A Tudor Rose...

by any other name than sunshinesuperman, would not have been as sweet of a swap as this! If you have ever been lucky enough to be the recipient of one of her swaps then you know what I mean!

This was a swap for a Tudor Rose themed ATC. Well, I got my lovely ATC and then some! Just look at all the delightful goodies I got along with my ATC! Mona, you are one of the best swappers ever and I had to give you some due here on my blog! Thank you!

Team Jacob Matchbox

This is my first Twilight matchbox I have made and it is to angel a tag for a great swapper on the bot, takinghearts. I truly hope she likes it.

The main covering from the box is a magazine page sprayed with Citra-solv. I really like the effect and thought it was very earthy and went with the werewolf theme well. I then used tea stained paper for the inside drawer and stamped it along with adding the image and words. I tried to fill it up with some "Twilight" things like the moon brads and the small pic of Edward along with other matchbox type items. I then added little star brads to the outside to add some a 3-D aspect to the box.

I really had fun putting this one together and I hope to make some more in the near future, maybe with a more "Eclipse " feel to them. Thanks for reading and following and as always any questions regarding my crafting or technique and any suggestions are welcome! Have a great day!

Twilight Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Bailey! A friend of mine on Swap-bot has a great daughter, and her birthday is this week, so I am sending her these ATC's to wish her a very happy birthday!

She is a "Twilight" fan, obviously and leans more toward Jacob. The first one though is of Edward (these ATC's have more of a "New Moon" feel to them, so I hope she will like them seeing that is Jacob's big breakout movie) and every detail of the ATC relates to him in some way. The background shows fine printed sheet music to reflect Edward's love for classical music, even the brush strokes at the bottom fall in line with his love of the arts. The calendar film strip is didactic in that it shows both the months that Edward first left Bella and how she felt numb watching life go on before her like in some kind of movie during those long months while she is detached. The leaves are for autumn when he left and the woods he left Bella in. Edward himself is sparkly and the words drive home the break-up.

The second ATC is of Jacob, the movie theater background, the movie ticket stub both represent their first real outing to see a movie, the last night Jacob was his old self. The license plate could be for any number of cars or motorcycles that Jacob has fixed up for Bella. The jewel at the top is represents Bella as she is Jacob's treasure. "Fierce Devotion" is what Jacob has for Bella and sums up his loyalty to her.

The last one is for all the Team Jacob fans, which Bailey is, and shows Jacob and Bella together, but as we all know, "Nothing gold can stay." But they do have a moment or two just for them under the stars as it were, and for the fans, those moments are gold.

Thanks for checking these out, hope you like them and happy swapping until next time!

A Break in Time ATC...

I am sending this Steampunk ATC to angel a swap I hosted titled "The Time of Steampunk ATC." For The Dead Swappers Society group on Swap-bot. One of the swappers received an ATC that was of very poor quality for this swap, and so I decided to send her this ATC to hopefully make up for the disappointment. I think she will like it.

The background is handmade tea and ink stained paper, the other images that comprise the rest of the background are tissue tape, a piece of torn book page, stamped images and paper scrap. I then added the gear, timepieces and words to complete the look. I also used a combination of Walnut Inks to give it a more vintage feel.

Vintage Halloween ATC's

Once again I am in a swap for two ATC's each for two partners. The first two pictured will be sent as a set as will the next two after.

I had these lovely vintage images and I was just waiting to use them for this Halloween! The first one once again is my personal favorite, I simply adore the image, some brads, lace and Glimmer Mist and carefully placed words and I think it's magic!

The others I used the same techniques and on the last few I used a nail file to weather out the edges a little more. The last one is just fun, I remember trying to bob for apples...trying, because I was never successful at it!

I love autumn! I can't wait for it to arrive, bringing with it all the colours and scents it's famous for! Spiced ciders and hay rides, spooky houses and nights spent warming by a fireplace. Doesn't it sound lovely!

Well, until then enjoy the last few lazy days of summer and happy swapping to all!

Poetry ATC: The Moon

I hosted this ATC swap for the Passionate Poets group on Swap-bot. I had no idea where I wanted to go with this, or how it would turn out. I had just bought some amazing brads earlier while I was out shopping and thought, wow that one looks like a small jeweled moon...then the vintage idea hit me, a child looking out her window, as she sees things a bit differently. A moon may be a pearl in the sky! While waiting for the next bright moon, she's marking off the days on the calendar dreaming that the faeries are coming on that magical night. The verse I wrote for this ATC and I was happy to send this to my partner! Dream, imagine, live!

Vintage ATC & PC RAK's

I made these yesterday...the first one is for an aunt on my husband's side of the family I recently had the pleasure of meeting. She was such a sweet and classy lady we exchanged addresses and so I sent her a note along with this ATC.

The second I made to cheer someone's day, my friend Marie burned her hand and part of her arm not too long ago and is still recovering, I thought this postcard might cheer her a little and give her a smile.

It's the little things in life and the thoughtfulness of others that sometimes have the biggest impact upon ours. I hope that the goodwill and love that goes out with these crafts will continue to go on and touch other people lives in return. May you all have a delightful day and happy swapping!

Free Theme Vintage ATC's

Hello everyone! Here they are, fresh from my crafting table as of today! My ATC's that will be sent off here in a couple of days for the "Free Theme Vintage ATC's" swap! It's for two ATC's to be sent to two partners and I have them already grouped as sets. The first two in this post will be sent off together and the last two will be a pair as well.

I used many little goodies from my Inspiration Kit and many things from my older stash as well. "First Kiss" is my favorite, I really wanted it to be something different and since I normally don't use ribbons on my ATC's I thought I would try this time. The "K" is made from grunge board which I then blotted against my Vintage Photo coloured ink pad, resulting in the look of the finished "K." The other letters I cut out from a Tim Holtz paper pad, cut them to fit and trimmed the edges with a brown coloured marker so the white edges wouldn't be distracting. The background is stamped.

The second one I used tissue tape in Nostalgic from Time Holtz's line, a few stickers and stamps and Glimmer Mist. What I love most about this ATC are the colours! The third one is something very much out of my comfort zone, but I wanted to use these paper flowers so bad, so I came up with "Vintage Wedding Bouquet" as my answer. It's romantic, bold and overall I liked the result. Lastly, I made "Hope." The background for this one was solid beige paper which I then took strips of the previously mentioned tape and made the background, a few embellishments and Glimmer Mist (on the image only) and I was finished.

I hope you enjoy viewing these ATC's and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them below and I will answer them in a timely manner. Thank you for stopping by and happy swapping!

Inspiration Returned!

I am so thrilled to write this post! I posted my offering for this swap not too long ago for the "Paris Chic Inspiration Kit," and this is the lovely swap I received from my partner, LisaLaughs. As you can see, I was spoiled with so many terrific goodies and scrumptious things I can't begin to list it all. I was just in awe as I kept opening and going through all the vintage pictures and ribbons and lace. The dress patterns, stickers and cards, I was the happiest crafty lady on earth that day, I just know it!

The first pic is of the entire swap, an overview, which as you can see laden down my table!

Then I went from right hand lower corner, up and then over left. Remember to click on the pic twice for an extra close-up view, as some of these wonderful items should not be missed!

This is the kind of swap all of us swappers dream of receiving and I must thank her again and again for making such a personalised and thoughtful swap for me. It's people like Lisa that make this world a better one with her generous spirit!

Please look through this swap and take note if the items as you will see them again in my next post! I couldn't wait to start crafting and these first inspirations are just the beginning! There will be more crafts to come especially now that I have a little treasure trove of vintage lovelies to select from! Thank you again Lisa!

A Vintage Swap!

I had to put this up here because I was just so pleased with this ATC swap for a 'Vintage Flapper' ATC. Not only did Lilypink, send me this great flapper ATC but all the yummy goodies you see here! She must have read over my profile and discovered my love of all things French! Thank you so much, for taking the time to make this extra special, this was a great little swap! Until next time, happy swapping!

Hollow Book Swap!

A couple of months ago, I signed up for a Hollow Book swap. The kind where the book is hollowed out and made to have a secret compartment or space to hide things in, while still looking like a book when placed on the shelf.

I have never done one before and thought it sounded most interesting, so I got out my exacto knife, looked for a tutorial and this is the result! I wanted something older, sturdy and about a subject that would be of interest to myself and my partner. I wanted the space to be a fairly decent sized one so she could put things of a somewhat medium size within the book.

It was tedious and sometimes I was not able to cut cleanly but I managed to get it pretty even. Through the cutting, gluing and trying to make sure the top pages were not sticking, it was a bit of a challenge but well worth it.

The outside I decorated plainly as to preserve the nature of the book, something that would match the spine and not look too conspicuous at first glance. The good news is I got to keep all the pages I cut out and now I have a vast supply of book pages and pictures for crafting uses!

ATC in Wonderland..?

I love American McGee's 'Alice' PC game. It suits the darker side of my nature and I thought made for an interesting twist on the tale. I love anything to do with Alice whether old or new! So here is my slightly darker contribution to the world of Alice ATC's.

Some Buffy ATC's...

So, with that last post you now know of my not-so-secret (and why should it be?!) love of all things Buffy and Angel for that matter. So here are some ATC's I have made for tags and swaps for the group!

First, there is Faith, ah, there is always Faith, no bad girl badder even when she's good. She came a long way and I love her for it.

I love Giles, and I love this pic with both of them, a Slayer and her Watcher. Good times all around.

Then there are Tara and Xander two of my fave "slayerettes." These two ATC's and the previously mentioned one were for group tags.

Lastly, I found this amazing image from the comic of Willow being swept up in curious events, at any rate I loved the colors and the beauty of it, I had to make this one for myself.

I hope you like wandering through my Buffy fan girl ATC's and hope you will come back soon, for more, Buffy, True Blood and more Vintage swaps and who knows what else my little mind will craft!

Thank you to everyone who follows this blog and for your thoughts and comments. Have a lovely day!

Buffy Artist Box: Oz

So, this is my second altered box I have made, excluding very small trinket boxes, of course, but this is one for a swap I hosted for my swap-bot group, Welcome to Sunnydale! My partner wanted either an Anya or Oz box and I chose Oz. I have always associated the color green with Oz, don't know why, maybe he wore it a lot in the show, or I just think of something earthy and comforting about his character and green comes to mind. The paper is called Tibetan Cloud and since he wandered around the world and I believe had a brief stay there it was perfect to use!

I wanted a mix of a character box and an actual box Oz may have kept in his van to keep personal items for or from Willow safe. And since his fellow band mates were not the most brightest nor most considerate I can see him putting his pic on there saying a "this is mine, guys, hands off," sort of thing.

I put some quotes from Poe and Tolkien on the sides as he was an intelligent guy and I like to think he read a lot and thought much. The inside lid I decorated with the "Dingoes Ate My Baby" group posters and "The Bronze" playing nightly.

I also sent items seen as part of the swap for extras. Things Oz had from Willow like the picture, the coaster he kept from The Bronze with her number on the back, a hand rolled incense kit for burning in the van during those times when he was living it to freshen the place up (it's from The Magic Box of course), and a birthday present for Willow, a necklace, all wrapped up and ready to give!

This was a fun swap to put together and I am glad my partner liked it! Thank you for reading and happy swapping!

The First Dragon ATC...

I don't do much by way of hand drawn ATC's, but there is an awesome swap up on Swap-bot right now and I really wanted to join, it's the "Illustrated Legendary ATC Series: Dragon." So, last night I sat down and tried my hand at it and this is the result. The reason I don't draw much is that well, it's not very good and to the trained eye you can tell that I am completely untrained, never had one lesson regarding sketching, watercolors, I don't even know the basic do's and don't's. But all in all I was pretty proud, I hope my partner will like it too.

I used pencil to draw the basic outline and then traced it over with a fine point black Sharpie. Then used a mix of conte crayons, markers and colored pencils for the rest. I titled it "The First Dragon" as it is my first drawing of a dragon ever. I used one of my fave tarot cards as inspiration. Happy swapping, until next time!

Vintage Kids ATC's...

My ATC's for this swap are finished and here they are, two different styles but still so adorable. I really liked this theme...

The first one, I use vintage sheet music as background and then took a vintage page from a French book and stained it with Walnut Ink in Eucalyptus, and added that to the background layering it over the music sheet. After that it was just a matter of arranging the other elements and adding a perfect little pressed flower to brighten it up.

The second one even though it looks simpler than the first, wasn't. First, I made the paper by using the various Walnut Inks to stain even further a tea stained sheet of paper, then I crumpled it up and used Ranger's Distressed Ink pads in Vintage Photo and Bundled Sage rubbed over the creases, let dry then used the Distress Crackle paint in Antique Linen and just randomly coated the center of the paper lightly and used my heating tool to help dry it out and crackle it. Then I crumple up the paper again and used Glimmer Mist in Iridescent Gold. There were a lot of other layers once the ATC was in place like more stains and Glimmer Mists being used not to mention Tim Holtz's Distressed Stickles glitter glue in Frayed Burlap, markers and more sheet music. The washed out look I wanted was achieved though and I was happy with it for the most part, I may do a couple of things differently next time. I will let you know if I do! Bye for now...

"Paris Chic" Inspiration!

So, now that my partner has received her swap I can post this without fear of spoiling the surprise!

I sent this "Paris Chic Inspiration Kit" to my partner katiewoo. There was such a broad range of items as you can see from papers, embellishments, buttons and images to cards, French book pages, film strip ribbons and rubber stamps too! I am so happy she liked it all! I had such a great time putting this together, it was one of the most fun swaps I have ever joined! Thank you and have a great swapping day!

My First Art Doll!

I don't sew, I am sure I could manage a feltie if I had to but even stuffies are beyond me, but I wanted to join this one doll swap so much I decided I would find a way to make a doll and broaden my crafty scope a bit from just paper crafts. So, I was directed to this "no-sew" doll on this blog, I believe called "Go Make Something!" I tried it and now I love it, I admit it is still a bit more work for me as I don't have all the tricks down yet, but with practice I may get pretty good at making these cute dolls!

The swap I am in "Unwrapping the Farao" on swap-bot, was for more of a corpse or mummified doll. I began by making the face darker (I used Walnut Ink in the walnut color, two coats and I achieved the look I wanted). I wanted it to be more of a doll of a girl who was buried in all her finery, so the material was rich and a gorgeous shade of a muted "Alice" blue with iridescent taupe shimmering throughout (you can't tell that from the pic, I am so sorry I just wasn't able to take better ones for some reason). The bit of lace I antiqued with Walnut ink in eucalyptus color and added as a type of bonnet. I embellished with seed beads and bronzed color beads and charms, all with a vintage or antique look. For the last part we had to wrap the doll up and include at least three older type of charms, or items within the wrappings. I took four sections of cheese cloth and stained them all with the Walnut Inks in the various four colors, walnut, eucalyptus, java and terra cotta, they turned out beautifully! So I carefully wrapped each around the doll and tucked in the trinkets shown here (the one button that looks white due to the flash is really a soft vintage pink). I hope my partner loves her as much as I did! I had to name her Elizabetta because I was so proud of her as my first ever doll creation! I can't wait to make more, happy swapping everyone!

Also, I have included a picture of the Walnut Inks I used, they are my favorite new crafting tool for paper, fabrics, clay you name it they are wonderful especially for vintage crafters!