joyceann888

A sure way to get a heart on a swap is to use one or more 2012 Year of the Dragon stamps from any country on the envelope or include used ones inside! I would welcome current and past Chinese (Lunar) New Year stamps from any country!

I always send out my swaps, usually right after the partners are assigned. If you don't get one from me, it's lost in the mail. Please let me know so that I can resend.

Here are some fun, odd, etc. facts about me:

• Travel - we have a travel trailer. The mountains, especially Colorado, are my favorite place. I was born in Colorado, so I love the chance to visit "home" again.

• Reading - anything but bloody stories. Especially books on women in the Old West.

• Letterboxing - see www.atlasquest.com for more info.

• Quilting & crocheting - Hand quilting is my favorite part. I'd rather thread crochet than use yarn.

• Paper crafts - I love working with paper. My favorite paper activities are altered books and rolodex cards, which I totally love creating. I have an open rotary file for the smaller rolodex cards and no holder yet for the 3" X 5" cards (I would love to find an open rotary file for the 3" X 5" cards, too.)

• I love felt and crochet. I really enjoy filet crochet and fun felt projects.

• Junk Journals and Smash Books - I'm loving making and filling these!!! I can finally use all of that stuff I've been hanging on to for years - LOL!

• I've discovered slams, sticker books and stamp bags, etc. What fun!

• Altered Books - I'm hooked!!.

• Altered Rolodex Cards - small, yet so much fun!

• Popcorn - the perfect food!

• Bats - I'm a cave fanatic (over 60 caves so far). I collect anything to do with bats.

• Moose - I love these guys. I have lots of moose items, as well.

• Reindeer / Caribou - see moose

• Armadillos - living in Texas, I've come to really like armadillos - postcards, stuffed, etc.

• Owls - owls are a new favorite of mine, especially postcards and pins/pendants.

• Mountains - especially in Colorado. This is my favorite place to be.

• Altered books. Since I enjoy doing these, I'm always looking for goodies to use in them.

• Purple - my favorite color. I also like peach and teal. Really I like almost every shade of purple (lavenders, lilacs, etc., too) and almost every green.

• Tea - I'm a devoted tea drinker. My preference is for black teas. I don't like coffee flavor in anything.

• Postage Stamps - I would call myself a casual collector. I love postage stamps and keep my favorites. The rest I trade with others. Some of my favorite themes are bats, moose, woodland and mountain animals, teapots, Chinese (Lunar) New Year, Christmas, Colorado, rocks and minerals, and the British Machin series.

• I'm a collector at heart. My family says that I have collections of collections. Some of my collections are listed below.

• Yellow is my least favorite color. I'm blond and fair-skinned, so I can't wear it either. My face just disappears.

• I love journals, especially doing altered journals. My favorite size is the 4" X 6" size. I tend to prefer ones with blank pages.

• Unfortunately, I'm sensitive to most scents. They give me headaches. I can't do scented candles, bath products or even perfumes. I've only found one perfume in my whole life that I could wear.

Here is a list of the postcard themes that I really like:

• all black "by night" cards
• bats (the flying mammal)
• caribou & reindeer
• aspen trees
• caves
• cows
• gems and jewels
• lava
• map cards
• moose
• mountains
• owls
• rocks and stones
• rubber ducks
• teapots
• volcano (active)
• wild cats
• wildflowers, especially columbines

Here are some of the things I collect: (** - my favorite collections)

• cardboard/paper coffee cuffs*****
• coffee club cards (business card size; buy 10, get one free, etc. Also called "loyalty cards")*****
• bats - anything with bats (the flying mammal). I LOVE bats.*******
• ace of spades and jokers from decks of cards****
• vintage handkerchiefs with purple flowers on them
• miniature perfume bottles (ones specific to a scent)
• moose - small items with moose (stickers, pins, etc.)**
• owls - pins, pendants and on paper****
• teapots by Hall China Company***
• needle threaders
• Christmas tree pins with rhinestones**
• rubber ducks*
• spark plug gappers
• teapot pins
• troll dolls
• postcards (see list above)**