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RandiG

RandiG
Date Joined: April 4, 2019
Last Online: July 5, 2019
Birthday: January 20
Country: United States
My Instagram (Randiteach)

About Me

HOW I GOT INTO MAIL ART & SWAPPING:

I have always loved making pretty things with paper, ever since I was introduced to origami when I was about 5. (Iā€™m a lot older than that now.) In the late 1990ā€™s I started making cards, and got a few books on fancy lettering. I felt very alone in my interest; this was before YouTube and Instagram, even before there were so many scrapbook companies.

A few years ago I found Ginger Ropp on YouTube (she calls herself ā€œMy Sisterā€™s Scrapperā€); Ginger makes great tutorials about creating and decorating mini-albums, tags, and other paper-based novelties. I was hooked, and made several different types of embellished albums and tags, which I mostly gave as gifts.

I recently joined Instagram and found postings of beautiful snail mail letters and packages. These really interested me, especially as I still have tons of papercraft supplies (Scor-tape, cardstock, designer paper, old books, rubber stamps, clear stamps, stamps I carved from erasers, TH Distress Inks and stains, purchased doodads, doodads I created, Big Shot machine and dies ... the list goes on).

In order to attract potential penpals, I created pretty envelopes and posted the photos on IG. My ploy (and commenting on othersā€™s posts) worked; in the past 3 weeks Iā€™ve accumulated 7 penpals (both domestic US and Europe), and am now in the thick of it!

Iā€™ve also started doing a few Swap-bots.

Rather than use my home address, I am renting a mailbox at a UPS for a 7-month trial period. So far Iā€™ve only received one piece of mail ... not sure how thatā€™s going to pan out. (Some letters were sent to me from within the US, others from overseas. Iā€™ve only received one envelope, from Scotland ...)

HERE ARE SOME OF MY INTERESTS:

British TV and culture.

French language and culture.

Spanish language and culture.

Mixed media art.

Altered books.

Assemblage. I actually have a bunch of wood pieces, etc, but havenā€™t yet gathered the courage to give it a whirl.

Word play: puns, portmanteau words, limericks, Spoonerisms, Tom Swifties, etc. I went through a period when I did cryptic/British crossword puzzles, but itā€™s been a few years.

I read a range of genres, but F. Scott Fitzgerald has been a favorite since middle school (especially his short stories!). Historic fiction is a special favorite genre. My favorite fiction authors include Diana Gabaldon, A. S. Byatt, Patricia McKillip, Angela Carter, Kate Atkinson, Maeve Binchy, Joanna Trollope, Liane Moriarty, Jane Feather, Lionel Shriver, Angela Carter, Jane Austen, the Brontƫs, and Georgette Heyer. New favorite authors include Amor Towles and Charles Belfoure.

No real favorite color. Maybe deep, bluish red. I tend to like combinations of colors. My favorite Crayola crayon color has always been Midnight Blue.

I collect cake stands. Yup, cake stands.

I own a few glorious antique French posters.

Did I mention that I used to do Traditional Rug Hooking? (a hobby) I gifted away most of the things I created. I think about picking it up again.

Sometimes I knit SMALL things, like baby sweaters.

I like SMALL embroidery and counted cross-stitch projects. Lately Iā€™ve been cross-stitching little tags/bookmarks.

I donā€™t watch a lot of TV. Mostly PBS, Netflix, and Hulu. Iā€™m very lucky to get a PBS station that focuses on British television, including the Poirot series, Miss Marple, Pie in the Sky, Agatha Raisin, etc. I loved the first two seasons of The Crown, and I love the Victoria series.

I drive a 2016 Mazda 3 hatchback. I drove a MINI Cooper before that (of course. Must have a British car!).

I tend to dress a bit Bohemian, but not too far out. I mostly like to wear block-print cotton dresses from Mata Traders, an American ethical and earth-friendly company. (No affiliation, I just like to support these types of businesses.)

Similarly, I have been recycling for 30 years; mainly I think itā€™s a bad joke, since it turns out weā€™ve just been shipping the stuff to China, and most pollution comes from irresponsible manufacturing and businesses. Plus, Iā€™ve seen what some people put out to ā€œrecycleā€ ... itā€™s a mess. No wonder China doesnā€™t want it anymore.

I eat a mostly vegetarian diet, but do eat chicken and fish weekly, too. Iā€™ve eaten this way for most of my adult life.

I grocery shop mainly at Trader Joeā€™s. Sometimes Aldi and Target, too. But mainly TJ. During December they sell trios of mystery reusable shopping bags. These are so fun, and I tend to buy and share them with strangers. Yeah, thatā€™s me. (Oh, youā€™re from Oregon? Here, take this bag.)

SOME PERSONAL HISTORY:

Divorced after 25 years of marriage to same man. (Notice that I wrote SAME man, not SANE man.)

I have two adult children, a son and a daughter. Both of my children live in the same town as I do. (My second son, born before my daughter, passed away as a newborn.)

I live near my elderly parents. Iā€™m their middle child, and the only one nearby. I help them with errands, doctor visits, meals, etc. quite a bit.

I earned a Bachelor of Arts (Humanities and French) from Johns Hopkins Univ. 1981.

I earned a Master of Arts (Teaching) from Notre Dame of Maryland Univ. 2012.

Prior career as a mainframe programmer/analyst.

Recent career as a teacher; I have educator certifications in both Early Childhood and Special Ed. Going into Education was a huge mistake, as the hours of prep are continuous, todayā€™s kids are very troubled, the demands on teachers is crazy, administration is full of petty-minded bureaucrats, and I easily spent $5,000/year of my own money to pay for supplies. On top of that, I felt unsafe and was fearful for the safety of my students, especially those with behavioral issues. Yes, I taught some children to love school, and had some 4 and 5 year-olds reading, but it was ultimately too upsetting and stressful. I had a short career, now Iā€™m out. (Give me a few minutes while I take some deep, calming breaths.)

I was a stay-at-home mom for many years in between careers, and dabbled in web design (self-taught HTML and Photoshop.) I owned a cool web-based store during the early aughts. I also worked p/t at Anthropologie for 10 years. (After DH insisted I close my shop. Nothing like going from being a visionary shop owner/buyer/web-designer/everything to being a shop-girl not even getting commission!)

On the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I am an INFJ. This type of personality is empathic, intuitively sees problems and their solutions before the real trouble begins, is generous and loyal to a fault, and tends to slam the door permanently on people who disrespect him/her (usually only figuratively, but donā€™t push us). Weā€™re a lot of fun!!!!! (Just leave us to our books and cake stands, and all will be well ... We tend to be happiest and calmest living in our heads.)

What to send me:

No comestibles or drinky things, thanks.

Ephemera from GB, France, Spain, etc. Going to Versailles or the V & A ? Bring back a pamphlet or postcard, please.

I love childrenā€™s literature and book illustrations. Especially French.

Vintage board game cards and tokens, esp. French.

Cute, clean ephemera from different US states.

For mail art, I am interested in acquiring some rubber stamps from Chamil Garden or similar style.

I have a LOT of papercraft supplies already. I would love some special washi tape or ribbon, or something small that youā€™ve crafted.

Book recommendations are ALWAYS welcome.

Thanks for reading this far. Youā€™re a trooper!

Ratings

gerberdaisy rated for CGOI: Summer ATC on Jul 15, 2019
5
rating
Comment: How did I miss not rating you??? You did a great job on the ATC's. This was my first experience with them. Such a fun little treasure!!
5
rating
Comment: Thank you such a beautiful purse and pillbox set
Leen rated for A Minizine of Lists-newbie friendly on Jun 10, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Thank you so much for the amazing zine!(and extra). Really enjoy reading it :)
elinor rated for A Minizine of Lists-newbie friendly on May 28, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Thank you for the amazing zine and the little extras, publishing and design have been missing out! I love how you presented the lists, and the way it was all wrapped :)
Response: Elinor, so glad you enjoyed it!!! Thanks for the compliments; they mean a lot coming from you! ā˜ŗļøšŸ˜Ž
MrsKytes rated for Scattergories Int E on May 26, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Thank you for the postcard; I really like the elephant! Some of my address got ripped off the pc, so I am glad that it arrived ok! I like the little seashell stamps as well; so cute.
Response: It was a thrill for me to address it to Paris, a place I will not get the opportunity to travel to.
jenmcjen rated for A Minizine of Lists-newbie friendly on May 25, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Oh, your sense of humor is the BEST part of all this!! You're so awesome! Not even any fancy resources - you are a woman of find artistic talents! I DO enjoy it and will continue to. Also, I love you listed your credentials, like okay this is a list zine on a plain little piece of paper, but I KNOW what I'm talking about! See my letters? And your comprehensive list of zines you've made at the end - spectacular. Oh, this was just so fun! Thank you so much! I hope you do many more zines (for example, Wacky Holiday zines for every month by ... some really cool person called jenmcjen) haha!
Response: Thank you for your appreciation! Iā€™m delighted that you noticed what you did, and got a giggle. šŸ„°šŸ„°šŸ„°šŸ˜Ž
LunaCass rated for NH ~ Netflix PC on May 16, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Thank you for the handmade postcard, I thought it was really neat how you posted the movie thumbnails! I have not seen any of those shows but I will have to check them out now, have a good one! :)
bunny3ars rated for Just Randomness on May 11, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Randi, I can't thank you enough for the amazing swap! When I saw Hyacinth on the envelope, I burst out laughing. And opening all the cute little envelopes had me oohing and ahhing. Don't even get me started on those mushroom stickers. And you even included a 26! I don't think you could've put together a more perfect swap. It was an absolute joy to receive. Thank you so much!
Response: I am delighted that you are delighted! It was easy, as your bio was full of great info! Enjoy!!!!!ā˜ŗļøšŸ˜Ž
tizzicat rated for First & Last Lines No. 11 on May 10, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Thank you.
C3lemon rated for Sender's Choice Postcard Swap #1 on Apr 27, 2019
5
rating
 
Tricia22 rated for Sender's Choice Postcard Swap #1 on Apr 25, 2019
5
rating
Comment: Thanks, Iā€™ll have to check that author out, Happy Swapping!!

Rating Overview

Overall Hearts Stars Hosted
5.0000 8 0 0
Completed Fives Threes Ones
8 11 0 0
Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Uncategorized
0 6 2 0
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Comments

ablev92 on Jul 2, 2019:

Happy fourth from your crafty girls :)

VivaLaDiane on Apr 23, 2019:

Welcome to Swapbot! Per Newbie Helper rules, please message me your mailing (not email) address including first/last name so I'm able to approve group entry. Thanks so much and have an amazing day

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