UPDATE: 10/04/12-- It is with heavy heart that I update my profile to say that Tootsie was escorted to the Rainbow Bridge by her loving family. She was with us since our marriage 14 years ago & it is strange to no longer have her with us. We admittedly spoiled her rotten. She in turn has spoiled us in that if we ever rescue another dog, it will have to be a corgi. I'll be checking in to swapbot but my participation will be on hold for a time while I get used to not having my baby napping under my studio desk as I'm creating.

aka Creative Writing 101: How to sound interesting instead of a 'midwest matron'. Lets begin with the boring basics -- 40+ age range, married 14 years in October, 1 spoiled 16 yr old Pembroke Corgie, Siamese/Ragdoll mix and a year old rescue feline sum up the household.Tootsie ( right) has this same expression as Sammich dog when she senses there is food anywhere near my being that she believes I am not sharing with her. Maxx looks rather severe here but he is actually quite playful. It only took him his first week at his new home to turn my studio upside down. Mcguire, aka He of the Golden Plume joined us a year ago this April having been rescued late winter from under a dumpster & lost part of an ear tip to frostbite. He has since gained a pound in our company & has filled out to balance his large plume of a tail. He matches Tootsies coloring & almost her size with all of that fluff, lol.

I am mail room supervisor for the dept. of a large University. Part of my duties include ordering supplies -- if you play nice, you can request anything out of the catalog to make your cubicle life more bearable. Cross me & you're on back order indefinitely. Other than that, I'm pretty easy going about most things in life. More bells, whistles & interesting tid bits forth coming as I revamp this dossier.

rarely listen to radio or even TV. Open to most any kind of music, I have a few favorites from every genre out there, but '80's tunes will get me motivated in the morning with a strong cup of coffee. I'm a fan of the big JC ( Johnny Cash, not Jesus Christ, but I hear they were good friends) & am familiar with most of the names associated with the Grand Ole Oprey from having grown up with a dad who has a passion for country music. I personally favor Eurythmics/Annie Lennox -- have all the CD's-- as well as SuperTramp, to top a very long list with a very wide range.

2 all time faves - When Harry Met Sally & Passionfish. Anything with David Strathairn (google that eye candy) When my beer goggles are in full force, the hubby takes on a mild resemblence....I dont watch a lot of TV or movies in general but I got hooked into watching House, Fringe, & My Boys. I admit to being a supporter of PBS & a die hard MAS*H fan to the point of reciting dialogue. I hear cable has some good programs but I find it hard to sit in front of the tube unless I'm doing 2 other things at the same time. I have the boxed set of Pink Panther DVD's -- cartoon version but also the Peter Sellers 'people' character ones as well.

easier to list the things I Dont Do, lol. Basically anything relating to paper makes me tingle. My husband's pet name for me is papergoddess from when he discovered my dark side years ago when we met working the night shift at Kinkos. After filling my studio with wall to wall shelving, he now teases me with the moniker paper whore. You've heard the catch phrase "What would YOU do for a Klondike Bar?" -- replace KB with paper & you will understand. When most women get excited about going to the mall or having parties, I quiver in front of walls of art supplies, papers, etc... I own more crayons & markers than any kid I know & have 2 cubes of scrapbooking paper -- yes, cube being 12x12x12 inches of paper. Soon to be 3 unless I find a support group that works for me. And then let me tell you about my collection of vintage sewing notions, fabric stash, yarn, etc...& all the other non-paper potential art components......

or The wish list composed of fairly cheap, fairly easy to obtain, fairly easy to ship things to send to the Creative Chaos that is my studio & would give a spasm of delight to my inner brat..Single pot pkgs of any kind of coffee.Paper clip shapes, Dritz button covers from the notions dept of fabric stores. Flour sack dish clothes on which to embroidery. Those tiny gem dot embellishment thingies.(bijoux?) Paper lace. Deco tape. Bath salts of any kind, even the cute cubes with gold foil you find at the dollar store. Buttons of any kind.Word search puzzle books -- go through them like potato chips, lol , & have even gotten my dad addicted to them. I like heart shaped things but preferably w/o "Be My Valentine" on it-- think stones, soap,jewelry,imagery,stickers,beads,containers. Black safety pins- any size - hard to find where I am. Cancelled postage stamps as long as it's not the forever stamps or flags that you buy on the roll, Int'l would be great.Packets of flower seeds- any kind. This is just a list of ideas -- I am open to new things you may want to share:)

I love to recycle & use recycled materials in my artwork. I truly love the innovative ideas people have in repurposing & upcycling things many folks throw away. I have an ongoing obsession with creating handmade envelopes out of all sorts of recycled materials ( art books, ex libris, calendars, etc etc ) as well as postcards. I sell them at a local shop & someday will get brave enough to consider an Etsy shop for all of my various types of artwork. I also recycle packaging because it's colorful & cheap. Dont be surprised or disappointed if I send your item in a Pop Tarts box. It wont have snacks but hopefully something equally worthy of making you smile will be inside. Outside of art supplies, I avoid malls whenever possible & live for the thrill of the hunt in thrift shops, garage sales, flea markets, antique shops, second hand book shops, etc... I am not offended if you send me something from the second hand market as long as it is in condition of something you would use yourself. There's a difference between 'patina' & 'ewww' & I think we all have common sense to know that distinction :) I actually prefer you didnt spend full retail on a swap for me. I root through clearance bins, sale racks, free boxes, etc & can stretch a dollar further than the waistband of my underwear. I have no qualms if you do the same as long as it's in usable condition. Fave colors would be cobalt blue & moss green/sage. Enjoy all colors in general but prefer earth tones over pastels & cant deal with uber bright colors unless in small doses.

more enticing tidbits to come as I think of them & learn how to format stuff here on swap bot. Note that I am always open to a private swap. I have winter insulation in my tiny house in the form of books. I think I was born in a library although my mother assures me it was the local hospital. I consider the library to be my second home & have volunteered at them since grade school. My idea of a cool souvenier is to score, I mean nicely request, a library card from whatever city I travel to. If you sent me one from your city, I would be proud to add it to my collection. Hey, you buy the t-shirt/keychain/hat/postcard, I get the library card. We all have our quirks :) I keep mine in glass jars amongst all of my other colorful clutter. I recycle paperback book covers into postcards so if you find some in a free box or leftovers from a bag sale, tear off those cool graphics & send them my way :) Or just steal my idea if you're so inspired to recycle. That's ok too I guess, lol.

I have a serious collection of Edward Gorey books & ephemera, one shelf of classic Pink Panther, & tins full of buttons, wooden spools, pkgs of ric rac & seam binding, snaps, hook/eyes, and other assorted vintage sewing notions. I love the vintage graphics & typography on the labels & button cards. Today's modern button cards are plain white & boring by comparison. I even use sewing notions in my artwork so if you cant find vintage, modern bits & pieces get recycled into projects too. I have book cases full of children's hardcover picture books the envy of teachers anywhere. I will list artists/illustrators later of the specifics I'm always on the look out for to complete the sub collections. I'll take any ex libris Edward Gorey books regardless of condition IF you can even find them, or non current calendars. I salvage pages to frame :)

Mystery/espionage/guy thriller stuff by Carter Brown. These are considered 'vintage' & located in 'nostalgia' areas of used book stores. Helping a close friend find titles to attempt a complete collection. I appreciate decent condition for their age but refuse to pay 'collector' prices on ebay/amazon. I will sell my first born instead.!

to Rye-Rye for her technical assistance in supplying my profile with color & pics I requested to get me started. Eventually I will learn this stuff too, just like all the other interesting new things I discovered upon joining in on swapbot:) Meanwhile I'm letting her take over my comment side bar. I guess that's meant as incentive for me to learn the technical stuff so I can return the favor with some 'special' clip art for her profile comments. Until then enjoy the 'eye spasms' she keeps sending my way.