Interview with Emilie of Bunch of Scrap

Emilie (shown here photographing some of her spooky decor) has gone from first-time swap participant to Hostess with the Mostess in no time flat! Known for her MINI Swaps (all the fun minus the stress of larger swaps, see here and here), she's found new friends and tried out new crafts all thanks to swapping! Visit her blog and her shop and send her a friendly Hi! She has adorable fall decor up right now and posts great crafts and recipes like in this post. And I have to admit, I always wondered what people do with those tags they get when they participate in tag swaps. Here is one answer! Emilie has a tag display board! Too cute, it almost makes me want to jump on the tag bandwagon!
Sign-ups are still open for the New Year's MINI Swap so get on over there!

SwapDex: Tell us a bit about you.

Emilie: My name is Emilie, I am 30 years old and live in Northern California with my fiancee Aaron, 7 year old daughter Tatum, 5 year old son Luke and another blue bundle of joy due in January. I love making tags, decorated poesy pots, rag garlands and decoupage. Unless it involves sewing, I can usually recreate a craft from a magazine or the internet, I am always trying something new!

SD: How long have you been swapping?

E: I just started swapping this summer but it has quickly become an obsession!

SD: How did you learn about swapping, and what made you decide to do your first one? Do you remember your first one?

E: I LOVE Halloween and my friend told me I HAD to join this swap she was participating in. It was the Ghoulishly Glamorous Fall Swap hosted by Tangee of A Sparkly Messy Life. I was instantly hooked!

SD: What's your favorite type of swap or favorite swap you've ever been in or hosted?

E: My favorite swaps are my MINI swaps of course, as a pregnant student and mother, I don't have lots of time to be crafting and shopping for huge swaps - so I created a mini swap where you only have to send 3 themed items - of course three items is a minimum and many people decide with their partner that they want to send more.

SD: Do you have a signature style for your swaps? Do you decorate your envelopes/packages? Send a card with a personal note?

E: I send a personal note and a "contact" card with my email, etsy shop and blog address.

SD: I LOVE this idea! I need to have some cards made up with my info, beats hand writing it in my chicken-scratch each time! Back to the interview! What's you favorite type of package to get in the mail?

E: I like all gifts of course! Homemade items are the best though!

SD: Do you have a good story about hosting or participating in a swap?

E: Luckily I don't have any horror stories - I found that swaps are a great way to find new friends and I am amazed at people's generosity!

SD: What do you think is the most challenging part of hosting a swap?

E: The most challenging part is matching up the partners, I try to pair people up with someone of similar taste so it's not a stretch to create something to suit their likes and then you can make a double of the craft for yourself too :)

SD: Any advice for someone who is thinking about hosting a swap?

E: Just make sure to have a piece of paper or journal by your computer and write down each participant and their email address as they sign up - I have been in two swaps where the information got lost on the hostesses computer or erased somehow!

Excellent advice! Thanks so much for chatting with us and sharing your swapping exerience, Emilie! Now everyone go visit her blog and her shop and send her some comment love!

*Are you a swapper or swap host who would you like to be featured on the SwapDex? Just let me know!*