bombardiette

Please Note: Due to an unforseen crisis in marriage, and because when it rains, apparently I have to build an ark...I have not had ready access to my art supplies or a computer since before Christmas. I am behind on 1 swap which my partner is working with me on however, things appear to be calming down a little. Once my dash is cleared, I will not be joining or hosting any more swaps until I'm back on track with my home and family. Thank you for understanding.

It's just possible that some of you remember me from before I went...away. It's true. I deleted this account back in early June after some particularly unpleasant experiences here. That was a bit excessive in the end (obviously since, uh, here I am again...) and I should really take my own "Never Say Never" advice once in a while. I found that I have missed the variety of swaps here as well as the simple physics of this site as compared to others I tried. @racheljohnson was kind enough to restore my account and so here I am again, a little better, a LOT wiser.

But if you have no idea who the hell I am or what I'm even on about...then this is for you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hallo, I am Phe. Who are you? Oh. Who am I you ask? Oh dear. I guess we'll start with the basics: I am a 30-something wanderer, a wife, a mother, a warrior. Perenially overworked and, well, just overworked, I hold down one full time job for the US Air Force and two part time jobs too. Contrary to popular opinion, we government employees are not generally well paid.

One of my part-time jobs seems mostly full-time as I am a sergeant in the US Air Force reserves. I just can't escape this place. I also bartend one or two days a month for my VFW.

My other full-time job as wife and mum keeps me walking a straighter, narrower line than once I may have toed. That is not, however, necessarily a bad thing. My 4 year old Viking Princess and my saint of a husband probably deserve better but this is what they've got so we all make the best of things and are rather nauseatingly happy as a family unit.

So what is this, this person called Phe?

For starters, I am...not easily quantified, at least, not when I'm trying!

I have a low tolerance for BS and become impatient when faced with it but am otherwise quite open and have friends from all walks of life.

Hmmmm...but who else? What else? Well...

Tank Girl is my hero. No, not Lori Petty's Tank Girl. The original. This has always been the nickname bestowed upon me in every unit I've been assigned to, even without my fellow airmen / soldiers (I did 4 years in the Army too) knowing of my love for TG. I blame the hair for this universal comparison. :D

I am a dirt bike rider and street bike lover.

I am a city baby born into the former grit and roughshod glory that is Boston. In spite of the gentrification that has done so much and yet destroyed so much, I have vowed to never leave home for greener pastures in the US again. This city is my lifeblood and soul.

Part of that lifeblood stems from the cold waters of my north atlantic shores, just minutes from my flat. In any season, in any weather, you are likely to find me there on the beach throwing away the bad, the heartrending, the cruel, the emotional detritus accumulated by the simple act of living hard and living fully.

I am a writer who battles writer's block on a daily basis.

I am an unabashed smoker, though in deference to our roles as parents, we don't smoke inside our home.

When it comes to music, my main loves are old punk (77 punk), British Oi!, early hardcore, goth/industrial and 80's New Wave. But my iPod doesn't really bear this out as it's populated mainly with new(er) artists like Metric, Foster the People, Amanda Palmer, Adele, and so on und so weiter.

Art deco, the roaring 20's, turn of the century America and Victorian England fascinate me. But then, so does Marine Biology and the nature of emerging infectious disease.

I love to travel and have covered over 30 US states (whether I wanted to or not in many cases) as well as several countries overseas.

In the end, I consider myself to be a half-assed renaissance woman. That seems about right.

Come check out Dreamland - my new group where every day is Hallowe'en!

• ATCs and handmade postcards. Rolos I have little experience with but the one time I did them, it was quite fun. I've now entered the land of tags as well and I’m also an avid swapper of decos! I suppose you could say papercrafts to summarize, though I have no interest in scrapbooking (I just use the supplies sold under that label for everything else but. :D )

• Collage art.

• Photography, most especially architectural and industrial decay. Boston is the perfect place for wandering and photographing. I'm saving to replace the SLR I had that my ex stole. >:\

• Although not considered by many to be a “craft” (although I do think of it as an art!), I love to cook from scratch and no recipe survives contact with me. I'll use them typically as guides for cooking times, but I almost always improve it (in my eyes anyway) or just create from scratch. Some of my family and friends' favorites are dishes I just sort of...made up.

• Finally, while I get that writing isn't a craft, it is certainly an art. Regardless of the topic, a writer who can convey clear meaning, emotion, place, time...using nothing but words...he or she is a true artist. With that in mind, I write daily for my job but for myself, I write letters. I write in journals. I write snippets of things that come to my mind that perhaps one day I'll be able to expand into a story. I write essays and poems from time-to-time, though not as much as I once did. I just...write.

Things I Want to Try…

• Art journal pages • Altered books • Glass projects

Note: Please do not construe this as a "Wish List" as it is not. It is simply a guide for swapping partners for profile-based swaps. I do not auto-heart just because you put something from this list into a completely un-related swap package.

Love...

• Tank Girl. Of course.

• Absolutely anything related to the ocean -especially Arctic and Atlantic seas.

• Letters from similar minded pen pals or people who love to sit and write pages. I love to receive in-depth, thoughtful letters that are less a Q&A session and more like a wonderful conversation over good beer or whisky or wine in a cozy pub.

• Lettersets! Kawaii: San-x Sentimental Circus, Q-Lia New Sound, San-x MonoBoo, Sanrio Kuromi...anything Kawaii Noir really. Also anything vintage/dark Victorian!

• I'm an old punk, so anything 77 punk, street punk (think Dropkick Murphys BEFORE "Tessie"), Oi or psychobilly is more than welcome, anytime.

• Steampunk imagery, jewelry, and some clothing (I'm really more at a jeans and t-shirt phase of life now, but I do love to get dressed once in a while)

• Dark Victoriana anything, the Gothic 1920's...dark imagery in general (though I'll pass on horror)

• Middle Eastern, Indian, Afghani textiles, art, jewelry (I spent a lot of time there and miss it very much)

• 1950’s vintage chic and pin-up art/clothing.

Colors... If you're ever considering something in colors, I wear mostly blacks and greys and prefer cool tones in general (blue, purple, deep greens, silver). I do love ruby red stones too...but I have very little of that sort of thing.

Our home is a riot of color though! Every room is different and I just realized the other day whilst laying on the loveseat that between the living room and open office area, it's actually rainbow: red, orange, yellow, and green. I had to laugh.

Scents Clean scents only please. I do have a tart burner so feel free to send those or any sized candle or oil you choose, in any variation you find of the following scents:

• Ocean/Surf/Driftwood/Beach

• Lakeside Cottage

• Meadow Showers

• Rain

What Can I Do For You?

• Long, handwritten letters. I love to sit and respond at night.

• ATCs

• Decos

• Notecards/Postcards

• Picture Frames

• Stickers and rub ons

• Ephemera

• I'm always happy to offer profile surprises or pick from your Etsy favorites

• Photography

• Collage

• Mail art

• Teas

• Recipes

• Ribbons, embellishments, scrapping paper (I don't scrapbook but this is like shiny thing crack to me...)

Other Considerations...

• Long Letters

• Journaling (art, text, media...all of it!)

• Strange Stickers

• Pin-up/Burlesque

• 1920's, 30's, 40's themed things

• Cold War Propaganda/Images

• Coffee

• Victoriana

• Turn-of-the-Century advertising

• Storyville mementos/images/collections

• International Kitsch

• Ink stamps - especially goth/Victorian/1920's themed

• Glitter

• Collage art

• Bizarre recipes

• Embellishments

• Ribbon

• Distressed ink or other for stamping

• Watercolors

• Silent Film

• Flappers

• Sage Smudges!

• Essential Oils

• Martini Kitsch

• Absinthe images/spoons/glasses

• Modern Design/Industrial Design

• Sexually oriented art and nudes are fine by me, but I'll pass on anything patently taken from the pages of Hustler.

• Washi or deco tape

Please Do Not Send...

• Blank recipe cards - I have a book I've created for all of my recipes and don't use these, however, I have quite a few now as I've gotten several in swaps and tags. I'll send them on, but I'd prefer to not receive any more.

• Tea/Drink Packets

• Coupons

• Cinnamon, apple, baked good, or other "homey" scented anything. Please. The scent of these candles and oils actually has made me vomit in the past.

• Anything related to Twilight or Harry Potter

• Anything that can be considered Proselytizing - religious OR lifestyle (I identify most closely with pagan beliefs but am not Wiccan and on the other end, I couldn't care less about anyone's pet cause unless it's specifically in support of veterans).

• Twee fairie imagery

• Unicorns

• Children's stickers, reward stickers, super hero stickers, etc.

• Soppy images of animals in any form

• Country crafting

• Food (note on this, I really try to watch what I eat. Obviously, if I'm in a swap that's food related, I'll hopefully love it, but otherwise, if it's sender's choice, please don't send food in any form).

• Anything to do with reality TV in all of it's evil forms, Glee, Lady Gaga/Pop/Gangsta Rap/Hip-Hop/R&B

• Form letters.

Seraglio, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Tea Rose, Discworld Series, Dreamland, The 20th Wife, Pharaoh, Auntie Mame, Around the World With Auntie Mame, Storyville, Gangs of New York, Haroun & the Sea of Stories, All Creatures Great and Small, Paddywhacked, Arabian Nights & Days, Stiff, Outlaws Inc.

...Let's face it. I just love to read and I do it every night in bed, no matter how late it is. When the day is done (and that includes all of the stuff I like doing on top of everything else...), reading is a must.

Amelie, La Femme Nikita (the French original), Leon the Professional, Snatch!, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Ronin, From Hell, Eraserhead, Repo Man, The Bourne Trilogy (I don't count the 4th one), Rocknrolla, Lord of War, Contraband, just about every John Waters film ever made

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Modern Marvels, and after that, it's mostly documentary films (Ken Burns' Prohibition, Blue Planet, Planet Earth) and regular documentary shows on ancient history (NOT Ancient Aliens OMG), civilizations, marine life and biology, etc., Good Eats!

First and foremost, if you do not receive a swap from me, let me know and I will re-send. I take pictures of everything I send and post them to my Flickr account (which also means no peeking if you're waiting for something from me).

Secondly, I always rate. It's my way of saying "Thank you for making my day with your creation!", of letting you know that it's been received, of generally acknowledging you. With that in mind, I do tend to lump swap flakers and non-raters in the same category. It's not a very nice category. Trust me.

Third, I almost always send out my swaps within 1 - 3 days of partners being assigned. While I understand that waiting until the last possible day to send is acceptable, I don't like to do it. Once in a while though, I have little choice due to work demands or the complexity of the project in the swap. Sometimes, things just don't turn out right the first 10 times!

Finally, the rules of swapping on this site are quite clear. If I receive nothing from you but excuses or worse, nothing at all, you will get a 1. If I receive something late with no communication or if it doesn't meet the swap description, you will get a 3. I am a patient lass but even I have my limits and yes, I know that "life happens". It happens every day, 24-hours a day. Some things we can't help but an obligation is an obligation. I can only work with you if you tell me about the house that fell on your sister. I'm not actually psychic you know!

And of course, if I receive a swap from you on time that meets the swap requirements, it's a 5.

So that's that. Simple and straightforward.

I have contacted everyone listed here on more than one occasion prior to naming them.

Swap Flakers

• @vagabondindigo on Digital ATC Swap

• @CatastrophicCreator on Hallowen Pen Pal and Surprise Swap

Tag Flakers

• @livvy on 21 Oct 11 in Pick 2 in Rainbows & Rainclouds

• @Regret on 25 Oct 11 in Random Flat Envie Pay it Forward

Non-Raters

• @strictlyrudegirl for PC of a Building Quick Swap