Wanda

RATING: I ALWAYS RATE THE SAME DAY THAT I RECEIVE THE SWAP. So if you sent a swap a good while ago, and I haven’t rated you, then, unfortunately, I haven’t received it, and it may be lost in the mail. 🙁

Right now, I’m mainly interested in reading, watching YouTube videos, trying to make videos for my own YT channel, crocheting simple things, tending to our Little Free Library and doing a bit of Fall decorating and planning for Halloween. 🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂😊📬🍂🍁🍂🍁🍂

I'm awkward, eccentric, happy and kind. Kind of an oddball, prone to flights of fancy and imagination. I'm a whimsical type of person who revels in nature, plants, trees and the wild.

My favorite season is Autumn. The air is both thick and thin with a magical pulse. It feels as though if I were to round a corner quick enough, I might catch sight of some little fae creature scurrying off into the weeds.

I'm a 71 year old wife, mother and grandmother from South Texas. My interests include art - especially outsider type, drawn/painted by hand, but am now gravitating back to collage and mixed media. I’m into native plants, herbs, genealogy, history, reading, Little Free Libraries, cemeteries, journaling, playing video games (Sims, Hokko Life, Ooblets etc.), vintage vinyl dolls, American Girl type dolls, My Life dolls and most 18" dolls, handmade doll clothes, posing my Barbie type dolls and taking photos of them, then adding dialog and posting them somewhere.

Other favorite hobbies are journaling, and decorating my journal pages, and en masse composition notebooks, and working on my commonplace book. I also enjoy making and receiving ATCs and handmade postcards, and lately I’m gravitating back to zines.

POSTCARDS I do collect storebought postcards too, and I like both illustrations and photos. I love a wide (VERY wide) range of subjects but in particular, Halloween related, botanical, history, archeological subjects. I also like postcards related to books. Also Ireland and Scotland - Celtic history, Natural attractions, stone circles, ruins, castles, Celtic crosses, bats, spiders, bees, chickens or roosters, raven, crows, postal themes (mail, mail boxes, postage, post offices) etc., Frida Kahlo related, Mexican pyramids or ancient sites and archeology, Europe, Art, churches, abbeys, and any history - U. S. and worldwide, Eleanor Roosevelt, icons, The Great Depression Era, cemeteries, special or unusual trees, forests, surrealism, moody, melancholy and somber subjects, candles or lanterns, red poppies, Red carnations, Thistles, Flower Fairies, Etagami, Asian dragons, Portraits, Acorns, Are there Bridgerton postcards? I am completely taken by that Netflix series!!!! ❤️ How about Outlander postcards? Twilight postcards? Pretty much any postcards, actually. 😊

I like all things gardening, yard art, farming (very small scale), permaculture, ecology, nature and related subjects. I keep a tiny garden for veggies. I have herbs and flowers (wild and domestic) and trees and bushes of all kinds.

FOR RECIPE SWAPS/TAGS: I really like all kinds, but some are especially nice: healthy recipes, main dishes, side dishes, savory snacks and hors d'oeuvres, and of course your tried and true recipes that you use regularly. Charcuterie boards are a new interest to me, too. I prefer recipes on paper (but not written on front AND back) rather than on recipe cards since I glue them into a binder, sort of like scrapbook style. But I won't gripe if you feel the need to use recipe cards. ;) ALLERGIC TO SHRIMP, but other seafood is fine. AND, NOTHING FOR AN AIR FRYER OR INSTAPOT since I don’t have those.

SEWING

I have an on again off again interest in sewing. I am in no way an expert, but try, and do my best. I only do simple projects. Sewing related things are always welcome. I like all fabric themes, but especially Asian, botanical, plaids, woodland animals, cats (for my granddaughter), and well, almost everything. Colors: ALL, but mostly nature colors and jewel tones. Semi recent projects were Japanese knot bags, and quilt blocks.

I am also wanting to get back into embroidery.

CROCHET

I taught myself to crochet many years ago. I am definitely no expert and only make easier things. I’m currently working on granny squares for a sweater, and small pumpkins in fall colors.

My favorite books

• The Bible

• The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon

• all books by Michael D. O'Brien - I love his art, too.

• all books by Charles de Lint. He is the creator of the urban fantasy genre. I love both his YA books and his adult fiction.

• the book, 11/22/63 by Stephen King

• Anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - His short story, Eyes of the Blue Dog is amazingly wonderful.

• The Twilight series

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

• The Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub

My favorite book genres and themes

Mystery, paranormal, crime, history, art books, fantasy, and really, any topic related to my other interests.

My favorite movies

Dunkirk, My Family/Mi Familia, almost all of M. Knight Shayamalan's movies, Lonesome Dove, The Passion of the Christ, and the oldies, -It's a Wonderful Life, You Can't Take it With You, Harvey, most Johnny Depp movies (love odd characters!) and others.

My favorite TV shows

Bridgerton and Outlander on Netflix, Survivor, The Walking Dead, Big Brother (most seasons), Top Chef, Food Network Star, Project Runway, The Amazing Race, Modern Family, The Middle, Who Do You Think You Are, Finding Our Roots, Deadliest Catch, The Good Witch on Hallmark, Breaking Bad, The Dead Files, Dateline, Tough as Nails, Schitt’s Creek....

My favorite crafts to do

I like painting, drawing or collaging ATCs and postcards. Also making zines, journaling and making little assembleges, collage, mixed media, also crochet, but only VERY simple things, and I have to be in the mood.

Some swap item ideas or art themes I like!

These are just suggestions, not a 'gimme list'. So many of the things I like are cheap or free, that I thought swappers might like to have a lower cost choice to send, rather than spend more money than necessary.

• Cancelled, used postage stamps. That’s my newest interest. Any country or kind, except the regular U. S. flag. I have lots of those. Please cut or tear them off of mail, with surrounding paper intact.

• Stickers! But not cartoon characters, teacher or obvious children’s stickers. Cute stickers are fine.

• fabric - small pieces/scraps at least of a size to make Teesha Moore patches at least 3”x4” or more. Used fabric is fine.

• Flannel fabric at least large enough for a quilt square. Larger is good too. Used or scrap pieces are fine, as well.

• YARN any kind or color and any small amount leftover from your projects

• folk art

• outsider art

• Postcards of all kinds, unused and unstamped.

• anything to do with street art of any kind or
  graffiti on train cars

• trees in art or illustration-especially odd ones

• Zetti anything

• post office, postage, mail, mailbox subjects

• book, bookshelf, library themes of postcards

• notecards with envelopes

• zines

• zipper bags

• tote bags for groceries (usually $1)

• pencil bags

• fabric (Cuts from used clothing are fine. Especially flannel or men’s plaid shirts! Denim is good too. Anything, really.)

• embroidery thread

• large eyed needles

• any kind of miniature, plastic toy figure, etc.

• mixed media art

• historical subjects

• botanical illustrations

• special or historical trees

• Irish, Celtic, Czech, German, Scottish, subjects

• anything to do with Nicola Tesla

• anything to do with Robert the Bruce

• anything to do with Boudica

• anything to do with Bridgerton

• anything to do with Outlander

• art done on newspaper or brown bag paper

• vintage

• kitschy

• funky and retro things all make me happy.

• homemade sewn stuffed animals

• bee items

• veggie garden themes

• veggie things

• cactus and succulants

• acorn themed things

• crows and ravens

• anything that can be used to decorate my journal pages

• interesting canned food labels. Especially persons depicted on any label or boxed item.

• used stamps cut from your incoming mail ( but not the regular US flag ones) My absolute favorite is the “World War 1 Turning the Tide” stamp. If you have a used one (or more than one), I’d love it if you would send them to me!

• anthromorphic animals, veggies, fruit or plants

• Seeds of all kinds, including any collected from your own flowers or plants

• stencils of any kind (used or home made is fine)

• hand carved stamps

• doll clothes (for 18" American girl and My Life dolls and for Barbies/Kens), especially vintage or handmade doll clothes. Thrifted things are great!

• anything Claddagh themed

• tree of life theme

• thistle theme

• faerie lore

• faerie themed things - all kinds of fae such as goblins, trolls, elves, etc. (But not Disney or cartoon types.)

• anything with the initial 'W'

• the number 5 as a theme or a cut-out or ‘thing’.

• Woodsy embellishments and things like leaves, trees, acorns, pressed flowers, etc. (not real ones)

• collage sheets and images (many are offered free for printing online. I don’t have a printer.)

• I LOVE Little Red Riding Hood themed Items

• Almost any fairy tale themed thing, as long as it is not Disney

• Especially Snow White and Rose Red - I'd love to have the children's book of that - used, even in poor condition would totally ROCK!

• Any little doll (but not dotees) or action figure or animal

• Interesting magazine cut-outs.

• I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THRIFTED STUFF IN GOOD CONDITION.

Dislikes

• Disney items
• sexual themes
• Not into bling, girly-girl, animal prints, furry stuff, glam, etc.

My favorite colors

Reds, greens, and mostly dark, bright (but not neon) or jewel tones. I also LOVE plaid of any kind or color.

Halloween Preferences:

I love Halloween!!! Cute or creepy, vintage, woeful and grim. But not bloody, gory, devil or anti-Christian (like upside down crosses, evil nuns, etc.). I'm not crazy about ouija boards either. Halloween things are welcome year around!

My favorites are:

• Pumpkins, bats, black cats, owls, ravens/crows, Edgar Allen Poe, all things macabre, strange, woeful and creepy, jack-o-lanterns, or other "veggie people"

• I LOVE altered vintage photos used for Halloween things...like witch hats or pumpkin heads or fangs on people, etc.

• Skeletons, both regular ones and Dia de los Muertos style

• Halloween papers

• Halloween collage sheets or collage elements...there are many free ones offered online if your printer prints them well.

• creepy or twirly limbed tree items

• die-cuts, any kind, but especially 'fences'. Also borders or edging.

• cemetery, grave or tombstone themed things

-ghosts and monsters of all kinds

• Most strange, creepy things, barring the things I said I don't like at the top of this category. But if I join a swap where these are allowed or called for, please send whatever you want. I will never rate down for it. Halloween things are welcome year around!

Christmas Preferences:

Favorite themes would be...

• Nativity (or any part of it)

• Posada

• Elves

• Vintage/retro look

• Christmas collage sheets or various collage elements.

• etc., etc., etc.!!!

• If we are in a swap together and the Christmas or Winter theme is unspecified, you are more than welcome to send me art in YOUR favorite winter holiday celebration. I am not offended by receiving Yule, Hanukkah, Kwaanza or other art work. :)