Peony

Sorry guys- not swapping right now- I hope to someday get back into it though so I'm leaving my info up.

Hi-my name is Liz, I'm lucky to live in two of the most beautiful places on earth- half the year (cold months) on the small island of Vieques in the Caribbean and the other half (warm months)in Provincetown, Cape Cod. My husband and I own a restaurant in Vieques and work in restaurants when we’re back on the mainland. We are happily childfree and instead have a dog (chihuahua, great traveler- and the perfect size for it) and a cat (not the best traveler, poor thing). We used to vacation a lot and see the world, but now are more settled, with the business and pets- sigh- I still get a touch of the wanderlust though sometimes.

When I’m on the island it’s a little difficult to get supplies- so I’ll only join swaps I know I’ve got the stuff for, when I’m here. And if anyone wants shells, sea fans or beach glass I'm the swapper for you- I've got lots, just message me and we can set up a swap.

I think being creative and making things is important to the soul- I know it’s an essential part of who I am.

First I must say Pandora Radio is the most perfect thing EVER, loving that lately! I enjoy all sorts of stuff, depending on my mood. Old school funk & soul when I feel like dancing or hula hooping (oh, yeah- I love my hoop!). Chill and downtempo ambient grooves for crafting or sitting with a friend chatting and drinking tea. And current, fun, pop-y music for cleaning house or singing to in the car.

I go through phases of sometimes being a voracious reader or I could go a month and not crack open a book. I’ll get into a genre and must read everything. Lately I’ve been doing the urban fantasy thanks to the tv show True Blood. Some of my favorite authors are- Stephen King's older novels, Barry Gifford, Francesca Lia Block, Patricia Briggs, Robin McKinley, Diana Gabaldon, Jean M Auel, Jane Austen, Thomas Perry- There are lots, but I’m not going to write a laundry list here.

Some of my favorite movies.... in no order- Amelie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Heathers, City of Lost Children, Practical Magic( they live in my dream house), The Fall, Election, Juno, Frida, Memento, True Romance, Marie Antoinette (only because it's esteticly amazing), Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (maybe not technically a movie but SO FANTASTIC), MirrorMask...

Oh how I love a good TV show- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twin Peaks, Freaks and Geeks, Arrested Development, Carnivale, The Wire, Deadwood, Veronica Mars, True Blood, Firefly, The Office (UK & US), Friday Night Lights, Outrageous Fortune (NZ), So You Think You Can Dance, Glee, Misfits (UK), The Walking Dead, BBC and Masterpiece Theater period drama miniseries...

I'm a dabbler- I fall hard for a craft only to abandon it to my latest obsession, then refind it months/years later and fall back in love. Right now I'm making a Mary Ann Moss style "Remains of the Day" journal. Also things like- art journaling, mailart, mixed media collage, making mosaics with seashells, photography (just got a holga !♥!), carving rubber stamps, quilling, jewelry making, interior decorating, cooking/baking, gardening (really interested in pond/water gardening- sigh, someday I'll have a water garden...), creating new jewelry out of 50's/60's style enamel and rhinestone castoffs ( I have grand ideas of covering old chandeliers and birdcages with junk jewelry, fake flowers, pearls, ribbon and faux butterflies and birds). I'd LOVE to learn how make stained glass art and do glass blowing someday. Lately I've become fascinated with encaustic art- I think I need to start collecting stuff for that.

William Morris, old wallpaper patterns, Joseph Cornell, Art Nouveau, the flickr groups "bazaar style" & "granny chic", 19th century style plant and animal illustrations, Frida Kahlo is my style icon, postal related items, vintage office supplies, bohemian/gypsy stuff, Indian and Russian style onion dome architecture, French flea market style, fancy wrought iron gates and on windows, 30's/40's/50's vintage, the Griffin & Sabine books, wood grain, Thai iced tea, green tea ice cream, tea parties,dainty vintage tea cups, cake stands, Daher tins, matryoshka dolls, Terry's chocolate oranges, maple or anise flavored candy, menu planning, latte bowls, milkglass, Lush bath products, succulent plants, ferns, moss and lichen, lithops, carnivorous plants, birds, beetles, moths, cicadas, jellyfish, octopuses, sea urchins, seahorses, plant life under the sea. Apothecary bottles, jars, labels & cabinets. I’d pretty much like to live in an Anthropologie catalog. Cottage roses, anemones, poppies, water lilies, lotus flowers, mums, dahlias, and of course peonies.

Colors- true red, mustard-y yellow, chambray blue, white, turquoise/teal, robin’s egg blue, cream, moss green, french blue, grays, tarnished gold/brass/copper, the tea stained color of old vintage paper, prussian blue, vintage aqua, ivory. Color combos reminiscent of India like bright pinks, oranges and purple with yellow or gold. The vintage-y combo of light blue and red with accents of pink and/or mustard yellow.

My favorite kind of postcards are handmade by you!

Glitter (not my style and it ends up all over the place), confetti (same reason), “perfume-y” smells, coffee, stevia (so sweet and bitter), cigarette smoke, cutesy-country-crafts, animal print, Disney/any cartoon really, kawaii, patriotic themed items (although I DO like red, white and blue together when it's postal related- yum!), holiday themed items, anything sports related, neon colors, 80's style, super-duper girlie-pink style stuff, white chocolate (it's not really even chocolate IMO), raisins in chocolate, bergamot tea.

• photos taken with a Holga/Polaroid/lomo/old style camera
• postal related items- faux postage/artistamps, mail art, security envelopes, wax seals, airmail labels and envelopes, images of mailboxes, customs forms or labels from other countries besides the US
• ephemera- old lovely handwriting, old photographs, vintage postcards (written on or not), vintage letters, ledger papers, ticket stubs, non english receipts
• dried, pressed flowers and leaves
• old blue-tinged Ball canning jars
• decorative carved picture frames- I spray paint them, so even super ugly ones can have a new life
• alphabet/number stecils, rub-ons or stickers
• Anthropologie or Toast catalogs- I love the images for collage
• Frankie, Uppercase or Selvage magazines
• ric-rac, vintage lace, dingle ball trim, velvet ribbon, buttons, old wooden spools of thread, vintage wallpaper
• Vintage scarves (fabric- not knit/crochet) or handkerchiefs