Tigger679

wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter... child of God, kid at heart...

I live in Chicago with my husband and son. I love art and craft, good writing (books, music, movies, whatever), good food and my family.

My interests, in a nutshell: literature, history, art, words, colors, trivia, Chicago, Christians in culture, family, homemaking, cooking, saving money, magazines, coffee, chai, Chinese food, stickers, crayons, paper (forget rock - paper and scissors rule!)

What I DO: Computer/paper crafts, cross stitch, beading, a little painting, photography, calligraphy, dabbling - I will try pretty much anything to apply to whatever project is at hand! Love combining colors and words in just about any way possible.

I make a lot of handmade greeting cards and ATCs. Lately, lots of collaged stuff. I've done some mini-zines - love to get into that some more. Also have started on skinnies... always new challenges to jump into. :)

Check out my Flickr above for some stuff I've made in the past. :)

Would love to try: soap +/or candle-making, polymer clay

Authors: Diane Gabaldon, Lynn Kurland, Michael Crichton, John Steinbeck (if I ever studied for my master's, it would be in American lit), Tolkien, C.S. Lewis

Books: The Poisonwood Bible, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Harry Potter, mysteries, history, romance - anything interesting and well-written!

Music: Selah, U2, Jars of Clay, Caedmon's Call, Chris Rice, Third Day, Nickelback, Les Miserables soundtrack, Miss Saigon soundtrack, Barenaked Ladies.

Movies: Not really as big a movie person as I used to be - we hardly ever get to the theatre anymore and most of the time, I would just rather watch a TV show. Old faves include Braveheart, Music and Lyrics, Legally Blonde, Men in Black, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter

and TV: good stories or something "educational" - History Channel, Food Network, Futurama, The Good Wife, Parenthood, Top Chef, Breaking Bad, In Plain Sight, Royal Pains, Psych, The Big-Bang Theory, Being Human (the original on BBC), White Collar, Doctor Who

Colors: purple, lime green, orange, blue (esp. periwinkle and teals or turquoise colors) - I like color in general - those are the ones that really catch my eye, though.

Beverages: coffee, chai, hot chocolate (unique flavors would be great!) * looking to collect more unusual varieties of tea - stash or Tazo or whatever oddball brand - someone recently sent me some Bigelow Constant Comment and I love it! Had to go out and buy a whole box... :)

Scents (in candles or whatever): esp. LOVE vanilla or other baking-type scents - cinnamon, cookies, that kind of thing. Sometimes citrus. Nothing too flowery or strong.

Flower: lilacs, roses, lilies

Candy: Hershey Symphony w/ Toffee and Almonds, Dove Milk Chocolate, Jelly Belly assortments, European chocolate - Lindt Excellence White Coconut is a new find and I think I'm addicted!

Snacks: Mixed nuts, Zen Party Mix at Target, cheese and crackers, PRINGLES (esp. jalapeno, spicy guacamole or sour cream & onion), Blue Diamond Wasabi & Soy Almonds (YUM!)

• I play Treasure Isle and Farmville on Facebook, so if you play, too, PM me about becoming friends and neighbors (esp. for Treasure Isle! All my friends on FB seem to have quit TI...). Also would love gift cards for either one in swaps. :)

• Just last year, I picked up the long purple Knifty Knitter loom - now I'm hooked. :D I can FINALLY knit (never could figure out needles...). If you have other looms (any of the round ones) that you want to pass on, I would LOVE it! Yarn would be great, too, although my crocheting sister has a good stash that I can pilfer. :)

• Really loving the ATC collection I've created over the past few years, but I'm noticing an over-abundance of collage in there... not really complaining, since that's the kind I usually make, but just noticing. Just wanted to put it out there... I'd LOVE some ATCs in different mediums - quilted, clay, hand-drawn, whatever. :) Thanks!

• I teach pre-K Sunday School (four-year-olds and five-year-olds not yet in kindergarten) once a month and our crazy curriculum comes up with crafts that are very difficult with 35 little kids on a Sunday morning. I usually try to adapt them to use stickers as much as possible, so if you have any kid stickers with Bible themes or even just different creatures or people, generic stars, tools, hearts - really anything - that you can pass on, it would be wonderful! Foam stickers are great too - anything to streamline things for bitty fingers! Thanks!

Collections (for keeping or crafting):

• stickers - pretty much all kinds - Lisa Frank is a long time favorite; also Hallmark, DCWV collections, dimensional or textured - I used to be all over the sticker sales at Hobby Lobby and really stocked up. Also hit some good deals on eBay... stickers: obsession since 1984

• rub-ons - colorful flourishes esp.

• patterned papers - esp. Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket - more the grungy, shabby chic look than too cutesy - 6x6 or 4x6 sizes preferred - up to 8x8 - smaller scraps always welcome, LOL :)

• silver charms, jewelry findings, unique beads - goldstone beads esp. - like lapidary type jewelry

• cross-stitch "stuff" - like Christmas ornament kits, supplies like needles, floss bobbins - DMC floss in any colors

• ATCs - finished ones and also blanks (those Strathmore sets are really cool!)

• not a big rubber-stamper, but I like the newer acrylics that can be stored flat - I like ones with general sentiments, textures, flourishes - things that can be used as backgrounds

• peachycheap.com and would buy most days if I could afford it. :)

• Love things with TEXTURE - papers, fabrics, whatever.

• glitter glues

• vintage notions - thread, embroidery floss, buttons on cards, other little doo-dads

• vintage ephemera - game pieces (Scrabble, Monopoly, whatever), greeting cards, recipe cards/booklets, maps, small books

• Tigger stuff (prefer Disney version)

• butterflies

• postcards (would love some foreign ones but from anywhere would be cool!)

• recipes (esp. soups, slow cookers, easy holiday treats - I love to cook and I love trying new things, esp if I can do it on a budget! I hit up allrecipes.com

• Sharpie markers, esp. ultra fine and fine tips in any colors

• Crayola memorabilia, esp. related to crayons

• classic Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake (child of the 80s here... none of that next generation weirdness for me, thank you!)

• craft/home decor magazines - esp. paper crafting or cross-stitch or general crafting ones. Really like the UK mags The Cross Stitcher and Papercraft Inspirations (the ones in bags with extra goodies, LOL) - also love most of the Somerset magazines :) - artsy zines, too - like The Gleaner, Artella

• Mary Engelbreit - loved and miss the magazine!

• Susan Branch

• Marjolein Bastin

• art that illustrates Scripture

** unused postage stamps would always be great, too! :)

** I have a six-year-old son Wyatt who LOVES anything with wheels and esp. Cars the movie, so if you want to send anything his way, he'd love it. He also loves building and tools, anything to build with (LEGOS!), drawing, Phineas and Ferb and our new family favorite, Doctor Who (the BBC series of the last 6-7 years - we haven't watched the old stuff). :)

My husband Joshua... hmmm... likes chocolate-covered raisins, Oreos, Milk Duds, Cowtales and Chicago sports. :) He's hard to please, but I'll keep him. :)

We also have two goofy cats; Samson, a great big orange tabby and Max, a fluffy black-and-white sweetie. They like fishy food and crunchy treats. :) Oh, and catnip, of course. My two little junkies, I like to call them.

We have a brand-new niece so now I'm on the lookout for girlie stuff for crafting and gifting. :)

• ALLERGY ALERT: I have cats, thus there can be cat hair around. They are very sweet, but they seem to have this thing for sitting on stuff in my crafting area (oy!). Please let me know if this could be an issue!

• STICKER ALERT: I use stickers in my collage crafts. There seems to be a bit of animosity around here toward "sticker slappers," and while I don't think I am one (ask anyone who's received my work), I just thought I'd be upfront about that fact. I know that the grudge is more about those that don't do anything creative beyond sticking that sticker down - to me, stickers are just paper with the glue already in place. :)

• ECO-SWAPPER ALERT: I'm trying to be as green and as cheap a swapper as possible and I mean that in the best way possible! :) What this means is that I will mainly be doing papercrafts or stash swaps, so I'm not spending money on anything other than postage. I'm also trying to stick to "flat" packages to keep my costs down. So, if a swap calls for filling a 6x9 envie, that's what I'll be filling and it will be with "flat stuff" - paper bits, stickers, etc. Trust me, though - my stash is good stuff. :) You want some. ;)

• Any questions, PLEASE PM me. :) Happy swapping!!

Well, as I said, I'm not terribly picky, but there are a few things on my "please, no" list.

• hazelnuts - the actual nuts or the flavoring. I like all other nuts, just not those.

• cream- or liqueur-filled chocolates

• the color pink - although, it's okay in moderation, I'm just not into tons of it.

• the whole skulls thing... just not into the whole "death," macabre thing... I like a good mystery book, but don't like to wear or decorate with bones or skull stuff.

• sugar-free candy - I have diabetes, so a lot of times people think that the s-f stuff is the way to go. Please, no. It's just not good and it's usually expensive and full of fake stuff that can have a laxative effective... ugh. If I'm going to have candy, I'd rather just have real stuff and dose for it (that's what the insulin pump is for, LOL).

• angels. I believe God created them and I believe that biblical angels exist, but they're nothing like the sweet soft creatures of most art.

• magnets - I have plenty that I can't use anymore on the stainless steel fridge, LOL.

• NO mix/duplicated CDs or DVDs of any kind (except to alter). Unless you can prove to me (written, official proof) that you have the legal right to copy and distribute whatever is on that CD or DVD, I don't want it. It's illegal.

As I wander the forums and participate more and more in swaps, it becomes clear that it may be helpful to explain my rating thought process.

I rate exactly as you're told to - 5 if received on time (before 2 weeks are up for US members and before 1 month for int'l) and matches guidelines, 3 if (super) late or not right, 1 if never received and no communication. Before I rate "down," I will PM you or comment on your profile. If you don't respond... so be it.

I try to add a bit of a personal comment with a rating - "thank you" at least.

Hearts are a total bonus. I won't add them all the time - they're about that special "wow" factor. For craft swaps, I assume that you put some effort in - I won't try to grade how much. If you added some extra bits, thank you. I like that, it's fun - I do it too. But, don't assume it means a heart. I think a personal thank you or compliment should mean more than a heart and I won't be pressured to add them. I have no firm guidelines for "heart-giving" - it's just sort of about the impression and the happy-making factor. :)

I'm pretty flexible and understanding about mailing a little bit late and I don't stress about stuff FOR ME until it's been at least a month or I haven't seen that you've been online for a while.

HOWEVER, I have no patience for late sending or flaking when my child is involved. I WILL call you out on it and I WILL name names, all over the place. If it looks like you're going to have trouble with a child's swap, please let me know ahead of time so other arrangements can be made.

FLAKERS (as of 3/4/2011):

@KarinaWorninger for 1-2-3-4-5! Finger Puppet Swap

@kayeoo for Once Upon a Christmas ~ Bookmark Joy

@KateandOli for QUICK flat destash swap #8

@goodgollymissmolly for Kids Ages 3-7 Handmade Postcard Swap - she was the host, too!

@hjshort72 - didn't flake on me but mailed VERY late amidst a bunch of other general drama and @Prairiemom

for One stamp-Boys Valentine's Day SURPRISE!

Looking for an angel for:

Once Upon a Christmas ~ Bookmark Joy

GROUP: Cheap Postage Swaps Tags & Fun

Tags to send:

Sent:

Waiting for:

RECEIVED - thank you!: