BarkleysMommy

Hi! My name is Anne and I live in New Mexico, USA. I am a wife, mother to a 21 year-old son, and a business owner/educator (Kumon Math & Reading Center).

I also have two 4-legged children... a very, very, old, medium-sized brown dog who talks to himself and has no teeth; and my baby is Barkley, a long-legged Deer Chihuahua with a chopped-off tail. All of my dogs are rescues. (Sweet Lucy, our 14-year old Dalmatian, passed away on March 26, 2012).

I generally wear makeup, perfume, jewelry (no bracelets, though), business suits, and high heels. I am equally comfortable in blue jeans, a colorful shirt, and tennis shoes when life allows me to be casual.

I do not wear knit caps/hats, as the climate in New Mexico is much too mild. I do love to wear scarves as often as I am able and love those that are lightweight and super-long. :-)

I love jewelry, but do NOT wear bracelets.

I enjoy heavily scented products and I prefer scents that are "clean" (ocean, rain, water, cotton), fruity, or herbal/spice (rosemary, bergamot, thyme, and sage are my current favorites, but I'd love for you to expand my herbal horizons!). I am NOT a fan of bakery, rose, musky, or vanilla scents.

I love all rich, deep, vibrant, gemstone colors. (Pastels can be beautiful, but are not my favorites.) While I am not a fan of peacocks, I would definitely say that any color, or combination of colors, found in a peacock feather would be just my style. If I have to nail it to one color, I'd say blue. Deep lapis to turquoise blues are my color of choice.

Paisley is awesome!

Coffee, wine, and chocolate make frequent appearances in my world. I am not a huge fan of tea, aside from matcha.

I have a rather wicked sense of humor and can sometimes (often?) be a bit sarcastic. I have a huge appreciation for pool hall humor and non-pc things like smoking monkey dolls and boxing nuns.

YIKES! Does anyone else find it challenging to list their "favorite" crafts? I am always trying something different and tend to have a new favorite as often as the seasons change! Currently, I enjoy making soap, creating jewelry, greeting cards, punch art, and basket weaving. I also love making things with Gallery Glass.

I am currently learning more about paper quilling and am really enjoying both the art and the process. I am also exploring crafting with polymer clay.

I am not a scrapbooker, but I love making cards. Adhesives, embossing materials, and dimensional embellishments make me very happy, as do rubber stamps and ink pads. Tiny felt/fabric/vellum flowers and/or tree branches rock my crafty world.

In memory of my father-in-law, I am currently working on an 8 1/2' x 11" album to preserve his poetry and written musings. Any masculine, western, horse, mountain, plumber, denim, guitar or cowboy themed papers and embellishments would be greatly appreciated.

I collect :

• Winged (flying) pigs

• Fun/unique chopsticks

• Daruma dolls. (One eyeball, two eyeballs, no eyeballs... love them all!!!)

• Fancy glass or ceramic "stir sticks" (swizzle sticks) for beverages

• PIE BIRDS! Ceramic birds (or any other creature/creation with the same purpose) with a pointed "butt", or open end, that are poked into pies to release steam through the bird's beak. (It's a longshot, but if you know what they are, you could be on the lookout while you are at thrift stores and yard sales. I'd be SUPER happy to do a private swap for a pie bird! )

• Maneki Neko (lucky cat), Kokeshi, and Hotei (Laughing Buddha)

I would love to recieve:

• Colorful buttons

• Beginner's level knitting or crochet books

• Yarn, fiber, and non-wired ribbon

• Items with a sakura/cherry-blossom theme

• Washi/chiyogami or kimono patterned origami paper

• Bezels, bails, jewelry wire, and chain for jewelry crafting

• Sushi or sake related items

• Flat-backed pearl embellishments

• Mulberry paper scraps

• Old kimono, obi, or sari fabric scraps

• Little tins/purse-sized packages of sugar-free breath mints. (I can never have enough of these.)

• Long necklaces, necklaces with lots of beads and charms, simple necklaces with a significant/meaningful pendant. (At least 18", please) Matching, or co-ordinating earrings would be amazing. :-)

• Brass templates for dry embossing

• Long, lightweight, scarves

• Texture plates for polymer clay or embossing

• Quilling strips

• Unique measuring cups/spoons and kitchen gadgets

• Matcha drink packets or candy. I can't seem to find them in New Mexico!

• Anything handmade by you :-)

~~~These are just some ideas. Please don't let this list limit your imagination. If you put thought and heart into your swap, I will be happy :-) ~~~

Cartoon/Disney/baby/childish themes

Peanuts (not allergic, just dislike.)

Bracelets

Gum

Vanilla/bakery/rose scented items

Cherry flavored items

Journals or notebooks (I have TONS!)

"Cutsey" is just not ME! Pretty images of kittens, puppies, bunnies, whatever... not my style. Pretty images of martinis, boxing nun puppets, or smoking monkey dolls get bonus hearts! (I do hope you are laughing!)