Mail Art

One of my new pen-pals is a mail artist, and prefers to send "naked" art (not in an envelope) so I have started replying in kind.  Here is our latest correspondence.

 The top picture is what I painted today.  It was the part I cut off of another project, and it had some odd splatters of paint already on it, so I added a bit more, applied some canned air (after almost passing out from blowing through a tiny stir stick!) and some stippling.  All is done with my Twinkling H2O watercolors except for a bit of glimmer mist on the upper right corner, and the Goosebumps texture spray which is clear and leaves a wet look to the surface.

This is what he sent with mine.

Fish I and II

This was for a private swap.  It feels like there is not much to it, because it was mostly cut and paste, but it took me almost all morning to cut those little fish out and glitz them up!

Fran (Little Birds)

I am thrilled to say I made it into the Crafting Queens group just in time to sign up for the Little Birds swap.  Since I have been trying to make everything in duplicate so I can have one for myself, I made two of the same little bird.  I wrote a story to go with it, and have added it below.

There is still a tag that will go on that says "Sparkle!" and a beaded hanger, but I wanted to get a picture of these little cuties up.  There is some serious sparkle going on here!

Fran always wanted to be a show-girl, but her mate preferred that she stay a bit closer to home than Bird Vegas.  When they got together, Jerry promised her all the fine plumage she could ever want; he is a magpie inclined to gather shiny things.  (It was the lovely toe ring he gave her as an engagement gift that actually swayed her to choose him over a life of dancing with the big birds.)

Now Fran decks herself out in all the bling she can carry; and Jerry makes sure she has plenty!  He says she sings perttier when she is all dressed up, so she must be singing fine today!  She's even wearing her favorite beak-stick!

Fran's Motto:  Sparkle!

The Security Guard

This swap required the patterned paper from inside a security envelope be featured somewhere on the ATC.  I opted to use ONLY security envelopes for it.  This is called the Security Guard.

Other than the six styles of security paper, (there is another on the back) I added very few elements.  Some washi tape on top and bottom, the googly eyes, a brad I altered to say "Guard Dog" and the little metal tag and eyelet. I added some Glossy Accents to the nose and paw print.  both the dog and the paw print are cut with QuicKutz dies.

Metal Altered Rolodex Card

This little Rolo is for a swap called "Metal Things."  It is left up to the artist to interpret what that means, and I took it literally. I recently purchased a metals kit from Walnut Hollow, and decided to try it out on this swap.  I am not as fond of Rolos as I am of ATCs because of those little notches at the bottom.  I survived, but not without much grumbling. :)

Cruises and Trees

Summertime Cruise

 This first ATC is for a swap called Ticket to Ride, and the element required was a ticket of any kind. I used one from a little cruise Ornery took with his sister last summer when they were in Seattle taking care of some business. All the cutting is free hand, and some of it is rather obvious. Ahem. I even put some "smoke" coming out of the exhaust pipe--little fuzz from a cotton patch. :)

Tree-o

This second one is for a swap for a shaped ATC.  I started with some punched trees, but let me tell you, there were five layers of stuff there, and all of it had to be cut.  I wised up on the second one and layered it all before I cut! I was still designing on the first one, so I didn't know how many layers it would take.  I was very happy with this one--actually I added a bit of shading around the two front trees as well before it was all said and done.

Mail Art

One of the places I have ordered my envelopes from for a few years is Clearbags.com.  I really like their envelopes, and they have a great price on them.  A couple years ago I tried some of their metallic leather-textured cards and really liked them.  I had ordered some envelopes as well, and I was hooked!  Since I have been swapping on SwapBot, I have used up all the old cards, and just can't seem to get ahead on making them, so I have started making a card relating to the swap to mail it in.  I had ordered several different colors of card bases, and have started using them for this purpose.

The card above is on a shimmery gold  base (white inside) and I added kraft paper torn on the edges to that with some dry adhesive (Dotto, permanent) after I inked the edges with Rusty Hinge Distress ink.  The stamp set is by Tim Holtz, and I used it on the card as well as the envelope--a kraft A2 from Clear Bags. All the inks are Distress inks, and the glitter I used on the card is Distress Stickles. Until this project I had used the Distress Stickles maybe three times... if that.  They added a nice little sparkle, but not too glitzy.

The butterflies on the card were stamped onto some stock ledger paper I bought at a yard sale a couple of years ago.  Then I cut them out and added just a touch of Distress Stickles onto the wings. It looked much better before I smeared the wet glitter. :(

This is for the Jigsaw Puzzle ATC with a butterfly on it.

ATC with Watercolors

I had made this background for another project, although I would have to hunt around to remember which one.  Anyway, a week or so ago, I put it in a little envie for this swap, and set it aside.  Today it was the next on the list, and I pulled it out.  I don't know just what I had in mind when I decided to use it, but it was already painted, and so I went with it.

Finding the right combination of embellishments is always tricky for me. I have a LOT of stuff, and a good bit of it is pretty cool--well, okay, MOST of it is pretty cool, but it doesn't all work on every project.  So, I knew I wanted to use the last paper oak leaf (in the bottom corner) as it adds texture without distracting by adding an additional color.  Since I made two of this (one for me and one for the swap) I had to make sure all my supplies were available in duplicate.  Check.  The leaf had to be sacrificed and cut in half, but I made it work.

I cut some gold paper the shape of the flower, which is clear plastic, and I used alcohol inks on the flower. The clear plastic looked blah without the background, and I liked the way the gold looked behind it.  I would have used some silvery vellum, but I couldn't lay my hands on it since I cleaned things up. :(  Anyway, the design at the top is stamped with embossing ink, and I used a shimmery gold powder to heat emboss it. The other elements are all glued on with Glossy Accents.

Diptych ATC: Party

Party!

This took me hours to make. HOURS!  All that cutting, stamping, cutting, gluing... It is for a mixed media group swap.  A diptych is two sides hinged together.  For this swap the design was to carry from one side to the other.  It's busy.  It sorta looks like a party, no?

Childhood Treasures and Colored Autumn Leaves ATC

 This first ATC is for a swap called Jigsaw Puzzle. The elements are to contain three pieces of a puzzle (not drawn or images, but actual pieces) and a butterfly.  Nailed it! :)  I have named this one Childhood Treasures and added an old advertisement paper in the background (printed scrapbook paper) and a couple other things a little boy might collect.  It is hard to see in the photo, but I added a tiny little watch gear on the puzzle pieces.  I painted those with some Luminarte Silks shimmery acrylic paints, then dropped some distress walnut ink and daubed it off. 

This ATC is for a swap for beginners: Colored Autumn Leaves.  I used the same silks paints to highlight the paper leaves, and put on a little hand from a clock just to give a different element to it.  Before that it seemed pretty boring.  I'm not absolutely sure it is done even yet, but for now, I am calling it so...

I made two of both of these, one to send and one to keep for my big canvas project.  I have some interesting swaps coming up, one is a diptych (two ATCs hinged to make a complete picture) and another is watercolor.  I set up a new swap in one of the groups I am in called "Ticket to Ride."  Its main theme is to use a ticket of any type (parking, lottery, movie, airplane, etc.) somewhere on the ATC.  I have started decorating the envelopes I use to send them, and making a card that fits the theme when possible.  

Some Thank You Cards and Bugs

 The ATC is for a swap called the Jitterbug, and is supposed to feature bugs on it somewhere. My piece is called Beneficial Bugs.  The other one is just like this except it used the word beneficial and the definition for it.

AND I made a set of Thank You cards for my daughter whose birthday just passed...

 Here is the set of four.  I also decorated the kraft envelopes a bit... and added seed packet forever stamps--gotta keep the whole theme going!

 Close ups of a couple of the cards. I really had a hard time giving these up! I am going to buy more of those die cuts. They are by K and Co. and are some of the prettiest die cuts I have ever seen!  Bugs, flowers, and some beautiful copper embossed clear frames. The whole set is just stunning.

The papers I used for the cards is old stuff by Daisy D's from a set called Gypsy Harvest.

Discover Treasure: Books

Discover Treasure: books

Sunday morning as I was clearing up my mess on the studio table, I came across the pile of stuff I had cut and prepared for this ATC and decided I would finish it off.  It has many of the same elements of a couple I did earlier, but I took a different tack with it, and thought it turned out pretty cool.  And I love the message!  I am keeping this one for my collection.

Monochromatic, Sheet Music with Clock, Grapes, and Black and White

It was a busy day in the studio today!  Here is what I made (in duplicate!):

Black and White ATC

Bluebird Conference

Sheet Music with a clock on it

Grapes

I don't know if it is the browser, my computer or Blogger, but I am having to fight for every photo, and I can't put spaces between them to add text!  I am not amused! 

The titles are all self explanatory.  The Bluebird Conference is for a Monochromatic swap.  The only one I didn't use my twinkling h2o's on is the first one. I spritzed it with "Goosebumps" though and it leaves a shiny wet looking finish in little speckles.

Some New ATC's

Blogger is being quite cantankerous tonight!

First up is this Little guy--I named him "Ay Chihuahua."  It is for a pen pal in CA who has a little dog...

I didn't name this one.  It is for an open theme collage ATC. I started out with some old-looking tissue paper with newsprint on it.  I rumpled it up, then opened it out and glued it down on a heavy layer of white glue. Then I added the piece in the corner, book binding tape across the bottom, punched grape leaves, an old stamp, a book open to a piece of map, and the fleur de lis.  I spritzed some Tattered Angels glimmer mist over it and covered the whole thing in Glossy Accents, then set the safety pin into the sticky stuff and let it dry.  Nothing will be moving.

Birds, Fireflies and ... Garbage?

It has been a really busy day in the studio today!  I wrote two long, newsy letters, sent out an ATC for a swap and made six ATCs! 

This first one is for a swap that uses anything but scrapbooking materials.  I don't know exactly what to call it, so I didn't name it. I started with a milk jug, covered that with the licorice wrapper, added the pig from some mail, the face from an old debit card, the lemon bag and Cheetos Crunchy.  Holding it all together on slippery plastic, slippery mylar, slippery lemon bag... well, let's just say there is also a hefty amount of package tape in there, too!  The back is from a pop tarts box.

Anything but Scrapbooking Materials

This next one is for an open theme swap in one of the groups I am in.  I made three of these, two for my partners and one to keep.  I love it!  I cut the little jar from transparency film and the fence from "real wood" with my QuicKutz die cutter.  I really had given up ever using them again but ATCs are perfect little venues for the little shapes they make.

I have a Stickles glitter glue called Firefly, and that is what I used for the little bugs.  The ones inside the jar are painted onto the back of the transparency, and I applied a tiny dot of glue on their backs to hold the jar onto the card.  There is also glue under the lid. I used a super fine point artist pen for the antennae. As for the rest of it, I used Twinkling H2O Paints on the background, stamped the tree with Stazon ink, and used little silk flowers from the dollar store in front of the fence.  I added some twinks to the leaves, too.  The color didn't photograph very well, but I think this is one of my favorites so far... of course I say that a lot!

Last Fireflies of Summer

And last but not least is "Put a Bird On It!"  Pink and aqua and birds and buntings... just a bit of cuteness!

Put a Bird on it!

One of the letters that went out this morning was for a swap and I decorated the tar out of that envelope!  Stamps, stickers, washi tape, glitter... Ornery said, "Wow, looks like you had fun with that one!"  :)  Yup!

Crown and Puzzle Piece

Drama Queen

 The ATC challenge was to use a crown.  In the note I am sending I wrote:  "Don't we all know her? The drama queen sees everything in vivid color and expresses emotion with verve!  Honestly, sometimes I AM her, but I try to keep that behind closed doors!"  :)

You Color my World

This challenge was to use a puzzle piece on an ATC.  I tried several pictures to try to get the colors to come out right but you'll just have to take my word for it--it is a very colorful little piece off by itself!

Map ATC

This is for a swap called, Map It! and the only requirement was that it have a map on it.  I started with an old National Geographic (1960's) map of Europe. I used QuicKutz to make the airplane with red cardstock, a real wood propeller, and vellum for the canopy.  Then I added the fortune cookie insert which set the tone for the rest of the piece.  Do something unusual tomorrow

• take a trip (airplane)
• try a new food (muffin)
• listen to something different (music note)
• spend time reflecting (stars)
• celebrate something obscure (party blow whistle)
• move in a different way (bicycle)

I made a second one using a aviators sectional map, a similar red airplane and an old lapel pin Ornery found when he was a kid with wings on either side of a propeller.  It will go into my collection. :)

Washi Garden

Washi Garden

I made this one for a swap called Washi Tape.  I used three different kinds of washi tape, and I just laid the tape on some paper, then used punches to make the shapes.  I finished it off with some little flower brads and some rhinestones I affixed with Glossy Accents.

I got a few more 5 + heart ratings and am now up 12 of each. It seems like sometimes I spend as much time trying to figure out how to earn the heart as I do making the swap! I have completed (mailed) 18 swaps, and three RAKs (random act of kindness) which is actually 32 pieces of mail and 29 potential returns/ratings because four of the swaps had multiple partners.  I have been busy! I started a little collection of the ATCs I have either made to keep or had returned to me from a swap, and have decided I am going to make duplicates of most of the ones I send to add to my own collection.

Liam's Lair

This is for the first swap I created called Little Houses ATC.  I may try to make another little house too, as this one was lots of fun to make.

I called it Liam's Lair as it is a house for a Leprechaun.  I will write a little poem or story to go with it sometime before I have to send it off.  I used a lot of QuicKutz dies for this project, and a variety of different textures in the papers.

A Tin full of Trinkets

This was a little mint tin that I covered with some scraps.  The shiny surface is Glossy Accents which I spread on with a silicon brush. While it was still wet, I put some fusion glue on the back of the flower and stuck it on top.  The glue held the brad and flower down and the petals stuck to the wet Glossy Accents to make it more secure.  Inside is lined and filled with little trinkets from my stash.  This is for a private swap.

Letters Mingle Souls ATCs

I made this series of three ATCs with used postage stamps on them for a swap.  Only one is for the swap, but I wanted to try different things to see which one I liked.  I am sending the first one for the swap. 

ATC: Bones in the Woods

First, I must say this is not my usual topic/genre/theme--whatever the word is I am looking for.  I am not into the macabre, zombies, death, etc.  However, I know it is very popular and I just happened to have a skeleton stamp in my collection.  So, now that I have that disclaimer out of the way, here is my latest ATC, and I am pretty dang proud of the way it turned out!  :)  Details on how I did it follow the photo, in case you care to know.

Bones in the Woods

I started with a Bristol ATC card by Strathmore.  I free hand cut the tree (real wood paper slightly distressed with Walnut Stain Distress Ink), mushrooms (gray flocked paper rubbed with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink), hillock (cork), and leaves (gold envelope, copper metallic paper, orange mulberry paper).  The ferns are from some (K & Co. ?) 3D stickers, I just pulled the top layer off of a couple of the leaves. The birds are cut with a Martha Stewart edge punch.  The tree stamp in the background is stamped with gray Stazon ink.  The green color is a wash with Wild Vine Twinkling H2O watercolor paint. 

The skeleton is stamped onto clear computer Grafix transparency film.  I used embossing ink and white embossing powder.  I really thought the heat tool would ripple the transparency, but it didn't, much to my delight!  After I embossed it, I trimmed around the image.  It is barely attached, only held on by a tiny piece of foam adhesive behind his neck and glue on the foot under the tree root. 

The cork elevated the base of the tree about 1/8" so I added thin Stampin' Up dimensional adhesive to the top part and used Tombo Mono-multi glue on the rest.


This ATC is for a private swap I requested so I could have one of the artists works.

ATC with a Tree

"Stormy Night"

I found the stamp tucked under a bunch of others in a drawer and thought "I need to make an ATC with that!"  I looked on Swap Bot and there was a swap that ended Saturday and I barely made it in under the wire.  The image stamped perfectly the first time (shock!) on the watercolor paper.  I used chestnut pigment ink and clear embossing powder to heat emboss it. Then I wet the paper with a spray bottle and added light washes of Hunter gray, Azurite and Pretty Peridot twinkling H2O's to it.  It was wet enough that when I sprinkled salt on I got a few little spots, but not the usual.

I really liked it just like that, but I thought I should add a bit more to it, and I had these cute little stars, so I used some glossy accents but the drops were way too big, so I tried to daub it off, but it was a mess.  SO, I used a silicone brush and stippled some more of the glossy accents over the whole thing to look like rain. 

Painted ATCs with Twinks

Horse Feathers I

Horse Feathers II

Tropical Flowers

Stamped with stamps from Pink Paislee's Nantucket collection of stamps with StazOn Ink and painted with Luminarte's Twinkling H2O watercolors.  I have sent the first Horse Feathers to an artist in Dallas.  I plan to keep the second one for a collection I am starting.  The other two are unassigned, but since I am in so many ATC swaps, I am sure they will go out soon!

ACT: No Paper!

The challenge of making an ATC without using any paper was one I readily embraced.

 Before I get into the description, I learned yesterday my phone has an option to select the type of light source. The photo above is using the fluorescent option...it is actually pretty close to perfect color match!

Here is another before I discovered that.  You can see some of the elements better, but the color was baaaad!

I started with a piece of Plexiglas from an old poster frame.  I cut a 2.5 x 3.5" piece using my Tonic/Tim Holtz scissors.  Two sides were finished because I cut from the corner, but the other two sides had little cracks all along the edge. :(  My swap partner works with metal, so I opted to just cover up the cracks, but before I did that, I used alcohol inks to marble the Plexiglas.  The copper was leftover from a project and was easily cut with the Tonic scissors.  I got out a long handled lighter and carefully added some patina to the copper, then hammered it flat--or at least flattER.

I glued the copper on (and all the rest of the elements) with Fusion glue.  The corner is brass, meant to go on the corner of a book cover.  It helps hold everything together, just in case the glue doesn't.  I added cork leaves, punched and painted with twinks, a circle punched from walnut veneer, an acetate clock face embellishment, a 7 Gypsies hourglass rubbing, some old watch gears and a couple rounds of thin copper wire.

The back is painted with a metallic white acrylic paint so it would help the Plexiglas shimmer from the front, and give me a place to sign my work.

In all I was VERY pleased with the outcome.  It was great fun to use things out-of-the-ordinary to create this, and I am sure it will not be my last challenge of this nature!

Botanical (sort of) ATC

The back ground is brown paper covered with a wash of Pretty Peridot Twinkling H2O's.  I sewed the wooden leaf on with DMC over the distress stained burlap.  Simple, but I just couldn't come up with anything else to improve on it.

ATCs: Time

For most of my life I have had a love affair with clocks.  The ATC challenge was to use brown paper bag for the background.  I decided since I had to cut up the paper anyway I would make more than one with that style.  Here is what I have come up with so far.

Time Flies

 This one was actually my second attempt.  I painted the brown paper with copper twinkling H2O paint, punched the leaves from the hymnal cover I have been using lately, then used Pretty Peridot twinks on them. The burlap has Distress Ink (Vintage Photo) on it.  The little pocket watch and butterfly are from scraps of Graphic 45 paper.  Flowers are Prima and Hobby Lobby private label.

This one was my first attempt with the brown paper.  Other than a little ink around the edges, I left the background brown. I added a little strip of paper and a piece of leftover twine from a previous effort, burlap, flowers and more scraps of Graphic 45 paper.  The priceless metal tag is something I have had in my stash for several years, but I think it is Making Memories.

Once I got going with these, I didn't want to stop!  I have the last little bit of the burlap I had cut off the big piece I have, and another brown paper which I washed with Pretty Peridot.  I used some Distress stain in the two colors I have-- peeled paint and tea stain-- on the burlap.  That is the start, but I am still thinking about all the rest.  And, there are still a few more little 2.5X3.5" pieces of brown paper waiting to be used!   I am liking the "time" theme, and may see what else I can come up with for clocks to add.