I am a mother, nanna, (sometimes grumpy) wife, friend, sister, aunt, reader, cook, paper artist wannabe, outspoken, politically interested, globally aware, curious, funny, kind, animal loving, tolerant, strong, independent woman, comfortable in my own skin. I live in Queensland, Australia in an area of outstanding natural beauty. My surroundings and my family inspire my artistic endeavors.

What I Pledge

A NOTE ABOUT POSTAGE

As I reside in Australia, I am already either a day ahead or a day behind many other swappers here on s/b. I mark my swaps as sent THE DAY THEY ARE PUT IN THE POST BOX. If that happens to be a Saturday, there is no postage collection until the following Monday. Also, as I live in a small semi-rural community where postage is consigned to a secondary sorting unit for postage, that automatically adds another day into the equation. I am noticing that most mail I am sending appears to be received approx 16 - 20 days after postage, so please bear that in mind when expecting postage to arrive from me.

POSTAGE PRICE INCREASE 10/22/2012

Unfortunately, with the increase in International Postage rates effective 10/22/2012, I have had to make the decision that I will no longer be putting "extras" into my swaps. It's either that or I discontinue International swaps (which I don't want to do). So while I will always endeavour to meet the swap requirements and include a friendly letter, I simply can't afford to add those little "extras" that increase the cost of the postage. I thank all my swap partners in advance for their understanding. Oh, and by the way, I don't expect extras from you either - why should either of us make the Post Office rich?

I read my partner's profile for a swap and where possible, try to tailor what I produce to your tastes. I also enjoy reading your profiles and am amazed at the talented, funny, inspirational profiles I've read. Thank you!

I like most music styles from Country & Western to cheesy '80's to Classical. My hubby is a musician and plays in a Blues Band, so blues is often heard at my house too.

Some of my favourite artists are:

• Michael Jackson
• George Michael
• George Benson
• Jason Mraz
• Dolly Parton
• Queen (I think Freddie Mercury was a genius!)
• Rob Thomas
• Vince Gill
• Keith Urban
• Etta James
• Harry Connick Jnr
• Bruno Mars
• Prince

among many, many others.

Some of my favourite songs and/or compositions are:

• Air on a G string - J.S. Bach
• Go rest high on that mountain - Vince Gill
• Love x love - George Benson
• Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
• All in love is fair - Stevie Wonder
• Constant Craving - kd Lang
• Song to the Moon from "Rusalka" - Dvorak
• A case of you - Joni Mitchell
• Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
• The Swan - YoYo Ma

again, among many, many others

I love the old crooners and big band sounds such as:

• Ella Fitzgerald
• Nat King Cole
• Frank Sinatra
• Billie Holliday

I could go on and on. Music is very important in my life and I can't imagine a day without it!

Having worked in Publishing most of my life, it's no surprise that I adore reading and when I'm not working on my crafts, you can almost always find me curled up reading a good book. I love thrillers and crime novels, family sagas and factually based historical sagas. I enjoy writers such as:

• Kathy Reichs
• Lee Childs
• Patricia Cornwell
• Henning Mankell

I have 2 absolutely favourite books and I can't decide between them. They are:

• I know this much is true - Wally Lamb
• Someone knows my name - Lawrence Hill (also known in the USA/Canada as the Book of Negroes.

I have also just finished reading

• Jasper Jones - Craig Silvey.

I adored "Jasper Jones" and I now think that I have 3 favourite books! What a dilemma!

Some other books I'd call favourites:

• Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Café – Fannie Flagg
• The Red Tent – Anita Diamant
• Salvation Creek – Susan Duncan
• Pastures of the Blue Crane – Hesba Brinsmead
• Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson
• The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer
• The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini
• The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
• The Road – Cormack McCarthy
• A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

I also love and collect cookbooks and have hundreds of them. I drool over the photography!

I love movies that make you think and leave you with questions. Films such as:

• Armistad
• Good Night and Good Luck
• Amazing Grace

I also love films from Hollywood's golden age such as:

• The African Queen
• Leave her to Heaven
• The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
• My Fair Lady

I adore old movie stars like Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant. I also love Johnny Depp, Scarlett Johansson, Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, Cate Blanchett, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman and Leonardo Dicaprio. In fact, I like anyone who can act!

I love quality TV shows from any Country!

• Deadwood
• West Wing
• Sons of Anarchy
• Weeds
• Boardwalk Empire
• Homeland
• Dexter
• Underbelly
• Prime Suspect

and almost anything from HBO!

My passion is Altered Art such as:

• altered dominoes
• altered tins

My style is anything with a slightly grungy edge to it.

Crafty pursuits are:

• ATC's
• handmade cards
• jewellery making
• any paper arts
• tags

I am not terribly proficient at any one thing but I love everything and will give anything a go!

My fave artists and schools are:

• Gustav Klimt
• Frida Khalo
• Georgia O'Keefe
• Wendy Sharpe
• Norman Lindsey
• pre-Raphaelite Art
• the "Heidelberg" school
• Alphonse Mucha

• cooking good, wholesome food
• adventurous eaters
• swapping recipes
• my family
• Christmas - everything about it, the songs, food, decorations, family get togethers, planning, even the crowds!
• dogs - big, small, tail wagging, friendly muts
• travel and getting off the beaten path
• thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain which leaves the trees and earth shimmering in their wake
• my hubby's arms
• my "double happiness" rescue doggie, Holly. Double happiness because she gives us twice as much as we give her! Just love her!
• Art Galleries
• Concerts
• getting together with friends
• taking Cooking classes
• seeing a "Show"

Lots of smells:

• the smell of wet or just mown grass
• the smell of a just bathed baby
• the smell of linen fresh from the clothesline
• the smell of fresh, green herbs - any herbs
• the smell of fresh lemons
• the smell of soup cooking on a cold night
• the smell of the Australian bush after rain

• Negativity
• people saying "I'm bored"
• cruelty in any form to either humans or animals
• spiteful jokes at the expense of others
• needless waste
• gossip
• people who don't rate or take the time to say "Thank you"
• waiting in lines
• driving in the rain
• smoking - OK for others but don't do it around me
• too much alcohol - I like a drink but too much is just too much
• Kawaii and cute - I DON'T DO CUTE!
• being late for no good reason
• bigotry

YOU DO NOT NEED TO SEND ME EXTRAS TO MAKE ME HAPPY. The goodies listed below are always highly sought after in my travels:

• glue - any type (I love glue)
• small snippets of lace to use in my crafts
• ribbons and trims
• anything Tim Holtz
• dominoes or game pieces
• flat backed pearls
• hand made Christmas ornaments
• hand made cards
• mica flakes
• atc backgrounds
• Halloween goodies
• anything Frida Kahlo related
• anything Gustav Klimt related

Further to taking the "Pledge" (above), I want to say that my mother always taught me to play nice! I WILL NOT flake, so if you don't receive a swap from me, please let me know before you rate me down, so I can re-send! I know everyone says that, but I MEAN IT! I also promise to rate you as soon as I get your swap. I don't even open my swaps until I am sitting at the PC, so I can rate immediately. If you haven't received my rating, I haven't received your swap, so please pm me - simple as that:).

Non-raters are almost the same as flakers to me. It gets up my nose that you take the time to make and send your swap on time and then get no rating or even a "thank you". Good manners prevail! Mini rant over, now breathe...not meant as a lecture but for Swap-bot to be a rewarding experience for all, everyone needs to play fairly, honestly and politely. And, I'm here to have FUN!

And finally, to those out there who think they can get away with flaking, if you do flake on me, you will forever be consigned to my "Flakers wall of Shame" and I simply will not swap with you again. That's all...

Non Raters Wall of Shame

@SEMOkraftee did not rate my swap Layers of Flavour #2 from the Paper Dragon Group. Contacted her twice to give her a chance - no response. Not happy!

Flakers Wall of Shame

@gusmom2000 for "Layers of Flavour #2"

Angeled by

@elluzki for Layers of Flavour #2 - TPD group. Thank you Elina xx