Sonya

=============================================================== I'm excited to announce my new group Absolutely Inspired Arts! This USA-only group will swap ATCs of all types, journal ephemera, PCs, and other crafts.

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I've been creating art since I can remember and actually had a painting of mine hang in the deYoung Museum in San Francisco for 3 years when I was 5 years old, thanks to my kindergarten teacher.

I'm an avid traveler ✈️ and have been to all 7 continents (Antarctica was the last in Jan. 2023), and 41 of the 50 USA states...still working on the final 9 (Carolinas, Dakotas and some other midwestern states), then I can check that item off my Bucket List.🪣

I absolutely love when people push themselves and explore outside their comfort zones! I'm always up for a challenge and seek out new artistic endeavors, so I look for those types of swaps and I try to host swaps that may be different or challenging for some but very rewarding once completed. "Easy" or "quickie" swaps are NOT my thing!

This is a photo of my craft room in our previous home in Oregon, cleaned up for house sale photo shoot. Now we're back in sunny California and I've set it up all over again (phew).... but I doubt it will ever look this tidy again!

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NO THANK YOU:

• I am not a fan of the Tim Holtz paper doll/vintage people images!
• meat or seafood related images (I've been vegetarian for decades)
• religious content
• child-like subjects (i.e., dolls, kids playing, toys, etc.)
• people-type ATCs (i.e., movie stars, vintage folks, kids, etc. unless super quirky)
• holiday themes (unless specifically the swap requirement)
• Disney (I like many movies, but don't collect)
• patriotic or political themes
• superheroes
• cutesy things (i.e., teddy bears, dolls, gnomes, etc.)
• stickers with white outline
• foam stickers
• paper dolls
• horror
• anime, Pokémon, Hello Kitty, etc.
• small bits of paper "extras" - please, nothing smaller than ATC size
• no food/drink items, please

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YES PLEASE:

• abstracts
• astrology
• art deco era
• audio books / books
• autumn
• bling
• collage
• celestial
• colorful
• colors: purple, turquoise, chartreuse, teal, red
• corrugated papers
• die cuts
• dogs / puppies
• foreign language book pages (esp non-Latin/Roman alphabet)
• fortune telling
• geometrics
• glittery things (please adhere/seal that glitter well!)
• hand drawn / hand painted
• interactive ATCs
• metallics
• mid-century modern era
• mixed-media
• mushrooms (to admire but NOT eat!)
• music sheets
• mystical
• Queen playing cards (ATC/poker sized)
• rain
• risqué
• sci-fi
• sequin waste (aka punchinella)
• SF 49ers
• spring
• tarot cards
• travel
• UFOs
• Vicki Sawyer napkins
• watercolor
• whimsical (i.e., off beat, playful, quirky, etc.
• witchy

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I've been painting abstracts and geometric art for many years with acrylics on canvas or wood. I started painting with watercolors a couple of years ago and absolutely adore it! I am very fond of using metallic paints in either acrylic or watercolor. My most recent exploration is using alcohol inks! 🎨

Creating ATCs is a favorite of mine. I make HD/HP, 3D, mixed media, collage, embossed, fussy-cut, or interactive ATCs mostly and spend a lot of time and energy on my creations and appreciate the same in return. Most of my ATC swaps require a non-machinable stamp because of their 3D nature, so it may take longer to get to you as USPS needs to hand cancel. ➡️➡️➡️ I'm not a fan of people ATCs (think: Tim Holtz vintage people and kids w/ butterfly wings) unless super quirky, so please don't send such cards to me! You can visit my ATCs folder if you'd like to see some of my ATCs (may be spoilers). I'm also into creating ink box cards, tags, inchies, and twinchies. 🖍️

Paper-crafting is another favorite. I prefer modern & colorful, but you do you! I have a "Spellbinders" die cutting machine and now have a healthy collection of dies. Each year I create my own holiday cards and send a homemade ornament or painting with each of the dozens of cards I send out. ✂️

Deco books are super fun and I love seeing creations from all over the world! Please visit My Deco Books website if you are interested in seeing some of these books. It took exactly 365 days for my first "homer" deco to be returned to me...it can take years from creation to coming home (if it ever does). I dislike bulky, heavy decos w/ big baubles. Please keep decos flat as possible when decorating/making as it keeps postage costs down. I seldom keep other's decos more than a month - I move decos pretty quickly and almost never "pass" on a theme. NO EXTRA DECOS, PLEASE. 📚

Recently, I've been making/trading collaborative art postcards (i.e. pass and paste). I do NOT collect any store-bought postcards. 🎴

Homemade Christmas ornaments are a must-do each year. Please visit My Christmas Ornaments if you'd like to see a small sample of my creations.🎄

Past artistic endeavors include quilting, mosaics, soap making, jewelry making, beading, sewing, woodworking, silversmithing, leather tooling, stained glass, ceramics, and many more!

Smoke-free and pet-hair-free household (although I adore dogs). 🐕 🐾🐕‍🦺

Art was always my favorite subject in school. 😍

📖 I love books! Both audio and paper. I read about 150 books a year. Genres I'm most drawn to are:
- Historical fiction
- Sci-fi
- Post-apocalyptic
- Speculative fiction
- Mystery
- Paranormal
- Psychological thriller
- Suspense
A big NO on romances!

To name just a few of my favorite authors (from Z to A): -Lisa Wingate -Ruth Ware -Amy Tan -Lisa See -Spencer Quinn -Kate Quinn -Douglas Preston -Jodi Picoult -Jojo Moyes -Kate Morton -Liane Moriarty -Sue Monk Kidd -Lisa Jewel -Hugh Howey -Deborah Harkness -Kristin Hannah -John Grisham -Sue Grafton -Diana Gabaldon -Ken Follett -Lucy Foley -Ann Cleeves -Fredrik Backman -Jean M. Auel

I will NEVER flake on a swap unless something serious happens to me. Please message me or send an email if you haven't received something from me in a timely manner.

I rate every swap. I give ❤️❤️❤️ for items that show maybe you read my profile or put a lot of thought, creative energy, and/or time into its creation, but not for extras. Although I appreciate the gesture, I really don't need any extras (except for ATC/poker sized Queen playing cards); I already have too much stuff!

Thanks for swapping with me! ✌️