Sonya

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I'm pleased to introduce my group 👉🏻Absolutely Inspired Arts! This USA-only group of seasoned artists will focus on artistic swaps such as ATCs of all types, journals & ephemera, PCs, paintings, and other unique, highly creative crafts. Pop by for a visit and check us out.

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I've been creating art since I can remember and actually had a painting of mine hang in the deYoung Museum in San Francisco for 3 years when I was 5 years old, thanks to my kindergarten teacher.

I'm an avid traveler ✈️ and have been to all 7 continents (Antarctica was the last in Jan. 2023), and 41 of the 50 USA states...still working on the final 9 (N/SC, N/SD, KY, and a few others in the Midwest), then I can check that item off my Bucket List.🪣

I absolutely love when people push themselves and explore outside their comfort zones! I'm always up for a challenge and seek out new artistic endeavors, so I look for those types of swaps and I try to host swaps that may be different or challenging for some but very rewarding once completed. "Easy" or "quickie" swaps are NOT my thing!

Here are photos of my previous craft room in CA. My craft cabinet is a 👉🏻DreamBox by Create Room and I adore it!
Updated photos coming soon of my new craft room in OR!

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🚫 NO THANK YOU:

• I am not a fan of the Tim Holtz paper doll/vintage people images!
• meat or seafood related images (I've been vegetarian for decades)
• religious content
• child-like subjects (i.e., dolls, kids playing, toys, etc.)
• people-type ATCs (i.e., movie stars, vintage folks, kids, etc. unless super quirky)
• bookmarks
• holiday themes unless specifically the swap requirement
• Disney, unless swap requirement
• patriotic or political themes
• superheroes
• cutesy things (i.e., teddy bears, dolls, gnomes, etc.)
• stickers with white outline
• foam stickers
• paper dolls
• horror (spooky, eerie, ghostly are fine)
• anime, Pokémon, Hello Kitty, etc.
• small bits of paper "extras" - please, nothing smaller than ATC size
• no food/drink items, please

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👌🏼 YES PLEASE:

• abstracts
• astrology (esp. Aries)
• art deco era
• art journals
• audio books / books
• autumn
• bling
• book pages in a foreign language (especially non-Latin/Roman alphabet)
• collage
• celestial
• colorful
• colors: purple, turquoise, chartreuse, teal, silver, gold
• corrugated papers
• die cuts
• dogs / puppies
• fortune telling
• geometrics
• glittery things (please adhere/seal that glitter well!)
• hand drawn / hand painted
• interactive ATCs
• junk journals
• lace (but I'm not girlie!)
• magic, spells, apothecary
• mah jongg (American)
• metallics
• mid-century modern era
• mixed-media
• mushrooms (to admire but NOT eat!)
• music sheets
• mystical
• pagan
• postage stamps (non-USA)
• rain
• risqué
• sci-fi
• sequin waste (aka punchinella)
• SF 49ers
• spring
• tarot cards
• travel
• UFOs
• vintage ledger & accounting papers
• watercolor
• whimsical (i.e., off beat, playful, quirky, etc., not cutesy)
• witchy

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🎨I've been painting abstracts and geometric art for many years with acrylics on canvas or wood. I started painting with watercolors a few years ago and absolutely adore it! I am very fond of using metallic paints in either acrylic or watercolor.

✒️Another exploration is using alcohol inks. Such unexpected and surprising results when you just let them do their thing!

🖍️Creating ATCs is a favorite of mine. I make HD/HP, 3D, mixed media, collage, embossed, fussy-cut, or interactive ATCs mostly and spend a lot of time and energy on my creations and appreciate the same in return. Most of my ATC swaps require a non-machinable stamp because of their 3D nature, so it may take longer to get to you as USPS needs to hand cancel. ➡️➡️➡️ I'm not a fan of people ATCs (think: Tim Holtz vintage people and kids w/ butterfly wings) unless super quirky, so please don't send such cards to me! You can visit my 👉🏻ATCs folder if you'd like to see some of my ATCs (may be spoilers). I'm also into creating ink box cards, tags, inchies, and twinchies.

✂️Paper-crafting is another favorite. I love paper-engineering, meaning building 3D, pop-up, and interactive paper items. I prefer modern & colorful, but you do you! I have a "Spellbinders" die cutting machine and now have a healthy collection of dies. Each year I create my own holiday cards and send a homemade ornament or painting with each of the dozens of cards I send out. You can visit my 👉🏻Paintings & Papers Album if you'd like to see some recent creations (may be spoilers).

📔I'm also into Art Journals. I'm currently working on a collaborative botanical themed art journal with the 👉🏻AIA group of artists and it's been great fun! I like to make travel junk journals for each of our specific adventures and fill it with memories, ticket stubs, maps of the locations we see, photos, etc.

🎄Homemade Christmas ornaments are a must-do each year. Please visit👉🏻My Christmas Ornaments if you'd like to see a small sample of my creations.

Past artistic endeavors include quilting, mosaics, soap making, jewelry making, deco books, beading, sewing, woodworking, silversmithing, leather tooling, stained glass, ceramics, and many more!

Smoke-free and pet-hair-free household (although I adore dogs). 🐕 🐾🐕‍🦺

Art was always my favorite subject in school. 😍

📖 I love books! Mostly audio (98%) and for this reason, BOOKMARKS are lost on me! I listen to about 150 books a year. Genres I'm most drawn to are:
- Historical fiction
- Sci-fi
- Post-apocalyptic
- Speculative fiction
- Mystery
- Paranormal
- Psychological thriller
- Suspense
A big NO on romances!

To name just a few of my favorite authors (from Z to A): -Lisa Wingate -Ruth Ware -Amy Tan -Lisa See -Spencer Quinn -Kate Quinn -Douglas Preston -Jodi Picoult -Nancy E. Turner -Jojo Moyes -Kate Morton -Liane Moriarty -Sue Monk Kidd -Lisa Jewel -Hugh Howey -Deborah Harkness -Kristin Hannah -John Grisham -Sue Grafton -Diana Gabaldon -Ken Follett -Lucy Foley -Ann Cleeves -Fredrik Backman -Jean M. Auel

I will NEVER flake on a swap unless something serious happens to me. Please message me or send an email if you haven't received something from me in a timely manner.

I rate every swap. I give ❤️❤️❤️ for items that show maybe you read my profile or put a lot of thought, creative energy, and/or time into its creation, but not for extras. Although I appreciate the gesture, I really don't need any extras! I already have too much stuff!

Thanks for swapping with me! ✌️