New, Newer, Newest Special Note

Life is mostly back to normal, and everyone who was waiting on anything from me should have it - but please let me know if you don't!

Yay for normalcy!

xo megan

~*~~~~~~~**~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

special notes....

I'm out of town with a family emergency (mom in hospital, als, drama drama) and so might be a little slow getting swaps and tags out for the next week or two. i apologize to anyone who might receive their stuff late, and i will make it up to you! i can still send messages and such, so contact me if you have any questions.

• update 7/16/2010 -- i'm still out of town. my mom is in ICU and i'm not sure when i'll get back home to complete swaps. i've messaged all the organizers of any swaps i have missed deadline on, and i'll try to contact each of you individually as well. i'm SOOOOOOOOOO sorry.

• update 7/31/2010 -- i've finally returned home and i'm trying to get my feet back under me. i'll respond to all questions and comments just as soon as i can and again, giantest apologies to all swaps and tags that are late - i WILL get them to you, cross my heart!

• update 8/2/2010 -- finally getting back in the groove -- and hope to have all late swaps out by the end of the week. if i owe you a tag, pleaaaase let me know, because i fear my record-keeping fell behind. and, i will restart the ATC technique swap as soon as i'm able!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i'm a bit of a dabbler, really. photography has always been my greatest passion, but you'll never see me turn my nose up at a bead or even the tiniest scrap of yarn. or an antique key. or scrap of pretty fabric. everything is fair game in my world.

i am a voracious reader, consumer of pop culture and collector. if it's from the 40s, 50s or 60s, i want it. mostly. this has led to me owning more than my fair share of kitchen canisters, bread boxes (oh, but i love them!) and tables... among other things...

other things i like: bubble baths (with lush products, when i have the loot), makeup, flea markets/thrift stores, gnomes, peacocks, octopi, edward gorey, day of the dead, green things, vintage costume jewelry, jesus kitsch (the older the better), velvet paintings, awesome old school tattoo flash.....

i do not like tidal waves. and clowns. these things terrify me beyond belief.

hardcore and punk, mostly, with a hefty dose of metal for good measure. to list every band that i'm in love with would overload the system. but currently, in near-constant rotation: gaslight anthem, the trouble, aus rotten, sick of it all, katatonia, blood for blood, morrissey, whiskey rebels.

ooooh...edith wharton is my favorite author of all time. also included in the top 5 would be tom robbins, john irving, henry james and maurice sendak (could there be any greater book than "in the night kitchen"?)

i am also a kiddie lit fan - everything from rick riordan to sharon creech to blue balliet to.... really, there is not much i haven't read. (except twilight. i draw the line there)

pretty in pink, amelie, boondock saints, kickboxer, fantastic mr. fox, neverending story, darjeeling ltd. (almost anything wes anderson, really), coraline, rebel without a cause, the big lebowski, fight club, the goonies.... and many millions more that i'm forgetting at the moment

Mostly photography, but i also do assemblage/collages, altered boxes... i love ATCs and handmade postcards..... and i'm trying to teach myself to paint, though it's rough going right now. :)

Materials i love to use: prismacolor markers and pencils, sharpies, paint pens, acrylics, water colors, tissue papers (all kinds of paper, really), beads, finding, embossing powder, gel medium, found objects, bits and pieces of ephemera (mantofev.com rocks my socks), watercolor paper, patterned papers, cool fabrics.....

i'm always looking for commonplace (or oddplace) materials to use. rusty scraps of metal, tyvek, screen, wood veneer, cardboard, chipboard, plywood, copper flashing, weird glues and pastes, things that create texture, washers, nails, hinges,,,

Currently I'm making lots of ATCs, rehabbing an old hutch, painting mod flowers in my entrance hall and starting a stained-glass mosaic backsplash for the kitchen.

I needed a good way to keep up with everything I'm doing, so I'm keeping it here (as opposed to the 12 different scraps of paper I'm now using).

If you know that I owe you something, and you don't see it here, please, please let me know!

To Send/Sent

• ladyaries7 - through the alphabet tag sending s-themed handmade postcard

• Merlinda - New to Me Tag sent 6.30.10

• weeatcrayons - Quick! I need.... tag cute bird stamps sent 6.30.10

• kap 397 - send something to the person above tag sent 6.30.10

To Receive/Received

• MysticBayou - "through the alphabet" tag - cute handmade envies

• badandknowsit2 - "something" tag receiving something religious (received)