JaguarSnail

I love trying out new crafts! I am hoping that I will discover lots of new things to do here. Already I have been introduced to minizines, beaded spiders, ATCs and whimsey jars. Awesome! More, please! ;)

Things I like to do include:

pencil sketching
ink drawings
watercolour and acrylic painting
hand-carved rubber stamps
paper cutting
cross-stitch and other embroidery
beading
making tiny felt brooches
papier-mache
button-badge making
sewing tiny things from felt and cotton
mini zines

Additionally, I do life drawing quite regularly and sometimes I have the inspiration to write a poem. I love to sing at home, sometimes badly on purpose just because it's funny. I wish I had a karaoke machine.

Music artists I like include Queen, Lana Del Ray, The Aquabats, Michael Jackson and The Magnetic Fields. To name a few.

I'm not as big a reader as I used to be but I still enjoy Terry Pratchett, Ben Elton, and JK Rowling's creative output.

My favourite film of all time is The Rocky Horror Picture show, I've seen it at least 50 times on video and been to the stage show a few times. Others include Amelie, Run Lola Run, Avatar, Fish Story and Ponyo. I was really into kung fu for a few years (I actually got quite good! Lost it all now though) and I love the films by Jackie Chan, which inspired me to begin.

I like things that are bohemian, humorous, colourful, gothic, useful, indie, natural, eco-friendly, kind, mint-smelling, Death Note related, green, blue, purple, thoughtful, irreverant, pretty, skull-themed, carefree, earthy, animal-friendly, black, hippy-ish, unusual, upcycled and cute. But not necessarily all at once :P

some of my etsy favourites

Things I would love to recieve
minizines
old maps
stickers (I use them to help seal envelopes)
old / new measuring tapes
odd buttons (especially if they're wooden or fancy)
lampwork beads
origami papers
herbal teas (not a fan of black or green) especially flavors like cinnemon, fennel and chai
Mexican Day of the Dead decorated skulls
fun cupcake cases / flags
handmade fabric bunting
funky writing paper/envelope sets
interesting fabrics
bindis

Things I wouldn't like to recieve include:
Disney
religious
coffee
leather or fur
products tested on animals

The Fiancee
incase you want to put a smile on his face!
Jim is 28, a professional freelance film maker who enjoys tabletop role play gaming, cycling and watching films. He would love to recieve:
steam punk things (cogs, watch faces, papers etc.)
chocolate
My Little Pony friendship is magic things (stickers, posters, print-outs etc.)
tea (Earl Grey is his favourite)
jelly sweets (gummi bears etc.)

Biography
I have been drawing and making and imagining all my life and from infant school art was always the subject that brought most out of me.

I followed an art education path though college, a foundation degree and university because I couldn't see myself seriously doing anything else as my main life focus. Uni was ... not brilliant. I did Graphics & Illustration and guess what? Turns out Graphics is really no fun. I left with a huge debt and not much to show for it as the course turned out to be a 'go away and teach yourself' arrangement for the most part. I'm not bitter... /:(

While at uni I created my 'JaguarSnail' artist name to work under. I think it suits me because I always like to do a mix of things, so two very different animals scientifically combined seemed apt. Also, check out the adorable logo!

A few years later, I am still LOVING art as I always have and doing it for my own enjoyment, and supporting myself and my freelance film-maker fiancee with a nightshift at a supermarket. It is a pretty bad job but on the plus side there are no customers to deal with (woo!) and nights pay better than days. Also they save up the pastries that are going out of date and let us have them for free, so at 3am we're awake eating doughnuts and feeling envious of everyone who gets to be in bed.

My fiancee is pretty good at being quiet in the day so I can sleep and then on my days off I can be back to normal sunlight hours and get all my arts and crafting done! Sometimes it is lovely outside and I walk around feeling happy that I'm not in an office and savouring the peace and quiet that is mine all mine until about 3:15 when all the kids get let out of school. If it is looking particularly lovely out I will sometimes drag Mr JaguarSnail out for a bus ride into the Peak District and we will explore the lovely little towns that we can only dream of affording to live in. The stone cottages appeal to me most, hiding behind huge gardens, as I love the idea of eco-friendly and sustainable buildings.

We often see dogwalkers and my response EVERY time is 'I wish I had a dog!' but I know we simply don't have the money or time to properly care for one right now. Sometimes I'll see someone with like FIVE dogs and that just seems so unfair! I had a Springer Spaniel when I was growing up and I have fond memories of her, but tinged with sadness as I still miss her.

I like cats too but we don't seem to get on naturally, I'll be stroking a cat for ages hearing it purr and then suddenly it decides it's had enough and swipes at me. I don't get them. I love most animals and I saved a baby pidgeon last week that had fallen from it's nest.

I have a bit of an off-beat sense of humour (all my teachers commented on it in my reports), for example now when choosing apples with my boyfriend I will always express my love of Cox! As loudly as I dare. I think I'm hilarious. My favourite comedians are Eddie Izzard, Monty Python, Richard Herring and Bill Bailey.

We are still deeply in love after 8 (EDIT: 9) years together and I am keeping my eyes open for pretty wedding-on-a-shoestring ideas.