Another Open Theme ATC

I repurposed an ATC I made for Art is You last year for an Altered Designs Open Theme TGIF ATC. I originally made 16 but didn't find enough folks to trade with. It was partly due to the fact that I only attended the event for 2 days instead of 4 and partly because I wasn't staying at the hotel. I snail mailed a few after the event to other attendees after making a post on their group site but I still had a some left over. For the Open Theme aspect I added the bling to change it up just a little. All three stamps are by TJ Designs.

Until my next post,
Diane

Vintage Woman ATC

I made this ATC for the Altered Designs Yahoo Group with the theme of Vintage Woman. I used some Graphic 45 scraps that I had left over from another project. The papers were in the Renaissance Faire Collection. I cut out the four elements on the right and then added a little bit of bling to the center. The scroll on the left was cut with my Silhouette. I got the woman playing golf from an online site but can't remember where. It was a bit of a challenge to cut out the woman but for some reason I like detail cutting, hope the recipient does too.

Until my next post,
Diane

Another Cowgirl Card

Here is another card I made with the Tweety Jill/TJ Designs Rodeo Sweethearts card kit. My two additions not included in the set was the "Live in the Moment" sticker and the barbed wire stamping on the left edge of the card. The stamp comes from the Wild West stamp set by TJ Designs.

Until my next post,
Diane

I'm a Technique Junkie

I'm a Technique Junkie; let me explain. Technique Junkies can subscribe online, via the mail or both to a bimonthly newsletter illustrating different techniques that papercrafters can use to make ATCs, cards or other paper crafts. A few of the techniques are not new to me and some use products I don't have (of course you can substitute) but it is nice to have everything all together. So far though I haven't actually "done" many of the techniques, I've been in the acquisition mode instead. The last issue that came out had a technique that I really liked so I gave it a try. It is called the Pinwheel technique. For my version I used some card stock that I embossed with my Cuttlebug, some more card stock that I stamped with a Club Scrap stamp and a background that I stamped with a Hero Arts background stamp and sentiment. The embellishment in the middle is a Tim Holtz design. I really like how this one came out and can see myself using this technique for many occasions.




Until my next post,

Diane

Thinking of You Card

Here's a card I sent with a swap recently. The background paper is K&Co as is the red paper. The stamped image and sentiment are from the Bluebird collection by Artistic Outpost. I used the Cabin Fever handmade rainbow pad Adirondack to color the stamp. The final touch was adding a couple of Spellbinder die cut images.

Until my next post,
Diane

Non Paper ATC

This challenge with the Stampers Corner Yahoo Group was to make a NonPaper ATC. I used grungeboard and stamped on it with acrylic paint using a Stampers Anonymous stamp. The important thing to remember if you do stamp with acrylic paint, gesso or gel medium is to wash your stamp off ASAP otherwise you might ruin it since the "stuff" will dry and stick to it forever. After the paint was dry I used Ranger Distress Inks then wiped off the part that was on the paint since it acts as a resist. The big embellishment is from K&Co Life's Journey series. The next step was to use a clear tag by Heidi Swapp. I colored the back of it with a silver Galaxy Marker. They don't bleed up on acrylic surfaces like other markers. I stamped on the front using StazOn with a stamp by Inque and secured it to the ATC using some silver mini ric-rac and then outlined the ATC with a Krylon marker.

Until my next post,
Diane

By The Sea ATC

By the Sea was the theme for a Stampers Corner Yahoo Group ATC lottery. I trimmed the edges off a bunch of sea shell die cuts and glued them to a backing piece of paper. On top of that I created a glaze using craft paint and Gloden Acrylic Glazing Liquid to try to blend the colors a bit more and also color the background. The image is from a Design Originals ATC booklet called Travel. I also used the smaller shells from that book and covered them with some Glossy Accents for dimension. The two small shells in the lower left corner were made by stamping Tanda stamps on shrink plastic and reducing it in size with a heat gun.

Until my next post,
Diane

Wings ATC

The theme for this Altered Designs Yahoo Group was wings. I used a real library pocket insert that I cut to size. On top of that I added an piece of acetate that had some printed words on it (I think it was left over from a class). I adhered it using my Xyron since it is great to use with clear things. I used a collage image that I had gotten as a freebie. I think it was when I placed an order with the "old" Inka stamps. By the way did you know their stamps are now available from Scrolls Work? The last touches on this ATC was a bit of scrap gold ribbon and a vellum butterfly.

Until my next post,
Diane

Used Postage Stamp ATC

I had the perfect combination to make this ATC for the Altered Designs Yahoo Group. I had a used postage stamp titled Chemistry and a rubber stamp by Judikins with a boy and his toy chemistry set. I've used this stamp before but in a more sinister way alluding to the idea that the boy was concocting some sort of poison. I used some background paper by K&Co and stamped the boy on a page from a French dictionary that had the table of elements. My Krylon gold pen didn't cooperate so my outline is a bit jagged. Other than that I'm happy with how it turned out.

Until my next post,
Diane

Funky Disfunctional card

Here's another card using Anne Taintor playing cards and the faux mother of pearl technique with Ranger Distress Inks. This color is called Victorian Velvet. The lattice cutout was cut with my Silhouette. The stamp says "If you obey all the rules you miss all the FUN" and is a quote by Katherine Hepburn. I thought it worked well with the playing card.

Until my next post,
Diane

90,000 'Stop-Loss' Vets Due Money -- deadline to apply is next month

Did you serve in the United States military? Did you have a date of seperation (DOS) or retirement date that was then changed by the 9/11 events?  If so then you are due some money courtesy of the US government. Almost 90,000 folks (my husband an I were two of them) were affected but only about 38% of the eligible veterans have applied. If this applies to you or somone you know please pass this info along. This is program is scheduled to stop on October 21, 2010. As long as the application is in the system by then you will be reimbursed at the rate of $500.00 per month or partial month. There is more information on how to apply on the Department of Defense web site.

Until my next post,
Diane

Canned Joy card

I sent this card with a swap recently. The paper is by K&Co and the image and sentiment are by Crafty Secrets. I added a few old buttons as an embellishment and adhered them with Glossy Accents.

Until my next post,
Diane

Rodeo Sweethearts Card

Here's another card I made with the Rodeo Sweethearts card kit by TJ Designs/Tweety Jill. As I mentioned before, I have the stamp set that coordinates with the contents of the kit.

Until my next post,
Diane

Stampers Corner Collage Image ATC

Debi, our list Mom at the Stampers Corner Yahoo Group just started this new ATC idea. Each month she'll post a collage image and we make an ATC out of it. Each person can size it and tailor it to their creative juice so even though they are the same they'll all be a bit different. To me the gal in this image looked guilty of something carrying that gun so imagined she had just heard sirens and needed to make a quick get away. I cut around the collage image and glued it on to K&Co background paper. The two stamps in the corner are by Studio G and I accented them with the clear Sakura stardust glitter pen.

Until my next post,
Diane

Fairies ATC

I made this ATC for the Stampers Corner ATCOTM group. The theme for this month was Fairies. First I started with some marbled paper that I made using regular old crafting chalks. I filled a dishpan with some water and cut some rice paper to fit inside when wet. Then I lightly scratched the chalks to let some of the flakes float on the surface of the water and disperse a bit. I put the rice paper on the water and it soaks up the color but it is very subtle so it really lended itself to this technique. The stamps are all by Studio G. I inked them with chalk inks in various pastel type colors. The brass fairy is from Fancifuls.

Until my next post,
Diane

Only Stamping ATC

Here's an ATC I made for the Altered Designs Yahoo Group with the theme of "Only Stamping". I stamped an image of a stamp by Outlines on different colored paper and then cut them out and layered them. I was a great way to use up some scraps too. The three dots is a stamp by Inque.

Until my next post,
Diane

A triple whammy at the commissary

I decided to do my grocery shopping today. Since I'm retired USAF and live close to a base I go to the commissary. It was a triple whammy with the crowds 1) Labor Day weekend coming up so folks stocking up on BBQ and picnic foods, 2) Hurricane Earl headed our way possibly so folks stocking up on water and power outage foods, 3) payday so folks doing regular shopping. BUT with the crowded parking lot, the wait for the shopping cart and the number of folks in the store (with their kids too since they aren't in school yet) the commissary is still the best value and the quickest way to get in/out of line and back home. The baggers are very efficient and work for tips only, today was a good day to be a bagger.

Until my next post,
Diane