Despite hurricane Ian and T.S. Nicole, my mail delivery hasn’t been delayed more than expected during a holiday season. However, please make certain that your greeting cards have adequate postage affixed because my mail carriers are charging me for postage due before delivery and they can take a couple weeks to get back to me. I’d hate for there to be any unnecessary delays on merry mail. ;-)

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. Direct-message me here, and I will respond with my email Or, if you prefer unused USPS postage stamps, I’m also happy to mail you those in-kind. I do apologize for any inconvenience.

Allergy Alert: My home is smoke-free but pet-friendly. 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. I do try to send only shed-free mail. 😆

Welcome: Reliable, honest swappers for private swaps!

I have ample amounts of handmade envelopes, coloring books/pages, world-wide cancelled postage, unused postcards, notecards/lettersets, deco-tissue/napkins, G45 ephemera cards/card-stock, stickers, washi tapes, and book pages to offer. That’s not all. If you’re needing something specific, message me and I’ll look! As we’re going through the boxes from my craft-room, I’m finding duplicates of a lot of stuff. As well as stuff I never used and likely won’t nowadays because my kids are growing up and I have less to scrapbook, etc. I am also going to discontinue my postage stamp and postcards collection. I would like to downsize and pass things along to others who appreciate and can use these things!

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”).

🌺Aloha!🌺

My name is 🎵Harmony Joy🎶 (she/her) 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-mollies named Lily and Piper & Theo, who is my ginger tabby grand-gib.🐾 🐈

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. These are mostly under control now that I got new glasses and my medication dosages are optimized. But I'd still like swappers to be aware that there are days that I cannot art as well as others. I will always give projects my best efforts and I may send swaps very close to their deadline date. I’m still learning to accept imperfections as beautiful, unique qualities and adapt my methods in accordance with the "Wabi-sabi” way. 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)

• I’ve started collecting the 7-of-clubs Poker Cards to use for a memorial project in honor of my late G’Mom Cook 3/17/19-1/1/20. The club looks like a shamrock ☘️ and they always remind me of her! We would celebrate our birthdays together with my mother every year, but since she’s passed and the pandemic began, that tradition stopped. I’m starting a new tradition of my own now, using these poker cards to record a fond memory, so I can dwell on the gains she gave me rather than the loss of her being elsewhere.💚

• 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!

• 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 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 travel has been vicariously via postcards.

I 💜 snail 🐌 mail! 💌

• When handwriting, please use print, not cursive penmanship. Sometimes my mail looks like my doctor’s chicken-scratch and I cannot read it.🙄 No need to stress about perfect penmanship, I’d just like to decipher what you’re saying to me.

Neatly hand-written, printed, legible cursive, or typed things are always welcome!

I am 3 hours ahead of Swap-bot time!

FLORIDA hurricane season is from June 1st through November 15th

• 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 “blue”(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 street-side mailbox for outgoing pickup, but the mail carrier doesn’t come, then I will unmark it from being sent that day to prevent inaccuracy. I 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 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. Thankfully, this has only happened a couple times since I’ve lived here, and one of those times we had two mail carriers working together to deliver to our neighborhood well past 8 pm! I truly appreciate our postal workers and try my best to make their jobs as pleasant as possible.

• Since the pandemic began, there’s been 10 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. IMPORTANT: When I angel a swap it is strictly to ensure each participant receives something in-kind in return. It is not in any way meant to pressure someone into rating another individual. How someone does their rating is up to that swapper, and none of my business. Even if I ask for kindness and understanding of another person's extenuating circumstances, I will never tell anyone how to rate another person.

• • 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 first contacting my partner and coordinator.
• • 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 appreciate feedback/comments when rating and do try to make the time to respond to rater's accordingly. Even “silent” ratings I’ve received will often receive a simple “thank you” to show my gratitude for remembering to rate (although I admit to not being fond of a silent rating). There are times when I cannot respond 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.

—————————————————————

To maximize successful happy mail deliveries (and minimize waste), my swap participation/coordination will remain selective and regionally restricted until further notice.

I will also be using Pirate Ship to mail most of my packages because their rates are cheap-aaar! 🏴‍☠️

First Class stamps will rise to 63 cents on Jan. 22, 2023.

I’ve become a full-time college student again (my 5th degree), while still homeschooling my teenage son, so I will log in here regularly, but my swap coordination will slow down for the remainder of the 2022 year. Thank you for understanding.

I believe it’s also worth mentioning that during the holidays not only will USPS prices be increasing again, but there are also postal worker, railroad, and sanitation worker strikes planned to disrupt courier mail services (reports in parts of Asia, Europe, and Australia). So, I’m sticking to swaps that are in USA/CAN for these reasons.

Int’l Mail Suspensions

SOAK Old Postage Stamps

ZIP Code™ - The Basics

Want to make sure the mail you’re sending is processed quickly and efficiently? Then always use the standardized street address with ZIP+4® format!

Did you know USPS doesn’t want any punctuation in delivery addresses? In fact, all letters are to be in CAPS-lock and black ink on a white/light background.

Example

By addressing mail appropriately you’ll ensure that they are processed smoothly by mail sorting equipment. Using the standardized address with ZIP+4® format alleviates possible delays from manual handling.

Try this USPS lookup tool to find the standardized address and ZIP+4® you’re mailing to:

USPS

📩Postage & Postcards✉ - Handmade postcards are always welcome.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💗💜💗🤎🤍🖤💝 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, Café 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!

• I will always enjoy used postage stamps from the Post-crossing movement or vintage/retro stamps with postal workers, mailboxes, and letters on them.

🍪🥠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 💕)

• Mail with a postage stamp of Chief Standing Bear
• Mail with a women cryptologists postage stamp on it
• Postcard-sized pieces of colorful fabric
• Quilted scraps I can cut into 💙
• ATC-sized Mixed-Media Master-board
• 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 Copy of your Favorite Tasty COOKIE recipe
• 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 or book pages with The Jetson’s, Sesame Street, 100 Acre Woods, Care Bears, Autobots, or Rainbow Brite 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.

ATC Art I’d 💙 to add to my collection:

1. A Christmas Cookie Monster w/him wearing a stocking cap and enjoying gingerbread
2. A Halloween Cookie Monster w/him wearing a simple masquerade/phantom mask
3. A St. Patrick’s Cookie Monster w/him wearing a top-hat and enjoying shamrock cookies
4. A “Flower of the Month” ATC or APC for July through December

*****WISHFUL THINKING***** If anyone happens across a “yellow pages” phone book from the Bay Area, California circa 1977-78 I’m trying to find evidence of a plant shop called “Heavenly Houseplants & Other Divine Gifts” that was off Telegraph Avenue.

🤙🏽 Mahalo nui loa! 🤙🏽

Updated: 11/12/2022

Some A to Z’s of Me!

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

(My Fave ATC/APC 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!)

Interested in making ATC or APC with a buddy?

Try The ABC Group

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

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: Eighties (era) Ephemera, 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, Icebergs & Incredible Hulk

J: *Jordan Almonds, 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

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: Panda, Polar, and Paddington Bears, Princess Bride, Ponyo, & Pansies

Q: Quilled paper, 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: Ukulele

V: VW buses, Valkyrie & Vintage

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

In an effort to follow the swap-bot profile format, here’s a short list of my top ten’s (in no particular order):

Music –

1. Bob Marley
2. Enya
3. Tim McGraw
4. Iz Kamakawiwoole
5. Swedish House Mafia
6. Ladysmith Black Mambazo
7. Heart
8. Plumb
9. The Cure
10. U2

Books –

1. To Kill a Mockingbird
2. The Terminal List
3. Outlander
4. The Secret Garden
5. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
6. Willow
7. Hinds Feet on High Places
8. Call the Midwife
9. Windows of the Soul
10. Twilight: Breaking Dawn

Movies –

1. The Princess Bride (1987)
2. Short Circuit (1986)
3. The Goonies (1985)
4. Tombstone (1993)
5. Star Wars (ALL)
6. Hook (1991)
7. Dances With Wolves (1990)
8. Brave Heart (1995)
9. Whale Rider (2002)
10. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (2005)

TV –

1. New Girl
2. Elementary
3. Yellowstone
4. SEAL Team
5. Bones
6. Reservation Dogs
7. Peaky Blinders
8. Longmire
9. Sex Education
10. The Mentalist

Crafts –

1. Altered Playing Cards
2. Artist Trading Cards
3. Art Journals
4. Smash Books
5. Junk Journals
6. Painting Papers and Ephemera
7. Coloring with Alcohol Markers and Pencils
8. Drawing with Pastels and Graphite
9. Mini Albums and Themed Interactives
10. Photo Transfers and Collage

Thank YOU for thinking of me!

🚫 Claymation (plasticine stop-motion) Characters

🚫 Aliens, Albino Animal Imagery

🚫 Dolls, Zettiology Creatures, Zombies

🚫 Monkeys, Gorillas, Baboons

🚫 Scorpions, Spiders, Snakes

🚫 Fragrances, Cosmetics, Jewelry

🚫 Soy Anything

• 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. 😉 😃 😊