Batraplume

Update July 2014: I'm taking a break from swaps and Swap-Bot.

I'm French, I live in the center of France in a beautiful volcanic region. I work full-time in a national non-profit organization. I've always been a crafty person since my childhood. I never get bored at home. So many things to try! .

I organized the very first French ATCs exhibition in Sept/Oct 2007, displaying 3200 cards (see photos in my Flickr gallery) and then had the opportunity (given by a publishing company) to write a book about it. It has been published in September 2009. What an adventure! I still can't believe it actually happened! :-)

I'm a movie goer and a book worm. Actually I bought more books than I can read. My favorite readings are thrillers, mystery, suspense, historical & good novels. I love stories that take place in the USA, in Australia and Amazonia and tend to collect them. I like writing short stories for children too.

I love summertime, seashores, sunny days, sunsets, going for a walk in the countryside.

I'm a cat lover. I had one called Louloute that I took out from a shelter in 2009. Sadly, she passed away in Sept. 2013. I miss her so much :(

English is my second language so bear with me, please! Thanks!

NOTE : I always send my swaps so if you don't receive a swap you expected from me, please communicate before giving a 1! Thanks! :)

I mark my swaps "sent" after I have dropped them in a mailbox (collection of the mail being done or not by the postal services, it depends on the hour of the day or if it is during the week or weekend or a public holiday).

ATCs/Crafts: I've been making ATCs since 2006 so I'm no longer a newbie. I'll never slap a sticker on a piece of cardstock and call it done. I always put some effort in my work and appreciate when people do the same in return. Does this sound fair to you? That being said, everyone has been a newbie one day :)

Also I will never reswap something I received. This is something I just can't do!

My likes:

• bookmarks (store bought, free from bookstores or libraries, handmade,...)

• rubber stamps, clear stamps, cling stamps or unmounted stamps

• washi tape

• owl, frog, sea turtle, exotic birds themed items

• matrioshkas

• Chai tea or Chai rooibos

• Starbucks related items (we don't have one over here)

• my favorite colors: lime green, turquoise, fuchsia

• funny magnets and keyrings

• mugs

• ATCs (to add to my collection). I can't draw so I admire people who can!

• ... ?? Probably many other things that I can't think of right now!

Jewelry: I wear very long necklaces (most often antique brass colored or antique silver) with one or several pendants at the end [I'm not sure this makes sense, sorry, English is my second language!]

Dislikes : I don't like religious things, girly, cutesy, baby, kawai and Disney things. Gold colored jewelry. Licorice.

I'm allergic to nail polish, I hardly bear "strong" perfumes or scented things and I don't really use a lot of make-up. I don't wear earings (except mine), nor bracelets.

I recycle/re-use padded envelopes I receive!

World music, jazz, pop/rock, electro, music from 70's to nowadays. I love discovering new music. I'm opened to many things except heavy metal or noisy things, and rap/hip-hop.

Ex: Muse, Daft Punk, M83, Kavinsky, Charlie Winston, Michael Bublé, Bruno Mars, Gotye, James Morrison, Justin Nozuka, Nickelback, Michael Jackson,...

Action, thrillers, Sci-Fi, spy, romance, musicals, 40s and 50s US movies, and Thelma & Louise, When Harry met Sally, Amadeus, Midnight Express, Blade Runner, Panic Room, Enemy of the State, Apollo 13, Batman begins, My Fair Lady, The Shawshank Redemption, Sea of Love, Into the wild, It's a wonderful life, Woody Allen's movies, The Holiday, Copycat, Fracture, Rio, Avengers, Iron Man, Millenium (with Daniel Craig), Casino Royale (with Daniel Craig :p ), Skyfall (with... well you know !) and all the James Bond movies... The movies I saw last year or lately that I loved: Gravity, Mandela A Long Walk to Freedom, Flight, Oblivion, Iron Man 3, 12 Years A Slave, etc...

24, Alias, Lost, Sex & the city, Friends, House, Grey's Anatomy, Kyle XY, Damages, Desperate Housewives, X-Files, The Lost Room, Fringe, The Good Wife, The Pillars of the Earth, Game of Thrones, Under the Dome, Revenge, Mad Dogs, The Following, Broadchurch...

ATCs, card making, chunky pages, inchies, Dotee dolls, Moleskine round robin, altered books, mini books... I'm always opened to new stuff!

I'm doing Project Life since January 2012 and it currently takes all my free time!

My ATCs style and techniques: mixed-media, stamping, collaging and paper piecing most of the time.

My favorite themes in crafts : - anything exotic/tropical/summery (palm trees, sunsets, parrots, toucans...etc.) - owls - cats - garden/nature/botanical - books/reading - whimsical houses - tea/coffee - Halloween (we do not celebrate it here in France and it's frustrating!)

I collect owls, cats and Halloween ATCs.

Don't hesitate to ask if you need some more informations!

About (store bought) postcards swaps: I will love anything that will make me discover your country or town. If you need some ideas, I love:

• map cards of your country or state

• a single view of your town

• famous places in your town or country

• anything exotic/tropical

• animals/flowers of your country

• owls, sea turtles, frogs

• sunsets, sunny days, night lights...

• nature, countryside, landscapes...

Regarding Halloween cards swaps, I would love - if possible - to receive some store bought cards because it's very hard to find them over here in France as we don't celebrate Halloween. I would love to see what your store bought cards look like! (just being curious!) Not that I don't like handmade stuff but I already swap them elsewhere. Thank you so much! :-)

@emayees on the "I Love Summer! ATCs" swap

@1000Valentines - swap coordinator of the "I Love Summer! ATCs" swap (said she would angel but did not communicate after that)