moonswings

please Please PLEASE do not send extras! I'm attempting to de-stash my studio before it takes over the house. :-)

I'm Katherine, a professional genealogical researcher, speaker, and educator. I am self-employed and work full-time from home doing research for clients or preparing genealogy presentations for conferences and institutes.

My husband & I have been married for 25+ years, and have always lived in Michigan, which is lovely in the spring, summer and fall. Winter is another matter entirely (unless you love the cold and snow).

We don't have any children but have an adorable 9-year-old little beagle/Jack Russel named James. We recently moved to a rural piece of property out in the country, and James loves being a country dog.

I was born to be an artist. My first creative memory is of being 3 years old and coming across a bottle of Elmer's glue and a jar of multi-colored glitter. I took them both into my bedroom, tipped the glue upside down, and watched in amazement as it pooled into a palm-sized puddle on the shag carpeting. After rubbing it deeper into the carpet, I added a healthy sprinkling of the glitter, rubbed that deeper into the carpet, and was delighted at the resulting creation! My mother, discovering the hard, dried palm-sized creation a week later, was not so delighted.

50+ years later, I still cannot get enough of glitter (especially in shades of bright pink/fuchsia), and I've developed a magnificent passion for paper, as well. During our recent move, I discovered I have enough specialty paper to last me for about 5 more lifetimes. :-)

I studied music in undergrad with a 4-year music scholarship focused on composing music in a classical style for piano, choirs & orchestras.

I also enjoy listening to classical music, but I'm basically contemporary-music illiterate. I have no idea who's popular these days in pop, rock, country, folk, rap, etc., but I can talk for hours about Bach, Brahms, Beethoven and Vivaldi! :-)

I love reading contemporary fiction, especially cozy mysteries by female authors. But my favorite books are all of Carlos Ruiz Zafon's books, and Pamela Schoenewaldt's books. Both authors' writings are so incredibly different from one another, but I love them immensely and re-read their work every couple of years.

Papercrafts are, by far, my favorite. For many years, I taught various paper arts classes at our local Rec & Ed. I love making greeting cards (which I've done almost exclusively for the past few years), ATCs, art journals, handmade books, and altered books.

I collect new or used stamps from any country to use in artwork. I prefer vintage (pre-1970) stamps that were printed with only a single color, regardless of subject matter. I especially like the old 1¢ through 10¢ stamps (including the 1/2 ¢ stamps) that are printed in all blue, all green, all red, all brown, or all purple/pink. If you do not have these for a swap, my next favorite are those with birds or butterflies.

COLORS: My favorite color is glitter! Especially if it's pink/fuchsia. I also love deep, vibrant jewel-toned shades of amethyst, sapphire, ruby, and emerald.

IMAGES: Birds, butterflies, flowers, trees, maps, sheet music, oceans/lakes/streams, mountains, farm animals, dogs

CRAFT SUPPLIES: 8.5x11 sheets of white & ivory cardstock for card-making, glitter cardstock, specialty papers, and Stickles glitter glue

DRINKS: coffee (unflavored) w/cream, semi-sweet white wines, and bourbon

VACATION SPOTS: Venice, Italy; Paris, France; any rural English, Irish, or Scottish countryside; and deserts in the American southwest.

HOLIDAY: Christmas, but I'm not Christian. I just love the holiday cheer, the reds & golds, the candles & lights, the Christmas tree & greens on the fireplace mantles, the carols... I love it all!

Please do not send extras of anything - I'm undertaking a massive de-stashing of my art studio.

I scare easily & dislike things that might be considered scary, dark or macabre. I'm also not a fan of cutesy or cartoon-y things. Please don't send the following:

• bugs
• robots
• skulls
• skeletons
• vampires
• zombies
• witches
• doll faces
• clown faces
• Hello Kitty
• Kawaii or similar
• anything religious
• anything sci-fi or post-apocalyptic
• anything with smoking odors