smmarrty

RATINGS: I rate each package that arrives. I usually rate the day it arrives. Please do me the courtesy of rating also. It's not so much that I want the rating - it's that I want to know that something I sent has arrived. Thanks.

I am a teacher, sometime grad student, and crafter. I make quilts, cards, envelopes, paper stuff, ATC's, dotees, creepy dolls and other stuffed things. I also love shrink plastic charms and charm bracelets/necklaces. I try to use things I already have and I try to use old stuff in a new way. I have lots of stuff to trade - mint tins, fabric, japanese newspapers and craft/quilt magazines. Email me if you are interested - smmarrt@aol.com. Happy Swapping!

ABOUT FRIENDSHIP BOOKS: I am no longer participating in FB swaps. I'd love to receive any of the ones that I started or were started for me. When I get one, I might rejoin the FB madness.

I read...alot. I always have 1 or 2 books going at the same time. Right now I read mostly British crime and police procedurals - Stephen Booth, Mark Billingham and Elizabeth George (yes, I know she's American.) I also like Cara Black, Val McDermid and Ruth Rendell.

Currently, I am taking a break from graduate school for a Masters in Education. I bought a Kindle and I am alternating between e-books and real books. So far, I still carry a real book with me at all times. Too chicken to carry my Kindle around with me in the big, bad city.

Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, the Grateful Dead, all 70's music - good and bad. Current artists the Killers, the Shins, the Raconteurs, Duffy and K.T. Tunstall. And The Black Keys, Mumford and Sons, Adele, Bruce Springsteen, Iggy Pop, Bob Marley, Ray LaMontagne, and more.

I start quilts (I don't always finish them!), paper stuff - envelopes, ATC's, greeting cards and other stuff. I sew dolls (badly, mostly) but I love making dotees. I just started making charms and learning a little beading. I'll try just about anything...I love my Gocco machine but I've only used it twice.

I'm a good friend, daughter, sister, auntie and employee - just celebrated my 27th anniversary at the preschool I work in - teacher and assistant director. Whew!

Vintage fabric, Vintage linens - tablecloths in particular, Sewing tools and supplies, Striped tee shirts (that can be cut/sewn into stuffies), Buttons, buttons, buttons, Wood beads,"S" things, Nancy Drew books (yellow spine - 1960's version), Birds and bird things, game pieces, wood dominoes, playing cards, small paper mache boxes for decorating, Cigar boxes, Chocolate - the darker the better! Love, love, love Somerset magazine - most of the editions, foreign language newpapers or magazines, and craft magazines from anywhere. As for colors, I prefer bold, bright colors - think Fiestaware. I do not like pink, peach or salmon. No neon things or cutesy things. I LOVE YOUR HANDMADE ANYTHING.

P.S. If you're sending chocolate - I CANNOT eat most nuts. So plain is good - thanks.

As for themes - I love birds, insects, trees but nothing too cutesy. I prefer 50's, 60's and 70's type of style.

Birds, nests and eggs; Reading, books and literature; Food - esp. chocolate and sushi; Sewing, crafts and buttons; Vintage sewing, crafts and buttons; Color - especially bold and bright, think Fiesta Ware; Not fond of pink, peach or salmon; How-to's and instructions for almost anything crafty; Travel, maps and tickets; Craft and sewing magazines and books; For fabric - I love batiks, dots and stripes, birds, leaves/trees, bugs, and any graphic patterns; Humorous - but no kitties hanging from tree limbs; Nothing too cute, no kitties

For junk journaling/ATCs/altered puzzle pieces/all paper crafts - I love vintage paper - ads, greeting cards, postcards and photos. I like yellow pages - especially odd stuff like taxidermy ads or pet photographers. Also love transportation tickets, raffle tickets, origami paper, and newspaper in languages other than English.

For doll swaps - I like JunkerJane, scrappy, raggedy, slightly grungy (but not decrepit), whimsical - things not normally found in nature.

I generally prefer bold and bright colors but tea-stained/coffee dyed is okay too. Black and white is always acceptable and a mix is fantastic.

Animals - giraffes, zebras, badgers, platypus, honey badger, anteater, dogs over cats, elephants, birds, birds, birds, or hybrid animal-humans or bird-humans. Aliens and robots okay, too. Anything wearing glasses is great.

Please do not send any perfume samples or scented anything. I am allergic to lots of random stuff and I want to enjoy your lovely handmade something but I cannot enjoy it if I am sniffing, sneezing, and wiping away tears.

Thanks for understanding.

TEA preferences - I like black and breakfast teas. I also like rooibos (a la No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.) Please no fruity or perfume-y teas - see above. Thank you.

Stuff I like and stuff I use a lot in my journals

tickets, bird/bee/bug pics/illustrations, used postage stamps, words, quotes and phrases (stickers/stamps/and from magazines), paper dolls, painted papers, odd bits of paper, unusual photos or advertisements, all the colors of paper and washi tape.

I like things made with and from book pages, painted book pages, junky clusters, small pockets and envelopes made from book or magazine pages. I like paper dolls - a la Megan Quinlan and Niamh Baly. And Stampington magazine ideas for dolls, pockets, and other. Ask me if you need more info.