THarkness82

Hello fellow crafters! I'm new to the swapping community, but am excited to be a part of something I enjoy. I love mixed media, art journaling, altering things, ATC's and other forms of fun little artistic creations, as well as sending happy mail. I may not yet have all the cool new toys to play with like I'm sure most of you do (I actually don't even have any of the cool old toys either, lol), but I've always been creative and can come up with many ways to express my love of art! My personal art style is vintage/grunge/steampunk/dark and "creepy", but I'm perfectly comfortable creating "happy" things as well. I love to play with watercolors (although I only have one of the cheap/basic walmart tube sets), paint with acrylics, doodle, and create pages in my art journal. One of my favorite things to do though, is to alter things. Especially tins and plaques. I love the style of "DeeDee Catron", "Mixed Media Jen" and "Shawn Petite", all can be found on YouTube. If I could think of one thing in the art world that I'm just not a fan of, it would be a page full of colors that don't typically go together just thrown down and all piled on top of each other. I like to call it "color vomit"😅. If that's your particular artistic style, please don't take that the wrong way! Many people create beautiful pieces doing that, it's just not pleasing to MY eye. I don't care for children's stickers slapped onto something either.

My favorite author thus far is Robert Liparulo, hands down. I would HIGHLY recommend The Dreamhouse Kings series. If you like YA sort of mystery type novels, you'll love these. If YA is not your thing, his other books are amazing as well!

Anything historic or related to historical places. Anything about space, including the theory of Aliens having been/currently visiting us. All types of "ghost shows". My favorite is Paranormal Witness, but I'm not sure if it's still on.

On a more "get to know me" level, I am 35 years old (36 in April) and the mother of 2 beautiful girls. My oldest is 16 and my youngest turned 11 on July 1st. I have a gorgeous little black and white dog (she's a Black Lab/Pit bull mix) named Zelda, she's hilarious! I also have a generously sized orange tabby cat named Milo, whom we lovingly make fun of daily.😉😁They both answer to about a dozen different names.....(fyi: "generously sized" is a nice way of saying fat, lol). I consider them to be my children as well. They are, after all, our four-legged furry babies.😊🐶🐱
OK, back to me...I'm a former Army wife. I divorced my husband of almost 8 years a little over a year ago and it's been a constant struggle (financially speaking) ever since. I was a stay at home wife/mother for 10 years making it virtually impossible for me to find employment at this point in this web-based world. My resume looks like that of someone just starting out, not that of a grown woman. Therefore, when put next to anyone else my age, I'm guaranteed to be passed up. I've had to move back in with my mother (which no 35 year old woman wants to do) and my only "me" time is when I'm working in my art journal or crafting...it's become my escape. I love mixed media art and am branching out to ATCs and altering things, which I am thoroughly enjoying. As for happy mail/swapping, I love to send people a piece of myself. I think swapping is a great way to share a bit of who you are with others. Also, as I currently have no income and cannot afford many crafty items, I find it to be a wonderful way to share what I'm not using while acquiring something new to play with. Who doesn't love that?!? Even though I don't have much, I always give as much as possible...probably more than I should actually, lol. I just love giving others something new or different that they can play with! Lastly, because I have so few things (basically just things I've found around the house, 3 paper pads and a handful of .50 cent craft paints from Walmart), if anyone is feeling generous or simply wants to declutter/destash their craft room, I will GLADLY accept anything you're not using or plan to throw out!! I hope that doesn't come across wrong. I'm not expecting anything, it's just an offer to accept what some of you may not want or use anymore. I am extremely grateful for anyone who wants to share with a fellow, albeit "less fortunate", artist!

****Embellishments!!****

*First and foremost, I need stamps...(of the UNused postage variety). I really do need them to continue participating in swaps. I know it's nobody's responsibility but my own, however I'd greatly appreciate the help.😞

*A Stabillo "All" pencil in black (I know...I'm dreaming. But it's a wish list, right?!?😁)

*Matte Medium!!!

*Charcoal pencil/charcoal (not the kind from Dollar Tree, they don't work well at all🙁)

*Gears/cogs (pretty much anything that could be considered "Steampunk")

*Keys (metal/chipboard/resin/whatever!)

*Doilies (believe it or not, I have none!)

*Paper flowers

*Washi!! I only have one small tube of Tim Holtz washi (only because it was on sale).....I like anything that feels "vintage", Halloweenish or "dark"...not really into the "cutesy" stuff or anything with seasonal sayings.

*Pretty much anything metal.😆 Embellishments, Trinkets, ect...

*Resin pieces

*Chipboard

*frames

*Die cuts

*Ephemera (as much as possible!)

*Anything by Tim Holtz😍

*Napkins (please no birthday or children's type napkins. IE: Disney Princesses, minions...ect.)

*Alpha/adhesive gems/stickers

*Scrapbooking paper (I LOVE paper!!)

*Glitter

*A cheap watercolor set maybe? (The Artists Loft set from Michael's would be AMAZING!)

*colored pencils/wax or oil pastels (water activated only!)

*stamps/stencils

*acrylic block/any kind of mount for stamping. I don't have one. (Also, to anyone lucky enough to own the new Tim Holtz stamping platform or a new Misti.....I will GLADLY take off your hands an old one you may have and not be using anymore!)

♥💜♥Maps, encyclopedia pages, book pages, sheet music, Ephemera, lace, papers of all kinds!!! (Please nothing with Disney characters or children's themes. I'm just not a Disney Princess/Minions/Mickey Mouse kind of artist. I do LOVE The Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland though!!♥💜♥

*Anything "dark", "creepy", anything you would see/expect from Tim Burton!

🛇🛇🛇NO CLOWNS!!🛇🛇🛇😨😱

I do not own a single distress ink (not even one of the mini's), sprays of any kind or alcohol markers. They would definitely be on my "dream item" list...although I'm definitely NOT anticipating receiving any of them.

I will NOT be one of the people with a like/dislike list that takes 30 minutes to read!! I, personally, feel grateful for anything and everything I receive and I refuse to put that kind of pressure on anyone. As long as you don't send trash/broken or dirty things, I'll be a very happy girl. Taking the time to send anything from my list, although I don't expect it, would absolutely make my day (maybe even my month, lol!😆). I love; Stars/script and numbers(paper or stamps)/anything that feels vintage/butterflies/steampunk/scrapbook paper, anything and everything "creepy" or for Halloween...you get the idea! I'm pretty easy to please and 100% thankful for everything!!😊

Halloween!! I love things most find "creepy". Tim Holtz Halloween items are my preferred style...but the things Martha Stewart puts out this time of year, I also love. Paper, ephemera, embellishments...all things Halloween, all year round. Can't get enough!!

Art Journaling

Mixed Media

Paper Crafts

ATC'S

Altering Things

Canvas Art

Painting

Does attempting to create a "stash" count as a craft?!? 😆