VenusDesigns

Hi everyone!! Long time no swap!!

About a year ago, I stopped swapping because life simply got too busy. I've missed Swap-Bot and all of the wonderful people I'd met here.

I'm interested in doing just a few swaps over the coming months and can't wait to get started!!

Mixed Media

♥ Altered Frames ♥ Altered Shadow Boxes ♥ Altered Books ♥ Altered Wooden Items ♥ Other Altered Things

Paper crafts

♥ Scrapbooking
♥ ATCs
♥ Inchies
♥ Envies
♥ Chunky Altered Books

Beading

♥ Designing & making jewelry such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings
♥ Creating accessories including purse charms, zipper pulls, belts, and more
♥ Making other items like wine charms, bookmarks, fan pulls, etc.

Polymer Clay

♥ ATCs
♥ Inchies
♥ Fairy Doors

Hand Sewing

♥ Small felt plushies
♥ Cases/wallets ♥ Small accessories

Craft Room

Here is a picture of my totally awesome craft room...

I collect the following CRAFTING MATERIALS:
♥ Beading materials such as beads, findings, charms, chain, wire, etc., but nothing plastic
♥ Paper of any kind! Scrapbooking paper with designs or patterns, cardstock in any color, ATC blanks, colored printer paper, cards (used or new), note pads, stationary, maps, pages from books, music sheets, etc.
♥ Ephemera
♥ Acrylic Stamps
♥ Postage Stamps
♥ Paper punches
♥ Stickers
♥ Pens, pencils, markers, etc.
♥ Paints and brushes
♥ Fabric, including felt
♥ Ribbon preferably without wire
♥ Deco Tape
♥ Buttons, plain or decorative is great!
♥ Embellishments of any kind!

I enjoy the following IMAGERY on items I receive and use (this is a long list!):
♥ Spirals
♥ Tigers
♥ Elephants
♥ Woodland Creatures, especially hedgehogs & owls, as well as other birds, deer, squirrels, and rabbits.
♥ Hearts ♥ Celestial
♥ Roccoco
♥ Matryoshka Dolls
♥ Kawaii stuff, especially animals.
♥ Flowers
♥ Leaves
♥ Trees
♥ Ladybugs
♥ Cats, especially tuxedo cats.
♥ Abstract images
♥ Clouds & Rainbows
♥ Butterflies
♥ Mushrooms
♥ Fruit
♥ Skullies
♥ Day of the Dead
♥ Paisley
♥ Patterns that repeat
♥ Victorian-Era
♥ Retro
♥ Scandinavian
♥ Dutch
♥ Tea & Coffee

My FAVORITE COLORS are Blue and Brown; natural earthy tones are awesome as are teal and silver. I'm not a fan of neon colors, nor do I particularly care for bright yellows or oranges.

I COLLECT glass animals of all sorts, but especially love vintage or antique ones. This collection was passed down to me by my grandmother and also my mother, so it's very dear to me.

I'm very easy to please and appreciate most things, however here are 3 no-nos I must mention:

X I make jewelry, therefore I don't need any sent to me. However, jewelry making materials and beading supplies, I would gladly welcome!

X Any kind of overly religious items, specifically those meant to preach at or convert me. If something is innocently included, that's okay, or if it's from another country/culture, I would actually enjoy it.

X I'm allergic to cigarette smoke so anything that smells like smoke, I am highly sensitive to. If you smoke, please place the items your sending outside in the sun to air out prior to shipping - spraying with fragrance or including a dryer sheet does not work as well as airing out the package contents.

Greetings!

Thank you for wanting to get to know a little about me. I am Lisa, a 30-year-old disabled, military wife, who has been creating art since I was a child. Over the past few years I have had to overcome many obstacles just to start crafting again.

Medical Hurdles

Since the age of 8 I have suffered from severe migraine-like headaches and other strange, unexplainable symptoms. My husband and I were stationed in New Orleans when Katrina hit, but only received minor damage.

During the following year, my symptoms progressed to a fully disabling level. Unfortunately, the New Orleans doctors could not explain the worst of the symptoms, but were able to diagnose a portion of the problem; I had Dysautonomia, an autonomic nervous system dysfunction.

Thankfully soon thereafter the U.S. Navy transferred us to Maryland where I would be able to be seen by numerous specialists at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Centers. This is where I was finally diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (E.D.S.).

Prior to treatment I was confined to a wheelchair, mostly bedridden, and used very few words to communicate. I endured over 100 emergency room visits within 19 months due to extreme bouts of pain in my head and joints.

In April 2008, a medication delivery pump was implanted in my side and now delivers my medication directly into spinal cord and therefore throughout my body.

Soon after, I began taking small steps back to a better quality of life. As of November 2008, I began to walk on my own and even happily do some chores around our home. Everyone was thrilled to see me walking, including several of my doctors who had never seen me out of my wheelchair.

My Crafts

Craftiness is in my blood; my grandmother loved crafts of all kinds, as do I. I learned from watching her at an early age. That love of all things handmade continued to be fostered by my stepmother, also an amazing artisan.

Since becoming disabled, making jewelry and accessories has helped me pass many painful hours by refocusing my energy onto something enjoyable. Learning the latest techniques and creating new designs not only further enhances my enthusiasm, but adds to my shear delight in crafting.

Thanks!

Thank you for reading my story and I hope to get to know you as well in the near future.

Me & the Hubby

This picture was taken of Nate and I in fall of 2009.