Strawberry

I sometimes reuse my postpaks and such (not as often as I'd like anymore though :/), so please don't be too alarmed if you get a package that looks like it's seen more of the world then you yourself have. Having said that, I use a lot of tape and pack it sturdily (thank God I don't have to open my own packages! lol), so the contents should be totally fine! ;)

I'm a lovely 27 year old gemini "lady" from Australia, although sometimes nothing more then a big kid. :)

Generally upbeat and happy, I tend to get easily excited over many things and love to make people laugh (or even smile). I'm incredibly weird, imaginative, love to talk about almost anything and have great conversations with anyone worth talking to. Besides my very "high maintenance" side however, I find I need a lot of personal time to reflect on my thoughts and things I've learned. I love to write, read, game (I've secretly been a big nerd all my life) and enjoy doing things with my hands.

Most importantly, I believe in 'dancing to the beat of my own drum' (as the saying goes).

I love crafting! Lately I've been branching out into 'previously unexplored waters' in the crafting world, and having a lot of fun with it!

I currently live on a nice big property surrounded by lots of nature. I've had some really memorable experiences getting up close to the wild animals that live around here; many of which have become quite used to me and don't mind me wandering around them. Being a big animal lover, it's a wonderful feeling! On the domestic side, I have a gorgeous red "mini-cross-standard" dachshund named Angelo. He's such a hilarious little guy with plenty of character and a heart to match!

My nickname "Strawberry" is one I've carried since my early high-school days. I can't even remember how it originally came about but somehow it just stuck and I've had it (or variations of it) ever since. I guess you could say it's become part of who I am. :)

Some time ago I went through an incredibly rough patch in my life that left me feeling so emotionally drained and worthless that I didn't know what I could do to just go on, or even if I could. The biggest issue was feeling like I was alone in the world and that I was not someone who I wanted to live with for the rest of my life, anyway. In short, my self-esteem was nil.

So I wanted to share this:

Any women who's reading this now and has less then a positive image of themselves but would love to change that (even if you're not in "the dumps").. check out the following blog post!

100 Ways You Can Start Loving Yourself Right Now

..and while you're there, browse around the site - there are a couple of other really nice articles (and not boring, promise!) like what to do when you're really upset and when you don't know what to do with your life, etc.

It helped me along in some of my worst moments; even if it was just to smile a little again. More importantly, it was the little boost that set me on the path to loving myself again (one tiny step at a time). I hope it helps someone out there too.

Finnish & Scandinavian Metal ~ Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Nightwish (Tarja era), Apocalyptica, Finntroll, Sentenced, Poisonblack, Ensiferum, Korpiklaani, Satyricon, Charon, Pain, Within Temptation, etc [many more].

I'm a sucker for melodic/symphonic/power metal.♥

Also long-standing love for Queen & Helloween. ;)

Music that is both extremely catchy AND truly meaningful (the sort where it's apparent that the writer of the music &/or lyrics is incredibly intelligent, deep-feeling, world-wise, soulful and can commit all of this well to music).

I'm generally not a big fan of bands & singers who have their music written for them.. it's always been an issue of mine ;P

..with the exception, perhaps, of songs from Eurovision over the years. This is an addiction I just can't seem to kick (I'm not trying very hard though).

Ahem! Anyway, I also love~

Irish and Celtic folk music (in fact, a lot of different folk music), flamenco guitar, Gregorian chant, ambient and relaxing music and music similar to & including Enigma, Enya, Iona, Yanni, The Cranberries & The Corrs.

Old-school 70's rock. :)

80's music. I grew up listening to 80's around my older siblings. I had great influences like Bon Jovi, Metallica, Dire Straits, Icehouse, AC/DC, and of course a bit of Cyndi Lauper and Whitney Houston, amongst others! I still love it too~ :)

Some 90's music. The era where anything went music-wise.. and before all that RnB & such became so mainstream (I'm really not an RnB fan AT.ALL.).

Actually, I have quite a wide taste when it comes to music - I'll try pretty-much anything at least once. :)

So yeah, I love music a whole lot! ♥

Fantasy and historical fantasy and very well-written sci-fi (but DEFINITELY nooo 'Twilight'). I especially love Forgotten Realms/Dungeons & Dragons books and anything by Wilbur Smith, Maggie Furey, R.A. Salvatore, Christian Jacq, Katherine Kerr, Bryce Courtney and Robin Hobb!

I love romance books with more substance to them; where the characters actually have character & a personality (and don't necessarily have to be drop-dead gorgeous). I'm especially drawn to those with an unconventional or quirky pairing in which the attraction is there early on but takes some time for the romance to build, rather then the usual superficial "tupping" you see in romantica books. God I hate that word. XD

However, I do also -occasionally- love a well-written romantica (romantic erotica) novel - I'm particularly interested in those based on time-travel (as in the lovely lady from modern times ends up somewhere back in history, don't really like the guy coming to modern times). If anyone has a book like this, new or used, I would love it, even if it's just to borrow and then send back.. or if you can recommend any great titles for me to check out, that would be appreciated too.

I've been really enjoying some books about the minor characters from Jane Austen's 'Pride & Prejudice' - specifically Charlotte Collins (whom I liked) - like "An Unlikely Missionary" & "Charlotte Collins: A Continuation of P&P". I'm one of those people who often finds myself wanting to hear more about minor characters and their 'adventures'. :)

Roman Holiday, Love in the Afternoon (yeah, I love Audrey Hepburn - these are my two favorites), many classic black & whites.. and some of classic colors too (I like those goofy 'Carry On' series movies from the 60's & 70's too), period dramas (although most of those are tv mini-series'), Pitch Black, Monty Python, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Pan's Layrinth, Back to the Future series, Braveheart, Grave of the Fireflies, Kill Bill, Black Ice, Forrest Gump, Castaway, Memoirs Of A Geisha, LOTR, POTC (well, the first one), Dances With Wolves, Harry Potter (only 1st & 2nd) and Star Wars (70's/80's only). Don't mind a bit of Bollywood occasionally either (Shahrukh Khan movies like Veer Zaara, Rab Ni Bana Di Jodi & Devdas - though I don't like Aishwarya Rai very much..).

I love pretty much all movies with Audrey Hepburn or Katherine Hepburn. :)

Although i don't watch them much these days.. I have a soft spot for the old Disney movies too - especially Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, Jungle Book, Robin Hood and Beauty & the Beast.. oh! and Mary Poppins, of course.

What is the ultimate horror movie? I'm talking one that surpasses all others. I know we all have our own taste in what scares the heck out of us (for me it needs to be strong in realism, so that i actually have to remind myself that it's a movie). My discovery for most realistic-and-believable-and-creepy-as-hell goes to '[Rec]' - a spanish zombie movie with subtitles. The only horror movie EVER that I couldn't watch to the end was 'The Hills Have Eyes 2 - Directors Cut', simply because I found it disgusting.

TV-wise my favorite shows are Terra Nova, Agatha Cristie's 'Poirot' & to a lesser-degree 'Marple', Doctor Who (most recent doctor is my fave incarnation - Matt Smith is just adorable!), BBC's Merlin, Game of Thrones, Teen Wolf & Eurovision. These are the only shows I never miss an episode of - others are a matter of time & mood. :)

I like the old series 'Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman' too, but it's mainly for Hank Lawson (such a character!). Yum. Byron Sully is also pretty nice and not too hard on the eyes, but Hank is just.. Hank. Enough said. :)

Some of my all-time favorite TV series': Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, The Simpsons (not the newer eps. ew!) & Futurama.

I really love tv mini-series' too - mostly period dramas like 'North & South' (and I love love love 'Lost In Austen'! :D) and fiction-based-on-fact ones like 'Into The West'. :)

Teen Wolf is a recent passion of mine, and it's all about the Derek/Stiles goodness (and nothing to do with Scott or his stupid angst-y romance, both of which are very annoying and make me grind my teeth/cringe).

Actually, since my early teens I've been totally in love with slash/yaoi (most of which was from TV Shows or Movies) - in particular pairings like Harry/Draco (Harry Potter), Arthur/Merlin (BBC's Merlin), Dean/Sam (Supernatural), Steve/Danno (Hawaii 5-0) & the fore-mentioned obsession with Derek/Stiles (Teen Wolf).

But that's another story~

I make mostly beaded jewelery, handmade cards & paper crafts, felt accessories & embellishments, paper embellishments, bookmarks, random crafty stuff, etc.

I also make address labels & swap cards a lot - love making them for anyone and everyone. :D

I'm hopeless at almost anything involving sewing as the main component. Okay, maybe I just need more practice (and the time), but all I really dare is some occasional stitching with floss.

I DON'T scrapbook at all. However, I love scrapbooking embellishments (besides ones that are too "obviously" themed for scrapbooking) & use them for other things. :)

Things I'm currently looking for, collecting or am obsessed with. :)

• Any books by Robin Hobb (besides 'The Liveship Traders' trilogy, which I already have).

• Anything of the beautiful faun from 'Pan's Labyrinth' movie. Love love love him! :)

• Finnish postcards (especially Kemi!).

• Copic Markers of any color! ♥

• Matchbox - shrines/books/filled; handmade by you if possible! :)

• CD's or digital downloads of vintage collage sheets or graphic collections.

• Romance/romantica books with unconventional or strange pairings (that somehow work really well).

• Books by Susan Wiggs! I already own: Charm School; At The Queen's Summons; The Drifter; The Lightkeeper.

• Romance/erotica novels based on time-travel (example: the 21st century gal finds herself back in viking times. I Definitely prefer the character going back in time!). New or used is fine. :) I'm particularly looking for (collecting) the Viking ones from Sandra Hill, and the Native American ones from Madeline Baker. Other time-travels set in the Old West would be really nice too. Time-travel only though, please! NOTE:- of Sandra Hill I already own: Viking Heat, Last Viking, Outlaw Viking (my fave so far), Dark Viking, Viking Unchained, A Very Virile Viking [Also: Viking In Love, Viking's Captive & Viking Takes A Knight - though they're not time-travel]. .. and of Madeline Baker I already own: Chase The Lightning.

• Fantasy books! Hit me up with some great fantasy! Nice if it contains romance too - but please no Twilight or similar trashy vampire novels (sorry if you like Twilight, but to me they're.. well.. not good). I'd totally cherish any Forgotten Realms books (or those set in the Forgotten Realms).

• Medieval-style or vintage engraving-style rubber/acrylic stamps. By that I mean like the images from the Medieval/Renaissance/Georgian/Victorian period books (that sort of wood-block style - like the artist Dürer did so well - Google him to see what I mean). For images they used tone lines or hashing rather then the tiny tone dots that they do now. I love that effect! I'm happy with anything religious-based in relation to that too (as it was a big aspect of that time) like nuns or saints or whatever, as long as it's in that style. New/used/mounted/unmounted are all fine! :)

• Badly need colored stamp pads - any size & color would be great but the little color-box cat's eye's ones or Memento Dew Drops are super perfect. Also.. I would probably die and go to heaven if I got any big Memento stamp pads (including black - always useful). xD Oh! Please don't send me any neon/fluro colored ones though!

• Absolutely anything on Finland (especially Kemi). Would really love this!!

• Anything with images of real wolves (postcards!). No cartoons please.

• Blank paper tags (especially scalloped ones) punched from card (rather then paper) - plain or patterned (I need to be able to write on them as I generally use them to tag my handmade jewellery :)

• Black or colored pens in size 0.2mm or finer (like Sakura brand's 'Pigma Micron's 005). Super fine! :)

• Earrings in silver or antique-style metals (don't really like gold though - unless it's antique gold - as it can very easily look cheap and garish from my experience). dangling sort are preferred! Nothing cheap-looking or overly girly/cutesy.

• Anything off my Etsy favorites list: click here :)

• Ultra Fine Point SHARPIES in any color or black. I can't seem to get them where I live.

• Point-back [chaton] rhinestones - any size is great!

• Double-edged lace. Not sure if this is the actual "name" of it, but basically lace where both edges have the same design, rather then one edge being straight and the other wavy.

• Jewellery findings of ANY metal (besides nickle), including colored aluminium. Earwires, eyepins, headpins, bead caps, spacers, chain, wire, crimp beads, small round ball spacers - or any findings really - are perfect. I already have a lot of silver/antique silver/tibetan silver in my stash, so prefer not to get the basic findings in those colors (besides wire, which always comes in handy).

• Beading/Beaded Jewelery magazines or books! Can always use more of these and I love them so much (new or used)! I especially adore back-issues of Creative Beading & Australian Beader magazine.

• Postcards from Finland (blank or written-on). :)

• One-on-one swaps! (thought I'd slip that in there :D) Seriously, I love private swaps - happy to do profile-based, themed or handmade swaps, check out the things I've handmade so far (for swaps, etc) on my Flickr page here.

• any size beads in any cut and any material other than acrylic or plastic. I especially love glass, crystal & gemstones (natural & dyed). Would adore more frosted/matte glass beads as they're not so easy to come by and they're nice to work with!

• Jewelery wire and chain - any gauge. Any color is cool too, but I'm most after antique colors. Please no Tigertail or similar as I have heaps of it.

• Folk music! I especially love instrumental, traditional and ones with non-English lyrics.

• Posters and prints for my walls. Nature-inspired and space/the universe can't go wrong! :)

• Embroidery floss in metallic, metallic pearl or linen colors.

• Really nice poems and quotes that makes you smile and/or think.

• DIY blank card & envie packs in small sizes (like, smaller then the average card size - think closer to notecard size).

• Flower or Border paper punches. Any size or design is good really, but if the design isn't the average I'd be thrilled! Also would love one of those single-hole hole punches (ones that have some reach so you can position the hole better)

• Flower embellishments. Any and all - whatever material or size - including paper flowers and such.

• ORANGE Hi-Chew!! Don't like the other flavors much, but the orange one rocks. :)

• Can't forget to mention: Finnish postcards. :P

• Anythings useful for my craft that doesn't look cheap.

• I love shrink plastic! ♥

OTHER STUFF I LOVE~

Funky pens, handmade things, felt, nature, sandalwood, rhinestones, alphabet stickers & chipboard, odds & ends, Monty Python, flowers, animals, Finland, Egypt, rice/washi paper, nostalgia, color-themed swaps, old movies, pomegranates, rubber/acrylic stamps, grab bags, romance, orange flavored chocolate, seasons, sticker sheets, Dachshunds, velvet, nail-polish, warm butterscotch sauce, handy accessories, strawberry-themed items, far-off places, make-up (fair skin/mid blonde/blue-grey eyes), embellishments, vintage, Scandinavia, Glimmer Mist, night sky/the universe, embossing powder, history, strong hair-clips, marzipan (plain, no chocolate), Korean kawaii stuff (Mr. K!), leather, Metal (music), German nougat (plain, no chocolate), lace, sheer patterned stockings, gold & silver accents, poetry books, white musk.

Favorite..

Scents: white musk, sandalwood & honeysuckle. Any scents that smell exotic without being overly sweet. :)

Colors: Creamy white/off-white, orange-red & yellow-green. I love pretty much all colors though.. I can't think of any I don't. There's truly a color for every occasion. OH! Actually, I don't like neon/fluro/eye-hurty colors. :P

Color Combination's: red & white (preferably a vibrant red or orange-red with a creamy white); red & black; red & black & gold/copper; olive/lime/emerald green & black.. erm.. I'll add more when I think of them!

Flavors: Cola, lime, cinnamon, butterscotch, mango, pineapple, mandarin.

• Any seeds/plant material/loose tea from outside Australia (postal quarantine laws).

• Coffee/alcohol/licorice/anise/blackcurrant flavors.

• ATC's or Inchies. Please be aware that I don't dislike them (I appreciate the value of anything handmade), I just don't collect them & so they would be better sent to someone who does. :)

• Vampire romance/romantica books or Twilight. I just don't find those kind of vampires sexy (much prefer Anne Rice's & 'Vampire: The Masquerade' kind - you know, the classics; the best ;).

• Grosgrain ribbon.

• Socks.

• Incense; I like the stuff but I have way too much of it at the moment!

• Things for the bath - stuff for the shower is fine though!).

• Like most people here - anything that smells of cigarette smoke, is dirty, dusty, covered in pet hair, etc.

• Anything neon/fluro/eye-hurty colored.

• Things themed from a certain event in the year like Christmas or Halloween or something, unless it's versatile enough to be used throughout the year. I don't really do much (or anything) with those sort of event themes, so it would be wasted.

• Pandora beads/Silver-core beads (please don't get confused with silver lined - lined is fine)/large hole beads - basically any of the sorts of beads made to slip onto those European-style bracelets since I don't wear/make/like them.

• Educational or garish, cheap-looking stickers. Cheap stickers themselves are okay as long as they don't LOOK cheap.

• Anything to do with MODERN pop/RnB/rap/hip-hop music (I'm talking from the 00's onward). I especially dislike "singers" like Justin Beiber, those One Direction losers and such * shudder *. Also, not the biggest fan of techno or country music, but there are the odd exceptions.

If anyone feels like angeling any of these, that would be lovely. :)

• @lilpinktyger - Grab Bag Tag (AFOMFT forum) - a grab baggie - Flaked on 28/Oct/2010

• @frankkenteen - Pick 5 Profile Swap 7# May - Flaked on 7/June/2011 (her account was deleted because she was underage.. sigh) Angelled in a mutual swap by the very generous @fionafish ♥

• @mejulia - Theme In A Ziplock forum - Mystery Sandwich Baggie tag - mystery baggie - Flaked on 4/Sept/2011 (despite a claimed 'resend' and no response to contact I made thereafter)

• @LakeViewQuilter - ★ Pretty Star Swap ★ - Flaked on 11/Feb/2011 - Angeled by the wonderful @darkshines ♥

none at the moment.

none at the moment.