Arabella

• Perfumey smells and cigarette smells make me gag - please, if there is a smoker in your home, add a dryer sheet to swaps you send me.

I always send my swaps. A lot of the time I mail them right on the day they have to be mailed cause I like to think about them for a few days, and it usually takes me another few days to search thru my craft and art boxes to find the perfect embellishments! So, if you haven't received a swap within a reasonable time, please, please send me a message!!

I have to add, no matter how great your artwork is, if there isn't a note with it, I'm always a little disappointed. It doesn't take that much time to add a short note and it really does make the swap more meaningful.

My husband and I live in Oregon, USA. We have a daughter and a son, both of whom are in college. I enjoy daily walks (except if it's rainy or windy) and having one of my sisters nearby to go antiquing and to movies with me.

I blame my grandmother for my addiction to crafts. Who would have thought that some of the very things we used to laugh about that our grandmother had made us, we would now be making ourselves. She was altering boxes and books before the rest of us knew what altering was.

I started with sewing and cross stitching in high school and college then bought myself a band saw to cut out wood crafts. Now I like to alter things - books, boxes, dolls, pictures. Can't seem to buy anything without thinking how to alter it. Most of my altered art works have little skulls lurking around.

Right now I'm working on several collages using l" and 2" squares and ATC's. I like to make a few cards for each holiday to send to my sisters and relatives.

My radio is always on, tuned to the Oldies channel. But I also sometimes like to listen to songs my kids recommend. Right now I have Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros in my CD player on repeat.

My favorite authors include Jane Austin, Georgette Heyer (my user name comes from one of her books), Robert Jordan, Tamora Pierce, Lois McMaster Bujold, C.J. Box, and Alexander McCall Smith. I like mysteries, SciFi, fantasy, and fiction that have strong, funny women in the stories.

My favorite TV shows also have strong women actors including "NCIS", "The Mentalist", "Castle","Leverage", and "Justified". I really miss "In Plain Sight" - why do the best shows get cancelled so early?! . Recently, I've been watching some "Supernatural" episodes at my daughter's insistance. Ok, so she doesn't really have to twist my arm - I mean, look at these guys!

Likes:

• Little rusty things

  • Vintage things

  • Used postage stamps

  • Little Red Ridinghood

  • Crows, ravens, owls

  • Halloweeny things including skulls, skeletons, trolls, dia de los muertos art, and zombies

  • Steampunk

  • Scrapbooking things

  • Things to use for altering

  • Collage items

  • Primitive dolls and artwork

  -Warm shades of red, orange, brown, yellow

  -Blues, lavender, and greens together

  -State capitol postcards

  -Owl, raven and other bird postcards

-Foam stickers, stickers for children

-Large fake stick-on jewels

-Sequins