vintageartchic

June 6, 2012 UPDATE: Hello Swap-bot! Haven't been actively participating in Swap-bot for about a year now and I have really missed you all. Had a family set-back. But now I'm hopefully back for good! I'd like to start over. So please give me a chance to get back rollin'. The Summer is here an I look forward to some cool new swaps and meeting new friends!

About ME...

I am a 40something married mom of 5 kiddos! Stepson will be 18 in October. An 11 year old little Miss Trendy daughter, A 10 year old purple fashionista daughter, An 8 year old punky princess daughter, and A 7 year old preppy son...the loves of my life.

Now, as you enter my personal space, you will find that I am in love with everything VINTAGE - portraits, especially flappers, fashions, families, anything 1800's, early 1900's to 1960's. I am a Victorian Era JUNKIE! I love vintage cars and motorcycles and we know there is only one bike...A HARLEY!). So I guess it would be "a given" to say that I'm an ABSOLUTE Thriftstore/Estate Sale Addict!

I love any shade of pink. I love any shade of green. I also love shades of grey. I love black and white too!

My favorite foods are Asian and Italian. My favorite candies are LEMONHEADS! Twizzlers (Strawberry only) and anything mint.

My favorite animals are monkeys, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs and elephants.

My favorite country is USA 'cause that's where I "hang my hat!" ; and my 2nd favorite country is Italy...so romantic!

I love Lady Diana, Jackie O, Mother Theresa and Mahatma Ghandi. My favorite flower is the calla lilly. My favorite season is Winter so I can wear my leathers, boots, and cool vintage (thrift store/estate) coats and jackets.

My favorite holiday is CHRISTMAS because I love happy surprised faces of everyone giving and opening their gifts and most of all a chance to celebrate Jesus! I prefer non-traditional Christmas colors like plumb, wine, antique white, iced blue, lime green (you know the "Martha Stewart" Christmas colors). If my husband would let me...I'd keep my Christmas tree up all year. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's ornaments are colored Gold, Grape, Green and Antique White...Absolutely dreamy! I also LOVE SNOWMEN!

I looove homemade aprons...my grandmother use to make these for all the daughters and granddaughters. I love vintage homemaker books. I love vintage cookbooks. I love vintage childrearing books. I love the mountains. My favorite drinks are hot chocolate and decaf. tea. I love kitchen gadgets. I love to cook with herbs.

I NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT MY CAMERA! I loooove to take pictures and put them in vintage looking or leatherette photo albums. If I could "scrap" all the pictures I've taken, I would probably need to build a storage space to house all of the albums!

My favorite crafts are Scrapbooking (could use more kid stuff, ribbons, buttons and baby stuff now that I have a BRAND new God-son named Joshua)

Quilting (making a lavendar and white baby quilt now. Could use some 6x6 squares)

ATC's (Atc starter paper, stickers and embellies are needed as I've just gotten back into making these. Would twirl with bliss if you included plastic covers. Hard to find where I live)

Journals, Chunkie books, altered books love, love to decorate and make these! (So if you want to get me some embellies for me...vintage enphermia, old newspaper clippings, old book pages, anything written in other languages would be so nice to have.

I love the Bible...I collect vintage King James Versions of the Bible with genuine leather covers intact or not.

I looove "how to books" how to be a better mom, and wife.

I love vintage cookbooks, etiquette books, dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias, and rules for writers new and vintage.

I LOVE BARNES & NOBLE! I love any book with a happy ending.

This is what I wish I had...

1. Vintage scrapbook embellies, like old lace, old mini flowers, buttons etc.

2. Another apron and

3. Blue willow china pieces...don't have to match

4. Vintage hats (I redecorate them, wear some and hang some as art in my craft room.)

5. First Lady Stuff (Anything that is about or has a picture of any of the 44 US President's wives on/in it.)

6. ANYTHING BIRDS! Especially peacocks and blue birds

7. Anything Blueberries. So hard to find blueberry vines to decorate wreaths. Would absolutely "spin in bliss" if you sent me anything with blueberries on it, in it, or made of it! Including decorations, candles, soaps, blueberry essential oil and recipes.

8. Homemade soaps, candles, and lotions...NO lavender please, makes me sneeze! Great choices in health food stores, and spas.

9. Peacock feathers...almost all of my flower arrangements in my house have peacock feathers in them!

10. Vintage purses...you know the one's your grandma would have taken to the general store or your mom would have taken to church!

11. Anything Mother of Pearl

12. Anything roosters, chickens, nests and eggs

13. Anything velvet or brocade

14. "O" (Oprah) magazines; Better Home and Garden magazines; Any Martha Stewart magazines; Traditional Home magazines; Country Living magazines...past and present issues

I love trees and anything tree related. Even my maiden name means DWELLER BY THE ELM TREE; so I am particularly fond of Elm trees and Magnolia trees but love all trees. I am in love with estate and vintage looking necklaces and brooches (cameos, peacocks, butterflies, and crowns are my brooch favs!). I loooooove gaudy estate or costume rings size 7.5 to 8 (or adjustable). I have a brand new love...jade jewelry. Anything jade would make me twirl with delight! :) I DO NOT wear earrings. I collect fashion magazines (I would love to get some international fashion magazines), home improvement magazines, any kinda tool for home improvement projects, journals (I have been a journal junkie since junior high school!), blank books, teapots, anything with queens or kings on it, home decor eggs, castles and crowns or tiaras and ANYTHING BLUE WILLOW!

Anything THAT SMELLs SWEET especially Body & Bathworks/Victoria's Secret Apple, Pear, Orange blossom etc. and Peppermint scents, Lemon Scents, Cinammon Scents, Strawberry, Coconut, Banana and Chocolate Scents. I am allergic to designer perfumes but light body sprays, oils and body butters are just PERFECT!

COMEDIES ARE MY LIFE'S MEDICINE! Whenever I am sick, sad, depressed or just generally experiencing the blues, I take a spoonful of comedy to feel better. (Just make sure they are DVD's) I love any movie by Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock or with Sean Connery in it. I LOVE ANY LOVE STORY! I love drama and suspense. PLEASE NO HORROR FLICKS, NOTHING "JASON" OR "HALLOWEEN"ish. Though I do like Vampire flix just to get ideas for vintage costumes. I turn the volume off and pause and sketch the outfits.

I'm one of those normally reserved kinda people but for "one minute" BECOME THE LIFE OF THE PARTY...I got sorta like the Cinderella Syndrome. I'm fine in the background but put me in the spotlight and I WILL SHINE and do well at center stage...but I can't stay there, my carriage turns into a pumpkin at midnight! :) I'm most comfortable at being the planner, the coordinator, the marketer, the fundraiser, the writer, and the promoter. I'm serious about living life on purpose with as few regrets as possible but I also value taking time out to reflect, relax, laugh and make other people laugh! Sometimes my humor can be a little "dry" but it's funny none-the-less. I am a Christian but one that truly tries to live the life and not just talk about it. I'm not one to CRAM religion down anyone's throat. I just let you see God through the way I live and treat people everyday! I am a chameleon...I can adapt very well to any situation and always the optimist in the crowd. I want to see things get done the right way, the most economical way, but for the good of all. I'm just one of those cool people that you meet when you're walking down the street that you can talk to and feel like you've known me all your life.