Shawshank Redemption, White Oleander, Terminator series, Blood Creek (LOVE Michael Fassbender), The Thing. I love well-made scary movies! Not a fan of romantic comedies or most comedies, in general. My movie & tv choices might not seem to "fit" with the rest of my profile but I have always loved science fiction and scary movies!

Enjoying The Pitt, Gangs of London, We Own This City, and a few others. I also love true crime (Dateline and 20/20 the most;+) and documentaries.

I think (ok, I know) I watch too much TV but there is a TV in my craft room so I'm not likely to stop any time soon.

Mail art is one of my favorites. I love to jazz up all my envies before sending--fun, easy and what's more fun than a colorfully decorated envie in your mailbox? I especially love the postoid rubber stamps--the ones that look liike a postage stamp but say something funny. I have quite a collection!

I love paper of all kinds and, along with the beautiful papers, papercrafts.

ATC's! I used to hate them and be consistently irritated at how many ATC swaps there were here on swap-bot. Now I love them! I love nearly all paper crafts.

Love creating junk journals using vintage ephemera and I'm crazy for using vintage books in all my work.

I LOVE to read but am super fussy about what I choose to read. If you are an avid reader and read anything in the suspense/thriller/horror genres, please send me a recommendation! With so many book choices available, a recommendation from an avid reader is worth its weight in gold. Presently reading 'Never Flinch' by Stephen King. I've always enjoyed his books but not as much, recently. I'm just NOT a fan of his character, Holly Gibney, and wish he would put her to rest! I would sooner die than read 'chick 'lit' -- why is it that a whole genre (chick lit) of mostly fluffy nonsense is defined as reading for women??

I'm retired. I'm trained as a middle school language arts, social studies, and math teacher. Occasionally, I still tutor for reading comprehension.

I am a mom of four grown children and a granny to ten adorable grandchildren, two of whom live in California--MUCH too far away from their Granny ;+)

I spend a fair amount of time in El Dorado Hills with my eldest daughter and her family. They also have two of my granddogs--Dasher and Dancer--East German shepherds. Being there takes me back to the bustling household when MY children were young.

My life has changed dramatically since my husband passed in January 2026. He was the light of my life. We met on match.com and had been together for 20 years. We were so lucky to be able to spend a lot of time together. While I am sad about his passing, I feel so lucky to have had him for 20 years.

I am an only child and have always wanted a sister to share with. I love that I have some crafting 'sisters' here on swap-bot!

My only furbaby now is Vixen--an outdoor kitty I brought in 2.5 years ago. My daughter, Laura, named her Vixen--Laura is determined that, as a family, we have pets named after each of Santa's reindeer! Vixen is shy with everyone but me, but she loves being indoors, sleeping on her heated blanket, and having plenty of food and snacks. I truly enjoy the company of cats. For me, a pet--any pet--makes a house, a home.

I'm not a stickler about postmarks; in fact, I've never checked a postmark in my life. I do understand the need for rules within this swapping community, but if you're going to be late in sending a swap to me, just be courteous and let me know. Although I take my role as swapper and host very seriously, I will never engage in public shaming of other swappers or have a 'Flaker List' on my profile. Remember . . . life happens.

I'm consistently puzzled when swappers say they 'hate' a specific color. I want you to be inspired to create something special for me, so use whatever color speaks to YOU. It's not my job to ban a color that might spark your creativity. I appreciate anything created with love and inspiration and if it's not one of my favorite colors? It must be one of yours and that's good enough for me.

In a community of inspired, thoughtful, and artistic swappers, I believe we should show each other kindness, grace, and understanding. We all have enough stress in our lives outside of swap-bot--let's not let swap-bot become a source of stress and negativity instead of the joy it is meant to be!

I appreciate kindness in any form. One of my favorite quotes is from the Dalai Lama: "Be kind whenever possible . . . it is always possible."