I Just Can't Stop! Metal and Cards!

 I seem to be making lots of ATC's lately - but the two groups I am in are just the best and I enjoy the challenge. These cards are made for Arts In The Cards and the theme for the month is, what else - "Halloween". We had brilliant sun today - which was wonderful .. but made the cards look a bit more washed out then they really are.

 I will be away for a gals get-a-way this coming weekend - home on Tuesday. We are going to a retreat cottage at The Crazy Quilt Shop in Roslyn, Washington - of Northern Exposure fame. Have a look under the "retreat" tab. I am so excited. I am bringing knitting, journaling stuff  (metal included) and hand sewing. I had thought to work on my large bed quilt but ended up just wanting to relax and not lug a machine. If you look at the cottage you will see why I say this!

 Below: the back of the cards

 This is a card I made - in metal of course! - for a friend who recently was married. She is originally from Barbados and he new husband is from France - so of course I used the three flags in the card! I am becoming so besotted with working in metal - makes me chuckle to myself!

Happy Labor Day (for the USA) and It's Been A Long Time But I've Not Been Loafing!

 Remember that you can double click the photos for a larger view

I couldn't believe it when I saw how long it has been since I last posted. No reason for it either. Time just slips away so fast. Life really is an E-ticket at times isn't it ?!

I have continued my obsession with all things metal. These are a group of ATC's that are being sent out to my friends at Arts In The Cards.   Each month brings more and more fun with this group and I am so grateful to be a part of it!  I find that having a theme is an excellent motivator for me - I have never worked too well this way but I am beginning to really enjoy the challenge of making something that fits the need! Swapping regularly has also really given me some great ideas for the future.

These cards began as a piece of black foil that was burnished over a piece of alligator glass (it was one of my favorite types of glass when I was doing stained glass and fusing so I still have some). I burned off some of the color over the stove which altered the black somewhat and removed the black in some places. Next I added some color where I thought it was needed. The butterflies were punched from either paper, metal or etal - as were the 'moons'. The theme for this month was a 'favorite quote' - most of my favorites are a bit longer and I wanted something smaller - the one I chose has always been a favorite and it worked well size wise

The black dragonfly on the card on the right is is an

example of the black metal that the card backgrounds were at first.

This next batch of cards using some of my favorite, oft chosen, images are for another swap that I am horrendously late in sending out. I had fun yesterday in getting caught up. All of the cards on this page have been sent out into the world today and are on their way to their new homes. I have only three more ATC cards (for another swap) left to finish and send out tomorrow. ALL CAUGHT UP! Phew what a great feeling that can be.

I have signed up for some wonderful classed from one of my favorite journal artists - L.K. Ludwig. Author of, among many books, my favorites. "True Vision" and Creative Wildfire". She has a great - really big - sale going on now for her classes and I had been wanting to sign up for some time. Now that I am almost caught up I can begin working my way through the classes (I chose 5 to begin with).

My next surgery - a two level fusion will be on either October 19th or November 2nd. I have to choose and let them know tomorrow. I'm looking forward to having it over and done with and to feeling good all the time!  Happy Labor Day To All - hope it is labor-less - or if it includes labor - labor only of the fun sort !

Two Great Books" "Hand Lettering" and "Thank You Notes"

 I was very fortunate to have been able to have these books to review. Each of them is a 5 star rating - which, for those of you who don't read my book blog may not know, is unusual for me. After posting the review on my book blog I thought that it might also be of interest to you as well. Please head over to my book blog to have a look at LOTS more photos from the books! I have only included the table of contents pages here.

 

This review could have been done as two separate reviews - one on each of these book- but, quite honestly, I loved them both a lot and they both seem to go hand in hand  - and they are about  two of my favorite things - lovely lettering and really nice, snail mailed, hand made, cards - so I decided to review them both together. I collect books on lettering and calligraphy. I love lettering and I try to improve my own beginner calligraphy as often as I can. I was curious what this book was going to be like. I LOVE it! The authors - and Lark Books - did an excellent job! 

"Hand Lettering" by Marci Donley and SeAnn Singh is really well thought out and is a really nice, easy to use, non intimidating book on lettering. The table of contents ( all photos can be double clicked for a better view!) is really comprehensive. The beginning of the book is about, of course, the basics. The sections on various pens is one of the most complete I have ever seen - and all sorts of pens, markers, brushes and fountain pen calligraphy pens are discussed in detail - along with some more unique writing implements like dental stimulators and pieces of sponge. A lovely section about papers in included of course, along with a section about measuring devices, a section that covers all of the types of cutting tools you might want to use and how to put together a "ready the letter" box of supplies.

 

This book is so full of so much great information and so many really wonderful alphabet styles that I can't imagine how the got it all into a book of this size! You're right I am a bit 'gushy' over this book and, quite honestly, I was not certain that I would be. I don't generally hand out 5 stars very easily - but this book (and the next too for that matter) really do deserve the. This book will be a "must have" addition to the library to calligraphy beginners and scrapbookers as well as to more advanced calligraphers. I highly recommend this one - it's staying here with me !

Moving right along to the next, great 5 star beauty book. Making notes and letters look nice has been a nearly lifelong fascination for me. I always spent a lot of time on letters and on decorating the envelopes for the letters since I can remember - probably about  when I was 12 years old. I still prefer the beauty of snail mail to email. Fat more personal and entertaining...and I do want our postal system to survive so I take great pleasure is designing and sending cards! I couldn't wait to see what sort of techniques were contained in the lovely book entitled, simply "Thank You Notes" by Jan Stephanson and Amy Appleyard. This is another book that I am totally enthralled with. I think that it also has such well done, fail proof directions and well thought out information that you can't go wrong.

This book begins with a shorter, but thorough, section on materials. The cards in the books are grouped by thought in a way. Thank you to my sister, my better half etc; Thank You for a special day, the cash, for being there, for lending a hand, for being sweet.... you get the idea. The thing is that all of the thank you cards - as pertinent as they are to the specific sort of thank you - the cards and the techniques can easily be used for any other reason to send a delightful card. It's the great variety of techniques that this book gives you that really makes the book shine in my eyes! The techniques are all very clearly explained with particularly well done how to photos. You can't go wrong with these instructions!

Disclosure: 

This book was provided to me by the publisher for the purpose of reviewing the book. No other remuneration was received

ATC's: Why I Love Making Them and Receiving Them!

 The cards in this group came from a wonderful group of very talented women. 

The theme of the swap is "Warped". 

Top row (L to R): Janice Paine Dawes, Wanda Stivison, Christine Predd. 

Bottom Row (L to R): Suzan Morgan, and Linda Edkins Wyatt (2 cards)

After seeing some of the ATC's that I have made and sent away to new homes I thought that it would be fun for you to see the ATC's that have been sent to me. It may help to explain why I have become so infatuated with these small works of art - and why I seem to be spending more and more time making them and building my own collection!

Fist a little background - from the information files at Wikipedia:

"...Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball cards, or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (6 cm X 9 cm), small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets. The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland. Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc.), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc.). The cards are usually traded or exchanged rather than sold.

Artist trading cards were used throughout Europe and America as art training tools. Artists would trade the cards between themselves to study each others techniques and explore new art movements. The cards paid a particularly important role in the Impressionists art movement. The Impressionists utilized both sides of their artist trading cards, art on one side and a kind of brief resume on the other. The Impressionists were the first known artists to use the cards in trade for anything other than more art. Impressionists often traded the cards with art collectors in exchange for room, board, and art supplies.

M. Vänçi Stirnemann is credited in many circles with popularizing the modern artist trading card in 1996,holding trading sessions in Zurich, Switzerland. This resurgence of interest of Artists trading cards has spawned the popular ACEO (art cards editions and originals) movement. Many people consider art trading cards and ACEO cards to be one and the same. Others feel they are decidedly different pieces of art. Clubs, trading sessions, and online mailart communities have largely replaced the original concept of trading the cards during individual encounters, and many ATC workshops end with a trading session...."

Above: The amazing cards are from my friend, Julie Wildman

Below:  a felted card from Sara Figal

The card below was made by Debra Benedict is one of the most beautifully put together cards I have ever seen! It was from a swap on Roses On My Table and the theme was: Alice In Wonderland

Below - another fabulous card from the "Alice In Wonderland Swap" - made by Elizabeth Matthews

More from the Alice In Wonderland Swap.

Top row (L to R):  Astrid Maclean and Corinne Marie

Bottom row (L To R): Mariette and Kathy Noble

The ATC below, made by Donna Funnell, 

is one of my favorites of all - it's rich, rich, rich in detail 

and includes felting, embroidery and most yummy colors imaginable !

Below: This unusual card - I love the shaped effect!- was made by Darlene Pringle

These cards were made through a swap with the theme 

'Mandala' though the Yahoo Group Soul Journaling.

Below:  Windy Kai Savarese and Lay Hoon

Below: Diane Bishop Carey and Chris Tessnear

This lovely card was also made by Diane Bishop Carey (see above) from the "Mandala" swap.

This group of cards were some of the first that I ever received. I had no idea when I began making and swapping trading cards how difficult they can be to make; how working within a theme can really test your abilities (eerhhhhh - rather should I say that they can expand your horizons!); how utterly addictive they can become - or how many wonderful techniques there are to experiment with. This size can be a challenge - but the results are so worth it !

The group below:

Top  (L to R):

Heather Robinson   (when I swapped with Heather I knew nothing about making ATC's really - the swap with her was the beginning of my obsession!)

Bottom (L to R): Victoria O'Neill, Terri Stegmiller, Ann Tyler

This is the simple way that I store my ATC's - just a three 3 ting binder with protector sheets. Some of the thicker or larger pieces need protector sheets that hold photos instead. I love paging through this book, adding to it and participating in swaps. I learn so much in making ATC's - and I think that they have really helped me expand my technique "tool box" . I also really enjoy looking at the early trades I have done - like the one I did with Heather Robinson - it helps me to keep tract of how much I have grown my making these small, wonderful little works of art !  Hope you have had fun enjoying all of this eye-candy. I could have added pages and pages of photographs to this list. There are so many that I want to share - I plan to do another post so that you can see the work of more artists soon. One person who is a driving force in my lust for ATC art is Christina Zinna Galliher. Her site, Roses On My Table, is a fabulous place, the women are wonderful and Christina does an amazing, job keeping us all on the go. Her work will be showcased in the next ATC post !

I would love to know your ATC

ATC Theme : 'Warped'

Life is a tapestry:  

We are the warp; 

angels, the weft; 

God, the weaver.  

Only the Weaver sees the whole design. 

~Quoted in The Angels' Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994

Recently I was invited to join a small, very talented group of artists who swap Artist Trading Cards. For some odd reason I have recently become rather obsessed with these small works of art. Learning what things work and what doesn't work  with the small size of ATC's has been a challenge for me to learn but I thoroughly enjoy working in this size now! I am having a great time building my collection  of ATC's and I've also been enjoying trying out new techniques! The members of this small group are some of the most amazingly talented women I know and I am dumbfounded and grateful that they invited me to play! Have a look at The Disoriented Quilter, and this great web site, or here, or here - or here to see the work of some of the very talented artists! WoW! I am so pleased to be able to swap ATC's with them! I was behind on the time line for the current swap and I was not sure that I was going to be able to participate. Compared to the talents in this group I feel a bit behind the 8 ball but that's always a good thing because it makes me ready to learn, grow and evolve my talents. I am honored to be a part of this group!

The first swap that I got to join in on had a theme of "Warped" - as soon as the weather clears I am going to post photos of some of the utterly amazing cards that I have received - I promise you that they different than any ATC's you have seen before - thoroughly different and fun! These are photos of my first four cards - I am half way done now.  I used the little poem that I posted at the top of the page as my inspiration for the theme. I do believe in angels and I used gold threads as a symbol of unity. I am so excited to now be a part of two ATC swapping groups - the other is through Roses on My Table from the ultra lovely, very talented Christina Zinnia Galliher.  Zinnia makes very cool videos of all of the cards in the swap The "Roses" are fabulous group of very talented artists and I always enjoy our every other month swaps ! I am so lucky to have found two groups that allow me to grow and expand my creative horizons!

"Artist Trading Card Workshop" has been one of my favorite books on ATC making. Filled with lots of very cool techniques! I just ordered a used copy of Rubber Stamping Artist Trading Cards - the reviews say that it has lots of eye candy and shows lots of techniques. I love used books in good conditions!

Below: The back of the cards

 Don't forget - should you want to - the photos can be double clicked for a larger view

A Couple Of New ,Small, Projects

My dearest friends - who are really my family- just moved into a new home after a long and frustrating year. I wanted to send them a card, of course, but I wanted it to be more than just a Hallmark card - so I made this for them. The front is raw linen fabric; the inside is muslin and I used C&T's double sided fusible Fast-2-Fuse as the stabilizer. It's been a favorite product for my art cards for some time - and now it is available in bot regular and heavy weight.  The inside of the card contains a lot of "home" related quotes and warm wishes. My cyber friend, & artist extraordinaire, Julie Wildman, wrote the word "Rejoice" on a book mark that she gave to me and I have tried to copy her style. If I could afford to take a class from the calligrapher who teaches this sort of gestural calligraphy I would .. but in the meantime I need to practice from lettering samples from Julie!  I had to have a chirping bird since we all enjoy the winged ones so much.  This was a fun card to make - I enjoyed playing with a cut-out design. Of course, as always, I also now see many ways that I could have made this card better!

As always remember that you can double click on the images to get more close up

This next little project was a Creative Troupe "call-out" from C&T. Their "call-outs" are fun to do and there are some goodies offered in exchange for the play time.  This "call-out" was to play with the newest Lutradur product - ultra light weight. I printed my photographs on the Lutradur - using the seasons as a theme; added some color enhancement with inks and paint as needed and then backed the prints with vintage kimono silks and added lettering and skewers wrapped in ribbon knitting yarn. I received the package with the Lutradur a week ago yesterday and, since I knew I was in for a busy week, I finished and mailed it by Wednesday. Phew! That was a bit of a rush for me !

Each 'card' is 4"X6" - I think I would have preferred making the images less close together 

- but that's hindsight now - so I will know better for the next 'seasonal' project!

Happy Sunday to all!

My Continuing Fondness For Small

For the last few days I have been making cards. These are a few of them. I am not sure why I get such satisfaction out of making them - but they are gratifying to both make & to send. This group of cards are ear-marked for a lovely person who asked me to make some cards for her. It's been, as always a pleasure to do. Making cards affords me a real opportunity to try out new techniques and hone my skills in others.

'Clarity' was made using a base of cotton that I had painted with color washes with an over lay of an image printed on silk organza. 'Dream' was made in much the same way but the base is kimono silk.

The landscape below was is a small painting using acrylics, watercolor & inks on muslin. The cats were made much the same way and with the same sort of materials.

The little piece below, made on a whim, is acrylic on lutradur. Lutradue has become a surface that I am having a great time experimenting with to a greater extent than I have in the past. It's lots of fun! I would really like to ask for your opinion. Could you take a moment and tell me which card strikes you the best?  Which would you like to receive? Thanks !