brightparlor

Hello! I've been a fan of all things postal since I was a child, so I was very happy to find swap-bot. I live in a rural area near the Mississippi River and I love it when snail mail brightens my day. I promise I will always send my swaps on time. If you have a problem, please communicate and let me know. I'll willing to resend if the original item doesn't make it.

I enjoy letter writing, postcards, mail art, and all types of desk accessories. I like to knit (mostly socks and accessories), paper craft (I make Stampin' Up cards), read, and take photographs. I've fond of a nice cup of tea or coffee with friends and taking walks outdoors. I love traveling when I get the chance and drawn to the little details of a place when I visit.

Paper: I like both stationery sheets and notecards and will write my penpals on just about anything I can get through the mail. I make quite a bit of my own notecards with Stampin' Up products. I love letterpress when I get the chance to use it - such lovely paper!

Mail Art: I became happily ensconced in mail art when I joined the Letter Writers Alliance and was thoroughly challenged to up my 'mail game.' My mail art could be collage, rubber stamps, doodles, a combination of those, or sending your not so typical items through the mail. I use found items, ephemera, recycled items, my own photography, and pieces from my paper collection. I make a lot of handmade/decorated envies, handmade postcards, naked mail, and of course, hand written letters.

Postcards: If you're interested in my favorite postcard/card categories, they are: landscapes (cities, country scenes, mountains, black & white), travel / wanderlust, tea / teacups / coffee, anything vintage mail or postal themed, books or libraries, doors & windows, farms, cottages, cabins, historical buildings, your hometown/country, food, sheep, knitting or crochet or something that you'd love to share. I also like panoramic postcards. I'm a member of Postcrossing.com so I'm always using postcards.

Smash book / junk journal: I'm always adding bits and bobs to my current journal. I have plenty of pages, but additions (tags, diecuts, etc) can always be used or incorporated into mail art. I prefer items not to be too bulky; no 'rewards' ("good job"!) stickers please.

When I'm not papercrafting, I like to knit. I knit a lot of socks, hats, cowls, scarves. I crochet as well but tend to only crochet blankets or dishcloths and cross stitch when there is free time left over. I enjoy photography and am rarely without a camera on day trips to capture whatever I may find.

Other things I generally like: all things stationery/air mail, libraries, flowers, strawberries, pigeons, barn swallows, postcards, books, tea/teapots/tea accessories, coffee, sheep, washi tape, desk accessories (post its, paper clips, pens, pencils with erasers), vintage travel, all things London/British, Fortnum & Mason, knitting, crochet, cross stitch, museums, postage stamps, rubber stamps, Kinder eggs (can't get them in the US), gardening, gnomes, clouds, old/vintage photographs, polka dots, skeleton keys, hexagons.

My favorite teas are black (earl grey, breakfast, afternoon...) and I'm not a big fruit tea fan. I will also drink white and green teas. As for coffee, I don't mind instant coffee and nothing to fruity or heavily flavored.

Colors: blues, aquamarines (especially paired with red), greens, whites, light grey, purples, pastels.

I'm not a big fan of neon orange or tons of black.

...of Disney, kawaii, highly scented products (they make me sneeze), spiders, snakes, goth, lots of glitter, anything religious themed.