Profile current as of November 11, 2012

NEWS: I've been really sick with a terrible cold, one that has made it really hard to breathe so I've been getting only 4-5 hours sleep at a stretch, which has left me in a bit of a fog. I'm a teeny bit behind because of it, with the "ATC swap 5 partners (usa only)" swap going out two days after the deadline. I'm so sorry about this, I never intended to mail late. All of my partners have been pm'ed to let them know. The Christmas Mega swaps will have partners assigned on time, and no other swaps I am in will be affected.

ALLERGY NOTES: Please don't send anything spearmint, licorice, wool, or anything with a really strong perfume/smoke smell (includes incense). Thanks!

I've been an ATC maker, trader, and collector since 2006, although I am sporadic in trading at times so my collection is "only" 450+ strong. My mother has been collecting as long as me and has been more passionate in trading and has tons more than me - I am jealous! :D

I'm also one of the organizers in my local ATC group. If you live in or near Massachusetts, please check out the link above; we are an awesome, friendly, ever-growing group of artists and we'd love to meet you!

My ATC preferences:

• I don't mind receiving quality prints/ACEOs, but originals are preferred.
• I have a bizarrely strong preference towards vertically aligned cards (short sides = top/bottom). I'll never hold it against you or rate you down for it if you send a horizontally aligned card, I just wanted to mention that I do prefer them vertical. :)

I would be happy to get many themes, but here are a few I collect:

Unusual materials such as ATCs made out of clay, metal, fabric, beadwork, cross-stitching, crochet, etc (but NOT felted due to a wool allergy). ATCs with pop-ups or other moving parts.

The Sun I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, the worst I've personally ever seen. So I am quite a big fan of positive, uplifting sun imagery.

**Sci-Fi / Space*** retro robots and rocketships, star maps, planets, moons, shooting stars, aliens and spaceships, etc

Urban / Modern Graffiti, junk mail, sidewalks, manhole covers, etc

Steampunk airships, zeppelins, cogs and gears, clockwork anything, antique skeleton keys and locks, goggles, all that good stuff

Royalty Not modern or Disney, generic castles, thrones, scepters, princesses, etc... and Marie Antoinette :)

Vintage Underwear corsets, bustles, hoop skirts, etc... preferably Victorian/Edwardian era, but mid 20th century or anything else really can be fun too!

Kawaii cuteness No specific characters or anything like that, but generically cutesy things like rainbows and cupcakes and shooting stars

80s cartoons specifically Lady Lovely Locks, Jem and the Holograms, Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, She-Ra/He-Man, Care Bears -- OLD SCHOOL/original versions only please

Other cartoons Futurama and Invader Zim - particularly Gir, out of his green doggy disguise preferred but not required. Also Reptar from The Rugrats, and Figment from the Imagination Ride in Epcot. Cuz I'm random like that.

Video Games Plants Vs Zombies, World of Warcraft, Mario (or Princess Peach or Yoshi), Peggle, Bookworm Adventures, Zork, Arcanum, Diablo 2, green plumbobs from The Sims (any version) or other iconic things from that game like Bella or Mortimer Goth, money trees, reticulated splines...

Mythos Fairy Tales, Ancient Myths, Legends, Tall Tales, etc (includes any sub-genre you can think of; urban legends, old wives tales, Aesop’s fables)

Unusual or made-up merfolk or other human/animal hybrids new spins on mythological creatures; like a zebra centaur (don't have one, want one!) or a shark merman (have one, would love another - or a squid, or crab, or anything you like!).

SPECIAL: I love any and all fantasy, scifi, or whimsical places, people or creatures... including but not limited to: robots, mermaids, griffins, unicorns, dragons, mad scientists, castles, tree houses, rocket ships, underwater cities, hot air balloons. I am ESPECIALLY CRAZY about cards that include multiple things like this - I have two robot pirates, a mermaid in front of her castle, and a robotic/steampunk mermaid. I love them all, and would always love more like this!

Art/craft supplies I prefer to get: Gluedots/glue runners or any other "dry" adhesives like that, self-adhesive lace, deco tape, stickers, acrylic/foam/rubber stamps, brads, rhinestones, pens/markers especially Sharpie Water-based Poster Paint Pens or Atyou Spica glitter markers. Paper is good too, but I have WAY too much already! :) I love handpainted or unusual papers though, especially colorful ones.

I'd love any "learn to draw" books you don't want or need anymore, especially weirder ones like sci fi or fantasy worlds. Kid-oriented is just fine. :)

Craft supply themes/imagery I use most: travel - especially sailboats and compasses, heart/mind images – anatomical or not, anything outer space like rockets and planets, anything good for journals and introspective symbolism, anything that conveys movement or progress, simple non-specific embellishments like stars, swirls, check marks, circles, borders. Other themes and imagery I can use: Flowers, books, cityscapes/skyscrapers, birdcages, rainbows, cake or cupcakes, butterflies, letters, words.

Other stuff I like receiving:

• Blank notecards - I go through these like water!
• Return address labels made for me, especially the tiny 80/sheet type or the clear kind
• Stretchy (not hard plastic) headbands, adult sized, bright colors preferred. Handmade is fine!
• Canceled postage stamps (for crafting)
• Fortunes from fortune cookies
• Pretty memo sheets or similar smaller-than-a-postcard stationery items, to use as journaling spots in art journals. Especially brands like Punch Studio.

NEW: my local ATC group does monthly Challenge Packs, where you get a small bag with just enough stuff to make one ATC and each one is the same. It's lots of fun to see how each person does different things with it. We could use donations though! A very much appreciated extra is 25 "like" items for ATC making. They don't have to be identical, they can be, for example, 25 flower shaped gems in different shapes and colors, or 25 small pieces of pages from the same vintage book.

I’m pretty easy to please, but there are a few “no thank yous” I figured I’d mention. Not a big deal if you send them, but please know they’ll just get passed along.

Craft supplies I don’t use/need: buttons, ribbon, yarn or "fun fibers", cutesy scrapbook-themed stuff like "it's a boy!" or "graduation time" etc.

I don't really have any use for licensed characters like Disney, Sesame Street, Hello Kitty etc. The only exceptions are those listed under ATCs I collect. (For those characters, I like anything I can get – stickers, postcards, bookmarks, you name it!)

It says this above, but it bears repeating: please don’t send anything wool, spearmint, black licorice, or really heavily perfumed/smokey.