creativekaren

"About Me" is sure a broad category :-) Let's see....I'm a married mom of 3 fabulous kids - my oldest son will be 21 this summer, middle son is 15 and baby girl is 9. Busy life at our house with lots of different interests. I am slowly developing my artistic and creative side. I've always been creative and enjoyed art but didn't find the "me time" to devote to it. For the past 15 years I ran a day care and preschool in my home, but now I have closed it to be a stay home mom AND develop my own interests and talents that have been hiding all these years. I've been a scrapper and stamper for years, and more recently got into altered art of all kinds, which I love - and I would like to begin ATCs which look like a whole lot of fun. I found swap-bot quite by accident looking for information on ATC swapping online --- boy am I excited to find this site!! Who knew!? Can't wait to get started swapping, creating and such. Oh - I am a major Disney fan. The characters, the parks, the company. Especially love anything vintage Disney.

I like a lot of different genres of music. Most 80s (think Van Halen, Def Leppard, Prince, Depeche Mode, Bryan Adams, Madonna) Also new country such as Darius Rucker, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts. Add to that mix some oldies -- Sam Cooke, Sinatra and so on along with Contemporary Christian (MercyMe, Point of Grace, Switchfoot) and there you have it.

I read a lot --- and I seem to get into a phase where I read several of the same types of books then move on...but I like a wide variety. Some that are not necessarily my favorites would be manga, horror, science fiction, fantasy, western. Some examples of recent reads I loved: All of Nicholas Sparks and Mitch Albom, The Help, The Poisonwood Bible, Olive Kitteridge, The Road, My Sisters Keeper, Three Cups of Tea, The Kite Runner, Let the Great World Spin, Reading Lolita in Tehran....

I don't watch a lot of movies but I do enjoy them when I get the chance. I like dramas, comedy, romance, some action/adventure. Some of my favorites are Titanic, Forrest Gump, The Sixth Sense, Malcom X, The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins, any classic Disney films.

Don't watch much but I do like LOST, 24 and Flash Forward. Other than that I try to catch DIY shows and that is about it.

I do not sew or create anything with any kind of needles and thread or yarn. Wish I did! Just a bit of hand stitching on paper crafts. I am not necessarily talented at drawing or painting but I enjoy the process anyway. That being said I am pretty open to most media and types of crafting. I love learning something new and trying different things. I'm big into paper crafting of all sorts, including all kinds of altered art, collage, cards, scrapping & stamping, etc I'm excited to start creating ATCs. I love anything that incorporates vintage materials or has a vintage feel.

I am NOT picky and will appreciate anything swapped that had some care and thought put into it, whether it is my style or not. However if you are looking for a particular interest of mine, here are a few of my favorite things....

Food & Drink:
Coffee - any, especially Starbucks
Tea, also teacups, tea party, related tea themes
Wine
Chocolate! --and most other sweets too
Healthy Recipes & snacks - trying to lose weight

Things I Love:
ALL things Disney - especially vintage
Vintage photos/cards/papers/printing/ephemera
/images/toys etc - I love antiques and crafting with vintage items
Ribbons
Lettersets/envies Embellishments of all kinds for altered art, ATCs, scrapbooking....such as buttons, brads, charms, buckles, chipboard, baubles, etc.
Italy (I'm Italian and hope to go someday)
Travel - fun items from exotic and interesting places (which is just about anywhere to me!)
Stamps and coins from other countries
Pretty or Funny notecards, stationery
Soaps, candles, scented things
Flowers & Gardening
Kawaii - starting to fall in love with this, very new to it and would love to receive more Used postage stamps Pages from old books, music, or foreign print

Favorite Colors -- right now I'm into browns, especially choc brown combined with lime green, aqua blue or pink. Also like purples, orange, gold, greens..not a huge primary color fan though.

Love to receive things for my 9 year old daughter who thinks mail is the best thing ever! She likes candy, bookmarks/reading, Disney channel stars, she's an actress so anything drama or Broadway related, piano, jewelry, and she likes cute pig items.

And a few things on my Wish List (of course I would LOVE anything from my favorite things categories above too - this list is mostly art supplies I use and/or need :-)

Sharpies

Transparency sheets

ATC plastic sleeves

Distress Ink

Diamond Glaze

Bone Folder

Markers (acid free)

Mist painters/shimmer paint

Deco tape

Paint brushes, sponges, daubers, etc.

Brayer