I love crocheting, it's my favorite hobby. Can I make you a scarf/cowl/sweater/lap blanket to keep you wintery-warm!?
I also crochet, so I would LOVE to have something someone else made for me!

Is there any craft or hobby that you are interested in trying?
I am interested in learning how to make amigurumi, so patterns or supplies for that would be great.

When it comes to makeup, what is your coloring? Fair, dark? Sensitive skin? Eye color? Hair color? Style....funky, natural? Any additional makeup info?
Fair and dry skin, auburn hair, green/hazel eyes. Style casual – whatever’s easy lol! Not so much into makeup for everyday, but I am currently lusting after one of these: https://www.stagemakeuponline.com/02-ST3/Ben-Nye-Silicone-Tool.html?ref=%2Fsearch%3Fdepartment%3Dbeauty+tools%3Abrushes+and+applicators

Do you like to receive plants or gardening stuff? Do you grow plants? What's your favourite flower, if you have one?
I am too busy to remember to take care of indoor plants, so they tend to die. I do have an herb garden outside – I much prefer to use fresh herbs for cooking whenever possible. Favorite flower is a Sterling Silver rose. Not so much for the color, although it is pretty, but because they smell like I think roses are supposed to smell. Unfortunately, my Sterling Silver plant died, and I haven’t yet replaced it.

How do you feel about amigurumi (i.e. little crochet toys), either characters from a fandom, wee animals, or as decorations?
Love them!

How do you feel about knit socks? (Plain stockinette, lacework, cables, etc). Are there any other hand knit items you'd especially like? (Mittens, fingerless gloves, hats, etc).
Knit socks are awesome! I have to wear rubber boots a lot in the winter and I am always needing warm socks to wear in them! I love fingerless gloves. My ears get cold easily also, so ear warmers or ear muffs are always appreciated!

What kind of snacks do you like? Does dried fruit or crunchy dried vegetables sound appealing? Do you like (raw) honey? Jerky? Jam? What sort of local products do you like to receive as gifts? If you're familiar with products in the Pacific Northwest, is there anything specific you'd like to try?
Other than dried cranberries, which I adore, I am not really a fan of dried fruit or vegetables.
Love raw honey, and especially honeycomb!
Jerky is great, I don’t eat beef, but my kids and husband do, so pretty much anything is fine.
Love all kinds of jam. I had a bacon-pepper jam recently that was amazing!
I also live in the PNW, but anything that is local to you I would enjoy trying!


Would anyone mind bath and body works items? Such as hand sanitizer, lotion, candles, car scents or soap?
I can always use travel-sized lotions, my hands tend to dry out in the winter. I also go through a LOT of hand-sanitzers for my work. Something fairly neutral scented or vanilla is perfect, so it doesn’t clash with the BPAL I am wearing that day.

Any Lush showergel (or other product) you'd like to try?
I have never tried Lush, so that could be fun. I don’t use shower gel though, just soap.

If you had a custom perfume/beauty/bath product made for you, what would it be and what would the scent description look like? (everything from prose to the specific selection of notes) :
I was so lucky that my Witch in this round of Switch Witch actually had my dream scent custom-blended for me!

I love drawing! Either fanart chibis on the tablet or portrait work in graphite pencil... but it's been a while..so I'd love to use this as an excuse to draw something for you! If you could commission an art piece, would you choose traditional or digital artwork- and what would it be of?
I am not a big fan of the chibi style. A pencil sketch of my horse would be cool to put up in my office. Or tropical fish – especially Clown Trigger, Mandarinfish or Moorish Idol.

Christmas decor this year:
Traditional/Victorian as usual. I’m so boring that way!

What's your shoesize? Would you like to receive socks?
Shoe size is 8-8 ½. I always appreciate socks, especially fun ones!

I live in The Netherlands but I will visit England soon and might pay a visit to Germany. Anything special from here that you'd like to try?
I don’t know much at all about The Netherlands, anything regional is always a lot of fun to receive. Tea and Cadbury’s from England is wonderful too, the ones they send here are just not the same.

Do you have any interest in Shakespearean swag (insult mugs, play themed lip balms, oodles of other possibilities) or general performing arts related goodies?
We are BIG Shakespeare fans in my house! Anything above would be awesome. We are also very involved in theatre locally – I am currently directing a production of Noises Off which opens in January and my husband is in a production of Other Desert Cities which opens this Friday.

What is your favorite Christmas story - be it book, movie, cartoon - and if there are various versions, which is your favorite?
The Polar Express, both the movie and the book.

Do you have a preference for numbered packages or random selection?
No preference, whatever my Snow Angel wants to do is fine by me!

Do you have any external wishlists, Goodreads, or anything else that you might not have listed in your survey?
All of my wishlists are in my survey.

For books that are part of a series, do you have a strong preference for whether you receive them in order, assuming that any overarching plot is reasonably easy to pick up on and the main story is self contained?
I am a little bit compulsive about reading things in order. I’m the same way with television series.

Do you like Steampunk? Would you be interested in any jewelry inspired by steampunk?
I do like Steampunk. Either earrings or hair ornaments would be most likely to be used frequently.

I make paper albums and journals. Would you be interested in receiving something like that? Would you like some other type of handmade paper craft?
I don’t keep a journal, so that would not get much use from me. Notepads however, are always appreciated.

Do you like licorice or would you like to try it? Would you prefer salt or sweet?
I love licorice! I tried the salted once, which was enough to learn that it is not for me. Sweet please!

BPAL wishlist updated?
Yes!

Do you like office supplies like pens, pencils, highlighters, sticky notes, etc?
Yes to all the things!

How do you feel about spicy, cheesy, or sour snacks?
Love spicy, cheesy and sweet. Honestly, if I could live on cheese, I would.

Would you like any cook-able mixes like for soup or baked goods, cooking ingredients like spices, sugars, salts, oils, or cooking gadgets?
If it were homemade, I would use baking mixes. I’m kind of a soup snob, so I make all my soups from scratch, using fresh ingredients. I love getting spices, salts and oils! My kitchen is already stuffed to the gills with kitchen gadgets, lol!

Would you prefer bar soaps or bath gel?
Bar soaps, please.

Candles, wax melts, or incense - yea or nay?
Yea on candles, nay on the others. My husband is very sensitive to scents, so nothing too heavily scented is allowed. He does like lavender and I adore vanilla.

How do you feel about sweeteners? Do you prefer sugar, stevia, sucralose, etc.? Anything in particular to avoid?
I prefer sugar.

Would you be interested in:
- Dried honeycrisp apples Yes
- Applesauce (with red hots for sweetness and cinnamon) Yes
- Rose petal liqueur I WOULD LOVE THIS WITH A PASSION! Or even a recipe to make it myself!
- Blackberry, Strawberry Rhubarb, or Peach Jam Not so much on the peach, although my husband would love it. We all love blackberry, but I am the only one in the house who likes rhubarb.
- Baked or homemade goods (rum balls, spritz cookies, peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, fudge, cranberry bliss bars, chocolate topped toffee, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, princess buttercups, chex mixes, trail mixes, etc.) Feel free to request a certain type of favorite thing you like. I have a food handlers license and I will make sure everything is very sterile, I am ultra virgo about cleanliness. I will avoid allergens like the plague if you are allergic to certain things. I can do gluten free baked things and/or we could do sugar free if that is a must.Yes to all, especially: rum balls, fudge, cranberry bliss bars, chocolate topped toffee
- handsewn project bags or makeup bags? We do different sizes, some with zippers, some with draw strings. I could use a nice zippered bag to hold crochet projects.
- yarn, roving, batts, fiber? Yarn for crochet would be great!
- any cross stitch items like a small wall hanging or bookmark? No, thank you.
- if you said you'd want a knitted item, are there any particular favorite patterns you'd like? No preference.

If you said you liked candles/incense/etc., what are your favorite scents for such things?
Vanilla or lavender.

Do you have a Trader Joe's near you? If not, would you want some of their famous delicious treats? (Cookie butter - original or pumpkin spice!, sweet plantain chips, chocolate covered potato chips, etc)
I do have a TJ’s near me. I have never tried cookie butter, which I understand is heresy.

If there's one place you could go in the world, where and why?
So many places! I’ve been lucky to get to go to many wonderful places around the world already. I would love to go to Ireland someday. A large part of my heritage is from there, and it looks like such a beautiful place.

What sort of dollar store items do you always get a kick out of? For example, I always love those silly expandable sponges.
I almost never shop in dollar stores, so I don’t even know what might be an option.

Do you have a wood-burning fireplace or fire pit, and if so would you like handmade firestarters or scenting bundles to throw on it? (think bundles of apple wood chips and cinnamon bark, or little wax/herb/paper bundles with a wick)
No functional fireplaces or pits here. We do have an outdoor gas grill, so wood chips for smoking might be fun.

Thinking about your package arriving and unwrapping, would you prefer more foody items or more non-foody things?
A mix, I guess. Whatever my Snow Angel wants to send me will be loved.

Name a handful of things you would LOVE to see in your 12 Days gifts!
I could actually use some stitch markers, since I am getting back into crochet and I don't have any.

Do you like to cook and would you be interested in cookbooks? If so, what kind?
I kind of collect cookbooks, especially really old ones - I enjoy reading about ancient and historical recipes. I kind of have my eye on Alton Brown's recent book, Everyday Cook. And I always love getting personal recipes - holiday cookies or slow cooker recipes especially.

Do you like games (board/card), and if so what kind and for how many players?
My husband isn't a big fan of games, and Avery takes after him. Two player games for me and Antonio would be awesome, so we can have fun without those two party poopers!

What animals do you think are considered cute?
Horses, cats, otters, foxes (especially fennec foxes), seals, dolphins

Would you like to receive a photography print? My pictures are mainly of animals or landscapes. What would you prefer? Any favourite animals you'd like to receive a picture of? Would you also like to receive postcards? You can view some of my pictures on http://www.by-ellen.com
Those are so beautiful! I love the foxes, and the landscapes, though I prefer the ones without human structures in them.

What are your most wanted BPALs?
I have been so lucky recently to get a lot of the ones I was most keen on. I have a possible swap pending for some Stekk, which I would love to get my paws on. Yellow Pumpkin Floss and Reapers Gonna Reap, which I have been holding off ordering until the next update. In the realm of "in your dreams!" I'd love some Macabray or The Unicorn.