Christmas Craft Challenge 3 of ?

We did two ATC swaps for Artistic Creationz, and although not strictly "Christmas" related... they were in December so in my book they count as Christmas Crafts... (we all know how broad my book is lol)

ATC Swap 1 - "Father Time"
First one is my contribution.
The card is kraft cardstock (Yes I seem to use it alot!). I added a thin layer of texture paste over The Crafter's Workshop "Time Travel" 12 x 12 template. I coloured the ATC with Faber Castell Gelatos smoothed with a little water and my finger tips.
I printed out some pictures of grandfather clocks I had download from the internet onto white tissue. I tore around these carefully (wet the tissue where you want the paper to rip) then adhered them randomly over the background making sure to adhere it carefully over the grooves of the texture paste.
Once the glue had dried completely I misted the ATC generously with Lindy's Stamp Gang Mist.

The ATC's I received from the other participants:

ATC Swap 2 - "White Christmas"

This first ATC was my design.

The card is kraft cardstock (Yes again!). I coloured the background again using Faber Castell Gelatos, this time using a much softer palette of colours.

Both stamps are second hand stamps that I purchased online - sorry manufacturers unknown. I stamped the trees using Ranger Archival Ink in Coffee. I stamped the hills first using VersaMark Ink then heat embossed using Stamping Up White Embossing Powder. Using the residual ink left on the stamp, I lightly tapped across the top of the ATC and sprinkled with more white embossing powder. This gave the look of a snow flurry in the sky as well as some snow on the trees as well. I really love the look of this ATC. The finished result almost looks like a water colour landscape.

The ATC's I I received from the other members of the swap.

Swap Video - Artistic Creationz - ATC's - "Shabby Birdcages"

Another quick video share of the September ATC swap on Artistic Creationz. The theme for this was "Shabby Birdcages".

I'm more than a little cracked...

The theme for this month's ATC's for Artistic Creationz Group is "Shattered Pieces".
It took me a little bit to decide what I wanted to create for the swap but then I remembered one of the stamps I had recently invested in... from KaiserCraft "Crackle" Clear Stamp... anyone else see the light bulb go on?
I had some scraps of heavyweight Kraft cardstock so I cut these down to size - 2.5" x 3.5", standard ATC size.
Other than using the "Crackle Stamp" I had no idea what I was going to do so I decided to pull out my Faber Castell Gelatos and just go with the flow... and just see what cracked first.
If you have followed my blog or just looked back over earlier posts you will have seen my post on my DIY colour swatches. Since I made these way back in October 2012 I have continued to update them as I have bought more inks and mists. I have added swatches for all the Lindy's Stamp Gang mists I have bought and I also now added swatches for the Faber Castell Gelatos I have bought.
When I started to experiment for these ATC's I wasn't sure what combinations of colours to use, so I pulled out the swatches for the gelatos and picked my combinations based on what colours went well together using the swatches. I have to say I ended up with some combinations that I probably wouldn't have picked had it not been for the swatches and I really love them. If you don't already have swatches for your various products, then I highly recommend them, especially if you don't always feel confident combining colours, but also if like me, you like to experiment but don't want to have to rely on lifting someone else's colour combinations.
So I picked my various colour combinations - I made five ATC's all with different colour combinations, for each of the participants in the swap. I randomly coloured each of the ATC bases with the selected colour combinations, starting with the lightest colour in each set and working through to the darkest colour.
I misted a little water to help the colour blend with my fingers. Once the first layer had been blended I added a second layer of colour to get the intensity of each colour that I wanted and to smooth out the blending even more.
Once all the colours had been blended to my satisfaction, I set the Faber Castell Gelatos with my trusty heat tool. I have to confess that at this stage, I did briefly contemplate what on earth I was doing because I was still a little uncertain as to the colour combinations and what I was doing in general... but I kept going (as you do) with the thought in the back of my mind that I can always either a) just keep adding more colours and products until I get what I want or b) throw it all out and start again from scratch.
So I decided what the heck... lets use the KaiserCraft Crackle stamp with some fine black embossing powder and VersaMark ink and see what I end up with.
Can I just say... "NAILED IT"...
The embossed "cracks" just pulled everything together for EVERY colour combination... I was ecstatic... it was even better than I expected.
I was on a roll, so I pulled out some Lindy's Stamp Gang mists... not a lot just an ever so subtle shimmer.
Then a touch of Indian ink around the outer edge for some oomph power and definition.
I finished with a quote from Helen Keller that fitted with the "shattered pieces" theme. I got a little stuck here and ended up making three different versions of the quote until I achieved the look I wanted.

1. Individually stamped letters for the quote... ended up being too big, wouldn't have seen all my hard work on the background!!!
2. Hand written in a block, black ink and then I tried colouring over the top with a gelato... just looked blah and bordering on YUK!!!
3. I coloured some leftover scraps of white cardstock using the two lightest colours from each ATC so it would coordinate, blended with my finger and a little water; hand written quote using a American Crafts Precision Pen 3mm; cut into individual words and cropped quite closely... WINNER!!

I adhered the words in place then traced around each word with Indian Ink using my Zig water pen as I find this always give me an incredibly fine and controlled line.
I followed this with another quick mist of the various Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays... and they are finished... well except for the sign in on the back.

LOVE THEM!!

Creative Adventures Downunder - Part 2

Rather than overload you with my glowing about the Creative Adventures Weekend, I've decided to split is up into segments... hence part 2. You can see the introduction in part one here.

Somewhere in all the pre-event discussion it was suggested and then decided that as an optional extra, those who wanted to could make ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) for swapping/trading with other participants over the weekend's events. As I had time on my hands I decided I definitely wanted to join in.
Around this same time, a discussion took place in Facebook about the anticipation that everyone was feeling leading up to the event... which inevitably lead to a discussion about the Rocky Horror Picture Show (yes I may be showing my age here) including links to clips on YouTube and various comments about who attended what shows and who went to the midnight screenings all dressed up in costume.
I took my lead from this discussion for the theme of my ATC and I created...

 I made 144 ATC's all of the same design but all of which looked different. Here is just a sample of the finished ATC's.

 The front:

I worked out I could make 12 ATC's from a 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock as each ATC needed to measure 3.5" x 2.5". The base was Bazzill Kraft Cardstock. I then adhered torn strips of Bazzill "Antique Sheet Music Paper". I coloured the entire back ground using Ranger Industries Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany and Black Soot with my Foam Ink Applicators. I spritzed them generously with water to blend the inks then dried them off with my trusty heat tool.

I misted the backgrounds in patches with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist - Lobster before trimming the backgrounds down to the individual ATC sizes.

I stamped each ATC with a "Kiss" stamp I picked up second hand on TradeMe and embossing ink then sprinkled them with a Red Glitter Embossing Powder which I have had in my stash for probably 8 - 10 years. (Source unknown). Once heated to emboss in place, this still gave the lips a glittery look, perfect for the theme! (Yes I had to do this 144 times!!)

I printed from my laptop onto cardboard the sentiment "I see you shiver with anticipation!" the infamous line from Frankenfurter. I hand cut these out for a distressed uneven look, then applied Ranger Industries Tim Holtz Distress Inks Black Soot directly to each sentiment. 

The final step for the front was to hand pierce then hand stitch cross stitches along the edge of each card. These were my homage to the laced corset that Tim Curry wore as Frankenfurter for most of the movie.

On the back of the ATC (mainly to hide my stitching and any over inking marks) I adhered a ATC summary as shown above. This listed the Series and name as well as giving all my contact details. You can also see that each card was individually numbered and signed.

Throughout the event I managed to trade some of my ATC's with other participants as well as giving a whole lot to those who hadn't made any. (I made enough so that everyone would be able to get one). Above are the ATC's I traded with some of the talented people at CAD.

The Winter Blues - ATC Swap

This month I'm doing a couple of swaps through the Crafting Passionz forum. Here is the first one - an ATC (Artist Trading Card) swap. 
The theme was "The Winter Blues".
At first I wondered what on earth to do. Here in Auckland, we don't get snow or even sleet. It gets cold, but is often still in double figures (despite the fact I'm sitting here covered in a blanket and fingerless gloves lol). In the end I decided on what I love to do in Winter... sit in front of a fire, with a blanket over my knees, sipping a cup of steaming hot chocolate.

There are four of us in the swap. All the ATC's a slightly different.

The front and back of the ATC's - they are individually numbered.

Close-up of one of them. The fire surround is embossed and coloured with Tim Holtz distress inks. You can another example of this here and there will be some more coming up soon as I really love the finished look of this particular technique. The flames are all hand cut so each fire is different. Then the bottom section represents the patchwork blanket over my knees and of course the close-up cup of Hot Chocolate, steaming (pulled mulberry paper). I tried to add dimension and perspective here (doesn't that sound highly technical) which is why the mug looks so big in comparison to everything else.

Christmas Craft Challenge 2010 - Day 1

December 1st 2011


Todays Christmas Craft item is the Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) I made for a swap through Crafting Passionz.

1. I spritzed the cardstock base which Paper Glide then dry embossed using a ProvoCraft Cuttlebug Embossing Folder through my Sizzix machine.
2. Gently rubbed some white chalk over each of the snowflakes to give a "halo" effect then set the chalk with hairspray.
3. Highlighted the chalked snowflakes with Crystaline Kindi Glitz and allowed to dry.
4. Highlighted some of the fine scrolls with Gold H2O paints using a Zig Waterbrush.
5. Printed out the Victorian Santa Sign Holder Image from The Graphics Fairy.
6. Highlighted Santa's suit with Red & White H2O paints.
7. Hand wrote my Santa Wish List. 
8. Ran the Santa image through my Xyron 510 then stuck to the background.