Pikkis

I´m a woman at the age of forty-three with two children; a daughter (15) and a son (12). I work as a comprehensive school teacher and especially love teaching English and litterature.

I put a lot of effort on my creations and never send anything trashy, so I hope you will do the same :)! I don´t tolerate any kind of flaking! If you don´t receive anything from me, contact me before rating, please!

I love reading and read many kinds of books. Fantasy is one of my favourites; Harry Potters, LOTR, Twilight-saga, True Blood, Vampire Diaries etc. Also books related to history like the ones from Diana Gabaldon fascinate me. Jane Austen, Joanne Harris are Cornelia Funke are amongst my favourite authors too, just to name few.

Children´s litterature is my passion. I collect children´s books, especially the classics; H.C.Andersen, the Grimm-brothers, Astrid Lindgren, Roald Dahl, Beatrix Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Elsa Beskow and many, many others are on the list. Moomin-books in different languages are wanted too. Books with great illustrations attract me the most.

My favourite fairy tales are Little Red Riding-Hood, Alice in Wonderland, Hansel and Gretel, Princess and the Pea, Pussy in Boots, SnowWhite and the Seven Dwarfs and Thumbellina just to name few. But as said above, all the classics make me happy and I´m easy to please.

I try also to read books for young adults, mostly because of my work, but also as I want to.The Hunger Games-series by Suzanne Collins hooked me immediately. David Almond, Cornelia Funke, Eva Ibbotson, Neil Gaiman and Michael Ende are some of my favourites too, but there are so many good books and so little time to read them.

I like Tim Burton-movies. Johnny Depp is my favourite actor :)! Fantasy-movies, romantic ones and historical films are my favourites too, not to mention Twilight-saga of course. But team Edward, absolutely!

I´m a True Blood-fan too and Bill and Eric are my favourite characters! So, please, make me something that present one of them or both (LOL), if participating in a True Blood-themed swap :)!

Especially ATCs and bookmarks are my favourites. I make also altered playing cards (APCs) and Altered Envies. I´ve made some decos too and one altered book. They look great, but are really a lot of work and at the moment I don´t seem to have the time for them. Button fairies are cool too.

Rubber stamping, collage and mixed media are my favourite techniques. I can´t draw at all, so don´t expect anything drawn from me! I ALSO DON´T LIKE TO RECEIVE DRAWN THINGS, I´M SORRY. I´m usually very easy to please and I´m not picky, but drawn things just are not for me!

I love dogs and almost all animals. My favourite dog-breed is a German shepherd, a dalmatian comes second. I also collect postcards with dogs at work like guide dogs, rescue dogs etc. If you´re sending me pcs with dogs, I prefer realistic ones, not dogs wearing clothes or driving the car etc.

I enjoy travelling, but haven´t done that very much yet. I hope someday I´ll be rich enough to do that properly (LOL)! My favourite city is London. Also Australia and New Zealand, the USA and Canada are the destinations of my dreams. But what comes to travelling, anything goes. I´ve visited Spain once and I fell in love with that country. Now I´m learning Spanish :)!

Swapping ATCs is my hobby no.1 right now. But I also collect bookmarks and postcards and I´m a postcrosser/ bookcrosser. Reading is so much fun! If you´re sending me postcards, I prefer them unwritten in an envelope.But of course written and stamped are welcomed too! And learning Spanish is my hobby too! I also try to exercise every now and then by cycling, jogging, nordic walking and circuit training.

Postcards and mail art: - children´s book illustrations/ fairy tales/ Alice in Wonderland especially/ fantasy; fairies, dragons, gnomes, vampires etc./ Twilight; team Edward/ London/ dogs; especially German shepherds, dalmatians, dogs at work( realistic ones, please)/ Johnny Depp/ books and reading people/ Ancient Egypt/ Russian mathryoska dolls

I DON`T LIKE HANDMADE POSTCARDS (meaning postcard-swaps)!

Only ATCs and mail art: - anything vintage/ time/ text/ quotes/ musical notes/ cemetary angels/ travelling/ oriental, esp. geishas/ birds, nests, eggs/ owls/ ladybirds, dragonflies/ zetti/ altered playing cards/ pin up-girls/ classic film-stars like Marilyn Monroe/ vampires (esp. Twilight, True Blood)/ Spain/ Spanish language/ Mexican loteria-cards/ Tim Holtz/ vintage Christmas, Halloween and other holidays/ Marie Antoinette

• postcards/ bookmarks (bought or self-made)
• used postage stamps (I use them in my crafting)
• ATCs/ Altered Envies
• altered books (just a few pages is fine)
• foreign text and ephemera( especially vintage-looking)
• magazines related to rubber stamping or mixed media, my faves are Stamper´s Sampler/Somerset Studios (preferably in English)
• children´s books in English (can be used if in good condition)
• Moomin-books in different languages (see the list below)
• rubber or clear stamps, especially with quotes in English or other themes mentioned above
• anything Tim Holtz
• all kind of stuff related to children´s books or fairy tales
• button fairies
• black markers with fine point (for writing)
• nice stickers (nothing whimsy or childish or puffy)
• dresden scraps in any colour
• anything Spain/ Spanish language-related
• nice, decorated envelopes (nothing childish)
• sturdy, white envelopes for mail art
• napkins/ tissues with nice images I can use in my crafting
• chocolate from your country (if you happen to send from Belgium, I´m totally in love with Ambiente Schilfertruffels)
• tiny/ small Chinese coins (those that have a hole in the middle)

As I´ve already mentioned before, I collect Moomin-books in different languages. Here´s a list of the languages I already have. So if you have one not mentioned on the list, I´d be more than happy to do a private trade with you.

Languages I already have: - Karelian - English (but a picture book for smaller children would be great, I only have a novel) - Swedish - Estonian - Dutch - Russian - Japanese (big thanks to whiterose) - Lithuanian - French ( a huge thanks to Moineau) - Polish - German (a huge thanks to sasasubine)