artgeek

8/1/07: If this were a blog, I would title it "Life Intervened." Without getting overly personal, I'm choosing to leave it at that. However, if you were one of my disappointed swap partners, packages should start arriving shortly. This weekend, I am sending out seven postcards, nine envelopes and one package.

I am sincerely sorry for all the swaps I left in the lurch and intend to make up each of them this month. More details to follow as I keep on sendin'.

Addendum: Anyone who has sent to me since May likely did not receive a rating. All those packages and envelopes were kept for me, and I will open them and rate by the month's end, too. Thank you for your patience.

8/8/07 update...I have sent out the following swaps: Junk Mail ATCs #2, Occupation ATCs, 1" Button/Pin Swap, Celtic Knot ATCs, Scavenger Hunt Swap, Postcards with Questions, Trashy Pulp Fiction ATCs, Free Bookmark Exchange.

8/16/07: Okay, everyone leaving the positive feedback is really touching and motivating. Everyone, thank you so much for your understanding.

• I'm pretty good at embroidery and decoupage/collage (mainly cigar box purses, other wooden boxes, and ATCs) and enjoy journaling.

• I've basic skills at beading, sewing, and kumihimo.

• I am learning more about and teaching myself about papermaking, altered books, and bookmaking.

• I do not crochet, knit, quilt, work with clay (eg, Sculpty), and only have the bare minimum of drawing/sketching abilities.

• I love things that inspire creativity (eg, Sark, The Artist's Way). I have a subscription to PaperCrafts magazine and also enjoy reading Cloth Paper Scissors, Somerset Studio, Somerset Workshop, Adorn, Craft, Make, and ReadyMade.

In no particular order:

• Trying to enjoy my twilight as a twenty-something before going into syndication or yuppification, whichever comes first.

• I've been married for five years as of April. In our dreams, we'll be living on a houseboat in ten years, traveling to art festivals and sharing margaritas.

• I'm co-parenting two alley cats (Bishop and Ripley), a terrier (Yoda), and my eleven-year-old brother. My mother died this January, making me parentless and a parent in a single moment; I am trying to take each day as it comes and handle life's challenges with grace.

• The furthest west I've ever been is Arkansas and the furthest east Austria. I've lived in Northern England and several US states (Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida).

• I own an iPod and a linoleum knife. I know how to make my own paper and beer. I took French language classes for more than five years, but I'm only fluent in computer languages (HTML, CSS, PHP).

• I believe the Intarweb is BOTH a series of tubes and made for cats.

• I make kick-ass guacamole and pierogie, but never learned to ride a bicycle.

• I've gotten a paycheck or volunteered at the following places: Habitat for Humanity, a variety of museums and art centers, my alma mater, mortgage company, a fruit stand, a free bookstore, and a leather shop.