taravera13

I am a stay-at-home Mom to two amazing kids. KyLee is 3.5 and Jack is 18 mos. I have now been on Swap-Bot for more than a few months and I really like this site. I have learned about a few things I would otherwise never have known about - Dotee Dolls and Inchies to name two. I have learned that while I appreciate inchies done by others, I am not an inchie person. Too hard! I did my first Dotee Doll and though I think it came out rather well, I liked the one I got much better.

Whatever is playing on the radio. I listen to everything.

Self-help books are an addiction of mine, though I don't have the time to read more than the beginning and end of each chapter so it defeats the purpose sometimes.

I LOVE movies. Even bad ones. Last movie I saw was Role Models. I laughed and laughed and felt extremely guilty about most of my giggles.

t.v. addict here: ER, Two and a Half Men, Lost, Heros, The Closer, Rescue Me, Monk, How it's Made, Sponge Bob, Curious George, Big Brother, Biggest Loser, Smallville, any Law and Order (except Trial by Jury), etc... very conducive to making my projects. I need background noise.

Painting with acrylics and watercolors, drawing... Sometimes I 'meditate' by drawing on rocks with a sharpie, or on any surface. Some very abstract stuff. I like to knit, though I am truly a beginner. Knitting is like cooking for me - I absolutely have to follow the recipe or dissaster happens. I love soft knits. I like to knit scarves, hats, sweaters... I recently got invited to Ravelry and joined a dishcloth group. Is actually quite fun! I also enjoy photography, photoshop, crochet, collage, atc's, and well, this is supposed to be favorites but as you can tell I am all over the place. My most favorite thing to do is paint with watercolors.

I like things that are handmade, but if not then well presented. I like things with texture and an edge to them. I am not a girly-girl type of girl. I don't like stickers or glittery things. I love surprises. I am always surprised by the generosity of my fellow swap-botters. I appreciate the extras that get sent, but I do not expect them and I do rate mostly on the swap itself rather than the extras. In these hard times I would say - save the stash for yourself b/c I do less collage and more hand drawn/painted or photographed stuff. I usually forward the extras on to my next swap partner. Though I do keep some of it! I cannot lie.

I dislike it when I am in a postcard swap or a card swap and the person sending does not really make an effort to reveal anything about themselves. The generic messages I sometimes get will eventually dissuade me from those swaps. In a six card x-mas swap I expect more than six 'merry - merry's' and a signature. I will still rate a 5 for sending but I am disappointed by it. Part of the idea for me behind being on swap bot is to learn about and from people - firstly through their art or craft and secondly by their own words and effort.

I truly believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have received items from people with apologies that they are 'new' to whatever it is - and it was way more rockin' than anything I made in a while! I appreciate any effort and I have met people that do not call themselves artist but they should. I hope to meet more of them here.