More ATC Workshop Techniques

I finally finished off my ATCs for the other 2 techniques for the Bernie Berlin ATC Workshop swap through ATC_World. The first one is Inky Layers and the next one is Leafing Pen Resist.

The Inky Layers background is done with bits of different pieces of paper inked up and then glued down. The next step is to paint a glaze over the papers, I used a watered down light green Making Memories paint, which was then rubbed with ink pads (a green and red) in a few places and blended in with a tissue or baby wipe. Calligraphy ink was rubbed in next, which blended more of the ink and I used a circle stencil with the red ink to make the dots pattern. I'm really happy with how this ATC turned out.

When Kyla and I were doing the backgrounds for the Leafing Pen Resist ATCs, we couldn't get a Leafing Pen for this technique, so we just used the Making Memories branded glaze paints instead. It probably doesn't stand out (resist) as much as the leafing pen would have, but that was the best we could do under the circumstances.

I had so much fun playing with these techniques from Bernie Berlin's ATC Workshop book and can't wait to do the next techniques.

There is a road from the eye to the heart that does not go through the intellect.

~ G.K. Chesterton, 1874-1936, English Writer ~

ATC Workshop Techniques

On Friday night I went over to Kyla's place because we have both committed to being a part of the ATC_World Bernie Berlin ATC Workshop swap and thought it would be much more enjoyable if we tried out the techniques together.

Firstly we did Paint on Paper Towel and I had so much fun collecting paper towels from public washrooms with different patterns for this technique. The ATC I made for the swap is below and I love it. I made the background by painting swirls with Making Memories emerald glaze paint all over the towel, then I sprayed glimmer mists in red and green making sure there was no white showing through. The coolest thing happened to the emerald glaze, it had a reaction with the glimmer mist and the silver tone in the paint was really accentuated. When I looked at the paper towel once it was dry, I thought the colours were a bit dull, but now that I've torn it up and glued the pieces all over the ATC, then used Stampin Up's Canvas background stamp with black StazOn and added the details, I really love it. I'm so happy with how this ATC turned out.

I will be working on the other 2 techniques for this swap over the weekend as I need to send them off to the USA by Tuesday at the latest, so will post pictures soon.

Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses.

~ Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, American Author and Achievement Expert ~

Two more ATCs finished for swaps

I managed to finish two sets of ATCs for a couple of swaps over the past few days. The first one is for a monthly face-to-face swap at Addicted to Scrap and this month's theme was Ladies Accessories. My ATC is titled "She Likes Hats" and under each hat is a little tab of velcro so you can change her hats around if you feel like it. I started this set of cards on Wednesday and finished them in time for the swap today (Thursday)!!! I am spending so much time with our new puppy Beau that I'm only getting my cards done for swaps just-in-time.

The second ATC is for a swap through the Yahoo Group PaperArts and the theme for this swap is "Weird and Wacky Wings". I used a lolly / candy wrapper for the wings and called it the "Confection-fairy" ... I thought that was funny. I completed one of these ATCs last night and as I've been getting up nice and early to let Beau out in the morning (today he was scratching to get out of our room at 5.45am) I managed to get all 9 cards required for the swap done before lunch time.

Next on my list to do is to complete my ATCs for the ATC_World Yahoo Group swap, which I need to send to the USA by Monday 29th September at the latest so they can arrive in time for the deadline on 15th October. This swap is going through Bernie Berlin's book "Artist Trading Card Workshop" and completing each technique. I have the book and love it, so am thrilled to be in a swap trying each technique out.

The most important thing is to be whatever you are without shame.

~ Rod Steiger, 1925-2002, American Actor ~

And puppy makes three ...

As mentioned in my previous post, Ferg and I have made a huge commitment and now have a new addition to our family - a beautiful puppy that we have named Beau. He is a male Australian Working Kelpie, his colouring is called red / tan (although I think he looks more brown) and he is 8 weeks on Thursday, 25th September.

Here are a few pics of us and the gorgeous boy:

(1) Family portrait of Ferg, Beau & me.
(2) Me & Beau crashed out the morning after his arrival.
(3) Beau playing with one of his chew toys.

I also finished my Nursery Rhyme ATCs for the Scrapbook Cupboard swap just in the nick of time (they're due on Thursday) and here it is:

It's kind of difficult to see the effect in the scan, but the whole card is shimmery and glittery with two different coloured Making Memories Glaze paints in the background (purple & blue), then I've placed Kindy Glitz on the lines of the Star and as a border of the card.

"Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies."

~ Gene Hill ~

Pay-It-Forward ATCs

I haven't posted anything in the last week as I have been very distracted by our new puppy that we picked up this week. It really is like having a child, so I'm giving our new addition a lot of time and attention. I will post a photo sometime this weekend, so you can see the family together.

I received another two Pay-It-Forward ATCs from Arizona USA this week bringing the total received to 16. The first one is by Karol Taylor from Overgaard and she's created a collage effect of items that relate to Wyoming, I especially love the mica and really must get me some. The next card is by Donna Fiori in Anthem. Donna didn't list an email address on her ATC, so if anyone knows her, please pass on my sincere thanks. She's compiled a tribute to the Olympic Games, which is a great idea for the future when I'm looking through my collection I can remember when the Beijing Olympics occurred.

Thanks ladies, I love adding more and more miniature art to my forever expanding collection.

I'm now off to finish some of my own cards that are due, so will post pics of these soon also.

"It is common sense to take a method and try it; if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something."

~ Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945, 32nd President of the United States ~

Pay-It-Forward ATCs

I had a very lovely surprise in my mail box today ... not 1 but 2 Pay-It-Forward ATCs from 2 new countries - what an exciting addition to my collection.

The first card is from Jocelyne Palmerini in Switzerland. The texture of Jocelyne's cards is absolutely amazing and does not show through in the photograph. It looks like it could be glued tissue paper that has been coated in some sort of medium and then painted and in various colours of blues, then other colours rubbed on to provide some contrast and shimmer ... really it's just beautiful in the flesh. Jocelyne provided me with her blog address (http://planetescrap.canalblog.com/) and her work is stunning. Even though I can't read what's been written ... her art speaks for itself.

The other card I received is from Femmy Brands in The Netherlands. It was especially nice to receive an ATC from The Netherlands as that is where my family originates from. Again a stunning ATC using a shimmery copper glaze on a background paper, with stamping, a wonderful image and embellishments. Femmy has also given me her blog address if you want to check out her art - http://zoiy.blogspot.com/.

I was a very lucky girl today, receiving such beautiful gifts in the mail and these 2 ATCs have taken my Pay-It-Forward tally to 14 cards received. I love that so many wonderful artists are playing.

"Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends."
~ Cindy Lew ~

Pay-It-Forward ATCs

I received in the mail today another Pay-It-Forward ATC and am just amazed at how many people are "playing". Today's card came from Astrid Maclean all the way from Edinburgh, Scotland - she provided her blog address (http://www.astridsartisticefforts.blogspot.com/) and I had a look at her artwork and it's really beautiful.

I have now received 11 Pay-It-Forward ATCs and I feel it's like my birthday every time I go to the mail box and receive a beautiful little handmade gift.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~ Albert Camus, 1913-1960, French Author and Philosopher ~

Can't get enough of ATCs ...

I finished my ATCs for one of the Scrapbook Cupboard swaps with the theme Charcoal and Orange. I used my new Paper Artsy stamp with an image of the Eiffel Tower, and used Bernie Berlin's emboss resist technique as the focal image instead of a background as I have done before, a little bit of french text, a label and brad and it's finished ... voila! I have to say I really love the emboss resist technique, it's so versatile and always looks completely different with different colours and stamps.

Yesterday, I caught up with the girls at the Scrapbook Cupboard live swap and added another 8 cards to my forever expanding ATC collection. I now have over 440 ATCs in my collection ... it's amazing how quickly an obsession can grow.

I received my copy of ATC Quarterly from Canada on Friday that I subscribed to recently, and what a surprise it was to see Kyla's card had been accepted in the Autumn ATC challenge, which appears in the centrefold - in the picture below, Kyla's ATC is in the bottom left hand corner.

Also in this issue of ATC Quarterly, Shelly Sessions (from New Orleans) who I've traded with before and have gotten to know better through email chats, was a featured artist with some of her beautiful beeswax cards. It's very exciting to see my friend's / fellow artists work in print and to see their art recognised.

I did a trade with Lisa Goldman through ATC_World and received her 2 cards in the mail on Friday also. The photos of her 2 cards don't really do them justice as there's all this texture in the background that's lovely to feel.

"Beware what you set your heart upon. For it shall surely be yours."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson 1803-1882, Poet and Essayist ~

ATCs and a layout

I received an amazing Pay-It-Forward ATC in the mail today, all the way from Arizona USA. This card was made by Laura Carson and I think it's truly stunning. So much effort and time has gone into putting this card together and it really does show. I just love the concept of Pay-It-Forward ATCs and have now received 11 from the 6 that I originally sent out. I just joined another Yahoo Group of Advanced ATC artists based in the UK and it turns out Laura is a member of this group also ... I'm really looking forward to getting to know this small group of artists.

I completed a set of 12 ATCs for the live swap meet at the Scrapbook Cupboard this Saturday. The background is alcohol inks and the image was downloaded from a free images web-site (am unsure which one now). I really like the card, but something strange happened to the ink in the image - I think the glue made it change colour in some places ... ah well, I guess it adds to the "old" look of the picture and I really don't want to make different ones.

I also received an ATC this week from Lois Richter in California from the Winner Takes All Lottery that I won in May. I really like the message in this card ... REFLECT ... it's good to remember to take time to do this from time-to-time. It's the first digital ATC to make it into my collection and I think it's so wonderful to have a sample of all different artistic interpretations.

Finally, I finished another scrapbooking layout. This one is again for the Create-A-Page competition at Scrapbooks Etc. I made a promise to myself that whatever classes or layouts I do from now on, the subject matter will be my trip overseas last October ... otherwise I'll never get the trip scrapped. This layout is of me and my very good friend Michelle who has lived in London for a long time and everytime I go over, I make sure I spend some time with her. We've known each other for at least 20 years ... wow, that's a long time.

"Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some."

~ Charles Dickens, 1812-1870, Novelist ~