My first ATCs

ATC? What is that? It stands for Artist Trading Card. These are mini works of art which are always made in a standard size of 3 1/2" x 2 1/2". More info can be seen here. I have never been inspired to make any until one of the crafts groups that I belong to decided to have a swap. What drew me in to even try was that they were going to put the participants in groups by skill level; e.g., newbie, advanced, etc. (The participants informed the swap hostess which group they should be put in) Well I joined the newbie group of course which made it less intimidating for me as I felt no one should be disappointed with my creation (I hope not, lol.) and I only had to make 5! (I know, the picture only shows 4 but thank goodness I read through my guidelines before mailing so the fifth one was added, oops.) I decided to make them all the same for my first time. Anyway, I cut my card stock to the appropriate size and then I centered a brass stencil over each card to make the embossed oval. I outlined the oval with a black Marvy LePlumme II marker and I sponged yellow chalk on the interior of the oval as a backdrop for the image. The flower image is from this set . I stamped the flower several times and colored each one using more of my Marvy LePlumme markers. I cut out each flower and added stickles to the centers and petals. I adhered the flowers with dimensionals, added brads and finished by rounding the corners of the card stock.

My 2 firsts

I finally did it! I made a post-it-note holder and I used my bind-it-all! One of my coworkers got a new job and last Friday was her last day with us and I wanted to give her a little something. Well this gave me the motivation to make a post-it-note holder with matching RSVP pen. Instead of using only card stock as a base, I used a combination of chipboard and card stock. I cut two pieces of chipboard (left over from a large sheet I purchased several months ago) for my front and back covers. I used two coordinating papers from Inque Boutique's Cabana collection. One for the front and back covers and the other for the interior front and back covers. I used my bind-it-all to bound the covers together. I've had my bind-it-all for a few months now so I'm glad I finally used it because I had been intimidated but it turned out to be very easy to use. I even stopped in the middle of making these to watch a video I found on You Tube for an extra bit of motivation. To finish off the holder, I die cut a monogram for the front cover. To adhere the post-it-note holder, I used red liner tape. For the pen, I went the easy route and just filled it with a piece of the paper I used for the chipboard cover. Finally, I added some ribbon to the pen and on the binder coils. I didn't have enough time to make a beaded pen but I'll be trying that soon. I think these turned out lovely for my first time at making them.

Papertrey Ink August GSS

Last week I submitted these two projects for Papertrey Ink's August Guest Star Stamper contest. I made this card using the Bitty Baby Blessings stamp set. The "Ahoy little sailor" sentiment reminded me of a little suit that my son had as a baby which gave me the idea to make this cute little outfit. I hand cut my own pattern using K & Company denim paper and Nicole Crafts card stock. I used Marvy LePlume markers and Prismacolor pencils to color in the little boats and to make the faux stitching.

This next project is a wood frame I bought at my local craft store. This was unfinished wood and I painted it with white acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is great because it dries quite quickly. I put 3 coats of paint on it within an hours time. I created a quilt using two of the quilt blocks from the Quilter's Sampler stamp set. I stamped each block separately on Papertrey Ink's stamper's select white card stock. I colored the blocks with Marvy LePlume markers in two different shades of purple. These blocks have stitching on all sides but I cut the stitching off on some of the edges, lined them up to ensure the spacing and layout and then adhered them all on a piece of card stock. I then stamped the sentiment on a piece of Nicole crafts pastel card stock including a watermark image of one of the quilt blocks in the corner of the sentiment (it just looked too empty so I had to add something). I finished off the frame by covering the backdrop with some purple marbled fabric and then adhering the quilt and the sentiment. IRL it looks great on display.

PC Pro Colorful Card Swap

I participated in a Paper Crafts Pro swap last month and the theme was to make a colorful card. After several days of pondering over my theme, this is what I finally came up with for the swappers. I die cut the candles using my Cuttlebug and a Sizzix die. I outlined the candles with a black marker and I also highlighted them with Stickles. Other supplies/tools used: Nicole Crafts card stock, DCWV card stock; Marvy giga scallop punch, patterned paper: My Mind's Eye; American Crafts ric rack ribbon, sentiment: Studio G stamp; ink: Black Brilliance.

Another postage stamp card

I had fun making this card a few months ago that I made one last month for my sister's birthday. Quite a quick fun card to make!

Supplies/tools used:
Basic Grey criss cross fusion paper
SU card stock base
My Mind's Eye paper
American Crafts ribbon
HMA Creative stamp
SU ticket corner punch
Joann pastel embossing powder
Colorbox ink
Fiskars circle punch

Petal Surfing

I thought outside of the box and made this card a few weeks ago. This is a surfboard image from Inque Boutique's lil' surfer stamp set that I used to make flower petals. I stamped the image in black brilliance on white card stock and colored them with a brayer and rainbow ink pad. I created two layers of petals and adhered the top layer using pop dots. I stamped and cut out a mini flower also from the stamp set for the flower center. IRL the completed flower looked plain so I added stickles to bring it to life.

KSS Sneak Peek contest at Dee's StampincuzILuv2

Kitchen Sink Stamps sneak peeks have begun for their new stamp sets for August. Dee, one of the KSS designers, has a contest to win one of the new stamp sets. KSS has some great stamps, especially those 3 step ones; and I'd love to get my hands on some! Good Luck if you join in on the fun!