LauraAust

This fantastic collage was made for me by fellow Swap-Botter @Peony - I absolutely LOVE it!

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Welcome to my own little corner of Swap-Bot! I like it here and you are welcome to join me here any time!

Rainbow is my favorite color and bubbles are my favorite thing!

Note about sending me extras - I am really overwhelmed with craft supplies right now so please don't send me any paper scraps, even ones cut to ATC size - I just don't have room for them or the energy to keep them organized. Thank you so much!

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I'm 40-something, married, and have two "adult" kids (one son, one daughter - they are legally adults, I'm not commenting on their behavior) & four cats (Lexi, Joe, Lily & Thomas). My husband and I celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary on 9/6/13 (we got married when we were both 19).

I work full-time as a Technical Project Coordinator in the IT department of a major financial business - my team oversees the replacement of out-of-compliance (old, out-dated) computers across the country for all of the Technology folks.

Quilting is my passion! I love to look at and touch quilting fabric.... My daughter is always giving me a bad time about "petting" fabric at quilt stores.

I also dabble in various paper crafts, mixed media, altered art, knitting, crocheting... I've been crocheting since I was a little girl (maybe 5 or 6) and quilting since Jr. High.

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OMG! I just saw the newest Dairy Queen TV commercial! DQ doesn't just blow bubbles... they blow BUBBLES with KITTENS in them! Two of my very favorite things in the world!

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These photos were taken one year apart - the one on the right was taken this past Saturday (2/22/14).

Left: 180+ lbs., size 18 jeans, XL t-shirt
Right: 147 lbs., size 12 jeans, M t-shirt

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I started my weight loss journey on May 1, 2013. to date (March 17, 2014) I have lost 36 pounds. I count calories and watch my portion sizes.

I am the co-founder of a fantastic group here on Swap-Bot called "Reached for Success". If you want to get and/or share support in your own "get healthy" journey check us out!

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Check out my Flickr photos link above for photos of stuff I have created in the past! I am almost always open to private swaps so if you see something you like just send me a PM!

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• BUBBLES! I feel they are simply magical! I don't need any bottles of liquid bubbles but I would love to receive anything else "bubble themed" including artwork, stickers, stationery, photos, etc.
• Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings, the original three Star Wars movies
• Steampunk
• Graphic 45 paper
• Mermaids, fairies, dragons, unicorns, castles, gargoyles, fairy dust, trolls, gnomes
• Tattoos - I currently have five (barbed wire as a tribute to my dad, a fairy, a fairy with bubbles, my daughter and I got matching jellyfish, and my newest one is Stitch - he makes me smile!) - photos of all on my Flickr
• Cats - real, cartoon, nice, evil, Kawaii - I love any and all cats! We own four - or should I say - they own us... Lexi, Joe, Lily and Thomas - tons of photos on my Flickr
• Kawaii bubbles (Awawa Chan), cats, scenery or sky images, Sentimental Circus, Baby Infinite, and as opposed to a lot of people - I love the Kawaii with real photos of little girls, kittens, puppies, etc.! I don't care for the drawings of teenaged girls. My favorite items are memo pads (both large and mini) and sticker flakes
• Goth, strange, odd, dark, skulls, creepy, dark and evil fairies
• Sea dragons, jellyfish, water bubbles
• Frank Lloyd Wright, Arts & Crafts movement, Sears catalog houses, Art Deco, Erte, Miami buildings, Art Nouveau, Alphonse Mucho
• Stargazer lillies - they are my favorite flower
• Barbed wire - my dad collected it (yes, people actually collect barbed wire - LOL)
• Nudes, pin-ups, Vargas
• Swirls and circles (I'm sure this stems from my love of bubbles - or vice versa)
• Mortuary science, cemetary art, funeral art, grave stones, funeral practices and traditions
• Stitch (from Lilo & Stitch), Teletubbies, Garfield
• Retro, atomic, 1950's
• Rainbow is my favorite color!
• Rainbows, glitz, glitter, tie-dye, batik, sparkles
• PURPLE, blue, pink, magenta, rainbow, variegated, gradated, pastels, jewel tones
• MY MOM!
• Lewis Black, Gordon Ramsey
• Godsmack, Stone Sour, Atom Smash, Papa Roach, Nickelback, Trapt, STAIND, Incubus, Redlight King
• Dexter, Six Feet Under, Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, Food Network, Hell's Kitchen, House, HGTV
• Tie dyed roses CLICK HERE If anyone could figure out a way to make or obtain a silk tie dyed rose and send it to me I would love you FOREVER!
• Scents: lilac, lemon, Amber stuff from Bath and Body Works, fruits and flowers (I don't care for vanilla, baked goods, spicy scents)
• Chocolate - regular and dark (not white, though). I love Butterfinger, M&Ms, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.... I really like dark chocolate with raspberry filling
• I don't drink coffee at all - can't even stand the smell of it. I love tea and drink iced tea everyday. I use Lipton's Cold Brew tea bags and also their regular tea bags
• I love Mexican and Chinese when we eat out - also BBQ - and Red Lobster
• Halloween! Purple and black, creepy, skulls and potions....

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• Lined stationery (with or without envelopes)
• Someday I hope to make a little printer's drawer shelf type display thing - I want to include odd things - I just bought a little jar full of tiny (fake) wishbones, and I have some empty little jars, I also bought a tiny little leather bound book the other day - things like bones, crystal ball, little spell scrolls, stuff like that. "Odd curiosities"? Hmmm...
• I know this is a really strange request - but here goes... if you order from Papa John's Pizza and get those little seasoning packets (that you don't want) I would LOVE to have them! I love that seasoning and haven't been able to successfully recreate it to my liking. Sometimes when we order I pay for a few extra packets but that gets really expensive!
• Currently I am focusing mostly on quilting - my specialty is paper/foundation pieced miniature quilts - the smaller the pieces, the better! My favorite fabrics to use are batiks, hand-dyeds, and tone-on-tone ones that read solid at a distance. Any set that is a full run of rainbow colors are the greatest thing in my mind! Also sets that are just one color but range from light to dark through that color.
• Bubble themed items - but not a bottle of bubble liquid to blow (stickers, sticker flakes, stationery, photos, pictures, artwork, etc.)
• Anything from the "Sonny Angel" line of products - just stick that in Google Images and you will see SO MUCH cuteness!!
• Anything from the papayaart.com website - love everything there! My absolute favorite items are the sprial notebooks that are printed beautifully on each inside page - I think.. I love the stickers, and the notecards, and the lunch bags.... and... and... and....
• Wool for needle felting, also teeny tiny stick pin eyes for needle felted animal figures
• Anything on (or inspired by) my Etsy Favorites list (see link at top of page)
• Orphan inchies that you might not have room for in your collection
• Kawaii loose memo sheets or partial pads that you don't want any longer - large, mini and/or die-cut, etc.
• Kawaii sticker flakes - partial Kawaii sticker sheets
• I am always willing to take any empty Kawaii sitcker flake bags off your hands! That's the little cardboard wrapper that goes around the celophane bag of sticker flakes - I like to use them in various crafts.
• Anything "Stitch" from Lilo and Stitch

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I am currently using a 5.5" by 8.5" sized planner.

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Me and my wonderful husband during our joint weight loss journey - we both have a ways to go, but I am proud of BOTH of us!

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