"Faerie Post" is here!

Hello everyone! I am back after a long bout of not feeling my best. We are expecting in June and this first trimester really took everything I had including creative energy. But I am starting to feel better and so here start the crafts once again.

This is an ATC to a friend of mine in my swap-bot group Keepers of Avalon. She won the "Winner-take-all" (WTA) this October and here is what I made for her. It is backed on illustration board. The background is Distress Ink in "Dusty Concord" then sprayed with Glimmer Mist in "Pearl." Since Distress Ink is a water soluble ink, the mist reacted with it to make a weathered water stained look. I then just used various pieces from my stash after that like tissue tape, ribbon, twine, charms, etc. Then I sealed it all with Distress crackle paint in "Rock Candy," and used my Heat-It tool to dry.

Thank you for stopping by and reading this post, hope to be back soon with other little treasures and crafty bits! Until then, happy crafting!

Pretty Lil' Pockets

Hi guys! So, I joined a swap for our group Shabby Chateau on Swap-bot to make these Lil' Pockets of Whimsey! How fun! These have so many wonderful uses and you can make them however you wish, this is just one example.

I started by flattening a 3.5 inch section of a paper towel roll. I lined the inside with felt and stapled one end together. I then used a beautiful brown Lokta paper for the outside. I then adhered a gorgeous vintage style parfume sticker I purchased from Regina's Studio on Etsy, a paradise for altered artists with many quality vintage items to be found! For the back I used a part of a lovely paper napkin she had sent along as a little extra with my purchase. After that I embellished with mini pearls, stained vintage book pages around the top and Rock Candy Stickles, Glimmer Mist and a tiny butterfly sticker. For the handle I used some amazing cabbage roses ribbon in Haunted Woods from another store on Etsy, MemrieMare a yummy little shop with some of the best ribbon! I then filled it with some ceramic buttons, a faerie charm and some of the ribbon for my partner!

So easy, so pretty, so many options! So get creative, these are great to give as gifts or hang on trees as ornament with a little surprises inside! Until next time, happy crafting!

Branching Out...

Here are two of my newest ATC's. I am really trying new things, making may own backgrounds, using inks and masks and many other new tools and techniques.

I am trying to find my own style and see what works for me and what does not. I want to thank bluemama from Flickr for sending me the little art squares along with her last ATC to me! They worked perfectly for these two ATC's I made. Thank you!

Until next time everyone, happy swapping!

A Wilde Fairytale

This little hand drawn ATC I drew for a WTA on Swap-bot. We were supposed to make something relating to the fairytale by Oscar Wilde "The Selfish Giant." This then is the ATC I came up with inspired by this sweet morality tale.

I used pencil, a fine point Sharpie pen in black and colored pencils, around the edges I tinged them with a couple of different Distress Inks and used a silver ink pen to highlight somewhat in the tree. Thanks for stopping by today!

Child's Play

I love images of vintage kids and these are so cute! The first one is one of my first attempts to make an inked background myself, by blending and using a clear mounted stamps. I wanted the focus to be this adorable girl who is so intent on her butterfly, so I kept this ATC fairly simple.

The second was for a new technique using tissue paper and to leave at least 75% of said tissue paper showing on the ATC. I love little challenges and these ATC's I so enjoyed making!

My New Collage ATC's...

So here are 3 new style ATC's for me. I am actually playing around with using pieces of scraps, tissue paper and whatever else I find to create the backgrounds you see here in the first 2 ATC's. I really like making my own backgrounds this way, they are unique and one-of-a-kind and I get to use my scraps of paper instead of jus throwing them out. Waste not want not!

The third ATC shown is just more of an ATC that was mainly collage only. I wanted it to have that feel and I think it came out different from many of my others and different right now is good as I am experimenting and finding my own style!

Don't ever be afraid to mess up some of my mistakes have turned out to the the best thing that has ever happened for my creative process. Embrace little scraps of paper and change and see what your art will do! Until next post, happy crafting!

Pieces Of My Life...

I made these two ATC's last night. I just got inspired to sit down and use the pieces of scrap paper that have been piling up in an endless sea on my craft table. My first real collages. They're so much fun, you start out with nothing in mind except maybe a color palette, then start gluing and see where your mind takes you. Each little piece of paper, scrap or mistake is now considered art. So, choosing from my stash, I glued away and these are the result. I then used Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy, a clear coat, to give it a cracked finish. I also used my Distress inks around the edges for a bit of added color. I used illustration board for the backing.

The first one is my favorite so far and also my first. It is titled "Pieces of my Life." The second one I made for a swap and it is titled "Words by Rumi." This one was inspired by the note card my partner sent along with a Poetry ATC swap. I liked how the ink looked on the brown paper and kept it, now the note card becomes something even more.

What a creative and inexpensive way to invent and recycle at the same time. So sit down get out your glue stick and scraps and play! Have fun, you never know where your mind's eye will take you. Happy crafting!