Mouse Trap Memo Clip

This is for a private swap with the person who tried to host a group swap for these cute memo holders but didn't have enough interest.  I was in it but dropped out because I was overwhelmed with other things at the time, so I offered to do a private swap with her and she agreed.  We chose the theme as "Belated: As Silly As Possible.  I don't know if she will think this is silly, but I did add googly eyes and a mustache. :)

Seasonal ATCs

I have been working on this first ATC for three days.  I think it is finally finished.  It is another of the series Christmas ATCs with sheet music backgrounds.  I had actually forgotten that I had to have sheet music for this until after I had already painted the corrugated paper and punched out the tree.  I loved the background paper I selected, so was loathe to cover it all up with sheet music!  A compromise was to cover 1/2 of it and add some sheet music trees also in the background.

The beading took longer than I thought to apply.  I had to wait for each bit of glue to dry before I could move on to another section, otherwise it just kept popping off the paper.

This next one is Sticker Free ATC: Pumpkin.  I just couldn't help myself.  I had to weave that variety of orange paper for the background!  Then I framed it in Washi tape and added the pumpkin which reminds me of those huge red-orange pumpkins we find at the farmers market around this time of year. 

I keep looking at it thinking I might need to add more, but for now, it is done enough.

Catching up

I have been busy.  Yesterday I crafted from early until late.  I decorated the little glassine envelopes above for some ATCs to go in for swaps...and all these ATCs.

Black and White with a Heart on it.  Still weaving. :)

Washi Tape ATC for a Pen friend

ATC with a Quote on it

For this one I used some old mulberry paper leaves I unearthed while looking for something else. :)

This set is made from all the little bits and pieces I had on my table.  Washi tape, handmade papers, negative punched images, pieces of doily and various fun textured papers including some Braille punched paper that a fellow artist sent me.  I painted it with twinks because you can never have too much shimmer, and then put a flower on it for a swap called, ATC with a flower.  :)

Cranking Out the Art

Today I signed up for a few more swaps and got out my twinks.  These are not in the order in which they were made, but they were all made today...

First we have Remembrance Day.  I love using the fan brush to make the poppies.

Next we have Nesting Blackbird.  This one is for a swap I am hosting called, Woven ATC.

This was actually the first one I did, using a hymnal page with Silent Night on it for a swap using sheet music.  It is a Christmas ATC with a religious theme.

While I was painting, Elizabeth was waiting for her dad to get done at the chiropractor's office, and she decided to paint too.  She took the other half page of hymnal and went to town.  That is the background of the next two ATCs which were designed for the swap Fall Glitter ATC.  The first one is the one I am keeping, the second will be sent to my swap partner.

Woven Sheet Music and Butterflies

This ATC is for a swapbot swap called Sheet Music ATC with a Butterfly. This is the second of the series I have participated in, and I hesitated to join because it is not a group swap, but a public swap, and I was not terribly impressed with the one I got in return the last time. But I like the theme, and since I am making a second ATC for myself of each of the ones I like, I decided to join it.

It is one of my favorites, and I love the way the paper looks woven so the notes and words go different directions.  In all, I was pleased with the outcome.

Woven Washi Tape ATC

The card on the left is the background that is beneath the wild stuff on the the other card. :)  Weaving Washi tape is not easy, but I don't know that it was any harder than some of the other stuff I have been weaving.

Up next, a woven sheet music ATC with a flock of butterflies!

Twinchies

My sister has a very unique decorating style.  A couple of years ago she told me she wanted to decorate her Christmas tree with small squares and tags and other little goodies, but I never really caught the vision.  Well, there is a craft called "inchies" which are 1 inch squares of card board or stock and they are embellished in a variety of ways.  The two inch sized pieces are called "twinchies." How imaginative.

Here is my first run with making these little gems.  Each embellishment has a memory attached to it, and I plan to write out all the memories when I send the completed batch--which they are not completed, by the way.  I still have some beaded hangers to add.  Those will take another full afternoon I would imagine.

Most of them have another embellishment on the other side, but for some reason that photo didn't come through when I downloaded.  This gives you an idea what they look like, though.  And, no they are not very Christmasy--I did mention she had a unique decorating style, right? :)

ATCs for Pen Pal

I received three ATCs in the mail from one of my pen pals earlier in the week, so I made these two to send to her.

This one looks a lot like one I did earlier, no?

Washi Bookmark

The other group swap I am hosting is called, Washi Bookmark.  Here is mine...

Front

back

Private Swap ATCs

Somehow I overlooked posting these two ATCs I made earlier in the week for an Instagram friend...

The first one is called "Calling for Help" as the fish is talking into the conch shell to get help out of the net.  The second one is called "Winged Things" and features a whole lot of stuff I had been sent with swaps I had gotten over the last few weeks.  They call it ephemera, I call it opportunity!

Muse Gone Wild

Some days you just have the mojo and others you don't.  Today, the Muse was just about out of hand! 

This first ATC is a purse on a watercolor background. I was inspired by a swap (that I didn't join) for an ATC with something on it that opened.  My first boring thought was a door. A window. Then I drew a blank.  Earlier in day I realized that a LOT of my ATCs over the past few weeks have featured dull colors, browns, autumn themes, and old looking things.  That is NOT my usual style, so I decided to shuffle my scraps and put some new colorful offerings in the little box I keep on my table to inspire me. 

When I came across the alligator (?) paper, I thought a purse would open... hmm. 

I added a magnetic closure, and the purse is pleated on each side, so you could actually put something tiny inside.  Rather ingenuous, I thought! :)
This second ATC was using scraps I had leftover from the paper I used to cover the tin (below).  I had taken it out of my art journal as it was just painted on 1/2 of one side, and I wanted some different colors.  It was a happy accident that I was able to glean not only the top, bottom and inside panels for the tin, but three ATC backgrounds like the one above, and this piece.  I used the remaining bits to shave thin strips, which I wove into a little pattern on the lower left corner of this ATC.

I finished it off with the crazy yarn and some stamps. I was very pleased with the result.  In fact, I won't be swapping either of these two ATCs--they are going in my own collection. :)  So much for the "trading" part of Artist Trading Cards!

Sir Reginald Doodle III of Washiville

One of my Swap Bot swaps is called Washi Birds.  Here is what I came up with for my offering...

Sir Reginald Doodle III of Washiville

Elizabeth helped me to name him.  We thought he needed a fancy name to go with his fancy plumage. I will write a story about him before I send him. :)

Purple Tin

A new follower on Instagram commented on the tin I had posted and asked if it was available for a swap.  I told her that it was already gone, but if she wanted to swap, I could make one for her.  She said her favorite colors were purple and aqua, so I got my trusty Twinks out and made some background paper for it.

This is the top. I stamped the butterfly with Stazon ink before painting and splattering and all the other stuff I did to the paper. :)

Here is another view with different lighting/background.

 Inside-- I have never had a tin work so perfectly before.  Every single piece of paper fit to a T, and there was no problem aligning things. I was in the zone this morning!!

Here is the top and bottom together.  Before I signed and dated it. :)

Washi Tape ATC

This was for a swap to make an ATC out of Washi tape.  There are 15 different patterns of tape on this ATC.  I didn't make a duplicate for myself. :)

ATC with a Button

It has been a pretty slow crafting week this week.  This ATC is about all the art I have to show for it!  I have written a lot of letters and done a few other swaps, but I forgot to take photos of some of them, and I haven't been too motivated to do art with all the other stuff we had going on.  Things are slowing down, though, so I anticipate a rash of new artwork in the coming days.

From the Long Weekend

I really should have more to show for a long weekend, but this is it for now...

Private Swap

Punch Art with a Touch of Orange

A to Z Fun

Front of a decorated envie

Back of the same envie

No special notes... Just that. :)