Churchmouse70

I am a pastor's wife with 2 sons in college, so I am enjoying my extra time in my craft room right now. I have taught 6th grade and kindergarten, and I ran a homeschool co-op for 10 years. My husband and I, along with our 2 sons, lived in Guinea, West Africa as missionaries. We lived very close to Timbuktu along the Niger River so we saw a lot of hippos and monkeys where we lived. At night we'd fall asleep to drum beats in the distance as we lay under our mosquito nets. My husband contracted malaria and dengue fever so we had to come back home to the States to get treatment. I love sharing stories about living in the bush with no electricity or running water, so if you want to know what it's like to live in Africa, please feel free to ask me.

I like creating and crafting just about anything. I letterbox and carve my own stamps. I like to make cards and pocket letters. I have big binders full of ATCs and LTCs from swappers. Making friends and meeting new people is the best part of swapping.

I also like to dabble with my essential oils. I make diffuser bracelets and necklaces. I recently started making different balms and lotions with my EOs.

I have 2 rescue dogs; a party mix cocker spaniel named Fluffy. He was sold for crack by a drug dealer when he was just a puppy. We found him chained to an abandoned drug house half dead. He is now fat and happy and spoiled and my baby. Our other rescue dog is an American Bulldog named Glenda. Her previous owner set her on fire and broke her tail in 3 different places. We rescued her before they could put her down. We were told she would never grow her hair back in, but she did. She is now also fat and happy and full of mischief. She is my husband's favorite girl. LOL!

UPDATE: Fluffy passed away on Christmas Eve. We are devastated but trying to get back to normal. He'll always live in our hearts.

We also have a very spoiled Maine Coon cat named Richard Parker. He runs this house!

I always send on time and I rate the day I receive my mail. If you didn't get your mail from me, something is wrong. Please let me know and I will look into it.

I love to read!! You will never catch me without a book! Lol!! Every time I start a new book, I pull out a new bookmark to use. I love handmade bookmarks! I love reading my Bible and my favorite genre is Christian Historical fiction. A few of my favorite authors are Angela Hunt, Terri Blackstock, Francine Rivers, Tamera Alexander, Liz Curtis Higgs, and Deanne Gist. I am an early book reviewer for several publishing companies. If you ever need a suggestion for a great book in the above genre, just ask.

I have every John Grisham book and I love them all but "The Testament" is my favorite. Here are a few of my favorite secular books:

Follow the River

The Pearl

Little House Series

Hunger Games

Harry Potter

The Good Earth

The Constant Princess

I also greatly enjoy young adult books. A few of my favorites are: Call It Courage, The Sign of the Beaver, and Where the Lillies Bloom.

My husband and I have started watch Boston Legal on Netflix. We think it is hilarious! Survivor, Survivor, Survivor!! I'm a huge Survivor fan!! I also like The Amazing Race and Dancing with the Stars. My favorite sit com is Big Bang Theory. I grew up watching Little House on the Prairie and I still love it. I am a loyal "Heartie" which means I love the Hallmark show "When Calls the Heart". I love to binge on Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfrige, and Poldark. These are my favorite British shows.

I enjoy paper crafts of every kind. Decorated envelopes are my passion!! There's nothing I like more than receiving an envelope with cuteness on it; it makes the happy mail even happier. I try to decorate all my envelopes I send out.

Here's a few things I'm involved in: *ATCs *Card making *Pocket Letters *Stuffed envelopes *Rubber stamping *Carving stamps *Altered books *Homemade tags *Flip books *Embellishments *ATCs and LTCs *Planner goodies esp. paper clips *Creative Bible journaling *Bullet journaling

Right now I am enjoying creating ATCs. So if you have any cute stamps or die cuts, I can always use these in my crafting.. I am so thankful to receive anything that is given in love. I'm truly not picky, but here are a few of my favorite things: (I just turned into Julie Andrews) Lol!

-bumblebees, any cute insects but I adore Bumblebees

-woodland animals

-handmade embellishments

-rhinestone stickers

-embellished paper clips

-rubber stamps and stamped images

-washi tape (I use lots of washi)

-handmade tags and bookmarks. I adore handmade bookmarks because I read so much!

-die cuts

-handmade envelopes

-ATCs

-Ephemera

I've never collected postcards, but since I've been on Swap Bot, I'm finding I rather enjoy them. I prefer to receive them naked and written on. I really like touristy type cards that tell me where you're from and map postcards. Any local recipe cards from your hometown are welcome. I also like animal postcards. If you have a cool stamp or sticker to decorate it with, all the better!

I have a map of the world that I like to mark where my PC's come from. Please tell me what state or country you are sending from if it's not on the PC. I really appreciate that!

Of course I love dogs and cats! We are currently looking to adopt another cocker spaniel. I wish I could take them all home with me. I miss Fluffy so much. I also have a passion for sea turtles. Every time we go on vacation, I must visit the turtles! I've even been blessed to witness the hatching one year on Edisto Beach in S.C. I'm a monkey fan. Lol! My husband and I will take special trips to the Atlanta Zoo just to see the monkeys. The baboons and orangutans absolutely fascinate us. One year we took the boys to Monkey Jungle in Miami, boy do we have stories to tell from that trip. Of course, we were all thrilled to see monkeys in the wild when we lived in West Africa. We stopped on the side of the road one time because someone threw a mango at our car, turns out, it was a mischievous monkey in a tree. It wasn't uncommon to see people riding their bicycles through the village with a small monkey hanging on the back. They were just everywhere.

A..... animals, apples, Autumn, Africa, ATCs B.....Bumblebees, Bible, bookmarks, bears C.....Cocker Spaniels, Cricut die cuts, cardinals D.....Disney, decorated envelopes E.....earrings, embellishments F......flamingos, foxes, fairies, frogs, fruits G.....Gorjuss girls, Graphic 45, gorillas, gnomes H.....hair accessories (decorated clips and bobbi pins), Harry Potter, Holidays I.....ice cream J..... K..... L.....ladybugs, lambs, Little House on the Prairie M.....map postcards, monkeys, mushrooms, mermaids, marine life N..... O.....owls, ocean life P......peacocks, penguins, Prima dolls, postage stamps, Paper Smooches Q..... R.....Recipe postcards, raccoons S.....Sea Turtles, starfish, stamped images T..... U..... V..... W.....Woodland animals, woodland fairies