Gnoe

My nickname "Gnoe" is Dutch for gnu or wildebeest.

I'm an animal loving museum information specialist adoring her (rescue) cats Kuki and Sumi. And I love our current foster cat Fleurtje (Effie for short) just as much!

I volunteer at a donkey sanctuary = my happy place!!! :))

ABOUT SWAPS:

Sending

My goal when sending out swaps is to put a smile on your face. I personally think swapping should be fun and make us happy; there's too much drama in the world already.

I mark my items sent after I've dropped them in the mailbox. Where I live mail is only collected on weekdays at 5pm. Naturally I mail in time for pick-up when sending out on the last day of the swap. Swap-Bot rules speak for themselves.

I reuse -clean- packaging and such as much as possible.

Receiving

If possible, I prefer to receive postcards in an envelope so I can reuse the stamps for journalling or mail art :) Love special stamps!

I have No thanks & I'd rather not receive lists at the bottom of this page. They're there to aid you, not restrict! Of course I'll appreciate anyhing you send :-) I will never rate down for getting something from those lists (the thought alone is absurd to me!) If possible I will just pass along what I cannot use -- but it seems such a waste of postage and effort on your side that can be avoided. So please don't worry about it, nor be offended?!

I'm vegan, which means I employ a compassionate & eco-friendly lifestyle using no animal products whatsoever. No meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, gelatine (gelli plate), bee's wax etcetera, nor wool, leather, silk, wool-felt or products for either crafts or personal care tested on animals or containing animal ingredients. I find this makes me feel at peace with the world. :)

• mail art and art journalling / (trashy) junk journals
• dabbling in textile arts (visible mending, fiber mail = fabric mail art, crochet and embroidery)
• Asia (Japan and Indonesia); Japanese and Scandinavian design
• donkeys
• peacocks, kingfishers and other brightly multicoloured birds for their iridescent plumage
• bling (I probably was a magpie in a previous life ;-)
• small and fragrant flowers like snowdrops, freesia, sweet pea, purple crocus, lavender and cherry blossom (sakura)
• peacock palette colours
• museums
• reusing, recycling and repurposing / zero waste society

I'm into cinema, books (literary fiction, J-Lit, mystery/thriller with clever female protagonist), and hiking. I used to make bentos, postcross and geocache but hardly do so these days.

For tea swaps my tea of choice is green or rooibos. Preferred fruit is citrus.

These are not requests, just a few things that will make me happy. I love looking at other people's wish-lists to help me pick something nice, and I hope that's the same for you.

• a letter -- I looooove reading letters!
• vintage letter paper
• postalettes
• anything DONKEY! (though not a fan of caricature/Disney)
• washi stickers
• rub-ons
• embroidery thread; variegated and shiny make my heart leap and currently low on reds, purples 'n blues
• haberdashery in general
• glass, wooden or metallic beads
• pieces of fun fabric (dying for some scraps of sari, batik and kimono fabric!)
• quality handmade postcard
• clothes patch made by you, including Teesha Moore style puffy scrap patches
• handmade pincushion or kit/easy instruction
• handmade needle book with room for threader
• sea glass
• washi, foil, chiyogami and duo origami paper
• did I mention a letter? ;-)

• it probably goes without saying but anything containing animal ingredients or animal cruelty
• girly, cutesy, children's/childish stuff (YA), kawaii, Diddle, Care Bears, Disney... you get the picture ;)
• "keep calm" & other motivational quotes (not the desired effect LOL)
• crap quality stickers (seems obvious to me but apparently it's not?)
• ugly plastic clothes buttons
• touristy postcards (views) / souvenirs
• hibiscus and red / forest fruit flavoured tea
• jewelry and make-up; I hardly ever wear any
• contemporary leaflets -- I have a NO JUNK MAIL sticker on my mailbox and recycle/upcycle the things that come into my house as much as possible; so please don't add to the pile LOL

• poetry
• sports theme (except hiking and aesthetic kinds e.g. water ballet, figure skating)
• book pages (except extremely pretty) -- I'm already drowning! LOL
• sticky notes / page flags -- I received so many the will last me a lifetime
• alphabet stickers / rub-ons
• I prefer not to receive anything edible unless you're 100% sure it's vegan