Saturday, February 28, 2009

Sovereign - Another ATC card

I finished my 3rd ATC for the "His Holy Name Challenge" on Splitcoast. I am finding that I really enjoy making these little cards.

To be honest, I don't know what I would do with them outside of displaying them. In this case; I like that it's bible verses because I can get a little display stand and always have a great verse handy! I guess maybe I could include them in cards I send out. Hmmm.....

Well, here it is: I stamped the chandelier with Brilliance - Rocket Red pigment ink. I then heat embossed it with clear powder. I cut a piece of acetate to cover the card so that I could put the verse on. "Sovereign" is written on the cardstock, under the acetate. I adhered the acetate with two black brads and covered them with black stickles. I dotted the acetate with stickles over "Sovereign". The verse is hand-written with a black, thin-line Sharpie. (Psalm 73:28)

Friday, February 27, 2009

Spring is...springing! I hope!


We had a few days of "better" weather and it has me all geared up for spring. I thought I'd post a card I made a while back that is very appropriate!

Righteous ATC

Psalm 32:11 - Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you righteous; And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

My second ATC for the HHN09 challenge was based on the name "Righteous". The bird stamps are clear acrylic from Inkadinkadoo. I stamped the flock with Brilliance Gold pigment ink and then heat embossed with holographic powder. The larger bird is stamped overtop with Black Staz-On ink. I hand wrote the verse and "Righteous". The squiggles are also by hand.

I think the border would look better with gold paper instead of white, but that is the heart of crafting; using what you have on hand!!

ATC...what?

For a long time now I've wondered exactly what an ATC is. I've seen some really great examples, but still never quite "got it".

Well, thanks to an awesome challenge on my favorite scrapping website (http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/), I finally tried one of my very own! And not only did I make my first ATC, but I tried a new technique as well. Stamping with bleach.

Both were so much easier than I expected.
An ATC is kind of like a baseball card for scrappers. Artist Trading Card, to be precise! The measurements are 2 1/2" x 3 1/2". Tiny!! It definately takes getting used to (especially for 12x12 scrappers like me!). Other than that the design is whatever you want to make it! I'll have to say I really enjoyed making an ATC. It was kind of liberating! :)

Stamping with bleach is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. You place a paper towel in a shallow dish and soak it in bleach. Then you use it as a stamp pad to ink your stamp. Then stamp the image on a piece of colored cardstock. It's fun to try different colors to see what results you will get. On my ATC I stamped the cross onto brown cardstock and it turned a sort of caramel color. I cleaned my stamp immediately with a baby wipe. I haven't heard any reports of the bleach harming the stamp,but I just wanted to be safe.

The flourish in the corner of the card was made using my Cuttlebug. It was from the "Fancy Corners" four pack of embossing plates. I just trimmed around the outside edges and adhered it to the corner of my card.

The challenge was to incorporate one of the names of God, along with an appropriate verse. You can make any type of card or page. There's really a lot of freedom. I chose to do ATC's because I wanted to try them anyway. When I am done I can display them and have all those beautiful names and verses to look through. It's a year long challenge and the host chooses a new name every two weeks. I started at the beginning with "Holy". The verse I picked was Isaiah 47:4

As for our Redeemer, the Lord of Hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel.

Here is a link to the challenge:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=399890

I hope all this information was helpful. I tried not to make it too jumbled! I am excited to share more creations, reviews, info and whatever else!! :)



Thursday, February 26, 2009

Hello!!

I assume that this is as good a place as any to start and give you my basic information! :)

I am so excited to start my own craft blog! I have seen so many amazing blogs and I've always wanted to try one out!! I don't think I'll be able to contribute to the craft society like a lot of other amazing artists I've seen, but I hope I can at least give out a few ideas here and there! I also hope to be able to present some practical "tools of the trade" as well. So that I can share my experience of what has worked for me and what hasn't.

I am a big fan of crafting that is practical. Even though I love the beautiful work I've seen by other crafters/scrapbookers/cardmakers, my work tends to lean toward the functional side. Things that I can use or give as gifts. (And sometimes sell.) I love scrapbooking because to me it feels like an art that is very functional. It's a way to preserve memories and express yourself. And, since I have a horrible memory, scrapbooking helps me out quite a bit! :) Cardmaking is great too because it saves me the outrageous cost of buying store cards and people love the thought behind something hand-made. Especially a card. As far as crafting goes, I love a lot of different things. Working with polymer clay, Sewing (which I'm horrible at!), making ornaments, Drawing, and too many more to name!

I like to think that my hobbies are justified in the fact that I get use out of the end result. At least, that's what I tell my husband! :) I also like to think that I am marvelously blessed by being able to spend time doing something I truly enjoy. An outlet, a hobby, an addiction, a love; whatever you want to call it. I am a crafter. And I'm proud of it!!! :)