Set of 3 Egyptian ATC's

Here's the latest ATC's I did for my buddy Sid in the UK. He asked if using an Egyptian theme was OK and I jumped at the chance. Using my Egyptian themed supplies keeps my visit to that country fresh in my mind.

The one on the left was done using Ranger Distress Inks with their Distress Embossing Powders. The base paper is from K&Co. The next layer is from Club Scrap. Look carefully, it is vellum with some cartouches on it. I added a few embossed words for dimension. I left the figures full length and their legs fold under for storage. The embellishment is from Jolee's Boutique. All stamps are from Non Sequitur.

The middle ATC has a base layer of paper from DCWV layered on some handmade paper I bought in bulk. The collage stamp from Non Sequitur is embossed with detail gold embossing powder and the embellishment is from Fancifuls.

The one on the right has a handmade paper background. The next layer is embossed with the Ranger Distress Inks and Powders using a stamp from Stamp Out Cute. The figure by Non Sequitur is stamped with the same on some papyrus paper I bought in Egypt. The ankh stamp also by Non Sequitur was created using many layers of embossing powder then the stamp was pressed into the hot powder to create an embellishment.

Until my next post,

Diane

Summer Themed ATC

The theme was "Summer" for the Stampers Corner Yahoo Group ATC Lottery. I used paper from Marcella and a stamp from 100 Proof Press. I inked it with VersaFine and embossed with ultra fine embossing powder. I got the sun image from an old book on astrology. I found the Frankfurters tags and knew I'd be able to work into a crafting project some day.

Until my next post,

Diane

Got the idea from a book -- can't remember which one

I like to give credit to those I get inspiration (or copy things) from. They might not be the one that actually created the design or came up with the idea but at least I'm not saying my little chunk of grey matter thunk this up all my myself.

Anyway I got this idea from a book but can't remember which one. I've had this card in my stash for a while. When I made it, it was the first time I'd ever seen an example with a stamp I had. I didn't have anywhere near the number of stamps I have now so that was neat. The book idea used a square card and had a little dimensional flower in the middle. I'm cheap and don't like paying the extra postage to send a square card so I used a pre-made one and then layered the blue DCWV paper on top. I used the stamp from Anita's and embossed with gold powder then colored in the images with Sakura Gel Pens and used a Krylon pen on the borders. A bit of layering completes the card.

Until my next post,

Diane

Tour de Mist with Lauren

This was an awesome project that I did last week with Lauren Ferguson. She called it Tour de Mist (I forgot to ask her if she named it in honor of the bike race in France currently underway but it is too much of a coincidence to not be). We stared out using glimmer mist in a variety of ways on shipping tags. This way we could see which techniques we liked, how we sprayed and which colors we liked. This album and the Glimmer Mists are by Tattered Angels. They also made the stencils that I used on the pages. I used some as a stencil and then used the spray that was on them and got the positive image. It seemed so natural to do this. We had lots of colors to choose from by I gravitated to my favorites the earth tones. We also used Ranger Distress Inks. I've got a bunch of goodies that I can put in this (tags, paper flowers and embellishments) but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. I'm not a scrapbooker so I probably won't put photos in it. I got a bunch of great ideas and will incorporate them into future projects.

Until my next post,

Diane

What it was supposed to be...and what it was

Susan (Don's wife) sent me an email a few days ago. It went something like this: I've got a "few" extra things I don't use for crafting. They seem like they are up your alley. How about I put them in the "small" flat rate box and send them to you. By us a drink when we meet up again.

I want you to notice the word small in the above paragraph.

This is what the photo showed. I did a little mental calculation of what I'd pay for this if I were to buy it and I told her to send the stuff.

This is what I got









When I opened the package (the MEDIUM one) two days later all I could think of was there was something missing. WHERE IS THE KITCHEN SINK??? Everything else was in there I guess she couldn't fit it in.

I'm thinking this might be a nice bottle of wine instead of a drink. I guess I'd better get busy and do some creating with this stuff.

Until my next post,
Diane

Look what I got yesterday!

The Friends of the Library group I volunteer with sent me this Edible Arrangement yesterday. It was a total surprise. Isn't this just the coolest thing?! There is melon, pineapples, grapes and strawberries all arranged like a beautiful bouquet. I'm going to be having some great snacks, desserts and smoothies with this!!

Now I can truly say with all honesty "Will work for food".

Until my next post,

Diane

It's just like riding a bicycle..because it is!

Today for the first time in over two months I rode my bicycle outside. I just started exercising (after my foot surgery) about two weeks ago. For those of you out there that are active you know my frustration at getting this feeling that you are turning into a big lump of Jello as you sit around recuperating from surgery or an injury. I have an indoor cycle trainer and had been using that but there is nothing like riding outside AND on the last time trial day of the Tour de France. My ride today wasn't even as fast as these guys climbed mountains but I don't care. My average speed was 13mph for a bit over 8 1/2 miles, nothing to brag about that's for sure but I was very happy with my result. I'll lay off the sneakers/shoes for a bit. I want to wear them for longer durations each day not just put them on and then take them off at the end of the day. I think this will be better in the long run.

Until my next post,

Diane

The Other ATC...with Lauren

Remember I said I'd post photos of the projects I made in the classes I took with Lauren Ferguson last week? This class was titled "The Other ATC...Acrylic Trading Cards". These are slightly larger than a regular ATC. I've worked with some acrylic before but not like this. The neat thing was getting the concept down that you can decorate on the front and the back. In all of mine the image and paper background are on the back of the ATC. The stamping and embellishments are on the front. I used Glossy Accents as my adhesive. It dries clear by not translucent so in order to hide a lot of the marks I glued the paper to the acrylic where the embellishments. This was a quick one hour class. All the goodies were provided. I only used my own scissors and adhesive. Loads of fun and I think I'll be doing something like this again.

Until my next post,

Diane

Flourishes ATC

Here's the ATC I made for the Stampers Corner Yahoo Group with the theme of Flourishes. I used a Tim Holtz mask and inked with Rangers Distress ink (Antique Linen). On top of that I stamped with Weathered Wood and then used Distress Embossing Powder in Brushed Corduroy. I stamped a few more flourishes in Broken China and Weathered Wood. I used some Faded Jeans Crackle on the Colorbox chipboard flourish and then inked it with Walnut Stain when dry to age it a bit. All stamps are by Inque. The ones in brown are from the Nightingale set and the others are from the Elegant Paisley set.

Until my next post,

Diane

We interrupt this blog for more photos of the foot

I hope you aren't getting tired of viewing photos of my feet but I wanted to give another progress report.

For those of you that don't remember here's the synopsis. May 19th right foot bunion surgery, splint for 2 weeks, no weight on the right foot. June 1st follow up appointment, get "Frankenstein boot", heal weight bearing only. July 1st get "the Flipper". Walk and progress as able.

The photo on the left was taken on the 11th of July shortly after getting the newspaper in the morning. I took the ace bandage off later that morning and wore socks. Since then I've been wearing sandals and trying to get my right foot in a shoe. I'm not pushing it, it's still a little swollen and tender in the bunion area.

The photo on the right was taken the morning of the 18th of July. I walked to the end of the driveway and back in the shoes. It was more comfortable to walk in the shoes than it was to put on/off.

Hopefully my progress will continue and I'll be able to wear shoes on a regular basis. I'm really eager to ride my bicycle outside and won't ride with sandals.

Oh yeah, bad news...my sock usage doubled now that I wear one on both feet...more laundry.

Until my next post,

Diane

Where were you July 20, 1969?

I was at a Boston Red Sox game. My Dad used to get tickets every once in a while when his company sponsored bus trips to see either the Red Sox, the d*** Yankees or the Mets. My Mom rarely went and was glad she didn't this time because she wanted to stay home and watch Neil Armstrong be the first human to walk on the moon. Shortly after he made his historic steps they stopped the game and announced to everyone that it happened. There was a standing ovation and we clapped and clapped for a long time. That's what I remember from that date 40 years ago today.

After I wrote this I did some research and discovered my memories were a bit clouded. I was at the game that's for sure. The Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 according to fanbase.com. It also said there were 31,174 attendees at the game. What I was wrong about was that when we were cheering it wasn't for the actual walk on the moon it was for the landing on the moon. They landed about 4:15p.m. but didn't get out of the capsule until 6 1/2 hours later (and men complain that it takes women forever to get dressed!).

So where were you?

Until my next post,
Diane

She even bought me lunch...well sort of.

Yesterday I was at Scrapdoodles in Fredericksbug ALL day taking three classes from Lauren Ferguson. The theme of the day was Glimmer Mists. We decorated a gate fold book, made ATCs and some 5x5 cards. By the end of the day I was wiped out.

There was a lot crammed into these classes, it was a great value for the price. She brought tons of supplies and embellishments, stamps and such. The classes weren't crowded and the folks that took them weren't newbies but every class went long. We were supposed to have 2 hours between class 1 and 2 but due to typical I-95 traffic we got started a bit late and there was just SO MUCH to the first project. Lauren was heading to grab a bite while two of us continued to finished up and I said "Whatever you are getting, get me one too and I gave her some cash." She was amazed at this, "Whatever?, don't you want to quantify that". My reply was "No, I can't think of a whole lot that I really don't like". She made a trip to a newly opened Wegmans that is a grocery store with great take out and gourmet foods. (I'll have to make a trip there myself someday). When she came back I was treated to a crabcake, seasoned potatoes and a great vegetable medley with asparagus. Great choice Lauren, you can buy my lunch anyday!!

I've got a bit of clean up to do on the projects, then I'll photograph them and make the posts in the next few days.

Until my next post,

Diane

All Stamping ATC

This past week on the Altered Designs Yahoo Group we were encouraged to NOT use embellishments or collage images and Just Stamp. I did a simple layering technique using a stamp from Impression Obsession and colored it with Whisper Pastel watercolor markers.

Until my next post,

Diane

Bottle Cap (faux) ATC

This month on the Stampers Corner Yahoo Group one of the ATC mingles was Bottle Cap. I didn't have any and asked if it was OK to use an image. I got an Adobe Illustrator file from their forum and changed it to my suiting. The base layer is paper from DCWV. The next layer was done using a Plaid stencil sprayed with watercolor. I used stamps from the Inque 262 collection on that layer and the tag. The faux bottle cap is on two layers of chipboard for dimension.

Until my next post,

Diane

Poster I created in Adobe Illustrator

Somewhere along the line I mentioned I had taken some classes towards a Computer Arts Degree. I'm not sure if I'll ever finish but I did get a basic foundation in drawing and design along with learning Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Last fall I took a class called Computerized Graphics where the end result was for print. We began with a review of Photoshop and then Illustrator and moved along to Adobe InDesign. This project was for an actual event at the school and the winning design (not mine) was used to publicize the event. Even though the films are digital in nature I chose to use a drawing that I made of a photo of an "old fashioned" film reel.

Until my next post,

Diane

My Interpretation of Freud

My first InDesign project for the Computerized Graphics class last fall was to create a book cover for the now public domain book by Sigmund Freud "The Interpretation of Dreams". I took photos of clouds and a silhouette of me and recolorized them in Photoshop. Next I used Illustrator to do the drawings of the dreams. I got a book from the library and chose a few simple symbols to create. I also added the swirls to make it seem as though some dreams escape us. I also created the Balance Books logo in Illustrator. I got the photo of Freud from the web. The text of the book and the bar code were from the instructor. We used InDesign as the assembly point for the Illustrator and Photoshop stuff.

Until my next post,

Diane

1, 2, 3 Concept ATC

This ATC was for the TGIF mingle at the Altered Designs Yahoo Group. The theme was 1, 2, 3 Concept. You could interpret this more than the literal which I did. Some folks used 1 of one thing, 2 of another and 3 of a third thing. Like one butterfly, two clouds and three flowers. I had this stamp calling to me so I used it.

First I inked the Stampers Anonymous stamp on bond paper and cut out the 1, 2, and 3 using an X-acto knife. Now that I had a stencil I used Versa Mark on just those numbers and embossed with detail gold embossing powder. I inked the background with Ranger Distress Inks and then added a Tim Holtz game spinner and sprocket from Idea-ology.

Until my next post,

Diane

Ouch...this one is BRIGHT!!

I hope this one doesn't hurt your eyes too much. Don't change the settings on your monitor it hasn't gone crazy it's the ATC. This past week the theme at the Altered Designs Yahoo group was Bright Colors. I think I got a bit carried away but no one can accuse me of not meeting the requirements of the theme.

The stamped image is from Anitas and I colored it with Sakura Gelly Roll pens in Moonlight colors. The paper is from Marcella and the stickers are by Nicole.

Until my next post,

Diane

Over the pond Non Paper ATC swap

These three ATCs were the latest monthly swap I did with Sid "over the pond" in England.

This month it was my choice to pick the theme. I decided to go with an idea I wanted to do for a bit. The main surface can't be a paper based. If you need to use paper/cardstock as a support base that is OK but we were to decorate on a non paper surface.

The first one (in green) uses Claudine Hellmuth's sticky back canvas and her studio paints. I used regular stamps and stamped with the multi-medium and then used a series of greens mixed to get darker and darker as I made subsequent stamped impressions. She recommends using foam stamps for this technique but I had a bold image and I wanted it to be subtle. I think it works. The top two stamped images in black are by Stampers Anonymous designed by Tim Holtz.

The middle ATC was created by weaving the aluminum flashing tape you get at home improvement stores. After weaving the tape on chipboard to get some rigidity I used alcohol inks on the background. I cut and embossed some Cuttlebug images and also colored them with alcohol inks.

The last one is a a dried baby wipe (smells nice and fresh too!) that I inked with Ranger Distress inks. I tapped them to the craft sheet then spritzed it with water and colored the baby wipe. When it was dry I used another Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz image. The final touch was a shiny embellishment that I toned down by sanding a bit and coloring with Distress Stickles.

Until my next post,

Diane

Happy 4th of July

I made two cards in honor of America's birthday. Both the same and just a bit different. The background paper was a different shade of white from the background that I stamped on so I needed to change something on one or both. On the one on the left I just used a bit of blue distress ink on the background paper. On the one on the left I used a bit of red and blue on both papers. The stamp is from the Hero collection by Artistic Outpost.

Until my next post,

Diane

Pre Independence Day ATC

The theme (naturally) for the Stampers Corner ATC of the month for July was "4th of July".

From the bottom up here's my layers. Blue cardstock, white cardstock, patterned paper from either Epson or HP. They both have some interesting patterned papers you can print. The top layer is a tag that I made using my big punch from McGill. All the stamps are the $1 kind by Studio G.

Until my next post,

Diane

Jumping for Joy...well maybe not just yet, but progress!

Not sure what is going on but this post should have been posted on 2 July.

I had my second follow up appointment after my bunion surgery yesterday.





Good news:



1) I don't have to wear these gel spacers between my toes. Before surgery my big toe was angled towards the next one. Putting the spacers in between the first two toes after surgery was training for the big toe to remain in the correct position. This greatly reduces the chance the bunion comes back. It was really annoying wearing these things so I'm really happy they are just a bad memory.

2) Goodbye Frankenstein boot, hello...whatever you call this thing. Of course they didn't have my size so I guess it is sort of a flipper. I think that's what I'll call it.

3) I can put weight on the entire right foot not just the heel.

4) Although I haven't tried yet I'm pretty sure I'll be able to drive. I never learned how to drive a standard transmission (we tried but hubby and I decided staying married was better than him yelling at me during the lessons) so I don't know how to drive with my left foot. I couldn't bend my right foot ankle so it just seems silly to attempt to do something that wasn't "really" necessary. I hope to have my freedom back.

Not as great news:

1) I still need the crutches until I get more comfortable walking with weight on both feet. My hands/wrists and the back of my arms are in a bit of discomfort (a.k.a. pain).

2) Now I have to shave both legs on a regular basis. I was getting quite used to shaving just one.

All in all a great day. Hope yours went just as well. Take time to enjoy the little pleasures in life.

Until my next post,
Diane