BDooBs

Hi all, my name is Brenda. I'm Canadian, and new here but not to swapping or mail art. I've been pen palling for about 12 years now, on and off. With that I've been crafting, which recently included making ATCs and inchies to go along with said letters.

I'm friendly, open minded, honest. I'm with Big Guy (as I call him), or Tyler, who's my boyfriend.{{Edit as of Oct. 14th: Big Guy is now my fiancé! AW! Yesss!}} I love music, reading, the outdoors, photography, and spend a fair bit of time video gaming.

I would also like to reiterate on the honesty factor. I will always send my packages. I've no intentions of flaking on someone and causing them to feel that burn of putting effort into something only to not receive something back. That's a big let down. I'll take karma on this one and treat others the way I'd like to be treated. Simple rules to live by.

If, for some reason, something has not been received yet please send me a message and we can arrange to fill that void that has been caused. In most cases things that are crafted are re-craftable, with slight variations (depending on supplies I guess). But I'd rather send out a secondary package and keep things friendly (and have YOU pleased) than receive a bad rating for something I worked hard on and was lost in the mail or something of the like.

I've got a fairly eclectic taste when it comes to music. From Tool to Nine Inch Nails to Pearl Jam to Bob Marley to Sublime to Tegan and Sara to Neil Young to some Yeah Yeah Yeahs or maybe even tone it down a notch for some jazz or blues.

I love mixed cds. Especially themed ones like "songs that make you happy" or "songs you make out to" or "songs you listen to when pissed off". I enjoy a bit of a challenge, or the attempt at cleverness when it comes to this endeavour.

I really like making inchies and ATCs, book marks, cards and post cards. Paper art! I enjoy letter writing, which should be considered a craft. I'm into collaging, breakin out the Mod Podge and being creative with layering and textures. I like painting, mostly water colour, some acrylic. Maybe not very good, but this is art we're talking about, it's subjective. I also like pastels, conte crayons, chalk, glitter pens, crayons...there's plenty textures to be had there. Also one of my favourite past times is rubber stamping, its a pretty relaxing activity.

As for colours I pretty much like them all except pink. Not really a girly girl. I'm okay with glitters and sparkles and the like, I just don't really go for pink. My favourites would have to be earth tones I suppose, as I enjoy outside time a fair bit.

My favourite book of all time is The Drifters by James A. Michener. Unfortunately I lent out my copy and haven't seen it since. Boourns. That being said my favourite authors are Michener (obviously), Kerouac, Kesey, Palahniuk, Pratchett, Vonnegut..hmm probably some others out there slipping memory's grasp.

Also, I enjoy photography books, either ones featuring photos, amateur or professional, or really old instructional books from the 50s and 60s or older. I have a collection of cameras, enjoy their old manuals quite a bit.

When it comes down to it I enjoy books. My boyfriend and I collect old books, such as a copy of Treasure Island from the 1930s.

I don't watch much tv. We only have one in the house for video gaming. On that note I play the Wii, 360 or DS (though that doesn't require a tv so much). Favourite games are Mario Kart, Animal Crossing and this one game Endless Ocean for the wii, for Xbox I play quite a few, not very good at shooters and don't like when racing games are too realistic like Forza.

If it comes down to tv shows I'll watch anything on Food Network! Also quite a fan of Discovery shows, Animal planet, and some HBO action. We don't subscribe for cable though, so I only watch when visiting my mother.

I'm just getting back into giving myself ME time, and this means crafting. While I'm trying to build up supplies to make my crafts extra AWESOME, like I said, I'm just getting back into this. So, that means that my supplies are maybe a little bit lacking. I've been crafting all my life but there's just so much I'm a complete newb to.

Wishlist time!

-These brads everyone's talking about seems interesting. I'd like to try those out.

-Rub ons. Those are nice.

-Shiny or sparkly things. Glitter glue or pens maybe.

-Any embellishments of any type. Little things to stick on bigger things.

-Some of this, maybe a little of that.

-What is Kawaii??

-Small or smaller images for things like ATCs or inchies.

-Any rubber or acrylic stamps that need a new home.

-Stationary or envelopes, or nifty matching sets.

-Address labels. Something with a tree on it would be awesome.

-Actually anything with a tree on it. I like trees a lot. Not specific to type, birch, oak, maple, willow...I just like trees.

-Transparency paper. I can't find it anywhere!

-ATC sleeves. They're pretty key! Especially with snow season coming up. Worried things will start getting damaged!

-Postage! Either new or used. New, because any little bit of assistance helps. Used, because they're fun to craft with.

-Anythings you, as the expert you are, deems absolutely necessary in your crafting endeavours.

First time for everything, I've been flaked on:

So far I've received no communication back from @craftyjackie for the ATC Recycle Scraps swap. I have seen her profile updates, but have not received word back. Thankfully the coordinator @druideye has agreed to angel. How nice!

Likes: - nature-y stuff. trees, clouds, flowers, all animals (especially sea turtles, tree frogs and snails). -paper. textures. stripes and polka dots. -photography (went to school for Photojournalism) -sunsets (or when I'm still awake), sun rises -coffee, hot chocolate, chocolate in general. (though I'm not sure how I feel about receiving food in the mail.) -cooking/baking..and with that trying new recipes -music -CRAFT TIME!! (obviously.)

Dislikes: -people who are judgmental as a hobby -rudeness, closed mindedness. -lack of free time -lack of winning the lottery and rolling around in piles of cash -postage costs -dwelling on the bad

While my name is Brenda, and does start with a B, I just want to let it be known that I have a personal strong dislike for images of bees. The letter B is fine, the creature bee is no good. I do not find them cute or cuddly. Sorry, please leave them out!