cookingbear

RE: "1" Ratings and "Missing" swaps: I don't know if it is incompetence or something worse! It is so frustrating! Many of the swaps that I have low ratings on, and several of the swaps that I have not been rated for yet, are swaps that I have sent three times now. I don't know what to do. I am working really hard to make and/or put together good swaps again and again, but I do NOT send rushed work. Never have, never will. I always do my best work. I know my work quality isn't under question, but the resends take a day or two to prepare and send out, and for some reason they are piling up! I had everything on a schedule that was managed very well until this started happening with the mail art. I know it isn't just my mail that is gone, either. I am not sitting here trying to sign up for more swaps, I am just trying to make it through the list I have. If I have overlooked a resend, it is most definitely an accident, and I don't mind a reminder if you notice before I do. From now on, expect a message from me the day I mail your envelope or package. I will give you the tracking numbers as I have started taking my mail to the Office Depot in hopes that at least we will get to see where the mail goes.

Edit: I like sending mail art, but apparently my art gets in the way! I did a batch of about 25 envelopes that have started trickling back to me with various things wrong :( most of them the stamps have been cancelled so they at least made it out of town. A few went to the wrong address because my art was distracting???? Urg!!! Thank you for your patience as I am resending them as they come back to me.

Edit: I have taken it upon myself to resend any swaps that have not been rated/received from now on, if two weeks from my mailing date have gone by, regardless of whether the deadline has passed. If I know you to be a prompt rater and you are domestic, I will assume something got delayed or lost or is on it's way back to me and will resend. If you are international, I will wait three weeks. Sometimes on a particularly challenging or costly swap, I will message my partner first. This is a proactive process, as my word for the year is Proactive. Happy swapping!

If you are interested in purchasing a hand carved stamp from me, see below, at the end of the profile.

*My kids would like to have penpals, and all three make ATCs with me. My oldest is a boy, age 11. He likes video games, anime, playing with friends, football, and Scouts. My next child is a girl, age 8. She likes horses, teddy bears, Fun With Dick and Jane books, singing, and swimming underwater. My youngest is a girl, age 7. She likes cute animals, bugs, making art, collecting rocks and shells and feathers, and candy sprinkle colors. All three love Pokemon!

I am a small town girl in the city. I went to school for child education but decided to start a family of my own. Now I homeschool my 7, 8, and 11 year olds. I do not feel complete without a pet in my house and a mess on my art table. I feel lucky because I married a chef and my kids make their own breakfast and lunch, so I never have to cook!

Marianas Trench, got to see them in concert! Three Days Grace, Imagine Dragons, Cello instrumentals, P! nk, Paramour, There is a whole list, I like music.

I like series, especially post-apocalyptic: The Hunger Games, The Immortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices, The Discworld, The Incarnations of Immortality, Artemis Fowl, The City of Ember, Under the Dome,

I have read every Michael Crichton novel except for the Eaters of the Dead. That one is scary!

Doctor Who, Anything by Joss Whedon, Supernatural, Pretty Little Liars, How I Met Your Mother, Psych, Scrubs, Torchwood, Sherlock, Pokemon, Family Guy, Simpsons, Chuck, Goosebumps, Big Bang Theory, Continuum, Bitten, Heroes, Star Trek, Orange is the New Black, Under the Dome, Revolution, The Lying Game, Twisted, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Prison Break, Bones, House, Haven, Vampire Diaries, Switched at Birth, Sword Art Online, Fruits Basket, Angel Beats, Archer, Ghost Whisperer, 666 Park Avenue, Lost, Bates Motel, Eureka, Warehouse 13, Arrow, Smallville, Leverage, Fringe, The Guild, Once Upon a Time, Burn Notice, Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, Lie to Me, Dexter, Alphas, Charmed. The 4400, Kyle XY, American Horror Story, Gilmore Girls is a new fave. Pretty much every Science Fiction, paranormal, and teen drama. If I can watch it on Netflix, I probably have.

Post apocalyptic movies like Hunger Games, the Host, etc. I like to watch the movie, then read the book. I recently saw Divergent in theaters, which was good. World War Z, Best Night Ever, Ender's Game, Lots of Disney, Pixar, and Dreamworks, also classics starring Mae West, Clint Eastwood, etc. Odd Thomas, Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog, The Fifth Element.

Favorite Musicals: Rent, Grease, The Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story, Shrek the Musical, Into the Woods, A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, Mama Mia, Moulin Rouge, Chicago, Annie, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Bye Bye Birdie, Crybaby, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Les Miserables, Dreamgirls, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Enchanted, Evita, the list goes on and on and on...

I have dabbled in quite a few crafts, but for the past six months I have been almost exclusively carving stamps. I love to color with markers too, so making ATCs has become a lot of fun for me.

I am trying to do the Decorated Life Project and No Excuses Art Journaling.

I am really getting the urge to start art journaling again! I itch for painty collagy pages to write on. Anyone want to decorate a Teesha Moore Single Sheet Journal for me to write in?

I saw profiles with wish lists, so here is a list of things that make me happy: Hand carved stamps, Stickers made from hand carved stamps, Non-USA coins, Photos of Angel statues (DON'T BLINK), Pokemon, ATCs, Skulls and skeletons, Fortunes from cookies, Handmade stencils and masks, Herbal teas (NOT black, green, or white tea. Only herbal).

I would LOVE to receive a magazine from your country (or pages of one) to use in my art journals. I will be your BFF! :)

I love cool grays and shades of aqua. I love spring flowers and summertime. I have a little chihuahua-jack girl dog named Sookie, we adopted her in late April of 2013. She is a service dog, but her last owners did not keep up with her training, so I am retraining her. She helps with anxiety and depression, and that involves lots of cuddles.

I love getting stamped images to color with my markers. I love sparkly glittery things, dark and creepy things, Christian and other religious things, I am easy to please and hard to offend!

TEA: Beginning October 1st I am giving up caffeine. It is a trial run, a test for my migraine therapy. I have to give up my precious Red Bull (sob!) And Dr. Pepper sodas for a whole month. So my morning drinks will be herbal teas and Pero, which is a coffee-tasting drink but all natural with no caffeine. So far it has been a week with lots of naps and headaches.

FEATHERS: recently I have become fascinated with hand painted real feathers (the non harmful ones that drop on their own). Big or small, in any colors and patterns, I want to string them along the top of my wall in my living room/everything room. Send me found (clean) feathers, paint them up, you can even add a dangly! I will trade for these too!

I am allergic to strong perfumes and most lotions.

I do not have any room for scrapbook supplies. The supplies I do have are being pulled out of storage bit by bit to be used or sent on.

Please be careful if you have a dog. Many breeds make my allergies go crazy and I can't sleep at night because I can't breathe. Too much dog fur and the package will have to leave my house.

I am allergic to balloons also.

Please no fabric scraps. My husband made me promise!

I do not drink coffee, alcohol, or tea (except herbal) for religious reasons, but I miss coffee dearly sometimes. I still go to Starbucks and get chocolate drinks (hot in winter, cold in summer), and I love the smell of all the coffees I don't drink.

If you have received an ATC from me, no doubt you have noticed my hand carved stamp talents! I have recently decided to offer them for sale. If you are interested in purchasing, send me a message requesting an image, and I will message you back with my address. An ATC sized stamp will cost $6.00, which includes shipping. Just look at my ratings to see that I am a reliable sender! :)

It was bound to happen sometime, I guess.

ATC Sender's Choice #8, Sayyhaaa. Also, the host is Miaangel and is partially suspended. ANGEL = Jesslynne (thank you so much!)

Stickers Made From Handcarved Stamps, Idlersdesign. ANGEL = Angie, the host of the swap. Thank you!