AsAlwaysAngela

I am 29 yrs. old and the proud mother of a beautiful 4 yr. old girl and an adorable 2 year old baby girl! I love being a stay at home mom and having the opportunity to create in my "off duty" time (when the little ones are down for the evening).

Just a note about my swapping- I will rate ALL of my swap partners. I would appreciate ratings on the swaps I send too so people know that I follow through and hold up my end of swaps. Thanks!

I have typical crafter's ADD- I have been known to draw, paint, woodburn, etc...but my passion is for paper crafting which is currently consuming all my free time. By paper crafting I mean I am into making cards, tags, gift boxes, ATC's, etc. I do not scrapbook. I tried once, but I realized I have this irrational fear of cutting my photographs. I think I'm scared I'll accidentally cut out something important and regret it. I hope to one day get over that and give it a try again in a few years when I have more time to work on it. I would love to be able to do that with all the pictures of my daughters.

I love taking something blank and basic and creating something beautiful out of it by simply adding different layers and elements to it. I have a pretty simple design aesthetic (not into tons of gaudy stuff piled on top of eachother), but I work in the direction of whatever is inspiring me at the moment. I have a shop on etsy which I sell cards and other paper goods from. It has been fulfilling and helped me feel productive and worthwhile in ways other than being just a mom and wife.

I tend to be a bit (VERY) addicted to buying craft supplies, but sometimes I just can't resist that neat stamp set or the pretty new paper I see in front of me. My newest obsession is anything Tim Holtz!

I also enjoy crocheting- I just learned a little over a year ago and though I don't crochet in the warm months I go back to it in the fall and winter. I love giving my items as holiday gifts!

• Drop Dead Diva
• Royal Pains
• True Blood
• Vampire Diaries
• Bones
• Psych
• Leverage
• 90210 (yes, I am 28 and watch a show about 18 yr olds... sad. lol.)
• One Tree Hill
• Party Down (which was cancelled)
• Gravity (which was also cancelled)
• Sex and the City
• The L Word
• Weeds
• Ugly Betty
• Eureka
• Lie To Me
• In Plain Sight
• Dexter
• Castle
• Rizzoli and Isles
• The Secret Circle

And that is just to name a few. Let's just say I love my DVR. :-) When it comes to t.v. and movies I really just want to laugh and be entertained. I don't like watching things that are sad... I turn to t.v. and movies to escape those kinds of things.

We also watch Flyers hockey in this house! Thanks to my husband I have actually become a fan of the Philadelphia Flyers. So any Flyers items would be fine to send!

How about some favorite authors?

• John Saul (at one time I had read EVERYTHING he had out, but I have yet to read what he's come out with since getting married and having kids)
• Jane Heller
• J.K. Rowling (yes, I LOVE the Harry Potter series)
• Meg Cabot (her "chick lit" type novels- The Queen of Babble books, etc...)
• Jane Green

I used to read A LOT, but I've hardly touched a book since having my first daughter. I miss it sometimes. Now I am reading the same book over and over to my 3 yr old. Lol.

Note: I do not like the Twilight series (I just felt the books were poorly written).

• Favorite Colors: slate gray and purple; I also like blues and greens... basically "cool" tones.
• Favorite Music: depends on my mood, but I do NOT like jazz
• Favorite Song: believe it or not, I love Meatloaf's "I Would Do Anything For Love"
• Favorite Food: Italian dishes and steak fajitas... and frozen pizzas with doritos.
• Heritage: Irish (so is my husband- we are both very proud of it)
• Life Status: married with two beautiful daughters!
• Sign: Pisces (and I am a Pisces through and through if you know anything about sun signs)
• I am decorating my daughter's room in a ladybug and butterfly theme with lots of purples, sage and pink so anything like that would be more than welcome!

• ANYTHING TIM HOLTZ!!!
• I LOVE stamps! I used to prefer clear stamps over rubber stamps (placement is so much easier), but I've actually been using a lot of rubber stamps lately... they work better with the distress inks I've been experimenting with and I've been getting better at using them!
• I am on a huge Tim Holtz inspired kick (think retro, grunge, vintage, shabby, distressed, etc...)
• I am a sucker for really awesome papers- especially ones with unique textures. Double sided designed card stock is also really nice to work with.
• I use dimensional adhesives quite a bit for my cards.
• I don't use stickers very often, but I can find a use for almost anything. Lol. (My 3 year old will be more than happy to use any stickers).
• Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Ink Pads and Re-Inkers (SOOO in LOVE with them... they are the most versatile inks I have ever worked with and the possibilities almost seem endless)!
• Micron Pens in sizes 05 and 08 (especially black 05 which I use the most)
• Old watches (they don't need to be working)
• Old film strip
• Individual binding rings

I don't really want to specify too many dislikes, especially when it comes to crafting. I don't want to discourage someone from sending something I might love using, but just didn't know about or something that might give me a chance to try something new, but here are a few things I definitely DON'T need...

• Yarn scraps (I have tons of my own! Lol).
• Food, drink or candy items (I'm just way too picky when it comes to food and I'm not really a candy person).
• Paper scraps (because I have tons of that too left over from my own projects).
• Not a fan of things like Pokemon, Silly Bandz and other children's trend type things.

I would be more than happy to do private swaps with people! Here are some swaps I'd be interested in doing...

• ATC swaps (contact me for themes if you are interested)
• Profile Surprise Swaps
• Handmade Items Swaps
• Altered Composition/Mini Composition Swaps
• Handmade PC Swaps
• Handmade Bookmark Swaps
• Thrift Store Item Swap
• If you think we have similar tastes in something and would like to suggest a private swap please feel free! I am here to have fun and maybe make new friends!

I see some people have "wish lists" so I thought I'd make one too!

• ANYTHING TIM HOLTZ or reminiscent of Tim Holtz
• Gift cards to AC Moore or Michaels or Joann Fabric.
• Anything Pisces related.
• Anything Irish related.
• Embossing folders (like from cuttlebug or sizzix) or dies you no longer want or need. I just got a Sizzix BigKick and I LOVE it!!!!
• Butterfly and ladybug items for walls- this is what I am using to decorate my daughters' room.

Just so you know, I would never expect these things... just a simple wish list.

WHY DO PEOPLE MARK THINGS "SENT" WHEN THEY HAVEN'T SENT THEM???!!! If you are going to be late, just contact me. But marking your swap as sent before it is actually sent just really puts me off and gives me a very negative perception of you.

It kind of bothers me when someone has a stipulation for EVERY "like" and "dislike" they have listed in their profile. For example: "I like (fill in the blank), but ONLY if it's this and that and such a way, etc..." I understand we all have our preferences, but some people just seem ungrateful and impossible to please and make me dread having them as someone I have to send to...

Then again, maybe people are just tired of receiving junk. LOL.

I got my first cigarrette smoke infused package today and I must say it was quite attrocious. It basically went straight to the trash. I am an ex-smoker who quit for her kids and while I don't care if you smoke, I most likely won't keep or use the things you send me if they smell like an ashtray. Sorry. I am not judging smokers, but it's just the truth.