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OCTOBER 2020

I primarily swap handcrafted items. I've had a lot of fun over the years meeting like-minded people and discovering products and projects I would have never otherwise encountered. I keep almost everything I receive and have a craft room decorated with Swap-bot treasures.

I do occasionally join or host a postcard swap when I'm in the mood for a quick activity. I am not a serious postcard collector, though. This means I'm not picky about the cards I receive. If they meet swap requirements, we're good to go.

I don't usually send extras in my swaps and I prefer not to receive them. This isn't a hard-and-fast rule, by any means. It's just that I'm focused on the swap itself and don't give extras much thought. I'm also in a constant state of destashing because I've already accumulated more than I can use.

These are a few of my current favorites:

STYLES

• Abstract Expressionism

• Impressionism

• Realism

• Whimsy

COLORS

Because I love color so much, it's easier for me to tell you what I don't like than what I do. I'm not a fan of any of the colors you would find in a traditional camouflage pattern: dark tan, khaki green and gray. I've also never liked mustard yellow, avocado and primary orange as the main players in a piece.

I do love bright, saturated colors such as magenta, quinacridone violet, lime green, turquoise, cobalt blue, lemon yellow and cherry red with white detailing and hints of black to make the other colors pop.

There is a time and place for every color, though, and I find all of them appealing when used thoughtfully.

PATTERNS

• Plaids

• Polka Dots

• Stripes

THEMES

• Aspen Trees

• Beach Scenes

• Bees

• Chairs

• Churches

• Daisies

• Ducks & Geese (white)

• Evergreen Forests (and anything you might find there)

• Fireflies

• Gingerbread People

• Goldfish

• Houses (row houses, cottages, cabins, chalets, treehouses)

• Ice Skaters

• Kokeshi Dolls

• Meadows

• Meteor Showers

• Mice

• Mountains

• Origami (dresses, hearts, birds)

• People

• Portraits

• Quaint Villages (mountain, seaside)

• Rabbits & Hares

• Reflections (wet pavement, lakes & ponds)

• Sheep

• Shoes

• Snow Scenes

• String Lights

• Swans

• Wee Forest Folk

• Wildflowers

• Windows (from the outside looking in)

ARTISTS

• Betty Krause

• Gerda Lipski

POETS

• Robert Frost

• Ted Kooser

• Mary Oliver

MOVIES

• A Christmas Story

• Chocolat

NOVELS

• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

• Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

THEATER

• Cats

• Miss Saigon

• The Lion King

• Wicked

ALBUMS

• 0 - Ichiko Aoba

• qp - Ichiko Aoba

• December - George Winston

SWAP CATEGORIES

• ATCs

• Collages

• Hand Stitchery

• Inchies

• Mail Art

• Mixed Media

• Monoprints

• Paper Crafts

• Photography

• Postcards

• Zentangles

• Zines

SUPPLIES

• 1/4" Red Double-Sided Super Sticky Tape

• ATC Blanks (Bristol Vellum)

• ATC Coin Blanks

• Bristol Vellum

• Carving Blocks (For Rubber Stamps)

• Gelli Plates

• Gold Leaf

• Golden Acrylic Paints and Mediums

• Micron Pens

• Nova Acrylic Paints

• Prismacolor Pencils

• Sakura Gelly Roll Pens (White)

• Scor Tape

• Shrinky Dinks Sheets

• Stencils (Plastic)

• Stickers

• Stickles

• Washi Tape

. . . . .

MY CRAFTING AESTHETIC IS NOT:

• Americana (red, white and blue, flags, stars and stripes, Uncle Sam)

• Farm & Country (chicken wire, burlap, roosters, sunflowers, weathervanes)

• Morbid (skulls, post-mortem photography, tombstones, coffins, cemeteries)

• Mystical (fairies, goddesses, moons, witchcraft, dragons, amulets & talismans)

• Steampunk (keys, gears, gauges, top hats, clocks, monocles, mustaches)

• Victorian (lace, roses, doilies, pearls, fans, sweet pink, buttoned boots)

All of the above likes and dislikes are listed to give you an idea of who I am and help ignite your creativity when planning a swap for me. None of it is intended to box you in or stress you out. As they say, swapping is supposed to be fun. And, because of the lovely people I've met here, the interesting challenges I've been given and the great swaps I've received, it has been more fun than I could have imagined.

❤️

Happy Swapping!