Stamping at the Lake

I had a few friends over for a day/weekend stamping at the Lake. I kicked my poor dad out for the night since I needed his bed and then a few of the ladies couldn't come and no one slept in his bed anyways! At least he had a nice breakfast out with my sister and her family. We all worked on projects that we each brought and then on Sunday with only 3 of us left, we certainly went to town on creating with whatever we had brought with us.... I came home with 11 cards of varying folds and techniques. Thank you ladies for making this such a fun weekend!

My contribution was an ATC (Artist Trading Card - same size as a baseball trading card) and a telescoping card. Both were basically copied from other artists whose blogs I follow from a Yahoo group called All Things Tim (as in Tim Holtz!). The ATC was basically copied from the blog Creative Expressions. Carol provided step by step instructions that even I could follow! I tried to use grungepaper as she suggested but did not get a very good impression from the embossing folder so I used a very heavy weight card stock instead. The second project that I brought had the ladies blessing me right and left! It was a telescoping card that I basically copied from Shelly Hickox and her blog Stamptramp. This is one of my favorite blogs to follow!

closed...opened...I used a variety of Tim Holtz products as well as coordinating stuff from other companies such as the friend stamp from Paperbag Studios and the gear die from Spellbinders called Sprightly Sprockets. The Tim Holtz products included acrylic paint daubers, stamps, and the big Weathered Clock die.

A different style of a telescoping card can be found on Holly McMillen's blog Toy's Haven - another example for me to try to re-create!

Here are some ATC's that I have created for swaps at different stamping events...

These are my first attempts at Steampunk - think Victorian age merges with the mechanical age - almost science fiction! The stamps I used came from Viva Las Vegas Stamps and PaperArtsy and the gears are punched using Stampin' Up's Cog punch.

This one I was inspired by a blog post by Tim Holtz of a display of cards having the most vibrant colors on them! The ATC in real life is much more vibrant than this scan shows. The heart on her bag and the clock face are covered with Aeleen's Paper Glaze to give them some shine and dimension. The stamps I used are from Stampotique, Viva Las Vegas, and Stampers Anonymous. I would like to do more cards using this inspiration - fun!

On a roll.....!

Wow - it's been a busy week for posting! I just received my Ransom Note ATC swaps in the mail and luckily, I got one of my own back. Usually I make a few extra to trade and one to keep for myself. This is a one-off set but at least I scanned them before mailing.
I was supposed to use individual letters but I decided to go with the words because the phrases were so long. These are the lyrics from Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life" and I thought the 'Classic Captions" stamp set from Stampin' Up would work perfectly together! The background papers are ones I created using the Salt technique where you dab inks on the cardstock so it is very wet and then you sprinkle salt over it, heat set it to dry. You get a wonderful mottled effect - it is different if you use table salt vs. coarse salt like sea salt. I used watercolor pencils to color in the images but did not blend them.

This is what happens when you post from work....you get too busy!

I must have a bit of a scrapbooker in me since I love to use old family photos on my cards. Here are 2 artist trading cards that I created for swaps; one in Buffalo and the second in Syracuse.

I wanted the baby image to look like it was a slide so I used to different size square punches to create the slide mount. I jazzed it up a bit with a stamped overlay of "French Script" by Stampin' Up. The baby image is from The Stampsmith's "Ooh Baby" unmounted sheet and it was stamped on glossy white cardstock with Archival Sepia ink. The clock is also from Stampin' Up's "Artifacts" set and the film strip from Tim Holtz's "Mini Muse" set. I cut out the centers of the film strip and glued photocopies of my cousin on a pony, my uncle as a baby and my grandfather in his WWI army uniform. I then modpodged over the film strip to make it shiney like it was real. This turned out to be one of my favorite ATC’s!

I wanted to break out of my neutral color zone so I added the turquoise cardstock to the back. This is another family photo of my Uncle Wally over 80 years ago! The "Dream/Discover" stamp in from Stamper's Anonymous and I embossed in black the used bleach to lighten. Sponging the edges and around the photo gave it a grunge look. This is another favorite of mine!

It's been a while.....

It has been quite a while since I last posted and I have a few ATC's and cards to share!

I created this for a swap at the CNY Feb. 20th stamping day in Maine, NY. My inspiration is a trip I took to Washington, D.C. and a visit to the International Spy Museum. Wow! What a cool place! You have to get there early or expect to stand in line to get in. My souvenir from the museum is a refrigerator magnet that has a big thumbprint on it and the phrase "You were never here". I found this unmounted fingerprint stamp at Viva Las Vegas Stamps and the You Are Not Here slide mount stamp is from (I have to go home and look it up!). The coffee cup stains stamp is from Stampers Anonymous Mini Muse unmounted set - I tried to glue on brown micro beads to simulate coffee grounds but the glue is not holding too well!

I'll post again tomorrow - I promise!

February CNY ATC group make 'n take

Here is my group make 'n take ATC for February's CNY stamping gathering in Maine, NY. I had to prepare 27 of these and there are 10 pieces of card stock for each - I was a cuttin' machine! I stole this idea from Judy K who gave me a larger version for my birthday a few years ago....she is soooo creative! People think I am creative but I am just a good copier!

More ATC's for the Central NY stamp day in October

I created this first ATC for a swap for the Central NY stamp day in October. The figure is from Lost Coast Designs and is a part of a set called 3 Flying Flower Girls. I cut out the figure, masked off the face and button, then sponged with Stampin' Up orange ink. I cut up an old (the price was 50 cents) murder mystery paperback...after reading it of course.... then used Timework masks from Tim Holtz and sponged with Stampin' Up Eggplant Envy ink. The flourish is Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps By Rhonna Farrer: Flourishes V.2 that I bought at A.C. Moore. I used a white gel pen to highlight. The work 'FLY' was stamped with a movable type stamp.

This next ATC was a group Make 'n Take. Boy, were they blessing me when they saw that they had to cut out the crows! The stamped image is also from Lost Coast Design, called a Murder of Crows. I thought this was very appropriate to do right before Halloween! I did the same masking technique as above and popped up the top crow with some 3d dots.

ATC Nautical swap

I created this ATC for a nautical themed swap at SplitCoastStampers. What an effort just to mail to Canada - you have to fill out a customs sticker even though you are only sending bits of cardstock!

The sailboat stamp is from Stampin' Up Winds of Grace stamp set and the compass rose is from Class Act. The compass rose was first stamped off then stamped here for a lighter look. I popped up the sail using 3D dots and glued on twine and ribbon. The rest of the sailboat was color washed with slate grey ink (same ink for compass rose). The wave is just a curl of paper with white gel ink applied.

CNY May ATC swap

Wow am I a slacker! I had visions of publishing to this blog at least twice a month, maybe more, but I only want to post stuff that I am especially proud of. That still isn't much of an excuse since this ATC is from May! Let's see if I can't catch up...


Here is an ATC I created for the May stamping gathering held in Syracuse, NY. I used grey card stock for the background and all of the images were stamped with Palette Hybrid Noir Black ink. The line of fractions is from Paper Bag Studios. I added this for more visual interest on the left side of the umbrella man. He is stamped on Tim Holtz's Grunge Paper (go to link then click on "Grungeboard" on left) , cut out, sponged edges, and popped up with a 3D dot. The Grunge Paper works great when you have to cut so close because it is very hard to tear. Umbrella man and the rest of the stamps are an unmounted set called Mini Muse that you can find at Stampers Anonymous by clicking on "Cling Mount Sets #61-65" on the left and then scroll down to the second line. How cool are these?! and perfect size for ATC's!

Aquarius ATC

I created this ATC for a signs of the Zodiac swap. Naturally I picked my own sign as I was born at the end of January - right in the middle of Aquarius. This is the text I put on the back of the card…

The Water Bearer
January 21 to February 19

Air Element
Astrological symbol is waves
Gem is amethyst or aquamarine -
I was born in January so there is
a garnet bead attached instead!
Friendly, humanitarian, honest,
loyal, original, inventive, independent,
intellectual
On the dark side....Intractable, contrary, perverse,
unpredictable, unemotional, detached

kmk24 Endicott, NY 3/31/09

I embossed the pot using verdigris embossing powder on black card stock then popped it up with 3d dots. The ‘water’ is a dryer sheet that I coated with ModPodge tinted with blue ink. The background is Kraft card stocked stamped with Stampin’ Up’s Linen background stamp and Close to Cocoa ink. The base cardstock is a metallic bronze paper from CutCardStock.com. I added a garnet bead knotted on twine – the gem for Aquarius is either amethyst or aquamarine but since I am a January baby and I love garnets….! I can’t wait to see what the rest of the Zodiac cards will look like since I have to wait more than a week to check my mailbox!

Zetti ATC

I participated in a Zetti ATC swap which really gave me fits. I now know that I am not as spontaneously creative as I thought I was or could be! Check out this link for what zetti's typically look like. This is what I came up with ...

I spent a lot of time just going through my notebook of images of all my stamps trying to compose the card in my head - no can do!
I just grabbed some possibilities and kept working at it and I am still not 100% satisfied with it! So much for spontaneity! I do really like the quirkyness of this style so I am sure I will be trying this again in the near future.

ATC swap

I made this card for an ATC swap called "Make Me Laugh". I am never sure if my work is up to par but I received a few comments that mine made people laugh the most. Excellent!

My cards tend to have some kind of movement and this one is no exception. The pumpkin head is hinged so that when you lift it up to the side, you see a photo of me! (I think that is why everyone laughed - so true!)

The pumpkinhead stamp is by Starving Artistamps and the saying by TooMuchFun Rubberstamps. For cardstock I used Stampin' Up basic black, whisper white and the designer paper is from Old World Stack. I also used Stampin' Up's spiral punch and added some fibers to a homemade tag.

I received some really funny ones in return and I thank everyone who participated with a special thanks to Diane for coordinating this swap!

Where have I been?

Oops! I see I haven't posted in a while! I am finally healthy (knocking on wood) and am keeping busy. I was a judge for Odyssey of the Mind both in my region and for the New York State finals. They are always looking for more judges if you want to join me!

My friend Judy held a tutorial at her house for 3 of us to create a Jacob's Ladder out of 4"x4" coasters. I only put the background paper on it so far - eventually, I'll put some photos and whatnot on to finish it! (Judy - you need to post your example!)

I went to another stained glass class and used my microscope slides to create a pendant. Naturally, I have no idea where I put it so you can't see a picture of it! One of the other girls created a panel that was just gorgeous! She used shades of green glass and then put a patina on the solder to turn it black. I may have to make one for myself!

On April 26th, my friend Diane and I drove to Ransomville (north of Buffalo) to attend the first Western New York stamping day. Here is my ATC that I created for this gathering and for a Grunge swap through SplitCoast...

This is the shoebox project that I created for my table to put together...

I used a microscope slide for the base and I used background papers I created with alcohol inks for the punched out flowers. The third flower is just punched from Basic Grey patterned card stock. The background and Happy Birthday stamps are from Stampin' Up. I used Stickles and silver beads for the center of the flowers.

ATC swap for CNY #7

This is the ATC (Artist Trading Card) that I created for a swap for the day of stamping of the Central New York Splitcoast stampers. We are gathering at the Arnot Mall in Elmira, NY February 2nd and I am by no means close to being ready!

I was signed up for another swap on ATCards.com where you had to use book pages somewhere on your ATC. I had a old english English dictionary that I found in the dorm room when I went to Oxford University's summer school with the National Trust for Historic Preservation way back in 1983. I stamped the pear image from Art Impressions on a dictionary page with black Stazon ink. Next, I cut out the image using a deckle sissors and then washed it with acrylic paints and Modpodged it. I glued the pear to an antiqued gold metallic paper, wrapped it with metallic fiber and adhered to final layer of SU mellow moss cardstock. I created enough to use for both swaps and a few extras for one to one trading.

This is my favorite ATC so far!

Dragonflies

I created this card for my shoebox for the February gathering of Central New York stampers. I used Stampin' Up stamps Measure of a Life, Print Pattern, French Script, and Warmest Regards. The dragonfly was colored with watercolor pencils and then blended with water.

This is the Artist Trading Card that I created for the ATC swap. I used the same stamp but cut it closer and used Twinkling H2O's for a much richer color palette. This is my favorite ATC so far!