Catching up! Lots of ATCs

This first ATC is for a swap called, "Use Your Crap" It has all sorts of goodies on it, the minimum requirement was ten items. I have that and then some. :)

This next one is possibly not finished, but since I haven't really figured out what else to do to it, I am posting it here for now.  If I was to pick a scripture to describe my thoughts while making this it would be James 1:2-4.  The idea is that adversity often reveals beauty.

Next up is a swap called, "Put a Bike On It".  I started with Braille paper, then I spritzed two colors of Tattered Angels Glimmer mist over a stencil, then used a smaller circle stencil and my stippling brush with some Mustard Seed Distress Ink.  I used Peeled Paint distress ink around the perimeter.  The bike is stamped onto a piece of transparency film, then I used clear embossing powder to heat emboss it.  I cut it out and mounted it over the mesh on the bottom.  In the bottom corner is a tiny piece of map.  The title is Uphill Ride.

The next one is for a swap called Book page with a Flower.  The book page is from a Russian/English dictionary.  I used twinks on it, then while it was still fairly wet, I put a piece of bubble wrap on it to give it the little circles.  The colors don't seem to be very vivid on my computer, but perhaps they will show up better for you.

This ATC is another group swap called Sheet Music with a Heart on it.  The music is Russian (I think) and came in a packet of foreign ephemera in a swap I did with a missionary in the Ukraine.

And finally we have the next Washi Critter:  Meet Blue Lips the Washi Fish.  :)  He has 15 patterns of Washi Tape and 12 different colors of stickles.  I am going to see if I can figure out a way to attach a hook for the hanger to look like a fish hook. :)

So, that's what I have been up to.  The last four of these I made today, actually.  I have been hard at it since 6:30 this morning. Next up, I need to make a head piece for Elizabeth's Steampunk Halloween costume. Just a couple more days till the Christmas gift projects start taking all my creative time.

Busy Girl!

I have been a busy girl today!  The new theme was announced yesterday for my Facebook Mixed Media ATC Artists group, and as is my usual, I wanted to jump in and see if I could come up with anything I liked before I committed.  I was also admitted into a small group of advanced ATC artists on SwapBot, and I signed up for a swap or two there as well.  Then, when partners were assigned this morning for a swap I had already made an ATC for, I read my partner's profile and she didn't like rainbow colors, so I made a different one for her. I should learn to wait until partners are assigned, but I am just so impatient!!

This is the first one I did for the FB group.  It's called, Left Brain Meets Right Brain.  It is slightly biographical in nature, as my husband is most assuredly a left brain dominated man and I tend toward the right. The book page features a very complex geometric proof.  I added the graph and measuring tape washi tapes to represent that left side-analytical part of the group.  The colors are not really covering the text, but it is hard to tell in the photo.  To the left brain, the willy-nilly placement of the colors would be unsettling.  I say it's good for 'em. :)

The second one is from a reading primer dated 1968:

If not for the glare you could tell it says, "Good Junk needed."  This is called, "Good Junk makes the Best Art."  'struth.

Next up is one I sent out today but made awhile ago and forgot to photograph. It is another Christmas on sheet music swap, this one features snowflakes.

I used Twinkling H2O watercolors on the background, gradating from blue at the top to more green as it went down.  The blue at the top has more of a silver sheen to it, the green more gold.  The photo really doesn't do it justice.  I used Liquid Pearl white to make the snow bank at the bottom, then added a bit of white stickles glitter-glue to it for more depth.  I also added white stickles to the tree, but a different color around the edges.  Finally, I affixed the little silver charms I have had in my stash for ... let's just say a number of years.  :)

Next up is another book page; I actually thought about using it for the FB swap, but changed my mind and am using it for the advanced ATC group instead.

This one is called "Don't Cry, Polly!"  I don't know if you can see the dog's tongue licking away her tears or not.  It was a black and white illustration, and I colored it with markers, then added highlights with some stickles and liquid pearls, and highlighted the dog's nose and eyes, and Polly's shoes with some glossy accents. Of course I had to add a bit of washi tape to it--the little bird on the fence is from a very carefully cut piece of tape!

This last one is the new Postage Stamp ATC for a group swap.  The partner loves quilting and one of her favorite things is seeing quilts on a clothesline.  This one is on watercolor paper, and I painted the background, blues and the foreground greens.  I also painted the little sunflowers to the far right.  The fence and other little flowers, as well as the bird and clothes pins are all washi tape. :)  The stamps fit perfectly on the line.

That's what I have been working on today!  Elizabeth photocopied some of my art journal pages, and I am going to use them to make some little postalettes to send to a couple of pen-pals.  I am kind of glad I didn't get any mail today or I would be further behind!

New Directions

Today I did two ATCs and both were styles I have never done before.  The first one is for a swap with someone who had a brand new in the box Barbie for trade, and when I asked what she wanted to swap for it she read my profile and said she would like an embroidered ATC.  I haven't done much embroidery lately, and my first attempt was a colossal failure.  The second round I "cheated" a little and used some crocheted flowers.  There is embroidery on there, and the flowers were hand made, just not by me.  I am not a good hooker. :)

Embroidery on an ATC

How does your garden grow?

The second one is my first attempt at free hand drawing then painting it.  The theme for this ATC swap is gardening.  I figured since this plant has been in every garden I have ever had, it was appropriate.  It is next to the little bag I will send it in. I just love putting them in those cute little washi-taped bags!! :)

A Few Little Projects

Ornery has kindly loaned me his tablet so I can post pictures to Instagram again, and email them to myself--until my data plan renews, this is my only way to do so unless I drag out the big camera and download them that way.  Anyway, here are a few projects I have finished in the last couple of days.

Washi Tape Cat--a little on the order of Picaso style, or gradeschool, one or the other. :P

Collage Post card with certain elements required. The back is actually cuter.

Mixed Media Shimmery ATC

Along for the Ride

I don't think the colors came out right in any of the photos, but you can get the gist of it anyway.

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?

Three Dimensional Art

I started out with a 12X24 canvas and silks acrylic paints.  I worked with a wash brush from both sides to the middle at an angle with various shades of blue and green.  Then I used a sponge to add more layers of color using mostly the same colors I used on the background.

Next I attempted to spritz on some glimmer mist, but the dark background was too overpowering and the shape of the stencil was lost.  I was disappointed, but it caused me to venture out a bit and try something new.  I mixed some modeling paste with some powdered minerals from Luminarte to get the dark brown color.  Then I applied it with a palette knife.  I had some issues, but overall I was more pleased with the results than I was with the spritz.  Then I added the paper and silk flowers, butterflies, google eyes, and beaded stick pins which I made expressly for this purpose.  All attachments are applied with Fusion glue.

Three Dimensional Mixed Media Art

Today I got some silks and a canvas out and decided to experiment.  Here is what I came up with.

Below is the piece I made for Elizabeth from an old shirt she had worn out.  It was a favorite and now she can hang it up and remember the fun times she had while wearing it!

Decorating my Studio

I have been doing a bit of work on decorating my studio lately.  We moved the ribbon rack to the inside of the closet door...

Painted one wall orange and made this fun bunting,

Created another bunting for another wall, then made these mixed media pieces,

Here are some close ups of the two pieces on the wall with the dahlias...

Then I covered a clock in feathers,

 made a kite,

 painted and glittered a Scrabble rack and put together the word Sparkle with some crystals on it,

 and covered another rack with fabric for my own nick name, Super TaDa.

Now I am working on a shadow box for my granddaughter...

I still have a long list of things to make.  I think my next mixed media piece will have one of our cute little yardstick airplanes incorporated in it and have a saying about living from your imagination. Stay tuned!

Catching Up

It has been a long time since I posted anything new here, so I am playing catch up.  I have only done a couple of cards this summer, since we moved in May and I have been "nesting" ever since! The house is coming together nicely, though, and I am almost ready to get back to crafting "full time" -- or as full-time as a homemaker can get! Here are a few of the things I have been working on besides painting walls and rearranging furniture...

I have continued to create these fun little stocking ornaments. I decided not to use them in the ornament exchange except as prizes. The rest are going to be gifts and a few may end up in my etsy shop.

One evening I decided I wanted to do a little crafting, so I whipped out this monotone paper (it is double sided, so the stripes and snowflakes are from the same sheet) and decided to do something a little different. I stained the back of the wooden stocking with brown alcohol inks instead of painting it, and I used lace to embellish it. Simple but I think pretty.  The little heart is something my husband cut out just after he got his scroll saw.  It had been wandering around in various containers in my stash so I decided to do something with it. First I stained it with pinks and purples (alcohol ink) then spritzed some glimmer mist on it. I backed it with paper then added the little ruffle and a beaded hanger.  I hung it in my little gallery outside my studio...

The heart is hanging above the framed cards on the left side. The other things are projects I have made--I am especially proud of my first "painting" using mixed media. The shadow box was from a few years ago, and here is the "Z", in its previous state:

It just seemed so plain--especially after I made this "A" for my niece:

Another project my husband and I did together was this frame for some clock dipping bowls I bought at Pottery Barn a couple years ago. It was his first attempt at a frame, and I thought he did pretty well all things considered.

I painted it and lined it with black velvet, then glued everything in. It was the perfect accent for the wall I hung it on.

I am working on some other ornaments for the exchange using old hymnal pages to decoupage on glass balls. I will come up with some sort of fancy tag to put at the top. I also bought another box of clear glass ornaments and will experiment with some alcohol inks on those. I have about twenty projects on my list; as soon as I get things made, I'll be posting.