4/15/2022

Due to my vision changes and the poor lighting in my current creative space, my husband and son will be moving my craftroom to a different part of our home now. Please remain patient with me as we get things into good working order. I’m still slowly moving my supplies out of our storage unit (following the pipe burst in our walls last fall/winter). My swap participation AND coordination will remain minimal during the transition period. Thank you for understanding.

This is my actual mailbox. I use it to send swaps on-time, if not early.

Partner/Coordinator Communication will take place should this status change for any reason.

Missing Mail? Please direct message me before rating. I keep a photo-log of swap contents and packaging.

Spoiler-Alert: My Flickr account often has photographs of swaps I’ve sent.

Postage Due? I have a postal scale. 😁 But, if this happens to you please email a picture of your receipt to me and I will promptly reimburse via PayPal or Zelle. My email is Lokahi1900[at]yahoo.com. Or, if you prefer unused USPS postage stamps, I’m also happy to mail you those in-kind. I do apologize for the inconvenience.

Allergy Alert: My home is pet-friendly, but smoke-free. I also shed a lot, due to Hashimoto’s. I apologize ahead of time if there’s anything stuck in packing tape. Sometimes this happens, and I understand how unsightly that can be, so I do try hard to only send shed-free mail. 😆 🤞🏾

Please scroll down to “Do Not Send” section if you’re just here to review my 🛑 Dislikes list. 🛑 Thank you for your consideration!

❤️🧡💛💚💙💖💜🤎🖤🤍

My Motivational Word for 2022: Simplicity (2021 was “gratitude” & 2020 is when I started WOTY with “balance”). I like to pick an encouraging quote to go with my word, to help me remember to practice it regularly. 😉

“He who is contented is rich.” — Lao Tzu

🌺Aloha!🌺

My name is 🎵Harmony Joy🎶 I like both my first and middle name as a reminder of who I'm called to be. Others refer to me as either "Harmony", "Joy", "Harmony-Joy" or 🍪"Cookie" (because of my last name) - call me whichever you please, just don't call me late for dinner! 🤣

My name is musically-inspired because both of my biological parents are hippies. I am a Berkeley ☮️-born and Nor-Cal foster-system raised “love-child”, who currently lives on the other side of the nation. I met & married my husband in the Sunshine State, while we were both active-duty Air Force.

"Children are not distractions from more important work. They are the most important work." --C.S. Lewis 💞👩🏽‍💻👩🏽‍🎨👩🏽‍🏫👷🏽‍♂️👨🏽‍🎓💞

Together, we have three children (2 daughters, 1 son). Being “Mama Bear” is my favorite part of life, and I literally get more excited about 💙 Mother’s Day than my own birthday!🎁 The title also includes all my animals (past & present). 😉

🐾 At the moment, our fur-family consists of 3 feline & 3 canine rescues: Kyna (a Carolina Dog) and Ella (a Great Dane & Pointer mix), plus a Pit-bull "grand-dog" named Luna, two tortoiseshell shorthair "grand-kittens" named Lily and Piper & Theo, who is my ginger tabby grand-cat.🐾

Perhaps you can surmise that I've always really enjoyed my animals. I think my pets help me cope with “people problems” better. 😉

Whether finned, feathered, furry, or humanoid animals, my ohana really is “my whole world” 💕🌎 And I believe that family is who we make it (beyond DNA).

I’m proud to be a Mama Bear! 🐻🧸 Which is just one more reason why Bettie White will always be my favorite Golden Girl! R.I.P.

My family says I’m “the jack of all trades, master of some.” 😆 I’m simply never bored! 🎨

So, besides my “V.I.Peeps”, I also enjoy many Hobbies:

• (indoor) Alterations, Art-Journaling, Ballroom Dancing, Card-Making, Coloring, Crocheting, DIY, Face-Painting, Genealogy, Painting, Paper-Making, Pottery, Pressed Flower Craft (oshibana), Reading, Sewing, Smash/Scrap-booking, Watching Movies, Weaving, and West African Dancing.

(I own a Gemini Pro, Sizzix Big Shot Plus, Portable Tim Holtz Sidekick, & Cricut Explore Air2)

• (outdoor) Fishing, Hiking, Horseback Riding, Hula Dancing, Kayaking, Rollerblading, Shooting, Stand-up Paddle Boarding, Swimming, and Shopping.

• I 💙 crafting! I like to try new techniques too. My new-found interests are ATCs & APCs. However, my portfolio is varied from fiber arts and beading to woodwork and pyrography. My style often varies and is sometimes "moody" because I tend to make what I feel. Most of the time I embrace the mixed-media, distressed looks of inky grunge and painterly splatters. However, I enjoy the beauty of clean-and-simple (CAS) designs too.

Due to health issues, I sometimes have hand tremors and vision problems. So, there are days that I cannot art as well as others. Simply know that I always give projects my best efforts and I may send swaps very close to their deadline date because it allows me more time to create “acceptable” art to share. I’m still learning to accept imperfections as beautiful, unique qualities and adapt my methods accordingly. I truly appreciate your patience with me. 😊

• My current collections are: Cartophilia (trading cards) to include ATC/APC and the 7-of-❤️’s playing card (in all sizes & shapes), Deltiology (postcards), and Philately (postal/mail related stuff).

• I enjoy listening to audiobooks & many different genres of music. My go-to’s are usually classic rock & reggae. I have an all-in-one Radio/CD/Cassette/Record Player in my craft-room, and I 🖤 my vintage vinyl! Even in silence, I often have a tune playing in my head! 🤭

• I am most comfortable at the ocean where I can lose all sense of time hunting for sea glass, heart-shaped rocks, and tiny shells to use in my crafts. I also enjoy fishing, but this ol' gal ain't cut out for boats! I've got a fair pair of fins 🧜🏽‍♀️, but no "sea legs!" 🤢

• I also enjoy spending quality time at libraries, museums, galleries, or art studios. This is because I really enjoy folk-arts & handicrafts. I ❤️ experiential arts.
• In my youth, I enjoyed traveling the Americas and spent time living in Chile as a foreign exchange student! Now, I prefer to travel in good company, whenever possible. However, most of my current travels have been vicariously via postcards.

I 💜 snail 🐌 mail! 💌

• When handwriting, please print as I have difficulty reading some cursive penmanship. Sometimes my mail has required the help of my teenager to decipher words because it looks like my doctor’s chicken-scratch! 🙄 No need to stress about perfect penmanship, I’d just like to know what you’re sharing with me.

Neatly hand-written or typed things are always welcome though!

I am 3 hours ahead of Swap-bot time!

• As a swap coordinator, I often "close" my swaps a day earlier than the posted date because I am a "night-owl" and do most my work while others are asleep! :-)

• As a co-founder or officer in multiple groups, I coordinate regular/recurring swaps that are often posted months in advance. This will give some swappers an inaccurate impression of my dashboard, but I have never flaked on anyone, nor have intentions to. I know what that low-blow feels like which is also why I try to stick to the “safety” of group (vetted) swaps here.

• Posted swaps that are left without any interest for 72 hours, will be deleted to perhaps repost at a different time.

• Sometimes my swaps have a Sunday send-by date even though there’s no postal service because swaps can still be dropped off in the outgoing mail boxes. I often drop by the P.O. on my way to do other errands on Sundays, and once that swap leaves my possession it’s marked as sent!

• Similarly, if I’ve put a swap in my mailbox for outgoing pickup, but the mail carrier doesn’t come, then I will unmarked it from being sent that day to prevent inaccuracy. I also do this because my mailbox is not water-tight and items left overnight can become damp, warped, and unsealed if I don’t bring them back inside the house. Florida is VERY HUMID and we get a lot of afternoon showers.

• I also, unfortunately, live at an address which falls on a mail carrier route that’s considered the ’last stop’ so, if it’s too dark outside for safe deliveries, or the delivery person feels unwell then my mail doesn’t get delivered/picked up that day.

• Since the pandemic began, there’s been 7 different USPS personnel doing our deliveries and each of them has very different personalities and preferences. This means I’m never sure who or what the day will bring, but if anything ever cuts too close to a deadline date I assure you that I will contact my swap partner(s) and coordinator.

• Swappers who’ve invested their time into policing my dashboard are welcome to contact the USPS Apollo Annex of Melbourne, Florida to confirm validity of what I’ve posted here.

• Date extensions will be granted on a case-by-case basis for reliable swappers who communicate with me. I am a coordinator that understands real life happens outside of this ‘bot. 💙

• I only coordinate swaps that I am willing/able to angel. I also make a sincere effort to vet each participant before assigning partners.

If you end up needing a swap angel'd, please direct message me after you’ve contacted your partner.

• • I try to follow-up on swaps if it's been thirty (30) USPS business days from the date I logged my swap as sent, (and at least two weeks from the deadline date) but no rating has been posted. I will contact my partner about a resend because I know postal services lose things sometimes.

• • I {rate} incoming swaps within 48 hours of their receipt. It’s my practice to only archive them once received/rated!
• • I am not concerned with postmark dates. They’re completely unreliable and have been counterfeited by swappers here before. As far as I’m concerned, if I receive the swap described you’re good to go. 👍🏼 🖐 I will never rate a 3/1 without contacting my partner and coordinator.
• • I appreciate feedback when rating and do try to make the time to respond to rater's comments accordingly. Even “silent” ratings I’ve received will often receive a simple “thank you” to show my gratitude for remembering to rate! However, there are times when I cannot get to all of them. This does not mean that I am any less grateful for the valuable time that you’ve invested in me or the happy mail! I promise.
• • • I do not visit the public forums on purpose. I simply swap on Swap-bot because I enjoy sharing happy via mail!

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Interested in making ATC with a buddy?

Try The ABC Group

Int’l Mail Suspensions

SOAK Old Postage Stamps

For postage stamps, here are some themes I collect (used or new, from all countries, any year, on or off paper):

• Bears (Giant Panda 🐼, Polar, Grizzly)
• Horses
• Monarch Butterflies
• Mammalian Mother’s w/their babies
• The Madonna and Child
• Maps
• Cookie Monster & Cookies
• Flowers with 5-petals
• Shamrocks ☘️ & Clovers 🍀
• VW Love-bugs, buses ☮️
• Hearts 💕
• Sea Turtles
• Orca Whales
• Sharks, Mantas & Fish w/fins (not jellies)

Postcards I most enjoy:

• Mail/post-boxes 📮📭
• Giant Trees 🌲

• B&W Photography of:

  • People Dancing📻💃
  • Close-ups of Hands or Paws
  • Vintage Boots, Hats & Instruments📯🎻
  • Abandoned Cars, Trucks & Trains
  • Saturday Evening Post, Life or Time
  • Indigenous, Pacific Island & Polynesian Cultures

• Handmade postcards are always welcome too. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💗💜💖🤎🤍🖤💝 I heart art!

Please share your PC collage, coloring, drawing, graphic design, painting, or photography. I also like receiving “print on-demand” PCs by Zazzle, Red Bubble, Cafe Press, Society 6, etc. If it’s a postcard that you think I will enjoy (even if the swap says "No"), mail it and let me know why! I promise I’ll never rate down for thoughtful intentions!

🍪🥠Special Request:

Please add a cookie to the back of my postcard🍪🥠

• I also ask that my postcards please be sent ✏written🖊 on, but in an✉ envelope🌎 (if the swap allows a choice). The envelope (or clear sleeve) simply protects the image on the postcard from being smudged or torn by the USPS machinery (and they seem to be arriving damaged more recently).

WISHLIST (a.k.a. Insta-smiles 😃 & hearts 💕)

• Star Wars Postage Stamps (new, used, or faux/cinderella)
• A Postage Stamp of Ray Charles, or Louis Armstrong
• Postage stamps from Pacific Islands, esp. Fiji, Papua New Guinea, or Tonga
• Pocket Letter (or mini) with an Americana/Patriotic or Military - Air Force theme
• ATC-sized Scraps of an Acrylic Pour, Marble Painting, Abstract, Citrasolv Page, or Mixed-Media Masterboard
• Stitched/Sewn Paper Scraps or (tiny) Fabric Snippets
• Typed/Written Poem, Song, Zine, or Story by YOU
• Sheet Music or Pages from Gospel & Spiritual Song Books, specifically the songs “Roll Jordan Roll”, “Wade In The Water”,or “Nobody Knows”
• A 2020 Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Quarter (25 Cent U.S. Coin)
• Dictionary Pages with my name(s) on them in any language: harmony, joy, cook, or cookie
• Royal Blue Ribbon and fabrics Scraps (any size bits will do! ;0)
• Fabric bits (2x2”) with Sesame Street, 100 Acre Woods, Care Bear, or Strawberry Shortcake characters
• Any ATCs that you don’t want. My only ask is that the cards be correctly sized (2.5” x 3.5”) please. I keep my cards inside standard trading card sleeves in 3-ring binders.

🤙🏽 Mahalo nui loa! 🤙🏽

Updated: 5/15/2022

Some A to Z’s of Me!

A: Autobots, Avengers, Avatar-The Last Airbender, ATCs & APCs

(My Fave ATC Themes are: Trees, Star Wars, Marvel/Disney FanArt, Vintage Postage Stamps & Mail/post-boxes, Cookie Monster, Harmony Bear, Cool Phoenixes, Giant Pandas, Polar Bear, ☘️Shamrocks/Clovers🍀, Oceania, Mermaids, Orca Whales & Sea Turtles!)

B: Big Hunk Candy Bars, Bears esp Giant Panda & Polar 🐼,💙 Blue (esp cobalt), Bald 🦅 Eagles, & Bob Marley

C: Chick-O-Stick Coconut Candy, Celtic Heritage, Clogging, 🍀Clovers, Cinnamon Chai, Chewbacca, Classic Mickey Mouse & Cookie Monster

D: Daffodils, Dancing, Drum Circles/Lines🥁, Dr. Seuss & Decoupage

E: Earth 🌎, Elvis Presley, Eeyore & Emerald Green💚

F: Friesian Horses, Fern Fronds, Fleur-de-lis⚜️ & Frangipani (plumeria flowers)

G: Groot, Guitar Picks, Golden State Warriors, The Goonies & GryffinPuffs (I’m a Hogwart House Hybrid!) 😉

H: 🐾Huskies 🐾, 💕Heart-shapes, Hibiscus & Harmony Bear (purple Care Bear w/flower belly badge)

I: Ireland (esp Éire postage), Icebergs & Incredible Hulk

J: Jordan Almonds, Jolly Rancher Hard Candies, Jade Green 💚, 🏀Jordan #23 & ⚾️Jeter #2

K: Koi Fish, Kiwi 🥝 Fruit, Kliban’s Cat & Koru Loops

L: Leaf Rubbings, Lucille Ball, Luke & Leia Skywalker, LEGO’s & Levi’s brand👖

M: Marilyn Monroe, Mandalorian, Music Notes, Mulan, Moana, Merida, Monarch Butterflies 🦋 & Maple syrup/leaves 🍁

N: Norman Rockwell Art, Narnia Chronicles & Notes w/my Name on 'em 😉

O: Orcas, 🦦 Otters, Origami & Optimus Prime

P: Ponyo, Paddington and Pooh Bears, Princess Bride & Pansies

Q: Quail (above) & Quotes (I collect positivity to refer to when I need a morale boost!)

R: Roasted Almonds, 🌈 ROYGBIV (spectrums-in-nature), Rocking Horses, R2-D2 & Redwood Trees

S: Simply Cheetos White Cheddar Puffs or Snyder’s of Hanover GF Pretzel Snacks, ☘️ Shamrocks, Strawberries 🍓, Smokey the Bear, Sheet Music🎼 & Sea Turtles (the aquatic/marine reptiles w/flippers)

T: Tigger, Totoro, Tie-dye, Textiles, Tweeds, Tartan & Tribal Tattoos

U: U2, Ukulele,☂Umbrellas (esp oil-paper wagasa) & Uniforms

V: VW buses, Valkyrie & Vintage ephemera

W: Walkers Shortbread Cookies, Winter Soldier, Wolves, Wicket the Ewok & Wyland Art

X: Xylophones, X-rays, X-men & “X” marks the spot (a pirate’s life for me!) ☠️

Y: ☯️ Yin-Yang Symbols (they remind me of balance), Yoda, Yaddle & The Child (Grogu)

Z: Zebras 🦓, Zines & Zentangle

Thank YOU for thinking of me!

• Some swappers enjoy having a list to “shop” from, while others feel squelched by too many ideas. For this reason, I have tried to create “harmony” in my profile by listing some of the things I like. This is not an extensive listing, 😉 so swap partners can breathe easy because my default mode is to find the good in whatever is mailed my way. 😉 😃 😊

🚫 Claymation (plasticine stop-motion) Characters

🚫 Aliens, Albino Animal Imagery

🚫 Dolls, Zettiology Creatures, Zombies

🚫 Monkeys, Gorillas, Baboons

🚫 Scorpions, Spiders, Snakes

🚫 Fragrances, Cosmetics, Jewelry

🚫 Soy Anything