Interview with Melissa of Oh, My Darling

Melissa just started swapping this year and she's already made the jump to hostess! Check out her adorable blog and give her a great big swap-community hello!

SwapDex: Tell us a bit about you.

Melissa: I’m Melissa, and I’m living in Baltimore, Maryland. I’ve gotten really into blogging in the past few months, and have been so delighted to become an active member of this great little community. In my free time, I like to hang out with my boyfriend, to bake cupcakes (key lime are my specialty), to do crafty little things, and to stay active at the gym. Regarding crafts, I love to crochet, make jewelry, and do crafts with paper goods. I’m hoping to learn how to sew soon – I have a hand-me-down machine but can’t figure out how to set it up yet!

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

M: I’m new to swapping. I did the Color Me Happy swap from the blog Adventures in Love in Happiness, which started in June. It was such fun getting to know my swap partner, Angie of Angie May Handmade, and picking out light grey gifts for her. This was my first exposure to swapping, and it was such a fun little endeavor. Her turquoise-themed gifts to me arrived as I was mailing my package out to her, which I thought was a neat little happenstance. I’m not quite sure why I decided to do this swap – I guess just because I was getting started in the blog community and it sounded like a fun thing to do.

SD: What's your favorite swap you've ever been in or hosted? (specific swap or type of swap if you can't pick just one)

M: I’m pretty pumped about the Surprise Ball Gift Swap that I started on my blog. I recently posted a surprise ball tutorial on my blog. I had so much fun making one for my swap buddy that I decided to make a “My Favorite Things” surprise ball and have recently put it up as a giveaway on my blog. I’m also amazed at the amount of people who have been interested in my Dear Darlings penpal letter exchange. We got over 50 participants, which is wild! I’m a huge proponent of keeping letter writing alive, so this is hugely exciting to me.

SD:: What do you do to make your packages special?

M: I really like to get to know my swap buddies by reading their blogs and discovering their interests. So, personalizing the gifts as much as possible is what makes them special. As for my penpal letters, I think that my love of pretty stationery makes them pretty darn special.

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

M: Nothing outrageous. I’ve had positive experiences thus far. I was especially delighted when Angie included owl pajamas in my Color Me Happy package, as I’m a major owl fan.

SD: What do you think is the most challenging part of hosting a swap? Any advice for someone who is thinking about hosting a swap?

M: Oh my, keeping up with the emails! I created a standard reply letter that I keep as a word document, in order to save on time.

SD: Any exciting plans for the near future? Swaps, projects, new products?

M: I’m excited to see how the Dear Darlings penpal project progresses. I’m thinking of doing another gift swap in the fall, but I’m still brainstorming good ideas, and I need a little break after the great response for Dear Darlings!