ATC - Colour Me Blue

Before we went away for a few days last week I needed to make some ATC cards for the February challenge with Blissfull ATC Swaps.

I added colour to some cards using Aqua crayons and then dribbled water to make the colour run.

I love using these and they look great on cotton fabric.

Once the colour had dried I looked at them and I could "see" trees in each of the blots left behind.  So I decided to go with it and see what happened.  The above card has tissue paper and machine stitching in the foreground.  White pen and watercolours to give a type of blue wood scene.

This ATC has machine stitching on the tree trunk and grass in the foreground.  More pen used in this design and the white pen enhanced the branches.  I did use a slightly darker pen on this card as well due to the quite light colour when it dried.  I could see that tree though.

With this ATC I added some pale blue mulberry paper on the top of the tree to add some variety but to also increase the texture with this design.

More free machine stitching and watercolour paints.

These ATC's are very very different to what I usually do and all the while I was making them I really liked them but I was also worried that they would turn out awful.  I made them all at the same time try and make them link more in appearance.

They remind me of book illustrations where the woods or forrest's are given a colour scheme to add to the story.  Such as a cold, snowy wood.  Am I making sense here?  Possibly not and I have just looked through some of my daughters books to find an example but I have not been able to track one down quickly.  Typical.

Anyway, I hope that you like them and more importantly, I hope that my swap partner likes them as they are on their way to America!

Not sure if I shall enter next month as March is a pretty hectic month.  I did follow this up with a journal page as well which I shall save for tomorrow.

Have a lovely evening and take care, weather is pretty wild in the UK at the moment.

xx

ATC's swap - Happy Post arrived!

I do not get much in the way of happy post these days.  I was also waiting for several things to happen hence no post since Sunday, then all of a sudden 4 possibilities arise!

In a recent post I explained that I wanted to make more ATC's and the previous groups that I have joined were either badly organised or I never received the Artist Trading Cards in return.  However I have join Blissful Atc Swap Group and today I received some cards from my swap partner Sandra.

Before you even open anything there is a lovely blue envelop which has stamping on it and in the top right hand corner another special type of stamp.

Love this stamp made for the Royal Visit this year.

Inside a card which has been hand painted and stamped.  This lady has talent!  When you open it up..........

........it is a display card which protects the cards in the post.

Why oh why did I not think of this?

I have bought ATC cards in mini envelopes which I have stuck together to prevent them from moving around and getting damaged, to be fair that is all I have ever received until today.  this is a clever and much better idea.  I may have to pinch and adapt this idea for my next set of cards.  I have an idea which I will make sure is not a copy of this.  Lovely isn't it.

The cards are lovely and just my sort of thing.  Lovely colours.  The title for this Swap of August was Monochromatic.

Love red and Russian dolls.Lovely design and the edging has been cut out of individual pieces.

Finally...........now this card looks just like the frames on my new (but can not get on with them)glasses.  They are purple and have black line drawings of butterflies on them!  Purple is fast becoming my favourite coloo9ur but I am not abandoning blue, after all, what would happen to Indigo Blue?

The cards have been stamped, stitched, collages, drawn, painted and put together beautifully.

I lovely note on cute owl paper.

Plus some fun postcards.  Now I was not sure what to do about this as my last swap group only sent cards so I feel a bit guilty that I did not add anything, however I have an idea to rectify that later in the year.  I dithered and did not add anything, now I wish I had.

Then some cute bits and bobs that Sandra thought I might be able to use.  The top right bits I am sure have been hand drawn by the lady herself.

Absolutely lovely swap and I have learnt a lot and creating a new template for details to stick on the back (I did have one but I think that went out along with my last laptop) of each card is something I need to do.  I add the details but Sandra's look more professional.

So thank you very much Sandra, a very talented and generous lady, who made my day today.

I have sent her cards and I shall post about them once they have arrived.  My hand was  bandaged when I made them and I did the best I could.  I am pleased with the cards themselves but writing on the back........hmm.  It is the front that matters..right?

I have sent an email to take part in the September Swap Which is Stamps and I just need confirmation on that.    Then I shall probably miss a month due to the new school term which is always hectic and I have the Santa Sack Swap to concentrate on.  Then I have my eye on the end of year  swap theme.

Five minutes after this arrived there was a knock at the door and my wool was on the door step, along with a rather soggy postman,  for my Autumn project but it is still packaged up as I have been too distracted with Sandra's work.

More on that next time.

xx

ATC Swap- June -Zodiac

Hello everyone.

Been absent from Blogland due to taking 46 students for an educational visit to Spain last week.  More on that once I have sorted out the photographs.  For now I have some details about a swap I signed up for but am not able, at present, to send off.

The theme for the June Swap was to design and create three ATC's using Zodiac as the starting point.  I decided to also include three envelopes as well.

I really found it hard to decide what to do but because I knew that I was going to Spain with the school I had to get a move on and I did finish them about two weeks ago.  I decided to go for a muted colour scheme which I would use across all three cards.

The colour scheme was influenced partly by the picture that I used shown above and I free machined the background before attaching the image and text.  I wrote details of the swap on another piece of card and then attached this to the back by sewing around the edge through all  the layers.

On this card I used some diluted coffee and dribbled it on the background before adding some symbols of the Zodiac with further stitching around the edge.

Finally, the last card I decided to use a collage approach with coffee, paint, images and text along the theme of Zodiac.  The details on the back were again written on tonal card and then stitched to the back around the edge.

 I am really pleased with how these turned out and I still like the colour scheme as it gives a sense of age and the Zodiac goes back centuries.

All I need now is the information as to who to actually send these to.  The deadline for sending is 15th July and despite 3/4 emails over the past 2 weeks I have had no reply.  There is nothing on the swap site and I do not know what to do next as it states that anyone who does not meet the swap rules is banned and not allowed to participate again.........ever.  So I shall pop over to the site and leave a comment there in the hope that something might happen.

Anyway, they turned out well and I really want to make some more of these as they are fun and half of the challenge is the size of the cards.

Hope you have all had a good weekend.

xx

ATC Swap - I have signed up

I have wanted to do more Artist Trading Card Swapping ever since I took part in a swap nearly two years ago.  Then after sending 6 to Australia and not hearing anything back I as rather put off.  

So I have decided to sign up this time with Blissfull ATC Swap group.

The Month I am starting with is June and the theme is ZODIAC.............

Already I am stuck............!

I still have time for some kind of eureka moment but I hope it comes along soon.

xx

Happy Post - ATC's July 2011

I had some happy post this morning which makes up for the bills etc that we found when we came from our holiday on Tuesday.

You may remember that I entered an ATC swap with lenna over at creative swaps and today the return ATC's arrived.  However, the first thing to catch my eye was the lovely stamps on the front of the envelope!

Plenty of blue here too which is the colour that I chose to use for my Colour My World ATC's.

Three lovely ATC's based on the theme of colour arrived.  Blue, green and pink.

This lovely card has been made by Sue E and is called "Tickled Pink" which is lovely.  In the UK we have a charity called Tickled Pink which raises money for Breast Cancer Research which I support so this is very appropriate.  There is so much on this card.  Very textiles based with braids, buttons and a stamped butterfly.  Lovely.

This card uses my favourite colour of Blue and was made by Barbara J from Wheaton IL.  It is called "Change of Seasons".  Very graphic design and I really like the textured paper which has been used.

Finally, a green ATC which is called "Seafoam Green" and uses lovely textured paper as the background and punched butterflies and leaves.  A yellow gem plus "Fly Free" written down the side.  I am flying free until 5th September when term begins again.

This card was made by Jo J from Indianapolis, IN.

Now, I have taken part in several different ATC swaps and nearly half have had the same surname of Johnson!  They are all different people, but still quite a coincidence I think.

I will now email these lovely ladies to thank them for their cards and put them in a file that I have for my ATC's.  Eventually I want to display them when I have collected a few more as I like to see work that has been sent to me and actually make items out of swaps that I receive.

Many thanks to lenna for organising yet another great Creative Swap.

xx

Creative Giveaway

I first took part in a Creative Swap in about 2008. 

It was to design and make a bag for a bag swap.  I still have the bag which was sent to me as part of the swap and in fact all of the swap items are still with me and I make a point of "making" them into something to show them off.  I have tried to find the pictures but when I started my blog I was perhaps not very organised with my tag words so now they are "buried" within my blog.  Never mind.

I did find this one though and the link here where there is a full post on this.

This was another recent entry in 2011 and I did make some extra versions for my card box at work.

So, getting back to the aim of this post.  Lenna, who hosts Creative Swap blog is having a 1000 post giveaway and if you would like to join in, it only takes a minute to click, then pop over.  If you are interested in making ATC's, scrap booking, art jounaling, texture work and much more then this is worth looking at.

1000 posts.....crikey!  That is a lot of typing and in my case a lot of potential typing errors too!

Click on the badge in the margin at the top of my blog.

xx

ATC July Swap - Colour my World Blue

I have signed up to take part in the Creative Swaps Colour my World July ATC swap.I have decided to focus on the colour blue and various shades of blue. I decided to make three and three others will in time be sent to me. I used pre-cut ATC cards as I know that they will be the right size.

I put the cars through a sizzix bigshot with an embossing folder with flowers and vines, which I thought would make a good base. I then used watercolours to lightly put a wash over the top of the embossing. gave a depth of colour. Some white is showing through and I hope that is ok as I have sent them off and then had an awful thought. I am very new to ATC etc, well I hope they are ok.

I then punched out some flower shapes and highlighted petals using a sharpie pen. Some navy blue tissue paper was added down the left hand side using PVA to give a bit of texture. Some 3D paint was added into which I pushed some beads.

Using the computer I printed out some text and added this to the cards. A hand stitched button to give a crafty/textiles angle to the idea.These ATC cards also come with envelopes so these were also passed through the sizzix machine and a light wash of watercolour added.Then to finish off I added my details on the back using the printer and some lovely blue textured paper. They were sent off today and will hopefully arrive at Lenna's house within a few days.

I really like making these little works of art and I would like to sign up for another very soon.
Some good news, I took my damaged laptop into PCWorld today and they have sent it off to have the screen fixed. Hurrah, just hope it does not go missing. oh I am such a cynic, sorry. Then Sophie left my brand new glasses in the building Society today at a cost of £188 pounds. I have emailed an employee who gave me her card when I opened an ISA saying I would be in early on Monday. I so hope they are still there, I have not even worn them, I have waited two weeks for them. They are still in the packaging and I only asked her to hold them so that I did not drop them whilst writing out a cheque. So you gain with the one hand and loose with the other. There you go.....

It is lovely weather here today, do I dare to hope that we may actually have a summer this year, shuushhhh, perhaps we should only hope and not say anything out loud!

Take care

xx

ATC.. SPACE....................

I signed up for the September ATC swap with a group of fine ladies who are members of UKhandmade. There is a different theme each month and this time it was SPACE.

The above picture has not turned out as black as it should have done, a bit of flash in there I think.

There is a black paper background with swirls of black felt with silver stars on it. I then used silver glitter glue (looks blue in the picture) and used this to add some iridescent sequins.

I was rather sorry to have to post it off but I did and Jane has received it and is very pleased. Pop over and see her here as Jane has tried out my scarf to bag tutorial. Lovely fabric has been used to.

I am sorry that I have not posted much over the past two weeks but I have been getting error pages come up. It happens on my hubby' laptop too so I think it might be problems with blogger. I shall do a bit of blog hopping this weekend and try again.

Have a good weekend.

ATC from Spring Lake USA

I received this lovely ATC from Elaine in Spring Lake MI. She does not have a blog or email so saying thank you is not easy. I am hoping that she will see this.


Elaine also included this cute card. She says that this is her first ATC and I think that she has done a very good job!
Many thanks for sending a lovely ATC to add to my collection.
xx

ATC Swap - Return....

A padded envelope arrived in the post late last week and this cute little kitten peered out at me.

Inside was this lovely ATC card. Dee Dee joined in with the ATC challenge that my friend's Mum passed on to me. Unfortunately we did not have many takers for this and one of my cards that I sent went AWOL. I have made another and will post it. I could not make the same one again as all of the fabric had gone, which was a pity.

Dee Dee wrote a lovely note and added her blog site which I have since visited.

Dee Dees craft spot.

The card is very colourful and made from paper with lace and ribbon.

I am now the lucky owner of two ATC's and I was thinking of putting them in a photo album with clear pockets for now until I can think of what else to do with them. I would like to make some more of these as their size makes it a challenge to come up with ideas that will fit.

It is another lovely sunny day here in Cornwall and I think a spot more gardening and crocheting is on the cards. Nearly finished the bag Molly. it is a little smaller than the last one, I used some different wool but I think that you will still like it for storing maybe your current project in it, unless it is a blanket then it most likely will not fit!

xx

ATC Swap parcel......

You may remember a short while ago that I was handed an invitation to join in an ATC swap. ladder. Drumming up any custom was difficult even though I thought that ATC's were quite popular, maybe just bad timing with every one's lives. Well I did get four ladies who were game and sent off my cards. I am a little frustrated that apparently one of the cards has gone AWOL and not arrived yet, so I am making another. I thought that I had made two spares but they have vanished! Anyway, here is the card sent to me by Donna over at Brynwoodneedleworks.

A lovely note card was popped in as well. Many thanks Donna for taking part and sending me this card.

I do not know if my swappers have had any luck in passing this challenge on or not but I would certainly like to have another go at making these cards. If you know of a swap or are planning one please let me know as I would like to sign up. I would love to join in.

Had a lovely day in the garden yesterday with the sun shining. I need to upload the pictures. Today we are off to a landscape garden centre to see if anyone can help us chose some plants to replace our low hedge which for some reason started to die off after Christmas and has not stopped doing this.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

xx

ATC Swap Challenge

I recently sent a load of ATC's to some ladies in Australia and because the theme was open I decided to go back to a favourite topic of mine "Water". This is the first time that I have made any of these and I am not really sure if I created anything much here. They are pretty and i hope that they go down well.

I needed to add them to trading cards card and not really knowing the best way I just put them under the sewing machine and stitched them on. I found a wavey stitch on the machine and added that as well. I think that I could get quite hooked on making these little works of art although I need a bit more practice.

This is another of my OPAM 2010 finishes. It took me more that 20 minutes but I think I can do those in batches.

Bye for now.

xx

Creative Swap Delivered to me...

Do not forget to enter my 300th post giveaway here. Just leave a comment!

I got home from work this week to find a very large white padded envelop sitting on the kitchen table. It was all the way from America and was the return swap from the 12" x 12" quiltie creative challenge that I had entered. It has been made by Barbara Roberts who lives in Florida. (I need to email her after writing this post to say thank you). The colours are lovely and there is a piece of fabric on the back with the details of how this quiltie was made. A lot of hard work and thought has gone into this quilite and as with all of the quilites that I have received I shall either put it in a frame or hang it up somehow. I do not know who has received mine yet and hope that it has not come all the way back to the UK which would be rather ironic wouldn't it?

The edge has been finished with some lovely braid so a lovely frame may be the answer. Some of the embellishment is 3d so I shall probably leave the glass out. This is a lovely piece of work and it will look lovely on the wall in our house.

I was lucky to be voted as one of the runners up and in the parcel from Lenna were some lovely stickers and gorgeous cross grain ribbonwhich I love using. Thank you Lenna I was not expecting a prize or anything like that, it was a lovely thought.

PS Remember to take part in my giveaway which ends on 17 th May @ midnight.
xx