Little Pieces of Art

Last month I participated in an ATC swap with the VC Rocks group. Now that everyone has received their swaps, I can share them with you.

Not sure what an ATC is? ATC is short for Artist Trading Card. They are wonderful little pieces of art the size of a baseball card (2.5"x3.5").

I love ATCs! They can be used as a focal piece on a card, an embellishment on a scrapbook page, put in frames and hung as artwork, or just enjoyed on their own stored in little binders.

There were two groups in the swap, retired and current. I chose to participate in both groups. The Bloom ATC is made with all retired products. This is a pretty straight forward and easy design. I used markers to color the floral stamp from Live your Dream, then punched it out with the 1-3/8" circle punch, backing it with a Soft Sky scallop circle which is popped up with dimensionals. The Groovy Guava and DSP piece are matted on Wild Wasabi.



Stamps: Bella's Bloom, Live Your Dream
Paper: Afternoon Tea DSP, Wild Wasabi and Groovy Guava textured cardstock, Soft Sky and Whisper White smooth cardstock.
Ink: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky, Wild Wasabi
Misc.: Scallop Circle Punch, 1-3/8" Circle Punch, Wild Wasabi stitched ribbon, Dimensionals

For the current product swap I used the palm tree from Plant Hope. For the background "scene" I took a wet paintbrush and reinkers to make the sky (Marina Mist) and desert (Soft Suede) by just swiping the brush back and forth across the piece of Naturals White cardstock.

To make it look more like a landscape, I went back in and shaded some areas with Soft Suede to make the hills. Once the tree was stamped, I again went in with the paint brush and reinker to add some shading under it. Can't have the tree just floating out there. :)

I used markers to color the stamp - Early Espresso for the trunk and a mix of Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz for the fronds. To finish it off I added some Linen Thread. The piece was matted with Paisley Petals DSP with Marina Mist cardstock as the base.

Stamps: Plant Hope
Paper: Marina Mist, Paisley Petals DSP, Naturals White
Ink: Early Espresso, Old Olive and Pear Pizzazz Markers, Marina Mist and Soft Suede Reinkers
Misc.: Linen Thread, Paint Brush, Water

Have a great day!

Out the door card

Most likely everyone has been in this situation at one time or another ~ a need for a card at the last minute. You know that one, the I'm walking out the door, have two minutes to make, should have been mailed days ago card. You're nodding your head right now, aren't you. :)

Well, that was me yesterday. I really needed a Thank you card, but as I was frantically searching through the tons of swaps and card samples I have there were no thank you cards. Seriously? Tons of birthday, thinking of you, and friend cards, but not one thank you.

As I am about to go into panic mode and resign myself to the fact that it is going to have to wait until this weekend (another 4 days) to get made, I see some leftover kits from the card I demoed at my upline's last meeting. Since that was a 3"x3" card, it had to be modified for mailing. This is what I came up with...

Stamps: Just Believe
Paper: Chocolate Chip DSP, Early Espresso, Not Quite Navy, Whisper White
Ink: Early Espresso
Misc: Frost White Shimmer Paint, Stampin' Pastels, Saran Wrap, Sponge Daubers, Tombow Multi Glue

Probably not the best designed card I have done, but I like it. It will serve its purpose well and I believe the recipient will also like it. The picture isn't the best, but hey, I was in a hurry people.

So the moral here for me is, to make all my leftover card kits into thank you cards. :)

Have a great day!

Blog Hop Blog Candy Winner

And the winner of the blog candy from the VC Rocks ABC Blog Hop this past weekend is.......

Carey R. and Roscoe!

Thank you Carey for the wonderful comment:

Carey said...

Great projects Kym. I would love to win these. Your mom is definetly lucky to get these for her day.


Carey Rogers
aka Roscoe's mommy
pedstamper at sbc global dot net

July 9, 2011 11:21 AM

I will be contacting you by email to verify where you would like the Decorated Binder Clips sent.

Thanks to EVERYONE that left a comment regarding my projects! They are all very much appreciated

Have a great day!

Kym

VC Rocks in 3D!

For this month's VC Rocks Blog Hop the theme is "Anything But a Card". So, you will see some fabulous 3D artwork on your hopping journey this time. I am also giving away some blog candy, so when you reach the bottom of this post, check out how you can enter to win.

You should have arrived here from Eileen's blog "Stamping Fever" . Beautiful projects, weren't they? Love that bookmark.

If you get lost along the hop, come across a broken link, or just want to start at the beginning, check out the VC Rocks Blog for the entire list of participants. You will also see more fabulous creations over there as well.

For my project I made a desk set to go with the notepad holder I made my Mom for Mother's Day. To paint all the pieces in the set I used white acrylic paint mixed with Marina Mist reinker. I was attempting to match the lighter blue in the flowers and I think I got pretty darn close.


The first piece is a Desk Calendar. I printed the calendar pages in Word. The clip comes with the kit and is decorated with Seam Binding and a flower from the retired Pretties Kit tinted with Marina Mist reinker. I colored a Basic Pearl with a Sharpie for the center. If you look closely you can see the leaf stem behind the flower. It was punched in Always Artichoke with the Two-Step Bird Punch.

I painted the entire piece with my tinted paint and then covered the front with Paisley Petals DSP using Tombow multi glue to adhere it, and then placed a photo mat on the right.

Paper: Paisley Petals DSP, Always Artichoke
Ink: Marina Mist
Misc.: Basic Pearls, Always Artichoke Seam Binding, Pretties Kit (retired), Two-step Bird Punch, Mini Glue Dots, Tombow Multi Glue, Sharpie Marker, White Acrylic Paint (KaiserCraft), Beyond the Page Desk Calendar Kit (KaiserCraft)


For this memo holder I again used many of the same supplies as I did for the calendar. I love these alterable kits as they are so quick and easy to decorate. Plus they are a great way to use up your small scraps. The DSP strips on the sides are only 5/8" x 2-7/8" and the front pieces are 5/8" x 1-1/2".


Since my bird is popped up on a dimensional, I wanted to make him a little sturdier, as well as make sure he had the same pattern of DSP on both sides. After punching the first bird, I simply flipped the paper over and punched another one. That way they will match up when glued together.


Paper: Always Artichoke. Paisley Petals DSP
Ink: Marina Mist
Misc.: Two-step Bird Punch, Tombow Multi Glue, Pretties Kit (retired), Dimensionals, White Acrylic Paint (KaiserCraft), Beyond the Page Memo Block (KaiserCraft)


The final piece, or pieces, of the set are these little binder clips. They are probably the fastest and easiest items to make and are always a big hit as gifts or as craft fair items. These are small clips, so I used a 1/2" x 1" piece of paper on either side adhered with sticky strip. Another great way to use up those small scraps.

Paper: Paisley Petals DSP
Misc.: Sticky Strip, Small Binder Clips (Staples)


Now who wants some blog candy? :) I will be giving away a set of 6 Decorated Binder Clips ~ 2 large and 4 small. Just leave a comment on this post by midnight Sunday, July 10th. I will use random.org to pick a winner on Monday. Good Luck!!

The next stop on the hop is Linda's blog, Pretty Inky Papercrafts. What a great name for a stamping blog, and she has some pretty cool projects too.






Have a great weekend!!

Kym

American Spirit

Today millions of us will celebrate the birth of our nation with cookouts and fireworks, my family included. Each year though, I like to take some time to remember why we celebrate and also all those who have fought, or are fighting, for the freedom and liberties we all to often take for granted. Thank you to you and your families for all the sacrifices you make.


There are many though who don't serve in the military, but still fight for and honor the spirit of our nation. I read a wonderful story in Parade Magazine yesterday, A Grand Old Flag. I thought Ms. Haven's family story was a great statement of the spirit and character that can still be found in many Americans today. So, for all the Ricky Haven types out there-Thank you too for your courage and strength, and for making this a wonderful country to live in.

Fun 4th of July Facts:

• In May, 1776, after nearly a year of trying to resolve their differences with England, the colonies sent delegates to the Second Continental Congress. Finally, in June, admitting that their efforts were hopeless; a committee was formed to compose the formal Declaration of Independence. Headed by Thomas Jefferson, the committee also included John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Philip Livingston and Roger Sherman. On June 28, 1776, Thomas Jefferson presented the first draft of the declaration to Congress.
• Betsy Ross, according to legend, sewed the first American flag in May or June 1776, as commissioned by the Congressional Committee.
• Independence Day was first celebrated in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776.
• The Liberty Bell sounded from the tower of Independence Hall on July 8, 1776, summoning citizens to gather for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon.
• June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress, looking to promote national pride and unity, adopted the national flag. “Resolved: that the flag of the United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new constellation.”
• The word ‘patriotism’ comes from the Latin patria, which means ‘homeland’ or ‘fatherland.’
• The first public Fourth of July event at the White House occurred in 1804.
• Both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died on Independence Day, July 4, 1826.
• The 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence did not sign at the same time, nor did they sign on July 4, 1776. The official event occurred on August 2, 1776, when 50 men signed it.
• The names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were withheld from the public for more than six months to protect the signers. If independence had not been achieved, the treasonable act of the signers would have, by law, resulted in their deaths.

from purpletrail.com

**Happy 4th Everyone!**