Leonardo ATC

This is another ATC where I used a portion of a recycled cereal box and the water based oil pastel technique. All the stamps are by Lost Coast Designs. A Tim Holtz safety pin completes the ATC. It's hard to read it in the scan but the pin says Ideas on the top.

Until my next post,
Diane

Bon Voyage ATC

Here's an ATC I made for the Stampers Corner Yahoo Group with the theme of Bon Voyage. I already had a rub-on with that phrase and an ATC with a travel theme using stamps from Royal Langnickel and recycled cereal boxes with oil pastels so I put them together. I didn't think the rub-on would work well with the gritty texture of the gesso on the cereal boxes so I added a layer of acetate which is why I used the brads.

Until my next post,
Diane

Pointy Hats ATC

A recent theme at the Altered Designs Yahoo group had the theme of Pointy Hats. I used another one of my oil pastel altered cereal boxes as the base. The stamp is from Stamp Camp and I finished it off with
some glitter glue and my twisted humor.

Until my next post,
Diane

Open Theme ATC

Every week on the Altered Designs Yahoo Group we have an ATC Mingle. You make an ATC that fits the theme and post it to the group. On Friday you can view who you will send yours to and which one you will get. The last week of every month this year the theme is "Open" so you can do whatever you'd like as long as it is an ATC. I chose one I'd had made during my first recycled cereal box frenzy with oil pastels. This one uses stamps by Stampsmith and Inkadinkado. I added an Asian charm as an embellishment.

Until my next post,
Diane

Recycling and possibly some free paper

I'm fortunate to live near a print shop. I don't mean a place that makes copies but is a full color printer. They can also do graphic and logo design if you have the idea but not a finished product. I got a tour of their operations last semester since I was taking a class at the local community college in print publications. During the tour the owner was mentioning that when they have scraps of a reasonable size they save them. Teachers and administrators from the local schools pick up the materials and use them for art projects or just to have some scrap paper on hand. After the tour I asked if I could be a recipient of some of their goodies. They said come on by, have a look and take what you want. I got some linen type paper of various colors and semi-gloss white and off white. The scraps were the perfect size for cards and ATC's.

It's nice to see a business owner with a "think globally - act locally" way of doing business. Take a look at your local yellow pages and see if you have a printer in your area that will do the same. It is a win-win situation for everyone.

Until my next post,
Diane

For all of you "green" types

My Mom was a depression child and was into recycling before there was such a word. I used to think a lot of it was silly since I was part of the "replace" generation. As I got older I thought about my impact on the environment and what I can do to recycle. We participate in curbside recycling and I try to buy products that can be recycled or reused. I participated in a swap recently where recycled products was one of the main points. I used recycled cereal (or similar weight) boxes.

I ran across a technique in the September 08 issue of Scrap & Stamp Arts. The author had come up with a great way to soften a stamped image by overlaying a used dryer sheet. I tried it and was happy with the results. I used a card/envelope from the bargain bin of Michael's that came in a pack. On top of that I stamped some postal images from Limited Edition. The main image, the globe is from Stampabilities. The sentiment is from Inque. Hope you like it.

Until my next post,

Diane

Pages for Mixed Media Art Friends group

I signed up for another technique swap a while back. This is the first swap I've done with the Mixed Media Art Friends Yahoo group. This swap has 22 participants and if I may quote from the group our technique can be anything of our choosing: fabric, screen printing, felting, paper, backgrounds, acrylic, watercolor, metal, polymer clay, jewelry, wire, beads, sequins, plastic, charms,etc...

I went with my recycled boxes again but instead of the gesso and oil pastels I had an entirely different technique on top. I wish I had saved my reference link but I didn't so I can't give credit to the person I first saw do this. They used grunge board (I used the box) as a background. Take an old dictionary page and adhere it to your base surface with Mod Podge (I used Liquitex Matte Medium). You need an adhesive that will dry clear. Apply another layer of your adhesive on top of the dictionary page. When it is dry trim the dictionary page to the proper size. Using the Ranger cut-n-dry foam and Distress Inks apply the lightest color to the paper. Run the cardboard through a Cuttlebug or similar embossing machine. The final step is to apply the darker color ink using the direct to paper method. Hope you like it -- I'll be sending my pages to the hostess tomorrow.

Until my next post,

Diane

It's almost like a quilt

I mentioned before that I'm a member of a bunch of Yahoo groups devoted to paper crafts and bookmaking. I'm participating in a swap with Art Techniques a mixed media group. The 2009 Technique Fat Book has 120 participants all doing different techniques. Our theme for this swap is homemade, cheap or recycled materials. I'm doing the technique I featured in a previous post mimicking what Lori Roberts did on recycled cereal or similar weight cardboard with water soluble oil pastels. I made 130 instead of 120 because we had 125 participants originally and some folks dropped out. As I was laying all of these pages on the floor to take the photo it reminded me of a quilt. These are going in the mail very soon to the hostess and I can't wait to see what I get in return.

Hope you like my technique. Until my next post,

Diane