Byn0604

Profile last updated: November 25 2022
Don't feel like reading a bunch of rambling? Then go ahead and scroll down to the DO/DON'T list at the bottom.

Hi there! I'm Robyn, but my friends call me Byn. (That's Robyn without all the ra ra ra) and my pronouns are They/Them, but I'm not going to get mad if you use She/Her.

First things first: I am a bit of an odd duck, and not everyone is going to like me. And I'm ok with that.

I believe that:

Black Lives Matter

LGBTQ+ rights are fundamental and important human rights

Trans men ARE men

Trans women ARE women

Kindness and acceptance of varied religious beliefs are keys to a happy life.

If these things don't line up with your belief system, we probably wouldn't make great pen pals or swap partners.

I'm heading into the back end of my 40s, and have finally come to accept myself as I am. I'm probably best described as a "hot mess of random information, bits of chaotic energy, and I have the attention span of a goldfish some days. I'm a Gemini, so very creative, and thrive in my cluttered home life.

I am an Eclectic Witch- leaning heavily towards the Christian Witch / Hoodoo side of things. I recently completed a correspondence course on Hoodoo by Catherine Yronwode- one of the most popular contemporary sources on knowledge of hoodoo. I highly recommend any books that are published by her company- LuckyMojo. I have had the honor of working with several different magical mentors to guide me along my path. I have always loved art, and working with various mediums.

In October of 2022 I got my first job since becoming disabled over 10 years earlier! I'm now happily working part time as the secretary for the little Presbyterian church in my town. It's challenging and rewarding, and I love every moment of it.

I wasn't the greatest mother in the world, but did have the honor of bringing 3 beautiful amazing smart and snarky daughters into the world. All three are in their 20's now. I also have 3 granddaughters - ages 5,3 and 3 months.. and 1 grandson age 2 months.

I have the joy of 2 "bonus kiddos" that are in my life right now. If you feel like adding anything in for them, the twins are 12, and so full of wonder still.. they would be thrilled to get something. S- enjoys cooking, video games, collecting shiny rocks (pyrite is his favorite), foreign coins, and reading.
Z- loves reading as well, and her favorite stones are tigers eye and rose quartz. She is also a fantastic cook and loves growing her own plants as well.

I also have quite a few critters living with me... my own little mini zoo! Here's the breakdown of animals:

🐈‍⬛ Smokey Joe Simon (Simon for short) is my newest rescue baby. His eyes were completely crusted shut from a bad upper respiratory infection, and his mama was a first-time mom who kept abandoning him at the steps to the farm house where my friend's dad lives. My friend was only able to go out there once a day to try to care for him, so I took the little guy in, and he's doing so much better now.

🐈‍⬛Salem, Lord of Darkness (Salem for short)

Guinea pigs- Colonel Mustard and Professor Plum

In January of 2022 I adopted an 11 year old Pomeranian mix named Buddy

2 doves- Laverne and Shirley

and finally, I have one hermit crab named Lazarus - If you ask I'll happily tell you the story of how he earned his name. He's been with me since 2012! Did you know they can live over 40 years if cared for properly? I certainly didn't when I first got them.

I mark my items sent on the date that I put the package / envelope into the mailbox at the post office, and it may not match the date that the postal workers scan the item in if I drop it on the weekend or after 3pm when the post office is closed. If it is a larger package than an envelope or postcard, I will always have tracking information on it. Please message me if it's been longer than 2 weeks from the sent date so we can try to find the missing package or send out a replacement.

Everyone has a pet-peeve right? mine is the word "Tarot". I've been doing tarot readings for about 30 years now. Started when I was 16. The one thing that absolutely makes me angry and close to stabby is when people say tarot like it rhymes with "carrot", when it should sound closer to the word "sparrow". I could understand if it was someone new that had never seen or heard it before, but if someone has been in the spiritual / paranormal / witchy field for more than a year I would hope that someone else would help them out. Especially if they are attempting to teach others about tarot. There are tons of sources both online and in physical bookstores that can tell you the commonly accepted British and American pronunciations. Neither one says that blasted t at the end. I know, it's a really weird hill to die on, but it's my hill, and I'll stand on her till the World Tree turns to ash.

I love creating art using a combination of Wood, metal, glass, paper, found items, acrylic, watercolor, pen and ink, resin, gemstones, legally and humanely acquired animal parts, fur, feathers, leather and more.

I've never been good with yarn crafts, so I tend to avoid them but do enjoy needle felting on occasion.

I want to put a special shout out here to some of the absolutely amazing Swap-bot users, but don't want to accidentally leave someone's name out so-

Hey, you... yeah you... you know who you are.

Thank you so much for being an amazing and supportive person.
Thank you for your kindness, in both actions and words.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge, tools, and tips.
Thank you for being you.

Favorite types of swaps: ATCs - Zines - Decos - handmade dolls - postage stamps - playing cards - stickers and supplies

Please let me know if you would like to do a private swap, I love doing one-on-one swaps and trades, especially for larger items that require a box instead of an envelope

Please DO NOT send:

Anything that smells strongly of cigarette smoke unless there is a warning on the outside to allow it to air out a bit- one of my frequent house guests is very sensitive to cigarette smell.

Jewelry of any type- I don't go out and dress up enough to justify wearing them, and would hate to have something just sit in a box forever.

Heavily soiled or torn and damaged items that cannot safely be repurposed for art projects.

Items that are stating that I'm going to hell for practicing witchcraft.

Other than those few things, I'm super excited to receive anything you would like to send. I happily give out hearts for swaps that I feel like people put time and effort into instead of just slapping something together in a few minutes. Adding in a little note about how you created something - the method behind your madness, if you will - is almost always guaranteed a heart.

Ideas for themes of things I'd love to receive in swaps:

A - Art Bell (radio host), Axolotl, Aardvarks, Asian art, Any excuse to use the word “Antidisestablishmentarianism”, Advertising art, Aliens, Anatomical art

B - Bumblebees, Butterflies, BOB ROSS, buttons, Buddha, B&W Photos, Bigfoot, BUSINESS CARDS- I'd love one of your personal business cards or cards you find from others. Especially interested in cards from metaphysical stores, psychic readers, and tattoo artists.

C - CATS, clowns, creepy things. Coins and tokens (especially ones that are said to bring good luck or old discontinued currency type coins from around the world. Please DO NOT send coins/currency that you feel may have a high resale value. I collect these to use in art projects or just to use as something fun and interesting for my best friend's twins to learn about other countries with), Circus themed items, Cryptozoology

D - dogs, Dried herbs / flowers / teas, dolls (old broken creepy dolls especially loved. Not fond of plastic dolls or “cutesy” dolls)

E - ET, elephants with their trunk up

F - FROGS, freebies (Honestly, who DOESN’T like free stuff?), Funeral Home items, Fidgets

G - glue (E6000 , Aileens tacky glue, elmers glue sticks), ginger beer/ale/tea, Gothic theme, glitter, GNOMES, GOATS

H - Halloween themed items from pre-1970s era, House Hippos

I - Incense- sticks, cones, or resin, (But I only like ones that use natural ingredients and not highly chemical / artificial smelling.) HEM brand and Satya are my favorite brands for stick incense, and I’ve not found a scent in those brands that I don’t like yet.

J - Jokers/Jesters

K - Kindness

L - Lace

M - Mister Rogers, Metal dies and stamp/die sets, mushrooms, magic, mystery , MONSTERS- cute monsters, scary monsters, all types of monsters are something I love.

N - Nesting Dolls, Narwhals, New Age, Notebooks

O - ODDITIES, Opossums

P - Postage stamps ( Mostly interested in used ones. The same as with the coins/currency - please only send "crafting quality" stamps and not ones that may have a high collector value. I'd also love any postage stamps for USA that are new / uncanceled that I can use for swaps). Playing cards - see bottom section for more details

Q - QUEENs (the band, drag, and royals)

R - Refrigerator magnets, religious items (especially catholic saint prayer cards, saint relics) But I’m honestly happy with items depicting any world religion or culture. I find faith super interesting as a way to understand more about other people and their life perspectives), recipes

S - Sequins, Shiny rocks and crystals (especially carved stone skull and animal figures), SKULLS, silicone molds for resin, Steampunk, succulents, sloths

T - TURTLES, thrift store finds, Tigers (not tiger king tho)

U - UNICORNS

V - Vintage pin-up girl style, snarky, inappropriate, blasphemous, or otherwise odd and quirky art

W - Washi tape, washi stickers, walrus, watercolor, witchcraft, witches, wolves

X - vintage X-ray images

Y - Yellow, Yeti, Young Frankenstein

Z - Zebras

PLAYING CARD SPECIFIC: I absolutely love the Jokers, advertisement cards, rule cards, and double backers that some decks include. I will also happily accept any "Plain Jane" card backs (solid colors with no pattern, or standard Bicycle / Bee / Aces High etc. to use for altered playing cards / ATCs)