DragonflyDreamer

3/9/21. I'm not quite sure what has been happening at my local post office but I have been receiving the majority of my mail torn, opened or in pieces. I literally received the front of an envelope yesterday... just the front... and the postage stamp was even missing. With that being said, if a little extra tape around the edges of envelopes may help swaps arrive in better shape. I will be be making a stop at my post office to follow up with this problem as well.

Spoiler Alert!!! Instagram @adragonflydream & @adragonflydreamerart

Greetings! I am an old soul who loves mixed media, photography and writing.

My mind is always all over the place and depending on my mood, my body sometimes attempts to keep up with it; more often than not, to no avail.

I can find the beauty in anything. Writing has always been something I enjoy. (Although I would be lost without spellcheck!) I don't do it nearly as often as I should but I have several projects going.

I have one AMAZING man in my life, Bob, and one CRAZY dog, Molly.

They are my world.

There is almost always music on in our house. We listen to everything from Enya to Megadeath depending on the mood. Since we recently moved to TN we have been on a country kick. We love Gary Allan.

Bob loves Christmas music and we are always adding to our collection. I really enjoy world music, anything from Buddhist chants to Bollywood.

I love to read.

Unfortunately it is very difficult for me sometimes; I have been blessed with bipolar disorder and ADD. This means more often then not, when I get to the end of a paragraph, I'm planning dinner in my head, deciding if I should get a haircut and wondering if penguins have knees.

It's a lovely combination of a racing mind that can't stay focused on an..HEY LOOK A SQUIRREL!

Never the less I have a book shelf full of books I am determined to read someday. There are times that I get hyper-focused and can sit and read for hours on end and get through a book in two days, but that doesn't happen very often.

So what's on my book shelf?

Twain.

Lots of Twain.

A few of Garrrison Keillors works.

Jeannette Walls.

Random novels that I have decided to add to my collection based solely on the fact that I liked the cover.

Several books on Buddhism; Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso.

Quite a few books on various health topics. I have a special interest in Alzheimer's and natural healing.

A collection of artsy crafty books and magazines have also found their way on there as well. I love the SummerSet Studio publications and am always grateful for anything that inspires me.

You can find a cookbook of some sort in nearly every room of the house; Bob is a chef and we are constantly trying new things.

I discovered Audible in 2018 and as of Jan 2020 I have nearly 19 days of total listening time. Amazingly, if I play the audio at 1.5x the normal speed it forces my mind to keep up and I can actually pay attention to it!

My top audio books?....

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson (Anyone with or around any mental health challenges and a since of humor MUST check this book out!)

The Book of Joy by Desmond Tutu & The Dali Lama

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Man's Search for Mening by Viktor Frankl

The Man on the Mountaintop by Libby Spurrier

There are very few things that I watch on TV and I couldn't tell you the last time I've ever said,

"Oh crap it's .005 seconds after 7! I'm missing the start of Who Wants to be the next Naked Zombie Bachelor!"

I was raised without a television and am totally convinced that it is destroying anything left of common morals and that mass media breads ignorance.

Don't get me wrong, I do watch TV from time to time. I mean REALLY, who doesn't love American Pickers and Home Town!?

Bob is frequently amazed by the number of movies I haven't seen. What can I say, I'm a sheltered individual...and besides, he has a few years on me in age so he has had a head start.

My two favorite movies are a couple of random ones; Smoke (A 1995 film with William Hurt and Harvey Keitel) & Amelie (A french film with Audrey Tautou who I think is adorable.)

Here we go.

Now we're talkin'.

Yup...

You know that girl that walks into a Michael's Craft store to buy a glue stick and leaves four hours later with 14 shopping bags, $153 less in her checking account and 87 more projects that she never knew she needed to start?....

I'm THAT girl.

It would probably just be easier to add a pic of my art room here at this point.

I have a sewing machine and lots of beautiful fabric.

So many rubber stamps that I have had to create a reference book for them.

There are enough ink pads, gelatos, pens, markers, ink sprays and nuvo drops to keep a kindergarten class occupied for the entire school year.

Enough paper to wallpaper the Boeing Everett Factory.

Lets not forget the modeling paste, gesso, tacky glue, texture paste, matt medium and score tape...

I do NOT have a glue stick however.

Nope no glue stick...

I forgot to get the one thing that I went into Michael's for in the first place.

Don't you hate that?

(Just a side note...I currently DO have plenty of glue sticks. You are all so thoughtful but please stop sending me glue sticks...)

With all that said and done I must confess a problem...another part of my battle with my blessings is that I never want to mess anything up. I have so many wonderful supplies that I can create amazing things with but it is often a struggle to sit down and work on anything because I don't want to waste the beautiful fabric or the fancy paper. I struggle with this because all I ever wanted to be when I grew up was an artist.

That is one of my reasons for joining Swap-bot; I want to create things, I LOVE crafting. When I'm doing it for someone else I have no problem spending hours at my desk trying to get that one last detail in just the right spot. My mom and I swap ATCs, altered playing cards and art tags every month. It's so much fun because she is still in MN so we each get a goody package every month. Some of our ATCs and such are posted on Instagram.

I can't say that I really have a style when it comes to my personal crafts but if i'm creating something for someone else I try to incorporate as many personal elements into the work that I can.

I have really started getting into more mixed media type stuff. Just completed my first magpie journal swap which was so fun. I use the chip board letters quite a bit so those are always welcome. Anything other chipboard as well.

I also make cards on a regular basis and enjoy getting stamped quotes or images to use for them.

Watercolor is something I will tackling next so any tips, articles or magazines are welcome.

Washi has become a slight addiction. I have started a washi journal with 4(ish) inch pieces. I'm collecting as many different washi snip-its as I can. If you have any fun unique ones you would like to share don't feel like you have to do a large amount.

I love learning new crafts so share what you love. Although, I do not have children and really have no use for kids type craft things.

A... ATCs, Arsenal football

B.... Buddhism; Mahayana (Especially Medicine Buddha or Green Tara), BRADS! I LOVE unique brads, black licorice

C... Chap-stick, anything Coconut, chipmunks (the actual animal, not Alvin the cartoon)

D... Dragonflies...anything to do with dragonflies. I have yet to find a nice dragonfly washi and I would love some die cuts, Decorative cocktail napkins, Daffodils

E... Enya

F... Fiats (especially anything relating to old ones), Fortunes from cookies (I've been collecting them since high school)

G... Green; My favorite color is green....anything green, any shade of green. In general I like earth tones. Gum. G2 pens.

H... Hedgehogs

I... Incense sticks. I love Maroma Kalki morning offering and burn it every morning.

J... Journals

K... K-Cups, Koalas

L... Lotus, Ladybugs, Lace

M... Mint kit-kats, Magazines... Previously loved magazines; craft, wine, food, any really

N... Nips; coffee flavored

O... Old black & white photographs, old world Christmas ornaments

P... Photography, Pipe Organs

Q... Quotes ...Inspirational or funny quotes

R... RX Bars

S...Smells: Gardenia, Pina Colada, Rose, Plumeria, Jasmine, Snails...there are day's I wouldn't mind being a snail. There was a study done that determined that a snail can sleep for up to three years! String for wrapping small packages. Subarus, Scraps of pretty paper, Scraps of pretty fabric, small ATC size envelopes, Succulents

T... Tea... I'm always up for trying new teas. I love Jasmine, Chocolate Mint, Licorice and Chi. Treats We try to keep Molly away from chicken but she loves anything from 3 dog bakery. Travel tips.

U... Unique stones

V... Vikings Bob loves anything relating to Viking history

W... Writing; journals with writing prompts. I am pretty picky about my pens however. I only use the pilot g2 fine and ultra/extra fine tip.

X...

Y... 12 inch yarn bits

Z...

The two quotes that hold most true to my life...

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." ~ Maya Angelou

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." ~ Dalai Lama XIV

Other wonderful quotes in no particular order...

2 AMs were made for poets. Lovers/writers. Visionaries. Photographers. Painters. Over Thinkers. Silent seekers. These are my favorite hours.

"Though I am often in the depths of misery, there is still calmness, pure harmony and music inside me. ~ Vincent van Gogh

"I do not have ducks. I do not have rows. I have squirrels and they are at a rave."

"I wish I could become a public figure just to see what kind of dirt they dig up on me. I'd really like to piece together my 20's"

I do like getting postcards that are written on & stamped, unless it is a 'send multiple PCs' sort of swap. I love all sorts and would never rate down for a nice handmade PC, regardless of what the swap calls for. I keep them in an album, so I prefer 4x6" if possible. Slightly smaller is fine even if the swap says minimum 4x6.

I am currently collecting PC's with...

Dragonflys

Hedgehogs

Koalas

Snails

Current wish list

• address labels - I got married on Jan 18th 2021 and am in need of address labels with my new last name!

• sealing wax beads

• anything flat dragonfly for my dragonfly journal

• anything flat botanical for my junk journal

• 1, 2 or 3 cent stamps; specifically the fruit series (lemon, apple & strawberry)

• book recommendations

No thank you.... Please, no kids stuff or kawaii things.