StephL

I'm 33, happily married, and spend my days with my two girls (6 and 4). Our son arrived on Dec. 17/11, so I'm taking a short break from swapping. I'm coming back though!!

I love to learn about other parts of the world and visit places for long enough that I can absorb some of the culture and get to know the people. But until we win the lottery, swapping will have to do ;) I also organize some occasional kids programs so I'm often combing the internet for ideas.

I've tried lots of different crafts, once at least... I'm excited to have found Swap-bot because it's given me a push to finish projects and stretch my creativity. My favorites at the moment are in the mail art and fiber art end of things -- art quilts, fabric postcards, fabric ATCs. I've also done quilting and scrapbooking, painting, drawing, origami, sewing, dollmaking. I like to crochet because it's portable and I can sculpt the design as I go. I like to give myself creative challenges. I don't have a lot of time, perseverance or space when it comes to doing large, repetitive projects like full-sized bed quilts (one of these days I'll sew the stack of squares I've accumulated together!) but I love smaller things I can take in the car with me. My husband jokes that I'll try to make anything as small as possible. Some day, I'd like to try spinning. I took a lampwork bead course last year and loved it, but it's hard to fit into my life right now. Mostly, I just feed my collection of supplies...

embellishments! beads, buttons, ribbon, etc.;

outdoors, the natural world;

butterflies, birds, monkeys, peacocks;

ocean, sea creatures, tropical fish;

color, especially jewel-toned ocean colors, bright and clear colors, greens, purples, blues, with clear oranges and yellows, but don't limit yourself to these -- I'm happy to be surprised too;

fiber arts;

handmade or other interesting papers;

yarns and fabrics;

natural fibers;

texture;

organic;

handmade things;

just about anything miniature;

I'd really like to see what you enjoy creating as well.

My least favorite color is black, but I don't mind it as an accent color. I'm not big on the 70s combination of olive green/rust/mustard.

My kids love to help open mail, so I'd prefer not to receive anything with scary or disturbing imagery, no dismembered doll parts and no skulls or skeletons. Thanks!

Also: goddesses, pagan, halloween, gothic, voodoo dolls, other 'dark' things, cigarette smoke.

beads, buttons, ribbon, lace, small charms for embellishing, bindings, cording, fibers, fat quarters (100% cotton quilting fabric, especially batiks, flowers and Asian motifs), fabric scraps (at least 2"), silk fabric, scrapbooking paper scraps (at least 2"), scrapbooking materials, variegated thread, embroidery floss, drawing pens, gel ink pens, stamps (including hand-carved), postcard with a note about where you live, handmade miniatures, handmade anything, handmade postcards, knitted/crocheted dishcloth, fabric postcards or ATCs, tote bags, tiny cookie cutters, teas (any kind!) chocolate (especially dark)

I try my best to send my swaps on time and rate as soon as I receive. Please let me know before rating if there's a problem with one of my swaps. Thanks!

Round Robin Journal Swap #2 from @BookWormGurl A time- and $-intensive one for her to run off with...

Rating from @fireemtgirl for Miniature Quilt #14 (June '11)

Rating from @egilkey for SEPT: Seven Things in Seven Days + Zine II (Nov. '10)

Rating from @vanessalouise for Miniature Quilt #9 (Aug. '10)

Quality Craft Swappers tag from @PurpleTX 2 fat quarters, $5 profile surprise, 2 crocheted dishcloths, random craft item (March 4/10)

Ribbons & Buttons Swap -- Rainbow Colors #1 Blue from @yriako (deadline Jan. 13/10); Angeled by @leahsimone - thanks!

Christmas Inchies from @Traderkat (deadline Dec. 18/09)

Round Robin Journal Swap #2 Worked on journals from: (me), @bibiana826 @dakini55 @BookWormGurl @FarStarr @manjigirl @aguasulis (sent Mar. 21), @marata (Apr. 27)

Round Robin Mailart Zine -- all sent