sillyhoffmann

Hi! My name is Sylvia; Silly for short. I love my friends and my family. They are the best people in the world! II move back home a few years ago to help my aging parents, and on top of that I work part time at Michael and have a decluttering/organizing business. My joy of merchandising and solving crafting dilemmas for people transfers well into the decluttering world, and I love to see people get excited about their projects!

I hate doing this, but it is being missed because it is down at the end of my profile.

PLEASE!!! NO EXTRAS I have discovered that most of what I get I have no use for.

I live with my parents as a caretaker. I love to swap with people who love and see beauty and humor in almost everything around them. I am a person powered by the sun, so I love sunny days and light blue skies. The greens of summer and the fiery colors of fall make up my favorite color palette. I love the summer sunshine, and a sunrise that tints the clouds white, gold, and red. I love to make people laugh. I really enjoy a good insult, if given in the right spirit, and love humor that is quirky, strange and silly. I also love cats. Crazy about them, actually. I was able to foster for MEOW Cat Rescue in Kirkland, Washington for 4 years. I worked with cats with anxiety/anger issues and depression. It was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Since then, I have taken care of many strays and feral cats. I am down to one cat at the moment, but he is a wonderful puzzle, full of snuggles and love, and he keeps me laughing and on my toes!

A few of my favorite things: Colors I love jewel tones and rich, bright colors. My favorite color is blue, and summer greens. Fall is my favorite seasonal palette, with its fiery red, orange-yellow, sky blue and sap green.

Copious spare time activities In the warmer weather I am outside cleaning up the yard, gardening, and doing anything that allows me to walk around with my toes in the dirt. I miss hiking but cannot find anyone here that seems to have the same schedule of availability as I and no longer feel safe going alone.

Traveling: I have done a lot of traveling in the USA, and a little in Europe. Mostly Switzerland, since my mother is from there and I have gone back to visit family. My dad and I used to do road trips to desert country. My favorite places have been the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park. I could spend an entire summer hiking, taking pictures, and eating campfire food! I just spent 5 years in Upstate New York, and that was quite an adventure! I was able to visit Manhattan a few times. I did not think I would like it, but wow! It is an amazing place. A couple other cool places I visited while living there where; The Museum of Jello, The Kazoo Museum, The Museum of Mustard and the only place you can actually drive under the Erie Canal

Postcards I love pictures of cultural festivals and traditions, towns, landscape. I really like when a person can explain what is going on in the picture and maybe why they picked it. I also like silly postcards and funny ones.

Favorite craft I paint murals and have become addicted to ATC cards. I find that the inspiration from making them has seeped into my other art areas. I play with palette knife painting and acrylic pouring and started painting furniture a couple years ago. This is something I do for me. I get wild with it, so most people like but don't buy it. If it isn't boring, I guess it doesn't belong in a house. It makes me sad.

Things I like Cats. Hiking. I love being out in the sun, seeing how light plays off the water, the grass, the clouds. I can spend quite a while watching birds and often imagine the little conversations they are having in my head. I also tend to imagine sound effects when watching animals, making me laugh. I love to people watch almost as much as I love to nature watch. I enjoy getting my hands in the dirt doing gardening. I loooove yard work. It is such a different form of labor than I do the rest of the week and I love the sense of accomplishment it gives me. I love watching chickens. They have the silliest run!

The art I love is usually bright with a limited palette, silly funny, humorous or smile evoking in some way.

I really love bookmarks, since I read a ton. I never seem to have enough of them, and improvise with whatever is handy. Funny garage sale finds are always a hit. I recently picked up a child's bed tray with the most hilarious collage of cats and dogs dressed in paper cut out clothes.

List-o-likes I love the smell of lemon and of sage leaves crushed between my fingers (which smells very different than the sage scent things in stores have in them). Flowers, frogs, gardening, laughing, family, hotdogs, a good night sleep, mac n cheese, vanilla ice cream, card games, things made of glass, hotdogs, candles, citrus smells (not the sweet ones but the real tangy ones), magnets, mac n cheese, painting murals, making people laugh, the sun, sandy beaches, Christmas lights, pinwheels, the zoo, rocks, hotdogs, paisley, hand written letters, fun napkins, bird and frog song, the beach, shells, finding pennies on the street, labeling and organizing, mac n cheese, colorful store displays, wandering a new town with aimless abandon, thrift stores, garage sales, and postcards.

What I don't like: EXTRAS. Please, don't send me extras in my envelope. I have discovered that most of what I get I have no use for. Licorice. The smell of lavender, sandalwood, or burning sage. I'm not into gory, bloody and extremely scary. Pastel colors, although they have their place. Gothic and depressing stuff. It also has its place, but I need all the joy I can get in my life at the moment. Profiles that start off with what that person will do to you if you don't follow their rules of craft making, mailing, and extra gifting exactly. I have noticed more and more profiles with this right at the beginning, and it is a scary and creativity-killing way to have to start a swap with someone. Not into hard core vintage. The colors tend to feel dirty to me and the images are too soft and lacy for my taste. I am not a girly girl, so lace and romance and things romantic-squishy are not my thing. If something makes me laugh, it is all good!

I have no allergies, unless you call a low tolerance for screaming babies and rude customers an allergy. :)