stephiedee

Last big update: May 2013

My name's Stephanie. I'm a: mother to one teenager, homemaker, girlfriend, artist, crafter, cook, dork, nerd, introvert, humanist, board gamer and extremely poor bowler when sober. My family and I live in Tallahassee, Florida. That's the state capital, kids!

When I'm not doing boring housework, I am either making art or mindlessly surfing the internet, soaking up memes and inspiration. When I am not doing any of those, I'm out thrift shopping at some of the many awesome second-hand shops my city has to offer (it's, like, totally a goldmine of used crap, for real).

I come from a long line of makers and craftspeople; wood workers, seamstresses, painters...my mom was and still is the queen of making things. She has always supported and encouraged me to pursue my own creativity, and today I have a deep-burning passion for all things handmade. Collage, mixed-media and other paper-based arts are where I'm focused most; I love mail art, assemblages, altered art, art cards and anything else involving cutting & pasting paper. For the most part, my creative style involves lots of bright colors, bold design & upbeat themes. I use a lot of recycled, found & scrap materials in my work and like to have fun playing with textures, patterns and arrangements.

I update my Flickr regularly with whatever I'm doing at the moment and also have a Tumblr for more behind-the-scenes stuff. Check 'em out and let me know what you think!

I'm mostly here to connect with other artists and share/exchange art, ideas and supplies. I do like to shake things up a bit and swap store-bought things from time-to-time, too; flat, fun and inexpensive things like postcards, notecards, stickers and stuff.

I've got all manner of collage goodies to share. Loads of decorative papers, book & magazine clippings (I've got 'em stacked all over - 200+ and going strong), bits & bobs, trimmings, fabric, random crap my mom collects for me knowing I'll make use of it somehow. I love putting together de-stash packages, paper bundles & collage kits.

Other than art supplies: we could trade books (see my Goodreads), pressed pennies, original photography (I tried my hand at being a shutterbug for a few years; still have the tools, but my eyes are focused elsewhere), pretty (reusable) grocery totes, bumper stickers (more often than not I use them to decorate packages), magnets, even SpongeBob SquarePants kid's meal toys.

You can also find some ready-made creations in my "for trade" set on Flickr. I'm not necessarily looking for like-for-like trades, so feel free to make suggestions if you want anything you see there.

I am a pretty easy-going person (minus the social anxiety, caffeine dependence and early morning hatred of all things moving and talking). I'm a cheap date, a straight-talker and don't offend easily. Relax, this won't hurt a bit.

There is no way I could ever list every single thing I love, like, admire or covet. I like uh lot of stuff and junk. Spin your wheel of themes and imagery and chances are you'll land on something I like. If you're making something for me for a swap, just go with your gut. Make something in your style. I'd love to see your artwork.

Though because I hate going to a profile and reading, "I like everything!" (no you don't shut up), here are the ubiquitous like/dislike lists...to give you some ideas.

Things I Love:

• paper - all of it - small scraps, big pieces, holey punched pieces
• colors - BRIGHT, BOLD colors - all of them
• clowns - scary, funny, sad, weird
• Darth Vader
• science - all branches: earth, medical, anatomy, astronomy, social...
• stars, circles, polka dots, hearts, arrows
• dinosaurs
• flat stickers - any theme
• found poetry
• Roger from American Dad
• cheeseburgers
• knick knacks, tchotchkes & dust collectors
• iconography: calacas, Buddha, Budai, hands, hamsa, mudrās
• sappy quotes on following your dreams and believing in yourself
• chickens, horses, ponies, cows, goats, piglets - the whole barnyard, basically
• any and all birds
• gibbons, zebras, dolphins, giraffes
• Adult Swim
• history
• modern ephemera
• pop culture
• Feminism
• Boho, hippie, ethnic, world art (think World Market, Pier1 stuff)
• cartoons, comic books, webcomics, vinyl toys
• graphic design
• Parks & Rec
• body positivity
• graffiti
• stand-up comedy
• Patti Smith
• low brow art, outsider art
• Defiance (a new show on SyFy - it's actually good!)
• Boston Terriers
• second gen Chevrolet Chevelles
• collage fodder
• e.e. cummings
• deep-sea diving helmets
• sideshows, carnivals, fairs
• the 60's, 70's & 80's
• diversity
• The Fifth Element
• STAR WARS
  .

Things I DO NOT Love:

• SHARKS - I have one of them there phobias; in this case it's called "Selachophobia" and it is serious business, so pretty please save your shark images, artwork, postcards, etc. for other people.

• girly, twee, sickeningly sweet stuff: Hello Kitty, frills, bows, bling, cute food, cute skulls, "cutified" anything, random mustaches, washed out pastels...

• last but not least: theistic ideology, religious literature, bible quotes, "bible thumping," passive aggressively showing someone "the error of their ways" because they don't have the same beliefs you do. I am a Humanist and an atheist. In a nutshell, it means I believe that human beings are entirely responsible for their own awesomeness AND that I do not believe in any higher, supernatural or metaphysical forces. That's it. I don't worship the devil or eat baby hearts. I don't hate Christians or Muslims or Jewish people. I am capable of coexisting peacefully among peaceful people.

Things I'm Not Interested in Swapping:

Food, candy, drink mixes, tea bags; slams, decos, FB's, pen-pal letters; jewelry, makeup, body products; coupons, recipes; children, in-laws, boyfriends, craftrooms, chores.

;P

• Special Project! I am in the process of gathering things to make a weird-wacky-funny shadowbox/assemblage for myself (think carnival, retro toy box, 80's cartoons, random grab bag-o-fun). I have the box and already have a lot of toys and knick knacks collected to fill it out, but if you have anything you think might work for it, the more the merrier. Even flat, paper things. Just shoot me a PM and we can set up a private swap.

• Most of my swapping activity is wrapped up in my own group, Cut+Paste. I'm active there as a founder and host, so should you ever have any problems or need help with anything regarding the group, don't hesitate to PM me.

• I take swapping here seriously - as serious as one can while still having fun. I rate fairly & thoughtfully, respect deadlines, communicate easily, am conscientious about packing & shipping and never take anything on that I'm not certain I can complete to my own personal standards.

• PRIVATE SWAPS? Yes, bring them on! Doesn't have to be anything super posh or fancy (because I am neither): handmade/store-bought postcards, stash goodies, ATC's, anything you've seen mentioned in the sea of words above. Newbies wanting to establish ratings welcome (but only if you've got a link to some other established online presence on your profile, e.g., an up-to-date blog or Flickr -- makes me feel a little more at ease when dealing with anonymous "gray faces").

«Sent»

PRIVATE: Let's Be Mail Art Pals!
Handmade Envelopes: EDITED
Notecard Scavenger Hunt
C+P Scavenger Hunt Postcard #3
PRIVATE: sCRAPs Destash

«Working On»

C+P Paper Punch ATC

«Done & Ready To Send»

Beer Box PC swap

«To-Do»

C+P Nature Mail Art
Trashy Postcard
Mmm...Mixed Media Masterboard

Please note: I try and limit my trips to the post office to 1 or 2 times a week (usually Mon/Tues &/or Sat). My complex's outgoing mail receptacle just can't accommodate all that I send out, so I have to (and prefer to anyway) drop my mail off in my PO's lobby.