Green ATCs for the August swap on ByHand!! I created these while I was visiting with my friend, Linda. You can check out her blog here! Thanks, Linda, for showing me how to add links to my posts. I stayed a few days and it was nice to have some time to play! Found this wonderful aqua and silver box and decided to use it as the base for my green ATCs. It is fun to create with found objects. I added a collage sheet image to the top one along with a stamped "believe" from her stash. Three eyelets and it was good to go!

The one on the left is also created from interesting coordinating elements gathered from her stash. The heart is a die cut with a ribbon bow glued to it.

On the right, I stamped the leaf on a piece of plastic which I layered onto a scrap of aqua handpainted paper that had a bit of script. The oval was part of the box - I just sanded the surface a little to remove some of the shine and distressed it a bit. I layered all of these together with four silver brads - one in each corner!

You can check out Linda's green ATCs on her blog by following the link above!

I hope you will be inspired to be creative!! Try to use the resources you have on hand for creating art. Check out adverstising and packaging to see if you can create something new with the patterns and designs you see!! More to come, later!!


Therese
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

Anniversary card

Have been playing with my Cuttlebug D'vine swirl embossing folder!! Just love this background. The tag is from Stampin UP and one of my favorites!! This one looks great in most any colour and you can find one I did earlier in one of my classes in Real Red. I created a light aqua one for a wedding card a week or so ago!! Done in light blue or pink they would make wonderful baby cards!!

There is a current swap on one of my groups featuring Cuttlebug embossed backgrounds! There are quite a few already and a new snowflake one that should make the production of Christmas cards faster this coming holiday season!!

Therese

Decided to do Friendship for my This and That mingle page this month!! I tried something new - colour printing on scrapbook paper! I downloaded a flourish font and colour printed it in blue on this harlequin background. It takes a little bit of organizing to get your flourishes where you want them but I thought it worked out pretty well. You have to test your papers - some are too shiny and the ink will bead on it as my sister discovered earlier working on a project. I added a picture of my friends in a vignette and encouraged the recipient to personalize the page by adding a picture of her friends!! I used the typewriter letters from my MMM site for the word FRIEND at the bottom of the front page. The back is stamped with the Stampendous Friends stamp. I added some fibers on the leading edge for interest and texture. Always enjoy creating these pages!!


Therese
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/

My Stamp Fest ATCs!! We are so fortunate to have a rubber stamping event within driving distance!! I created these for trading with others in attendance at Stamp Fest in Bancroft, ON. I used some of the cling wrap backgrounds I created for the contest as decorative layers for these. All the stamps are from Chapel Road . I added embellishments to some and others did not seem to need anything extra.

There were over a dozen vendors at Stamp Fest this year - more scrapbooking than there has been in the past but still a very good representation of stamps and stamping!! Lots of Make and Takes and demos in the booths, some show specials and discounted items. Lots of people pre order from the vendors to ensure they will get what they are looking for!!

It was a great day! Went up with friends, met friends there, put names to faces from our Ontario group and had a debrief at Tim Horton's before everyone headed home!!

Have a few left over I can trade with others later on!!

Therese

Two ATCs I made for a 2 for 2 exchange!! I always save my fortunes from the cookies whenever we have Chinese food. They are the perfect size for ATCs!! This one seemed to fit so well with this faux postage from Lisa Volrath's site earlier this year!! I made a little layered tag with two punched circles!! The top one has been distressed and is stamped with my Memories magnet alphabet set. I used walnut ink on the fortune so it would "fit" in with the rest of the layout.

The pear is a stamped image from A Stamp In the Hand that I stamped a long time ago using watercolours! I have a little file where I keep images that are left over after a project. They often come in handy!! The "pears" word is laser printed and coloured with watercolour.

Both bases for these ATCs were in my ATC box. I keep ATC materials in a small box - precut bases, small images, some embellishments, fortunes, credit tags, etc. It makes ATC creation faster and easier when supplies are readily available in one place.

Therese

My Canadian Card Exchange cards for August were these two rose collage cards! The rose on the lower left hand side is made of paper! I found it on one of my trips downtown and took it apart! The paper it is layered on is a white paper napkin I used to clean up a brush I was painting with and colours were so nice I decided to keep it. The large rose images are stickers I found at a $1 store that I thought would work perfectly with the paper roses and the coloured paper napkin.

The card base was stamped with a script stamp and then stippled with Memories ink. The old music sheet was stained with walnut ink and stippled with Memories through a scroll stencil. Collage is a process. It took a little while before all the elements worked together. I layered two punched flowers onto the paper roses and attached them to the card with an antique gold brad.

I am very happy with the way these two cards turned out!! I often keep an eye out for items that will work with others I have at home and try to buy only when I really like something or it "speaks" to me. I will often find items coming together that were not purchased together or even with either one of them in mind. It is best to be open to the creative process and let it lead you!!

Therese