moonswings

I've been participating in a lot of postcard and postage stamps, and I've really appreciated reading people's profiles to get an idea of likes & dislikes. In that vein:

POSTCARDS - I really love vintage (or vintage-style) postcards with images of women, children, birds, botanicals/flowers, butterflies and dogs.

I also love postcards from Paris, France and Venice, Italy (vintage or contemporary - I like them all!).

I prefer my postcards to arrive naked (as opposed to in an envelope), and my favorite part is usually the postage stamps used to mail them.

POSTAGE STAMPS - I'm not a fan of stamps with men or flags on them, but I do love stamps from France and Italy, or stamps from anywhere that feature flowers, birds, butterflies, elephants, dogs, dragonflies, pigs, and pretty much any other animal.

My name is Katherine, I'm in my mid=40's, and my husband and I have been married for 16 years. We don't have any children yet, but we're in the process of adopting a newborn domestically. In the meantime, we're spoiling our 12-year-old beagle-beasties, Chuck and Chippie.

We live in Michigan, which is lovely in the spring, summer and fall; but I hate Michigan's long, cold and gray winters - they can be very depressing for someone like me who hates the cold and has zero interest in snow/ice sports.

I was born to be an artist. My first memory of playing with art is being 3 years old and coming across a bottle of Elmer's glue and a jar of multi-colored glitter. I snuck 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! :-)

More than 35 years later, I STILL can’t get enough of glitter, and I've developed a magnificent passion for paper along the way, as well. It doesn't matter that I have more than a few thousand different kinds of paper already - if it's a new one that I don't have yet, I MUST have it! :)

I studied music in undergrad with a 4-year scholarship, and I still enjoy composing music in a classical style for piano, solo voice, choirs and orchestras.

I also enjoy listening to classical music, and 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 about Bach, Brahms, Beethoven and Vivaldi for hours! :)

Another kind of music I really enjoy is classic jazz, especially the old-style vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong, and their peers.

I LOVE reading contemporary fiction, love, Love, LOVE it! One of the pleasures that hubby and I share is a love of reading before bed (I imagine that'll change if we ever become parents).

I read an average of two novels a week, and I especially enjoy reading mysteries that are categorized as either psychological thrillers or archeological thrillers (Dan Brown, etc).

I don't like true crime, horror, or vampire/fantasy books, though. I just get too scared, too quickly & easily. Suspense I can handle, but blood & gore? Not so much.

Three of my most favorite books so far are "The Shadow Of The Wind," "The Thirteenth Tale," and "The Time Traveler's Wife." Loved them immensely. I also love the novels of Dan Brown, Mary Higgins Clark, Jonathan Kellerman, Jodi Picoult and Stephen White.

Papercrafts are, by far, my very favorite, and I make LOTS of ATCs, greeting cards, handmade books, and altered books. In fact, I teach classes on making ATCs, hamdmade books, art journals, and altered books - how cool is that? I get paid to play!

I've been making large abstract art pieces by collaging some of my favorite handmade and specialty papers, focusing more on the colors and textures than the overall design.

I also enjoy crocheting, and often have a blanket project in progress (which I tend to work on only when we're traveling and I'm stuck in a car).

I recently discovered loom knitting - and I'm hooked (ha ha!). I've been making scarves and hats and now I'm going to try my hand at an afghan on the loom - so if you know of any easy patterns for knitting a loom afghan, let me know! :)

COLORS: deep jewel-toned shades of amethyst, sapphire, ruby and emerald (not a fan of pastels, black, gray, brown or beige)

IMAGES: women, children, birds, butterflies, dogs, elephants, pigs, birds, windows, doors

CRAFT SUPPLIES: rich, luxurious ribbons and fibers, beautifully textured papers, sophisticated stickers and die-cuts, laser printed clip art collage sheets, vintage laces

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!

VACATION SPOT: Venice, Italy

I scare easily, and I really do not like things that might be considered scary or macabre, especially old doll faces - some of them REALLY FREAK ME OUT! Actually, all toys/stuffed animals with pointy teeth or horns or scary eyes just give me the creeps!

I'm also totally freaked out by bugs, robots, skulls, skeletons, vampires, witches... Yeah, I'm a wimp, but I'm okay with that. And yes, I have a therapist to help me work through my neuroses. Thanks for your concern. :-)

I'm also not much of a fan of cutesy or cartoon-y things like Hello Kitty or Kawaii or anything featuring tons of pastel colors.

And I really hate the smell of cigarette smoke on things that get mailed to me, so I usually just throw it right into the trash. Sorry - it's not that I judge smokers, it's just that I can't stand the smell.