EleanB

I'm an RN in Minnesota. Former Art/Art History teacher (all ages) though I'm not good at painting (I'm starting to work on my painting skills again). Dog Mom. Grandma. Wildly inappropriate (at appropriate times).

I miss the days of Craftster, and being able to do large items in swaps. I enjoy smaller swaps, but yearn for creating/sending much more substantial things. I also miss seeing all all the creativity when everyone posted photos of the things they recieved.

Working on my garden this year. On the lookout for heirloom (or unusual) fruit/vegetable seeds for next year. Things like the 'cucamelon (a.k.a. 'mouse melon')', 'watermelon radish', or unusual varieties of other edible plants. Unfortunately, I live in US zone 4 so the growing season is short)

My daughter is in nursing school. I've been working on care packages for all the students in her class (75 packages!). If you have any ideas for crafty nurses-to-be gifts, drop me a note. (Best: Practical, useful, and non-gender specific)

I've considered putting together an Etsy shop. But it seems I prefer giving things away rather than selling them, so...

I will ALWAYS send on time. Period. If you don't receive, please let me know ASAP and I will make it right.

I click "sent" when I put items in the mailbox at the post office; it might be after the last 'pick up' time, so possibly postmarked the next day. I seldom wait until the last day to mail items.

I rate items as I get my hands on them. I'm often away from home 2-3 days at a time, and will rate immediately once I get home to my mail.

HOW I RATE: 1=did not receive. 3=item sent late or did not match the description. (in either event, I will contact you first to correct the situation). 5=sent on time and fit the description. Heart=more than the minimum requirements (i.e. you acknowledged something in my profile or wrote more than "hi there" on a postcard. Extra items are nice, but thoughts are more important to me than things)

Please rate items I send to you in a timely manner. I like knowing my items made them to you safely.

The following items in any of the listed themes below (don't stress though, I enjoy pretty much everything that isn't on my 'dislikes' list).

Notecards, Postcards (naked or in envelope), non-puffy stickers, stationery, enamel pins, button-style pins, T-shirts (adult XL), cloth/reusable tote bags, embroidered patches. ATCs and ATCoins (not 'sticker slapped', any media).

Krampus in any form

Anatomical prints/images/illustrations, especially the heart (I was a cardiac ICU nurse before COVID hit)

Skulls and skeletons

Vintage horror and sci-fi

Vintage nurses, especially WWII era

Ernie, Oscar, Big Bird, Grover, Yip Yips, Kermit, Animal, Beaker, the Swedish Chef

Mr. Rogers

Female Disney Villains (especially Cruella, Malefecent, Ursula)

Gargoyles, the more grotesque the better

Stained glass windows, especially gemoetric (think of rose windows rather than images of saints. York Minster has a spectacular window known as 'the Heart of Yorkshire'. Sagrada Familia windows are absolutely breathtaking)

Fabric: 100% cotton, good quality for quilting. Fat quarter or larger in dark purple, batik, or grown-up halloween prints

Sheet music

Foreign language text (newspapers, scrapbook paper, magazines, especially with different alphabets/scripts)

Astronomy

Any other themes from my "Likes"

Likes:

Dark purple, jewel tones

Quality over quantity.

Female Villains (even Disney villains)

Halloween (grown-up, not childish)

Grown-up Gothic aesthetic, Steampunk, and Victorian (would love to redecorate my 135 year old home like this!)

Celtic, Nordic/Icelandic.

Comic book and graphic novel art.

Photography.

Swearing. You will not offend me with the "F-bomb".

Dragonflies, seahorses, hedgehogs

Corgis, Catahoulas, Golden Retrievers

Leather, luxury fibers, sterling silver. (I am allergic to base metals, so no other metal jewelry)

Amethyst, hematite, lapis lazuli, carnelian

Science.

LGBTQIA+

Feminist art, protest art

Public broadcasting (tv and radio)

International travel

Marlinspike rope work and bell pulls

Fountain pens, dip pens, and pretty ink. (I gravitate towards dark purples) Wax seals

Art and Art History, especially European Renaissance, Icelandic and Nordic, Islamic, African and African-American, and all things Expressionist.

Advertising art

Historical nurse/medical art/posters (not memes)

Eco- and 'green' living, repurposing and upcycling

Whisky, whiskey, and Scotch. (Yet, I've never been drunk. Go figure.)

Passionate about good (healthful, "whole food", Nutritarian when I'm being good) food and I still love 'junk' food.

Modern/urban homesteading. Food preservation.

Regarding tea, I don't like actual (black, green, white) tea. Favorites are hibiscus, red/berry, currant, etc. NO chickory or rooibos though. (again, don't stress, if it doesn't suit me, I'll end up passing it along to someone else)

I don't drink coffee but others in the house do (don't stress!). I DO appreciate hot cocoa (dark, bittersweet, or flavored just about every way except "white chocolate")

Food/edible items: I almost prefer fun graphics on the packaging over the foods inside. I like (large) candy bags and chips bags (like Cheetos/Doritos) and turn them into reusable zippered bags. I especially like if the item is unusual or has fun/seasonal/limited run graphics such as limited flavor M&Ms, specialty potato chips (I had haggis chips once!) or regional items (salted nut roll candy is made in St Paul, MN). If the bag is big enough to reuse, I'll probably have fun with it.

Favorite crafts to do:

Knitting/crochet

ATCards/coins and other mini works of art

Beautiful useful items

Aromatherapy items

Jewelry

Sewing/quilting

Amigurumi (usually knit, occasionally crochet)

Challenges that make me 'think outside the box'

Recycled items into crafts

Origami and other folded/manipulated paper crafts

Fiber art, felted items

Musicals/Theater (Yes, please!)

Hamilton, Hadestown, The Book of Mormon The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Local theater. Fringe festivals. Opera. Symphonic music

Movies/TV:

Killing Eve, Outlander, Dexter, Counterpart, Dark,

Foreign movies

Good (and bad) Vampire movies

Great British Baking Show

Monty Python, satire, and dark humor

Dislikes:

"Cute" or childish items, 'kawaii', and the like. I don't want 'reward' stickers (even for my grandkids)

Pastels

Glitter. Seriously. NO LOOSE GLITTER! (irridescent ink, etc, is OK if the glitter will not come off)

Overly 'girly' items (unless made specifically for my daughter or granddaughter)

Racism, hate

Makeup/bath/body products (skin is too sensitive, fragrances often give me migraines)

Bootlegged items (please respect copyright)

Anything that smells of cigarette/cigar/smoke

(Illicit) drug or pot imagery

NO religious or political themes (unless the swap is specifically for them)