Egg ATC

Good afternoon. Just a quick one to show the egg card I made for a 1/1 swap with a girl in the states. I think it has quite an easter feel to it which although was not originally the intention at least we are at the right time of year. This was the 1st time I has used ribbon which I think went well although was worried about the blue swede type ribbon fraying making the edges look rubbish. However it seemed to stay together ans I think looks quite nice. Quite a simple ATC but they cannot all be complicated masterpieces otherwise we'd never get any finished.

Sunday Creativity

Having had a lovely weekend in Bristol with my man I came back sunday afternoon to find my YAK PAK from pat containing loads of wonderful wallpapers and embellishments so of course what better way to spend my afternoon/evening than being creative. So I spent some time finishing off and starting new cards for the butterfly swap I am hosting. I finished off my reflection card, reflecting the word reflection by filling in what would normally be empty - I am not sure you can tell it says reflection on the other side but I know it does :) Then I used some wallpaper that Pat had sent to make the base of the card for the stitched butterflies. I designed the butterflies quick on paper and then stitched 3, each in different colours to add on. I put PVA glue on the backs to harden them up so I could cut them off the aida and then in the morning glued them on the card. I think they look cute and its a way of incorporatin my love of cross stitch. It also means that i feel i achieved something with my stitching because being small, they are quick to finish.

The final card here I had already completed sometime last week but forgotten to put on here so I though I would add it on now. I have actually i think 9 butterfly cards in various works of progress and seeing as the swap is a 6/6 I will have a few extra to swap with people. And all this whilst watching lost.

A bit more work

I finished off my other ATC for the March image challenge. I had done most of it the night before but i needed something to put the other side and wanted text so it looked like the girl was thinking/saying it as she looks very wistful and in deep thought in the picture! What i got is Japanese and it says "Fallen blossom doesn't return to the branch, a broken mirror cannot be made to shine". It along the lines of there is no point crying over spilt milk. I though it was an interesting thing to be saying. I love the background, I got the paper from a nice little website online and just love it - this is the 1st thing I have used it for but I know I will be using it again.

Then this ATC is the one i sent to Lia that I said I wouldn't put on here until she had received it. It got there safe and sound so now you can all see it. I loved the idea of this, I saw the umbrella's in a stitching magazine and made them knowing I would use them for an ATC but not quite sure how. Then with them on the card it almost looks like it is raining in the background - i love the corrugated card! Immediately this made me thinking of the phrase April showers bring out May flowers and shazam the card was born.

ATC'S

Last night I finally got some time to myself to do some ATC's which is good because i have a few I need to get done so it's all helping. Its been busy busy of recent. Anyway so I created this butterfly one for the butterfly swap I am hosting. I bought a butterfly punch and just started punching some out in colours and then the inspiration came - I like the idea it makes me think of the fun there is with butterflies flying!
My swap is going well, sign up has closed and I have 24 players at the moment including myself. So far I have had about 5/6 people's ATC's but alot of people have updated me saying they are in the post.
Its been so fun of recent - so much post coming through what with this swap, winning the WTA on the blind swaps yahoo group I joined and having penpals and such - my mailbox has never been so happy and it gives me great joy getting home of an evening and having fun packages to open and see what great stuff has come through!

This ATC is for the blind swap groups March Image competition, you make an ATC based on an image (which was the girl) and then everyone who creates one gets a number, random number wins all the ATC's. I like what I have done with this ATC but am unsure whether to add anything more to it - I am going with the image she is a geisha, considerations are putting something in her hand (many people have done this so am not keen) or putting words either side saying Geisha Girl. Anyone's opinion?


This one I just made off the cuff having looked through some of the things I have been receiving from my WTA round. The Background is printed from an images CD that lovely Pat sent me, then I put the words on that I had been sent. The ticket bit in the words made me think of the many admit one token people had sent me in a variety of colours and I thought the Blue tickets would go best as some of the words are in Blue!!! I did a few other little bits but they are WIP's so still working on them but hoping to do some tonight after I have been to the gym!

Crafty weekend

Thats right another weekend of craft. That is when I get the most time though I need to fit it in during the week more as I need to get a crack on with some Colour art to send back out. I am slowly working through the list and then i get more in which makes the list longer :)

I actually did a page in the journal i bought a few weeks ago. I was inspired by the sunshine outside my window and the feelings that felt good to get down. Hopefully my next pages will contain more art and less writing - that is the plan anyway.

I made a start on the ATC's for my butterfly swap I am hosting on one of my yahoogroups. I actually had the 1st entry arrive monday morning but I will not post them all on here as they won't all be my ATC's but I will post the 6 I end up keeping myself. I also got some interesting bits with it, some acetate tags and some jelly blocks as well instead of postage. They will be interesting to play with. Most of the butterfly ATC's are works in progress and so are not finished but thought I'd show what I did. On the left is like butterfly reflection which took alot of hard work to move all the little bits (I know you can get cool paper that holds it all for you but I did it the hard way. Then on the right is the very colourful butterfly. I enjoyed thinking about which sections to colour in. I do not know yet what I am going to add to either of these but I have until April 1st so maybe inspiration will hit. The sequined butterflies are done, I put them on a mottled looking blue background so it looks like they are in the sky. It was hard work gluing all the sequins down and making sure they stayed but i like the shiny effect.

I finished little boy boxer off last week and I like it, I sent it as part of a blind swap. I also created another ATC which I am sending in a swap with Lia and so I will not be posting a picture about it until after she has received it, but I really like it, it was fun to make and incorporated other crafty aspects I like.

Fun at the weekend

Thats right I got the creative juices flowing this weekend and created a few things. I amde this sunset building postcard. I have seen things like this before and i like the dark of the buildings standing out against the colour of the sunset. I sent this out as a piece in return for one of the colour pieces sent to me. I also sent out some extra bits with it as Matu had sent me some bits to play with. I also made a postcard fro my friend on a similar theme, using purple and blues for the background and only one building, it was portrait postcard. I however forgot to take a picture.

I also did some ATC making over the weekend which I have yet to have taken pictures of yet, these are to send out in a blind swap and just before the weekend I received my 3 from Satu. You can see them in Seuss's Cat's Post - there's a link to the side. Where I had made some acrylic paint background's I used a mixed colour one as a duck kind of look and then used black card to make tree branches so its that effect you get of tree's in dusk. Its a effect that I love when you are looking at tree's so though it would make a nice ATC. I also made a small well on a hill one which says, make a wish over it. I will post pictures of these over the next couple of days before I send them off.