Long time, no post!

I'm still here, I swear.  However, I'm still deep in the midst of my feverish ATC-making.  These little dudes are FUN to make.  Perhaps it's my need for immediate gratification, but I love working on these mini canvases.  Here's the latest installment...

 I don't claim to be an artist-artist AT ALL.  This was my attempt at capturing a photo in watercolors.  They eyes on this guy kind of freak me out.  Hope it didn't freak out the recipient too much.  I made this for her because she's totally into her dogs and likes the color purple.

 This one and the next were made for a swap with the theme "Something Orange".  The first one is inspired by the movie "A Clockwork Orange".  Talk about a trippy flick.

 I've got a nice little stash of googly eyes and quite the affinity for Halloween.  That's where this little dude came from.  Kind of have a fun, not-too-spooky, candy corn thing going on here.

 I made this one for a collector of sea life ATCs.  Again, my artistic talents are, uh, well let's say they're evolving, shall we?  What I especially like about this one is the shiny bits; they're from a gum wrapper that I insisted on keeping in spite of my family's protests.  :)

 My Strolling Seattle ATCs...the left one was for a Purple & Green swap where the recipient also liked umbrellas.  Unable to help myself I dug into my paper scraps and cut a few more umbrellas...

 La Calavera ATC.  Once up on a time my beloved and I were in Mexico sitting at a little outdoor cafe probably imbibing in a Corona or two.  A little boy came up to me and pointed at my shirt.  "Calaveras!  Calaveras!"  I was wearing a T-shirt that had dancing skeletons on it (I wonder whatever happened to that shirt.  It was really pretty cool).  This little guy was fascinated with my shirt and we ran into him a few more times.  Each time he would mention the calaveras.  I'm pretty sure he wasn't indicating that we were skeletal-like, but maybe I"m wrong.  I made this ATC for a Day of the Dead swap, which had nothing whatsoever to do with my story, but that's what I think of when I see this picture.

 Good ol' Warshington.  This ATC (I actually made 4 of them) was for a 50 state swap.  This is an ongoing swap and I'm hoping, at some point, to collect all the states.  That would be kinda cool to go along with my State Quarters collection.  (Yes.  I'm a little geeky at times.)

 I needed an extra ATC to swap with somebody.  She likes flowers and bright colors.  That's where this came from.  The stamp I used always reminds me of dandelions.  My daughter thinks I'm nuts. 

 These are for a Thanksgiving/Thankful swap.  I am most certainly thankful for all of these things.

Almost done!  Hang in there!  These last two are for a Book Page swap.  The background on both of these is from a book written in Japanese.

 This is not exactly what I had envisioned when I started.  I do really like the texture on it though.

This one was a bear.  I kept feeling like it needed something more.  I still think there's something missing on it, but for the life of me I don't know what I'd add.  Suggestions?

Are you still here?  Thanks for hanging in there.  What do you think of my ATC's?

Garden ATC

Yesterday, I was invited to do a personal swap on SwapBot with a garden theme.  I woke up early this morning with a frenzy of ideas floating around my brain.  Had to get right to work before I lost it.

The Garden Artist ATC

I love the quote by Oscar de la Renta.  It seemed perfect for my swapping partner who is not only a gardener but a creator of some great looking art as well.

I knew I wanted multiple layers in greens.  The base is patterend paper that has a repeated pattern of lettuce in olive green.  Next came stencils: green dots (Distress paint), numbers (Distress ink), diamonds (Distress ink).  I'm going through a bit of a shiny phase and couldn't resist rubbing some green Stickles over the whole thing.

The flower was created using colored strips of a dictionary page which I glued onto cardstock.  Originally they were a blue, pink, purple mix but the color was too light so I added purple over the whole thing.  I held back and only applied a dab of purple Stickles on a the smaller flower dots.

On a slightly different note, total rookie maneuver yesterday.  I made a bunch of ATCs for a big swap and forgot to take pictures.  Totally bummed as I know I'll forget what I did later and they were all totally different.  C'est la vie...live and learn...yada yada yada.  But here are some that I haven't shared yet here.

Alone in The City ATC

Anonymous ATC

City Lights ATC

The Concrete Jungle ATC

Learn to Surf ATC

Call it Art ATC

Mushroom Mishap ATC

Boil & Bubble ATC (for Glittery Halloween swap)

Okay.  Time to step away from 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" pieces of paper.  My house is a mess.  My children barely recognize this crazed person with bits of glitter in her hair and ink-stained fingers. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Swap Bot

Have you heard of this website?  I discovered it a couple of days ago while searching for additional places to trade ATCs.  I've become smitten with creating ATCs - addicted really.  Wanna see my latest?

The first one is a Steampunk Halloween ATC.  I used Tim Holtz's riveted metal technique on the helmet.  The metal tape I picked up at Home Depot.  The skull is lifted off the card base with mounting tape.  Love how the eyeball turned out.  After printing an image from the internet I put some Diamond Glaze over the top. The last thing I did was cut off the bottom of the skull to get my dimensions to 2.5" x 3.5" as required.  It looked really cool before I cut it, but I've decided I still kinda like the way it's peeking out at me.

 

The next one is one I created because I didn't read the directions(!) and thought it was a simply a Steampunk ATC swap.  (Collective sigh..."Ohhhh...Julie...").  I used the metal tape for the butterfly and some alcohol inks over the top.

 (I have since trimmed off the excess backing there on the left; was driving me nuts.)  I found these canvas ATC bases at an art supply store here in Edmonds.  Fun base to work with.

Finally I have a pumpkin ATC.  The instructions specifically said NO jack-o-lanterns/Halloweenish pumpkins but I still wanted it to be kinda different.  I stamped a background stamp, ran some Wild Honey DS over it and cut out a pumpkin shape.  Cut that into segments and distressed the edges of each piece.  To accentuate the pumpkin-ishness I drew vertical lines from top to bottom too.  

I can't decide if it still needs something.  I added a smidge of orange Stickles at the top but I still feel like it's missing something.

UPDATE:  It did need something.  What do you think of my additions?

Thanks for taking a gander at my creations.  Cheers!

Pick A Theme ATCs

Greetings!

Fall is here.  The last few mornings we've woken up to grey, foggy skies and as I write it's drizzling.  Ugh.  But it is perfect weather for getting a little something done in the studio.  I've been working on some ATCs for a PAT (Pick-a-Theme) swap at SCS.  Each person in the group selected a technique they'd like to receive.  Here's what I did:

Title: Carnival!  Theme: Mixed Media

 Materials Used: playing card, metallic star stickers, stamped image colored with Copics, washi tape, embossed cardstock with distress ink highlights

Title: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun  Theme: Paper Piecing

 Materials Used: cardstock, patterned paper, stamps, black ink, copics and rhinestones.  These stamps crack me up.

Title:  Joyful Noise  Theme: Baby Wipe Technique

 Materials Used: cardstock, baby wipe, Distress re-inkers, black ink, Distress inks, stencils, stamps, washi tape, Sharpie

Title: Mans' Best Friend  Theme: 6 Inchies

Materials Used: cardstock, Distress inks, Copics, brad, seed beads, black ink, stamps.  The tongs underneath the brad are bugging me.  This inchie may have to be reconfigured...

Thanks for stopping by today.  May yours be full of fabulousness.

Tags, Tags & More Tags

The kids are back at school now and quiet has returned to the household...at least for several hours during the day.  While I still would like to be working on Halloween things for the shop it's time for me to turn my attention elsewhere.  Right now tags are the name of the game; particularly shipping tags.  The shipping tags that I use are #5; they measure 2 3/8" x 4 3/4".  Here are some that I have listed in the shop or will be listing over the next few days.

Peace Shipping Tags

Love Shipping Tags

Cloud Shipping Tags

I really like the simplicity of the above tags with the clean die-cut sentiments or images.  They make great gift tags or I envision them attached to some rustic twine with a clothespin for a banner decorating a table or mantle.

Baby Boy Gift Tag

Baby Girl Gift Tag

After gazing at the cloud tags for a bit I remembered I had this cute onesie clothesline die that I hadn't used yet.  Thinking these look pretty spiffy together.

Wanted Poster Tags

 Aren't these fun?  They'd be great to add to party favors or the addition of Santa makes them perfect Christmas gift tags.

Western-Style Mixed Tag Set

Dress these up with your favorite cowpoke to add to a birthday banner or goodie bags for a western-themed birthday party or Thinking of You gift.

If you'd prefer to do your own thing with shipping tags I've got the plain ones for sale as well.

Light Blue Shipping Tags

Grey Shipping Tags

White Shipping Tags

Several other colors of the plain shipping tags are available HERE in the shop too.  Click the titles to be taken to the items in the shop.  If you need a different quantity or have a question let me know.  I'm happy to accomodate custom requests.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Nightmare Before Christmas Goodies

Oh, I love this time of year!  Peggy over at SCS is hosting a mega swap which includes categories for Nightmare Before Christmas.  Completely unable to help myself, I signed up for spots in the ATC and Tag categories.  Want to see my gruesome goodies?

 Here we have an ATC disguised as a present. The swirly top reminds me of the swirly bits in the movie. In one scene of the movie a little boy opens his gift to find a shrunken head. 

  My tag sports Jack Skellington himself.  The background is splattered with distress stains and I stamped some bats that reminded me of Jack's collar.  Hand-drawn barbed wire holds the freaky ornaments.

It's hard to tell in the picture but the ornaments have been covered with Diamond Glaze that give some dimension as well as a nice shine.  Love these ornaments from Stampotique and thought they were perfect for the theme.

Thanks for stopping by.  Happy Labor Day,  Americans!

Feelin' Groovy with Tag Tuesday

Over at Tag Tuesday the theme this week is the Swinging Sixties.  When I think of the 60's acid rock, hippies, war protests and psychedelic drugs come to mind.  For my tag I tried to incorporate these by including Seattle icon, Jimi Hendrix, swirly bright colors and 'peace'.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your week.  We're counting down the days until school starts here.  :)