Melogee

While I have had a pretty great Swap-bot experience this time around, I am noticing that I am getting too much of a good thing here. You swap hosts come up with some really fun swaps that I just can't say no to! Unfortunately my private swaps have become very backlogged and I feel awful that the folks I have been swapping with for years are taking a backseat to Swap-bot swaps.

After I send out and clear my current set of swaps, I will be taking a break from Swap-bot for an indefinite amount of time. I might still be active on some forum tags at the moment and I will honor those if I am tagged while on a break, of course (PLEASE MESSAGE ME so I will know I've been tagged).

Also while on break, I am happy to do any of the following:

• take any deco(s) you can't seem to move

• swap out any decos for ones you might need (i.e. you send me stapled/taped decos and I can send you art decos in return, you don't have any decos Jessica or Debora haven't signed and you don't want to make any new ones, etc.)

• take any last signers or homers for anyone on my ICR list in the Deco Books forum (you don't even have to ask on this one, just feel free to send it along and I'll return it to them in my next swap to them)

"Whatever you are, try to be a good one." - William Makepeace Thackeray

I was born and raised in the beautiful and mountainous western Maine. I am humbled by the majestic natural beauty of the land that is my home.

I spent a year working as a USPS clerk and would be happy to answer ANY USPS related questions you may have, or even if you want to nerd out. I LOVED that job, but the system is so dehumanizing.

I've grown to really dislike the rating system here. I strive for hearts 99.9% of the time and am disappointed when I don't get one for a swap where it's OBVIOUS I've gone above and beyond (e-mail swaps, I'm looking at YOU!). There are people here who live and die by those ratings and I just can't jump on board with that. Sadly, ratings have really made certain swaps and swap hosts a major downer for me and won't participate with those anymore. Ratings seem to be the topic that brings the ugly out of people. I am highly intelligent and hold a master's degree in education so please don't talk to me like I'm stupid or make up elaborate stories.

a non-exhaustive list of bands/musicians whose music I love: Air, Beth Orton, G. Love and Special Sauce, Zero7, Groove Armada, Wax Tailor, Tori Amos, Boards of Canada, Fun-Lovin Criminals, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bob Dylan, Shawn Lee, Johnny Cash, Rancid, Jurassic 5, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Bill Withers, the Flaming Lips, Social Distortion, Cake, Lemon Jelly, William Orbit, Four Tet, the Postal Service, Beck, Massive Attack, Thievery Corporation, Wu-Tang, the Budos Band...

I am entirely in love with decos and slams. I have been swapping them both for two decades. I feel a pull from my soul to work on decos/collage on a regular basis. Just how I envy a lot of my dancer friends who move and dance daily, that pull they have for dance is what I feel for deco. I wish I had that same pull to dance like they do. Pre-COVID, I was an up-and-coming burlesque performer and had been a performance dancer since 2018.

Please don't throw any extra stuff into swaps to me unless you talk to me first. I'm really not looking to add to my stash. I realize most of us strive for those hearts, and hearts come from me for nice high quality artwork, not from some memo sheets tossed in.

Please, Please, PLEASE DO NOT ADD ANYTHING TO MY DECOS OTHER THAN YOUR ARTWORK ON YOUR PAGE!!! I craft my decos the way I want them and do not welcome Post It/sticky notes, tracking numbers, or plugs for your swap groups attached to my decos in any way (unless you want to add those elements to your entry). The purpose of my decos is to provide an opportunity for folks to contribute, practice, and appreciate artwork. If you have read this, I kindly ask that you please respect my wishes. I have been swapping decos for 20 years and thus have had a long time to develop my swapping practice and methods.

I prefer decos that are postcard sized. Bigger is okay, but I don't really care for ones smaller than that. I've never had an affinity for creating ATCs and came upon decos via slams and FB's. I am happy to take unloved decos: taped ones, ones stapled in the corner, maybe less-than-stellar artwork... I have a wide swap network and can get stuff passed along pretty easily.

I love to receive stickers but am not a fan of swapping them. I also like lyrix and have hosted a couple of swaps for them.

I take great pride in my artwork. Everything I make will be of good quality and I prefer the same in return. When you rate me for a swap that was handmade by me, I would love to hear what you think of my work and appreciate it if you took the time and care to do so.