ATC Play Yesterday

I was really happy to be able to spend some time making ATCs yesterday. I was coming off of a week of heavy duty decluttering, putting away Christmas decorations, new toys, and doing a bulk cooking marathon. I needed to have some fun. Some alone time was also needed. My children went to a friend’s house for a playdate. My husband went to visit and help out his parents. And I was alone in the house!

The sum total of what I did yesterday was: some cooking, some light cleaning, and played with making ATCs. (I almost said “worked on ATCs but it is really fun play so I changed the wording!)

I made five easy ATCs for a person on an ATC chat list whom I don’t know who suffered a stroke at what I think is a very young age. I put thought into them. The technique was easier than I usually do. I started posting images of these on this blog. These are much simpler than the ATCs that I usually make. Since I wanted a definite message to come across I felt that the text should speak for itself. As I made these I was praying for her. I packaged these up and prepared them to go out in the next day’s mail.

I made five new ATCs using a 1956 issue of Mechanix Illustrated magazine. In the Dada and art deco type style I made collages using original ephemera from pages of advertisements.

I also did more work on five ATCs that I thought were finished but really looked ‘unfinished’ to me. I didn’t like them as they were. I played around with some tinted acrylic glazes, gel pens and stamp pads to further embellish the ATCs. I like them better now.

It was nice to have a few hours to myself. I was able to get into that flow mode, then I took a break from it to do some cooking then I got back into the flow mode again. I find that it is a great escape from the stresses of reality and when I am finished I am left with a very calm and happy feeling which remains with me for the rest of the day.

Today I need to make the backs for the ATCs and then they will be ready to swap out.