LizzyJo

(Profile updated the 21st minute of the 21st hour of the 21st day of the 21st year of the 21st century)

♥♦♥♦♥ WELCOME TO MY WORLD ♥♦♥♦♥

Creativity is my passion. I am a serious craft-a-holic, and have been ever since I was old enough to hold a crayon. If anything sits still long enough, it is fair game for decorating. I find it difficult to send out an envelope without some form of decoration on it.

My current swap faves are mail art, Zentangles and ZIA (Zentangle Inspired Art), ATCs, Artist Trading Coins, small hand sewing projects and smash books. (If you happen to have any spare bits of Spring (rabbits especially), lime green, iris, or angel goodness, I would be happy to give them a good home in my smash books.) I enjoy drawing, beading, other jewelry making, crocheting, needle tatting, cross stitch, paper crafts, inchies, skinnies, macrame, and misc. other crafts. I like recycling materials. In the past I have also done needlepoint, scrapbooking, decorative painting, glass etching, wood carving, knitting and origami.

My style tends to be stylistic.

I can use any size art journal/smash book page.

Just for fun (not required), I'd like to see a small green ♥ (drawn, stamped, a sticker, etc.) somewhere on the envie/package my partner sends.

THINGS I CAN MAKE TO SWAP --- I have a Sizzix die cutter and a nice variety of die shapes---I can cut designs for embellishing projects, make shaped note cards, cut stencils from plastic, etc. I also have texture plates for embossing patterns on card stock.

I make small crocheted flowers (for use on ATCs or note cards, etc.) and have sent out 4 batches to swap partners so far. I also crochet bookmarks.

I have drawn original swap cards for a few partners.

Favorite colors: blue (especially Caribbean blue), orchid, lime green;
favorite combination--aqua, burnt orange, brown and ivory.
Lately I have been drawn to orange (not neon, but more the orange on Baltimore Orioles or burnt orange shades.)
I am not overly fond of an abundance of pink.

Favorite artists: Miro, Klee, Kandinsky, O'Keeffe, Monet, Van Gogh, Escher, Charley Harper

Favorite animals: dogs, rabbits, fox, cats,
hedgehogs, frogs, lambs,
polar bears, pandas, moose,
dolphins, sea lions, orcas, jelly fish
dragonflies, owls, hummingbirds, Orioles, flamingos

Favorite cartoon characters: Snoopy, Kermit, Eeyore, Grinch, Tazmanian Devil, Suzy's Zoo critters, Lambchop

Favorite scents: cucumber melon, apple, peach, fresh linen, seabreeze

Favorite gems: Tanzanite, Larimar, green Amethyst, Alexandrite

Favorite flavors: chocolate, peach, green apple, pear, watermelon, bacon

Favorite places traveled to: San Diego CA,
Door County WI, Grand Cayman Island, Kyoto Japan, London UK

Favorite activities: in addition to crafting--- reading, RVing in our 5th wheel, cruising, canoe/kayaking as well as just sitting by water, hiking with my dog

More favorites

• angels

• anything with the words JOY, HOPE, or BREATHE on it

• washi tape (looking for the following themes: postage, frogs, scisssors, seasonal themes)

• beads & charms, rings (size 7 or 9), bracelets

• fun fibers, stickers, shaped confetti/sequins, brads

• Pigma Micron pens, Copic markers, extra fine point Sharpies, metallic gel pens

• maps, travel brochures, used stamps (especially foreign), paper doilies

• handmade items, decorated envelopes, bookmarks

• small dolls (paper, art, Russian Matryoshyka, Japanese Kokeshi)

• bird cages, hot air balloons, light houses, castles

• rainbows, sunsets, shooting stars

• oceans, lakes, rivers

• irises, trees, autumn

• a current (as well as long time) favorite is paths. It doesn't matter if they are through the woods or just tall weeds, I find them very compelling.

• abandoned theme parks, buildings, other structures

• For Christmas swaps: snowmen, reindeer, angels, gingerbread houses, snowflakes, old world Santas, mittens

DISLIKE

• the smell of smoke

• loose glitter

• alphabet stickers

• coffee, herbal and green tea

• zombies

• Sponge Bob

• Poop emojis

• violence

• negativity

• drama

I love to read (both on my Kindle and "real" paper books). I can't fall asleep unless I have read for an hour (or 2...or 3). I prefer reading a series over stand alone books.

• Craft how-to and idea books
• Cozy mysteries (most recent fave is the Bellingwood series by Diane Greenwood Muir)
• Historical fiction (Lori Wick and Kathleen Ernst.)
• Crime novels--(Michael Connely, James Patterson, Kathy Reichs, Sue Grafton, Robert Crais)
• Paranormal romances--(J.R. Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, J.R. Rain)
• Christopher Moore
• Rock star romances (Sinners on Tour series by Olivia Cunning; Silver Strings Series by Lisa Gillis)
• A couple years ago I was on a circus kick and read "Water for Elephants", "Under the Big Top", "Mumbo Jumbo Circus", and "Toby Tyler".
• A few years ago I read the "Little House on the Prairie" books (I never read them as a child.) I got the "Pioneer Girl...The Annotated Autobiography" for Christmas (2015).
• In 2019 my neighbor's 11 yo daughter lent me her collection of Boxcar Children Mysteries, 3 books at a time.
• In 2020 my 16 yo granddaughter told me I had to read the Anne of Green Gables series. So I borrowed the set from my neighbors.

All Rise, 911, This is Us, NCIS, Law & Order, The Resident, The Good Doctor, The Rookie, Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, New Amsterdam, Bull, Outlander, Gilmore Girls, Mike & Molly, Mom, MASH, What on Earth, Mysteries of the Abandoned, Weird Wonders, Impossible Engineering, the travel channel, painting and sewing shows.

Oldies (especially Beatles, Bad Company, Badfinger, Beach Boys, etc.)

DISLIKE Rap and CW.

Random fact: I used to play the accordion.

Princess Bride; Romancing the Stone; Cutting Edge; Dirty Dancing; The Thornbirds; Tombstone; Despicable Me, cheesy sci-fi like the Sharknados, and Tremors

I live in the country (Midwestern USA---Wisconsin) with hubby and a rescued furbaby (Hamlet, a Norwegian Elkhound.) We get frequent visitors to our yard (deer, wild turkeys, ground hogs, raccoons, opossums, as well as the usual squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits)

I have a 41 YO son and daughter-in-law and 2 grandsons (born 3-1-13 and 10-25-16) and a granddaughter (born 10-28-03).

My daughter became an angel when she was 19 (on 3-23-03). Many of my projects are done with thoughts of her working right along with me. We loved making "ugly art" (repurposing leftovers into crazy pieces of art). Her favorite color was lime green, and that is why I like to see green hearts added to the envies of swaps sent to me.

I was an Activity Director for a psych hosp. for 7 years before having kids, then was an Activity Coord. for a nursing home for 11 years after kids (with a non-creative stretch of data entry between the 2).

When I was diagnosed with cancer (non-hodgkins lymphoma) Oct. 2011, I didn't think I would be around to celebrate another birthday. But 6 months of chemo did what it was supposed to. I had my stem cells collected the end of Oct. 2012 and they are being cryo-stored until I need my transplant. As of my latest oncologist appt. (Sept. 2020), my labs are looking good and I don't need to see him for another 6 months.

I'm keeping my word from last year (find) for this year (2021) too. It has several applications for me. 1) I have a tendency to lose projects (or supplies) when I am working on them. I am making an effort this year to have to spend less time in unproductive searching. 2) I want to find more joy in the little things. 3) I want to find ways to avoid and release negativity.

what I pledged * I appreciate being rated soon after you receive my swaps. What's even more important to me than seeing the rating is just knowing that my swap made it to you. I feel bad asking if my swap disappeared on the way when I don't hear in a reasonable amount of time (2 weeks for USA swaps, longer for international), but I am concerned, and need to know if I should get started on a re-send if need be.

I enjoy reading your comments about my swaps. I also like reading the responses to my comments.

I put a lot of effort into my swap and presentation and I really appreciate it when it's evident that my swap partners add extra effort as well. It makes my day when I can tell that my partner took the effort to read my profile.

• I dropped off 1 1/2 doz. beaded angel charms when I was at the oncology clinic for my 6 mo. checkup (3-17-20) for them to pass out to any pt. who needs an angel to watch over them.

• I have been "abandoning" Zentangled bookmarks and seasonal tags at restaurants, doctor's offices, hospitals, voting locations and at Little Free Libraries (started doing this in 2014).

• Prior to the Covid restrictions, I used to volunteer as needed at the Senior Living Complex my dad lived in. I'd take along my Sizzix Big Shot to help the residents make seasonal door and window decorations. I also helped make fund raising items.

• I have also been sharing the joy of Zentangles (and other creative endeavors) every other week with my neighbors (the mom and her 4 daughters (13, 11, 8 and 2) and 2 sons (4 and 6).

• I added Zentangle inspired designs to the daily menus at the senior living complex that my 99 year old father was living at. I also was asked to draw a series of adult coloring pages (which I completed in May 2016). I made 80 tangled thank you bookmarks for the staff at the assisted living complex and the nursing home where he spent his last days.

• I entered a sketchbook to the Art House Co-op's Sketchbook Project 2011 (theme "It's Raining Dogs and Cats") and did one Zentangle Inspired Design page for a collaborative sketchbook for the 2020 Sketchbook Project.

• I crocheted 18 scarves for 2010 Special Olympics.

• I crocheted 12 angel gowns (infant burial gowns) for a local hospital in 2010.

• I crocheted 8 shawls and 2 doz. coin purses for nursing home residents in 2009-10.