Leslie52

I love shabby chic, vintage, and cottage style decorating, mostly pinks and greens, but the guest room is the only place in the house where I really go hog wild with that stuff. The rest of the house is a hodge podge of garage sale finds, purchased pieces we really liked (La-Z-Boy, I'm looking at you), and thrift store stuff because I love a bargain. I'd paint it all white and distress it if I could but DH wants some 'normal' furniture in the house LOL.

I live in a small town with DH, a goofy rescue dog and 2 rescue cats. I work part time in our own business and use every spare moment to read or do some sort of art. I don't clean house much, but I bake excellent cookies.

I really enjoy art journaling, mixed media, collage. The over stuffed journals on Flickr make me drool.

I started making fabric ATCs years ago when I was heavily into quilting. Mixed media ATCs are a lot more fun and much easier on my hands. Making a complete work of art on that small canvas appeals to me.

I do a bit of drawing and painting but nothing serious. Don't practice enough to be any good.

And I guess this isn't a craft, but I just love going thru my studio, organizing and looking at my supplies. Sometimes I just sit and try all my colored pencils to see what the different shades of blue look like, or how much difference various papers make.

I read constantly and always have a few books going. My favorite writers are Robin Hobb, Diana Gabaldon, John Sandford, Nelson DeMille, Mary Renault.

I enjoy books that make me think a little and stay with me after I've read them. Jane Smiley's books do that. She's an unsettling writer and sometimes her books leave me a bit depressed, but she's very good.

Some of my favorite books, in no particular order, are: Assassin's Apprentice, Dirt Music. Outlander. The Golden Compass. Barn Blind. The Gold Coast. Chocolat. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I Know This Much Is True. The House on the Strand. Frenchman's Creek. Lonesome Dove. The Persian Boy. The Time Traveler's Wife.

I enjoy garden themes with birds, flowers; anything with a vintage feel; sheep, donkeys; vintage anything; watercolors; pen and ink; pencil sketches.

Far prefer home made over store bought, even if it's a bit rough around the edges.

Favorite colors are pink, green, cream, a bit of yellow.

Don't care for: cutesy scrapbook-type stuff, the color orange, religious.

If I had to pick five artists to listen to for the rest of my life, they'd be The Eagles, Simon & Garfunkle, James Taylor, Zac Brown Band, and Randy Travis.

If I could add a few more, it'd be Keith Urban, Carly Simon, Nicolette Larson, Traffic, Foreigner, George Straight, Journey.

Pages from foreign language books. I have lots of Spanish so don't need that one.

Punched out circles from magazines, patterned paper, books, whatever. Anything from 1/2" to 1.5" is great.

Puzzle pieces stamped from same type paper as the circles.

Images or words on transparency film.