UrsaMinor

This profile was last edited in June 2017. Currently taking a break.

I mainly swap within Europe, as the postal costs to other continents are getting higher year by year. I only do very lightweight (under 50 grams) fully international swaps.

I was born in 1982 and I have been doing different sorts of crafts and needleworks and stuff pretty much ever since. I've never been too keen on following instructions and patterns with them, I prefer to take a little ideas from here and there and use my imagination and see what comes out of it. When you understand the basic rules you can do almost anything to cover the rest. And believe me, I've managed to create lots of useful stuff that actually works and looks good :D

Writing letters was my hobby number one growing up. Sending and getting mail is one of the few things in my life that I could say I'm passionate about although I'm not actively writing letters anymore.

With these two things combined, what else could I do than swap?!

For the most part of my life I've been either a student or unemployed (currently I work, though) so I've learnt to get along with quite little money. I'm not brand-conscious and actually feel a little uneasy with expensive brands no matter how good quality they would be. I don't like to pay for the logo and the brand name instead of the product itself. I'd rather get lost at a huge bargain store for hours than take a two-minute-tour at a specialty store just to notice that it's all out of my price range. Of course I like my things clean and in good condition but it can be of not well-known brands, cheap stuff from supermarkets, etc. If you want to impress me, don't send me something expensive but something cheap, clever and selected with some thought.

I don't have any phobias, migraine or severe allergies so I'm safe in that sense. Although, I would prefer NO SCENTED ITEMS, they might or might not bother my nose so I don't want to risk it.

I knit woolly socks, mittens and hats, and occasionally crochet scarves, stuffies, odd little things and whatnot. For them I would like to receive yarns and anything to do with knitting or crocheting. I prefer yarns that have at least a little of some natural material in them, like wool or cotton or something else like that.

I make jewellery out of beads and silver-coated copper wire and materials like that. I'm always happy to get beads of different types (glass, metallic, stone, shell, mother-of-pearl) and sizes EXCEPT for the bulky plastic ones that scream "suitable for children under 5 years". For seed beads I prefer stripy or other patterned or otherwise special ones, I've got a huge stash of solid colour ones already (you wouldn't believe how many different shades of pink alone I have...). You can also send any sort of other things that can be used in making jewellery, such as charms and clasps, I work mostly with silver tone.

Needle felting is nice too.

I have a love-hate relationship with my sewing machine. I make and fix clothes for myself occasionally. Mostly I sew (also by hand) small things like tote bags, stuffies... Please, do not send me any fabric or other supplies though, I've got too much already and I don't sew that often.

I discovered zentangles in June 2010 here on Swap-bot and they helped me to find the joy of drawing again :-) Good and cool felt tip pens and markers are welcome and useful for either drawing or writing.

I appear to be making some mailart envelopes too, to my own surprise...

I don't know what to really call it, but I make my own hair ornaments like barrettes or bows with an alligator clip or stuff like that, so any supplies for those are appreciated. Hair accessories are pretty much the only things I can wear at work, sadly I have very little use for jewellery.

... ANIMALS to babies. I like pretty much all kinds of animals: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, etc. This applies to animal prints, too. Cats and felines in general are my favourites, and I love birds, too. I'm childless by choice, babies and children don't make me go "awwww!"

... REALISTIC BEARS to teddybears. Any other stuffed animals or dolls are great but I'd rather not receive teddybears or anything with pictures of them. And I'm serious about this one! If you must send me something with a bear on it, please make it a realistic bear.

... Strong PLASTIC DECO TAPE & WASHI TAPE that sticks well. I use them to actually reinforce and close envelopes, not just for decoration.

... MODERN, URBAN & CONTEMPORARY styles and design to washed out, vintage or shabby chic.

... BOLD, LIVELY & QUIRKY to delicate, romantic and toned-down. This applies to styles and to patterns and colours as well.
* I prefer strong muted colours, then jewel tones, brights and lastly pastels, in that order. My favourite colours change from time to time.
* For pattern & colour combos, for example, I like light colour polka dots on a dark background and large patterns.

... UNIQUE & INDEPENDENT style and design. For example, I would like something you thought up by yourself or something that isn't too popular. I do not want cartoon characters, moustaches or too many owls, nor dolphins from the 90's.

... THINGS THAT CAN BE USED ANY DAY to holiday related stuff, especially holidays like St. Patrick's, Halloween or Thanksgiving that aren't celebrated here.

... THINGS THAT CAN BE WORN. I like
* hair accessories, preferably large, showy and even ridiculously drag-queen-like ;)
* earrings with hooks, big but lightweight
* scarves
* colourful and/or patterned socks, even silly ones (size EU 41/UK 7/US 9½).
* I've heard people say bags are a part of your outfit, so yeah, bags go in this category too :D

I'm big, so think big. Dainty jewellery is better for skinny girls. Silver or gold tone jewellery work for me. Yet, I don't have any particular style I wear, I can wear different styles and colours with different moods, so you can send me ANY STYLE of things to wear!

... blank POSTCARDS that I can use myself. I like my postcards non-touristy and preferably without text (cards with text on them can usually only be used within the country where the language is spoken and I dislike the mechanic poor translations on many Asian postcards). I also prefer STORE-BOUGHT OR PRINTED POSTCARDS to handmade ones, especially to magazine-clipping-collage-postcards.

... ELECTRONIC BOOKS to actual books, so I have no need for bookmarks.

... SWEETS & GUM to tea. For sweets I am eager to try ANYTHING! Dark chocolates (up to 70% cocoa) or filled chocolates are often better than plain milk chocolate. Currently I have too much tea, please don't send me more (unless as a required part of a swap), I'm primarily a coffee drinker like most Finns :)

What I really DO NOT WANT:

• Touristy postcards with a name of a place on it, on the picture side. If I haven't been there, it's unlikely I could use it.
• Magnets of any kind. I only read electronic books so I do not need magnetic bookmarks. I don't trust magnetic jewellery locks. I don't collect fridge magnets. I fear magnets could harm my electronic devices. Magnets could also potentially get stuck somewhere in the postal machines and tear the envelopes, so don't send me any to begin with.
• Copper or bronze coloured jewellery or jewellery findings. I don't like the look and they make my skin itch and turn green.
• Babies and children (images or figurines of).

Random stuff that I've got in swaps before and that deserve to be mentioned:

• Skittles!

• Stride chewing gum, I'd love to get any flavour but I especially prefer the ones with XYLITOL in them, as it's good for your teeth. They're all sugar free, I guess, but some are only sweetened with sorbitol and mannitol. If it's not too much trouble you could read the ingredients listed at the back and see that it contains xylitol too.

• Some sort of a favourite artist, Charley Harper. I have received a few postcards with Harper's bird themed art on them and I like them very much. Judging by the Charley Harper website I also enjoy his other animal themed art!

• Another favourite artist, Navitrolla.

I was previously known as

PrunellaModularis
from May 2010 to December 2013.

PLEASE DO NOT post moving and flickering GIF images on my profile. The repetitive movement drives me mad.

When sending from Finland to other countries, everything within the measurements shown in the picture below goes as a letter. There is no difference whether it is an envelope, a bubble mailer or a flat box. I send all my swaps as letters as it is the most economical way. Therefore I never send anything that makes the envelope thicker than 3cm (1 1/8"). I still send more than just flat paper items, as you know. In return, I don't expect you to send me anything huge. Also, envelopes thinner than 3cm are delivered to my home, I need to pick up everything that doesn't go through the letterbox from the post office.

Please note that I mark the value usually as 2 or 3 euros on the customs form stickers so none of us would need to pay extra charges or the envie wouldn't attract thieves. It has nothing to do with the actual value of the contents!

Message me if you have anything to ask or to tell me!

And for the love of everything that's beautiful, LEAVE ME A COMMENT WHEN RATING ME, PLEASE :)