Kera

I am a very happy mother of five. Being able to raise these beautiful children is a blessing beyond anything else I can think of. I am a devout but open-minded Christian— our family loves Halloween, cute little witches and jack-o-lanterns as much as Christmas, carols and good ole St. Nick!

I am very socially aware, constantly advocating against human trafficking and other issues that are important to me. My family is very green and all about the organic way of life, trying to live as naturally as the crazy everyday life permits. I love our planet and reduce, reuse and recycle however I can. When I can manage it, I love shooting archery, swimming, hiking and just about anything physical and outdoorsy. I also love science and learning something new each day.

Besides crafts and books, fashion and doll collecting (e.g. 1/5th- 1/6th scale fashion dolls, not those big porcelain ones) is definitely another passion. Vintage clothing, especially 1950s era, catches my breath. So you get a feeling of how old I am, I am at the tip of the decade of the 1980s babies.

I just love making things and am all about handmade and putting your heart into things that you give others. I crochet, scrapbook, dabble in photography, hand make cards, cook and bake all the time. Whenever I can find the time, I am creating something and am constantly between projects.

I've read so much that I don't actually have a favorite book nor do I keep track of which ones I've liked best. Reading is just a passion. If I'm sitting at the table eating cereal, I have to read something, even if it's simply the cereal box. I love to read and collect "mini books" as well as preowned ones (I prefer them to new ones as they're better for the environment). The only thing I don't read are romance novels, unless it's comedic romance- then it's clever and humorous, so I enjoy it.

The things I would absolutely adore? Well...

-Etsy and Luulla

-Handmade. I cherish all things made by fellow crafters.

-Anything related to the kitchen or dinner parties.

-Mini-books!

-Dark chocolate— my fave! White chocolate is good too. Chocolate yumminess (preferably nothing Hershey and Nestle). I'm not a fan of milk chocolate but I'll eat it once in a while. I try to purchase organic, fair trade chocolate when I can.

-Woodland themed things (owls and foxes are my favorite) and giraffes

-STEAMPUNK!

-Ferris wheels, carousels, unicorns, winged horses, mermaids, castles and dragons

-Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz

-Chinese, Japanese and French/Victorian, vintage-influenced anything

-Tea! How I love tea! Coffee is good as well but tea will always win.

-Things that are re-purposed. For those with the creativity and the imagination to do this: KUDOS to you! I have so much respect for you!

-Jewel tones and pastels are both beautiful color palettes but I love jewel tones more, especially anything in the greens and blues family

If clothing ever ends up as an option, I am a size small or a US-size 0/1 (zero or one), shoe size 8.5. I'm well-rounded when it comes to things that I like and enjoy, so I'll end it here. If I listed EVERYTHING that sparked my interest, this would never end. ;)

I'm pretty easy. I really like a lot of things. The few items I would say, "No, thank you" to are:

-Religious items beyond a simple crucifix. The following things give me the heebie-jeebies ... Images of the Virgin Mary or Jesus crucified scare me. Buddhist things scare me. Hindu deities like the belly-dancing elephant and the lady with the fifty arms? Scares me. You get the idea.

-Stuffed animals and plush things.

-Strongly scented items like incense, fragrances and lotions. I get ugly headaches when I'm around these things for too long. I'll never go into a candle shop or a Bath & Body Works. When I pass through the cosmetics section of a department store, I hold my breath and walk as quickly as I can through it.

-Purple. While pastel purple is tolerable, most other shades of it don't gel with me. But hey, if you think I might like it anyway, I won't complain! ;) I pretty much give anything a chance.

My immune system is as strong as an ox. One of my daughters, on the other hand, yikes! She's allergic to so many things that we joke about putting her in a bubble and only giving her filtered air and water. It isn't just a "sneeze here and there" allergy. When she's allergic to something, it can set off her asthma. Depending on the allergen, sometimes it can be a mild or severe reaction.

I won't list everything that triggers her asthma, but two big things I'll mention: cigarette smoke and any animals that shed major HAIR and DANDER! That would be most dogs, most cats, rabbits, horses, cows, etc. So if you are a smoker and/or have pets, please let me know. It isn't that I can't accept the swap; I just know that I won't be having her sniff and touch and rub the stuff (she's very tactile, LoL). :)

Thanks for taking the time to read my babbling. Hope to get to know some nice folks soon!