freespirit66

After many years in the non-profit sector (with the last 8 of that founding/operating/directing a children's art and farm camp), I'm now a stay-at-home mom who homeschools my two daughters.

This is perhaps the most challenging - and rewarding - position I've held. I feel so fortunate each day that I get to spend teaching and learning with the girls.

I enjoy photography...and documenting everyday life around the home...including homeschooling, crafts the girls and I do, cooking, the pets (2 dogs, 5 cats, miniature horse, and pony), nature, and wildlife.

When I have breaks from homeschooling, I make natural toys by hand for my daughters and others that are made from wool felt and sheep wool. They are made by sewing/embroidery or needlefelting...both crafts that I truly enjoy.

I also make translucent window stars (like these window stars I made). The stars have been such a fun and creative way to add some beauty to the home, and to daily life.

I enjoy participating in swaps and meeting new people throughout the world. Receiving mail filled with creative work by others is so inspiring!

For a look at my work, please visit either my Flickr site and look under "Things I've Made" or to my Etsy shop to see handmade things I sell.

I also started selling books through Half.com and Amazon.com. My Half.com Shop and Amazon.com Shop

About my Daughters

Sophia and Olivia are 8 1/2 and 6 1/2 respectively. Both were born in China and adopted at 11 and 10 months respectively. Both are loving, generous girls who care deeply about others – people and animals.

Both girls have special needs which were unknown/undisclosed at the time of adoption. Olivia is legally blind in both eyes. She wears glasses so she can see, but definitely responds better to tactile/sensory items that she can touch. She also had a wide range of developmental and speech delays (many of which have been addressed); and is currently being monitored by an endocrinologist who is watching her short stature/low weight. Sophia has multiple allergies (dairy, cats, dogs, dust, dust mites, cockroaches). Both girls have Sensory Integration Dysfunction.

Both sing in choir and perform about once a month. They take classes through two homeschool co-ops to connect with other children and learn new subjects (dance, ceramics/pottery, Chinese, Spanish, Little House in the Big Woods [history and craft class], embroidery, choir, and phy ed) as well as take swimming lessons.

The girls also do a lot of birdwatching since there are many types of birds here (we live on almost 10 acres of which we’ve kept the majority in its natural state). They enjoy going on nature walks and discovering animals that live or pass through here (deer, pheasants, fox, coyotes, snakes, owls, eagles, and turkeys).

Photography, embroidery, needlefelting, cross-stitching, bookmaking, needlepoint, collage, colored pencil, sewing, and quilting.

I enjoy trying new things. I have tons of ideas that I’ve clipped from magazines for scrapbooking, but haven’t sat down to do that yet.

Since being a part of Swap-Bot, I've tried new projects which have been fun and challenged me creatively: dotee dolls, altered matchboxes, inchies, and button fairies.

My favorite colors are purple and green.

Lilac, lavender, rose, ylang ylang, sandalwood, patchouly, and lemon.

Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, U2, Barbra Streisand, Enya…any artists along that line. I also like new age and classical music. Will listen to jazz. Enjoy listening to music from the eighties. I do not like rap or other offensive music.

BOOKS:

I read MANY books to my daughters and enjoy books that are well-illustrated and have a good story line, especially those that are classical or “old-fashioned" (ones written in the 1930s-1950s).

The books I enjoy tend to be from several sections in the library: arts/crafts, inspirational, and non-fiction about something I’m learning about or teaching my daughters (I homeschool them).

"There is no life I know, to compare with pure imagination. Living there you'll be free, if you truly wish to be." - Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

"If you find it in your heart to care for somebody else, you will have succeeded." - Maya Angelo

"May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being. May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life." - Apache blessing

"You have everything you need...if you just believe." - Josh Groban - Believe (Polar Express Soundtrack) Lyrics

These movies are ones I could watch many times and they wouldn't get old for me: Defending Your Life; The Birdcage; Dead Poets Society; The Truman Show, Wizard of Oz; Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory; Sound of Music; Arsenic and Old Lace; Mrs. Doubtfire; Best in Show, and Waiting for Guffman. Don’t have large blocks of time to watch movies, unfortunately.

• Anything Vintage Christmas.

• 5 Skeins of Chunky Blue Yarn - I would like to crochet a shawl for my mom for Christmas since she's always cold. Am looking for yarn with some sort of nice texture/variation to it.

• Baking items for Thanksgiving - my daughters and I love to bake cakes, cookies, and other treats together. We are having 15 family members over for Thanksgiving this year and would love to make it an extra-special day…particularly since my dad is struggling with Alzheimer’s and I don’t know what his memory will be like next year.

• Pressed pennies for my daughters’ collections.

• Waldorf Art and/or Craft Supplies - Prints by Ruth Elsasser, anything by Elsa Beskow, jumbo-size acorns (the ones that are about 3"+ inches long), gems or crystals for the nature table, embroidery floss, needles for needlefelting, white wool felt, black wool felt, wool yarn (in bright or varigated colors), or anything handcrafted with natural materials.

• Fat Quarters in a Christmas Theme.

• Newspapers from other parts of the world

• Pez Dispensers.

• First Communion items. Both my daughters are having their First Communion this month (November 22nd).

• Bubble bath soap.

• Anything comforting - I was just diagnosed with arthritis at 43 years old. Am having a lot of trouble with my hands and knees at this point. I go back in one month for additional blood work and x-rays.

• Japanese Craft Magazines - Anything related to felt food, making little stuffed animals (mascots), sewing, and/or quilting. Would love to see "Cotton Time."

• Animal related items: hedgehogs, seahorses, penguins, or sheep. Fabric with small prints of these animals, fabric buttons, rubber stamps, or sewing tape with these animals would be great!

• Anything with a Woodland Theme - deer, owls, gnomes, hedgehogs, trees, acorns, squirrels, etc.

• Anything from my favorite items on Etsy or Amazon - Etsy Favorites or Amazon.com Wishlist.

• Anything Horse Related (we adopted a miniature horse that will be used to visit seniors in nursing homes and people who have memory loss issues)

• Wizard of Oz Happy Meal Toys - Am trying to make 2 sets of these little Madame Alexander dolls - one for each of my daughters. Am looking for Cowardly Lion (1), Wizard (1), Lollipop Guild Munchkin (1), Lullaby Munchkin (1), Daisy Munchkin (1), Flower Muchkin (1), Winkie Guard (1), and Wicked Witch of the East (1).

• Sashiko Fabric - Am looking for pre-printed fabric with different sashiko embroidery patterns on it. If you have some on hand that you no longer plan to use, that would be great. Otherwise, there's some sashiko kits and fabric on Etsy that I like. I've put them on my Etsy Favorites.

• Coins, used postage stamps, and trinkets from countries that we're studying about: I homeschool my two daughters and these would be a wonderful hands-on addition to their geography studies. The following countries are ones that are remaining during the 2009-10 school year and they need items from: Peru, Qatar, Russia, Spain, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam, Wales, Yemen, and Zambia.

• Essential oils: I love lavender, lemon, patchouly, and sandalwood.

• Paper Punches - used is fine. 1" square, circular, tag, or any shapes would be great.

• Craft Magazines that You Are Done Looking At - Ones that I enjoy are Living Crafts, Home Companion, Somerset Studio, Cotton Time, and any craft magazine (especially ones that focus on paper crafts and scrapbooking).

• Eraser Carving Kit - Saw one on Etsy that I really like that included a Speedball Carving Handle, 3 different Speedball cutters (blades-#1 small V, #2 large V, #5 large U), and various rectangle and novelty erasers. If you have any of these items that you no longer need...I can put them to good use.

• Something for my Daughters - If anyone feels inclined to send something to the girls, I know they would LOVE it.

~~~~~~~ Please Note: Please do not send items that smell of smoke. I have asthma and allergies (Sophia has allergies as well), and smoke is something neither of us can handle well. Even if your item is beautifully constructed, but it smells of smoke, I unfortunately cannot have it in the home. Thank you for understanding. ~~~~~~~

Sophia - is 8 1/2 years old and likes:

• anything that is pink or purple

• unicorns

• fairies

• horses

• cats

• gum (mint flavor)

• craft supplies (for collage, stickers, drawing, and coloring)

• fancy barrettes or pony tail holders

• American Girl items (used is fine…anything your daughter no longer uses),

• Barbie doll clothes and/or accessories

• anything about veterinarians. She is thinking that she would like to become a veterinarian, so anything about veterinarians, becoming a veterinarian, working with animals, or items that she can use for pretend-play would be wonderful.

Olivia - is 6 1/2 years old and likes:

• anything that is red or blue

• otters - this is her new favorite...can't seem to get enough of otters!

• pandas

• lions

• horses

• Skittles

• painting kits (she LOVES to paint)

• things to color

• anything related to "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" and Aslan

• Barbie doll clothes and/or accessories

• anything related to pandas. She wants to grow up and "work with pandas" - so anything related to pandas, caring for pandas, studying pandas, or items she could use in her pretend-play would be wonderful.