jaz1yn

Hello to anyone and everyone who's reading this. I will be on a swap break for sometime (need to focus on other things in my life), but will check in from time to time, especially if I have a new message(s) in my inbox. Goodbye (for now)!

Hi. :) I am 26, married, and have a three-year-old son. I'm more artsy than craftsy. Not sure what else to say... if you have a question, feel free to ask!

The things I've been doing lately are drawing and mixed media art (usually involves some basic painting), but I also occasionally make cards, ATCs/ACEOs (don't collect them though), collages, postcards and jewelry. I have also been doing some sewing on occasion (by hand at home and also using a machine... my aunt owns a tailor shop and I've gone a couple times to learn how to use a sewing machine and am saving up to buy my own). Would love to learn how to crochet and knit someday also, but that's not a very high priority at this point. (Already own several sets of knitting needles and hooks.) Another couple crafts I'd like to learn/try eventually: cross stitch, embroidering and quilting (once my sewing skills are good enough).

Aside from art, my hobbies and interests include: Postcrossing (recently reactivated my account), cooking and baking, listening to music and sometimes singing/dancing along, thrift shopping, taking pictures, walking, managing my online store (I sell mostly vintage things but some random supplies too), clothes swapping (mostly online), various internet activities, traveling and writing letters.

Random likes: murals, urban/public art, installation art, libraries, dark chocolate, candy/sweets, savory snacks, fruit, Thai food, colorful things, vintage items and vintage supplies/random things that can be used in art. Oh and pictures of post office mail boxes from different countries... So far I have ones from Spain (Barcelona), Monaco, the Vatican City and Italy (Pisa) that I took.

On books, movies, TV and music: For books I am a mostly fantasy and YA/adult paranormal (vamp/were/shifter/witch/etc.) kind of person, but would like to have more "classics" under my belt. My favorite series so far has been Harry Potter and my favorite stand alone novel is The Alchemist. Honestly I've got all the books I need right now; there's a lot that I own that I haven't gotten to yet. I don't watch very many movies, but I tend to like musicals, romantic comedies, Disney Pixar and films with race as a theme. (When Harry Met Sally is my favorite movie.) We don't have cable so the only shows that I watch are The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle (both based on books by L.J. Smith, my favorite YA author growing up). True Blood is great also, but we (my husband and I) are still working on season 3 (hard to find time to watch it together and if we do sometimes we are interrupted by our son!). For music lately I've been tuning into my local oldies/"classic hits" station, 3WS, but I do really like a variety of music... I just kind of go through phases (a while ago I was really into Michael Jackson and before that it was The Beach Boys). My favorite band is The Beatles.

I suppose lists are easier to read so here's a list of items I collect/use:

• vintage playing cards (especially owls)
• used postage stamps (favorite topics are odd-shaped stamps not rectangular or square, fruit, candy/sweets, hearts/love, mail-related, maps, bicycles, wild animals, owls, bubbles, Western and Chinese/lunar zodiacs, flowers... current countries' stamps I'd love to receive are the UK and France)
• air mail labels
• vintage papers (i.e. wallpaper, gift wrap)
• postcards (like to receive them in an envelope so I can get the stamp(s))... here is a link to some of my favorites
• vintage sew-on buttons
• keys, especially interesting or vintage ones
• vintage flower brooches
• Art supplies in general!

Wishlist:

• items from my Amazon or Etsy wishlists
• Rain boots size 9, 9.5 or 10 toddler for my son.
• cradled artists' boards or wood panels 4"x4" or larger (unfinished surface or gessoed)
• pre-stretched canvases 4"x4" or larger (studio or gallery with the staples on the back not on the sides)
• LEGOs for my son (doesn't have any)
• acrylic artists' ink/fluid acrylics (have one bottle in black and would like to use/experiment with more)
• copyright-free design/image books (Dover publishes a lot of these)
• vintage stationery (a tablet or sheets of nice writing paper is of higher priority than envelopes)
• deco tape or decorative fabric tape (not kawaii)
• envelope template(s)
• T-square
• pretty papers (sorry to be particular but I really only would like ones from specialty stores/sites like Paper-Source/Paper Studio/Paper Mojo... I don't need anymore scrapbooking paper)
• video games: Fallout New Vegas and Mass Effect for my husband (for the PC only he prefers playing on the computer)
• Casual short-sleeve or sleeveless/tank dresses (size 2/3 or XS in misses'/S in junior's). Ideally I like dresses to be slightly above the knee in length and if it helps any I am petite and about 5'1". Thrifted/used/vintage is fine, but please do not send clothes that have pilling, holes, stains, etc. Thanks!

Please do not send:

• dotees, ATCs, inchies, matchboxes, zines, altered bottle caps (do not collect/not interested)
• bookmarks (I have more than I know what to do with now)
• coffee, tea, licorice, food/sweets with artificial sweeteners
• mushroom, tofu, olive anything
• kawaii/cutesy/kid stickers
• erasers and pencils
• kids' character items (i.e. Winnie-the-Pooh)
• cosmetics, perfume or scented things, hair/bath/body products, lotion
• vampire/were/paranormal things (I do like them in books and TV but would rather not have them on stuff)
• scary or gory anything (includes skulls)
• political or religious* items with a few exceptions (*cutesy Christmas cards are okay (please no Jesus/nativity scenes/etc.), Christmas ornaments (love decorating the tree... FYI my husband is Catholic but I am agnostic/borderline atheist), Lunar New Year anything because I grew up celebrating it and still do with my family)
• alcohol or drug-related items
• patriotic or military-related items
• video game-related items unless it's one of the two games I listed that I'd like to get for my husband

Thank you very much!

^ = left me a rating/acknowledged item was received

To send:

• @OverMoon part 2 of our private swap

Sent/waiting for ratings from:

• @msteacher Your Trash, My Treasure II
• @JessiBessiBEE weekly wrap postcard swap #4 sent June 20
• @mausebabyle for our private swap August 27
• @Clstew for our private swap October 18

Flakers:

• @weeatcrayons ATC Pay it Back forum tag (July 2008, contacted multiple times, said would send but never did)
• iheartswap for a private swap I sent November 13, 2007
• @Adrienne for paper surprise ball!!!^ private swap (I sent May 7 and send by date was June 15)
• @craftyincanada for Collage Images (International!)
• @Adriotsticklac for Make Me a Collage