My Home is my Castle

Marion is hosting her annual blog ATC swap and I have been wanting to participate for several years but always seem to be too busy to fit it in.  This year, I finally managed to get my cards done but I still need to mail them to Germany so hopefully they will arrive in time!

Her theme is "My Home is my Castle" using part of a building for the person's body or clothing, etc.  You can read all about it on her blog here and be sure to check out all the other terrific entries.

Congratulations to my Blog Hop Winner!

Congratulations to my blog hop winner...  Letha Richardson!

A great big THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to visit and leave such kind comments.  I appreciate each of you so much.  Below are the results of my random drawing (using the List Generator tool from Random.org):

There were 20 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
Letha
Connie
Glenda
Jo
Amanda
Joy
Cathy
Marion
Gill
Pattie
Lisa
JoAnne
Sam
Donna
Gigi
redjanfan
Cathee
Fairyrocks
Michelle
Beverley Baird
Timestamp: 2013-04-22 14:37:02 UTC

From the Heart - a color swap

I recently hosted an ATC swap in our Paper Traders group that included a color challenge - pink, brown, & white.  The theme was "From the Heart" in honor of Valentine's Day.  I've been itching to do something with corrogated cardboard and came up with these cute painted hearts.

Your Stuff / My Stuff

Our Paper Traders group did another Your Stuff / My Stuff swap this year.  I sent an envelope full of extra stuff from my studio and received back an envelope from Sue in Canada.  Above is a photo of all the terrific stuff she sent to me.  We only had to make one ATC to send back but I sent her two because she gave me so much good stuff... and then I just kept right on creating!  Below are all the ATCs I made from this stash - and there are still a lot of goodies left over.  =)

Eye for Color

I'm hosting an ATC swap in our Paper Traders group.  I've been loving Pinterest  and one of the things that caught my eye were all of these beautiful color palettes that people are pinning.  This lead me to a really cool website Design-Seeds.com  where I found my inspiration for this swap:

It's been fun to see all the different creations everyone is coming up with using this color scheme.  Below are the cards I made.  The blue flowers are glittery and the butterflies' wings are lifted up off the cards:

Live Life to the Fullest

I wanted to play with my new bottle of Goosebumps spray some more so I used it to make the background for this pretty little ATC.  Such a simple card with a not-so-simple saying...

If you're like me, there's never enough time to do all the things I need to do much less try to squeeze in more of the things I want to do.  I realize that I'm becoming somewhat of a recluse and am letting life bog me down.  I'm trying to take baby steps to change this - not staying at work so late, cutting down on my Facebook usage, scheduling time to work on my art, etc.

This weekend I took a huge step and am spending most of my holiday weekend at a church Single Adult Conference.  It's been very uplifting and I've even made a few new friends.  Yesterday was a tour of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography followed by an amazing keynote speaker, Robert O'Brien.  Then we had some terrific workshops and I even learned how to play Bunco  =)

Today, I'm looking forward to more spiritual edification with church services and a fireside.

Take to the Skies

Time's running out to join this month's blog challenge over on the Paper Traders blog.  I made this quick piece to enter in our winner-take-all ATC lottery using the hot air balloon theme for this month's challenge, killing two birds with one stone.

After layering paper elements, I added a balloon printed napkin over the top then topping it off with a tag and another hot air balloon which I trimmed from a piece of scrapbook paper.

Alice's Mad Tea Party

Over at Paper Traders, I'm participating in an ATC swap hosted by Wendy.  She picked a really fun theme: Alice's Mad Tea Party.  I had lined up all my images and planned a layout for my cards only to see that one of my fellow participants had come up with a very similar idea.  So, I scrapped what I was doing and started over.  Here's the result - a quirky take on Alice's wild adventures:

My take on Art Nouveau

Recently, Cathy hosted an Art Nouveau ATC swap at Paper Traders.  I made these cards using some classic Art Nouveau images and a pretty frame I cut using my Silhouette Cameo.  I added some art glitter and pretty brads (they're gold, not black, but the scanner can't pick that up).  These are simple but pretty and I love the color combinations.

Springtime Glory

I made another piece for the Hello Spring! blog challenge over at Paper Traders.  This little ATC is going to be my entry in the March winner-take-all ATC lottery.  The beautiful background was created by Suzi Blu - it was a scrap of paper I picked up at her garage sale last year... isn't it pretty?  I layered a floral image over the top and painted each petal with Gleams to give it some shimmer, then I touched the centers with some coppery glitter glue.  I also used my Pan Pastels to add shadows behind the flowers for some extra dimension.  Lastly, I sketched some lines around the edge of the card with my superfine Pitt pen.

Help me embrace the springtime spirit by joining in the fun of this month's blog challenge.  Head on over to Paper Traders for some inspiration!

Beauty in Bronze

Every month, our Paper Traders group has a winner-take-all ATC lottery and this is the card I made for February's entry.  I used a leftover "failed" background from my CNY cards (it was a "fail" because the colors were too blended and brown - the ones I used for that swap were just black & red).  The scanner never does very well at picking up the shimmery bits but this card has a gold sheen and some touches from my gold foil pen.

Mardi Gras Masquerade

I recently hosted a Mardi Gras themed ATC swap in our Paper Traders group.  I made my backgrounds by using blue and purple alcohol inks on aluminum foil, then overlaying that with a piece of iridescent punchinella. They're really much more colorful and shiny than the scan shows.

Cameo: Chinese New Year Revisited

I am so excited (and spoiled!) because I received a new Silhouette Cameo as a gift this past week!  I've barely had a chance to use it but I think it's amazing.  This is my first electronic cutter and now I can see why it seems everyone is obsessed with these things.  I have only cut out a few test items - a gift bag with scrolling heart handles and a Peter Rabbit print-and-cut... both of which I neglected to photograph before giving them away.  And the third thing I cut were these amazing chinese dragons!  These ATCs are for another swap on our Paper Traders group.  Look at the intricate details in the cutting!  I love it.

The backgrounds on these cards were inspired by Dina Wakely's "warm ups" which she talked about in Nathalie's Creative JumpStart Summit this month.  I dipped vintage asian text into black & red alcohol inks and then spread on some gold acrylic paint using a palette knife.  So simple and I love the look.

As an added bonus, these cards fit the theme of the current Paper Traders Blog Challenge as well.  Anyone can join the blog challenge and you might be recognized as the "Trader Treasure" of the month!

Legs

Recently, I hosted an ATC swap on Paper Traders with a "Legs" theme.  The backgrounds on my cards were all hand drawn and watercolored.

Quirky Christmas

Can you believe that Christmas is right around the corner?  The time has really flown by!  And it's also time for another blog challenge over at Paper Traders.  The theme this time is "Quirky Christmas" and I used some fun images from iTkUpiLLi (love her stuff!) to make this funny little ATC.

Blog challenges are easy - you can make any kind of art you like that follows the theme.  Come on over to Paper Traders and join the fun!

Game Day

It's time for another installment of the Paper Traders blog challenge!  The theme this time is "Game Day" and you can interpret that any way you want.  I used some baseball images layered over an actual San Diego Padres ticket trimmed down to ATC size.  There's plenty of time to get in on this one so come play with us!

Decayed Paper Technique

We had an ATC background swap in our Paper Traders group and my background was made based on Jill Geraghty-Groves’ “Decaying Background” technique as described in the March/April 2011 issue of Somerset Studio magazine.

SUPPLIES:
canvas or chipboard base
gesso
vintage text & images
sponge brushes
gel medium (I prefer matte)
baby wipes
scissors
sanding block
acrylic paint
crackle paint
alcohol inks
spray bottle filled with water

1) Use something sturdy such as canvas or chipboard for your base.  This is a very wet technique so regular paper or cardstock will not hold up to the process (I've done this with success on watercolor paper; this time I used a piece of tablet backing).  Prime with gesso.

2) Tear vintage text and images to desired shapes & sizes.  Apply with gel medium.

3) Once dry, I trim off the excess paper with scissors and then carefully smooth the edges with my sanding block.

4) Mix some gel medium with acrylic paint of your choice.  I usually use a neutral buff color.  You can use baby wipes to wipe the paint off of images that you want to show through.

5) Goop on crackle paint around the edges and let dry.  I used Ranger Distress Crackle Paint in “Picket Fence” and “Antique Linen”.  (Because I am using this piece to make into ATCs, I marked off the sizes for each card and put the crackle paint around those areas so that each ATC would have a crackled edge.)

6) Let your paint dry thoroughly.  It will crack as it dries.  The thicker the paint, the bigger the cracks.

7) After your paint has cracked, you can drip alcohol inks along the edge then spritz with water and it will run down the paper and into all the cracks.  I like to tip my background up on its edge with a paper towel underneath; then I run the bottle of ink along the top edge, spraying with lots of water, and tipping the piece to help the inks run and blend.  For this project, I used Adirondack’s “Eggplant” first, followed by “Latte”.  This step takes quite a bit of water and is very wet and messy.  Let your background dry thoroughly.

8) Now you can use your background as you want.

Anatomy Swap

  

This month, I'm hosting an anatomy-themed ATC on our Paper Traders group.  These are the cards that I came up with.  I must admit that even though this swap was my idea, I found myself quite struggling to put together something original and artistic...  But I'm a firm believer of pushing through my slumps and am optimistic that inspiration will return.  I'm not fishing for compliments - just sharing my artistic struggles and hoping that others can relate.  Happy Arting!

Big Aspirations

I had originally made this ATC with the hopes of joining Marion Bockelmann's annual blog swap but I was just too busy to get all of my cards made in time for the deadline.  Instead, I am contributing this ATC to the Paper Traders monthly winner-take-all lottery.

Vintage Swimsuits

Another Paper Traders blog challenge is underway.  This week's theme is "Vintage Swimsuits" and I made this little fashion-conscious mermaid using a magazine image for the background, adding plants and shells, and embellishing her tail with my gold leafing pen.

Blog challenges are a fun way to expand your creativity and show off your art.  So dive on in - the water's fine!!