My ATCs: Gesso and Magazine Images Technique

Last month I tried a new technique which I learned from the book "Artist Trading Card Workshop" by Bernie Berlin.


The gist is that you secure a magazine image to a sturdy background and let dry. Apply gesso thinly and let dry. Outline parts with a Sharpie marker.

At that point you have two options. You can either give it another coat then let it dry then outline parts with Sharpie marker. Or you can skip that step.

When you draw with the Sharpies you can highlight the actual things or make up new ones. For example you can simplify the clothing, change the hair, etc. With the gesso you can block out the background to make it solid.

Last you take water soluable oil pastel crayons and color in sections. You smear that and rub it in with your finger.

I have used the fatter Sharpie marker and the very fine point Sharpie marker. I have used one or the other and sometimes I used both on one image.

With the coloring in, I even changed one woman to have blue skin. You can do whatever you want!

It is quite fun.

While doing this my children begged to join in. I let them do whatever they wanted. At the point they asked to do it the gesso was already applied and dry. They did the outlining and the coloring in.

Note also I tried two techniques, one is to do the second coat of gesso but not to re-outline the marker, this left a greyish cast instead of dark black. I also tried one with a colored Sharpie marker.

If you feel confident with your drawing ability you can just paint the gesso onto a surface then draw your own image and use the water soluable oil pastel crayons on it.

So here they are.















Technorati Tags: artist trading card, ATC, Artist Trading Card Workshop.

Hooray: Received “The Moonlight Chronicles” From PaperBackSwap.com Today

I am so happy that finally someone posted “The Moonlight Chronicles: a wandering artist’s journal” by Dan Price to PaperBackSwap. I had this book on my wish list for a number of months.



I did a little happy dance when it arrived in today’s mail.

I look forward to reading this before bed tonight.

Dan Price is a man who is a father who keeps a journal with hand drawings, photographs and text to describe what he sees and what he is doing. In this little journal he shares what he experienced when he was traveling around the United States. He originally published his journal writings in self-published zines and later was offered a book deal.

PaperBackSwap.com is a free internet site where you post books that you are willing to give away to other members. You then get other books from other members. It basically works on a 1:1 swap basis, you give away one book to earn one credit which you later use to get one book. There is a wish list feature in which you can list books that you want which presently are NOT available to order from another member. If you join and list nine books you immediately are granted one credit to use immediately as a sign-up bonus. Also if you link through from my blog here and then sign up using my online name of ChristineMM then I will get one book credit for a little referral bonus. I thank you in advance if you do this. I use PaperBackSwap to get books about art, crafts, children’s books and books for me and my husband to read. It is a great site. The bottom line is that each book costs you about $1.60 as you pay the postage to send a book to someone else then you pay nothing when a book is being sent to you.



Technorati Tags: artist journal, journaling, Moonlight Chronicles, PaperBackSwap.

Doing a Photo Scavenger Hunt Now

Today I was busy taking final photos for a photo scavenger hunt swap I am participating in. This is the first time I am doing one of these scavenger hunts.

We were given a list of items to choose from and we must send at least ten photographs of those things to our swap partner. This swap is being held over on Swap-bot.com.

I am behind on working on this swap due to health problems with my grandmother. However tonight I am selecting the final photos, uploading them to Costco’s photo printing service and will pick them up tomorrow and get them off in the mail a whole one day before the swap close date. My partner lives in England and I think it is fun that this is an international swap.

Perhaps when I am finished I’ll blog the scavenger hunt list and the photos that I sent.

Technorati Tags: photo scavenger hunt, Swap-bot.

One Trip to Michael’s Craft Store

I made one trip to Michael’s Craft store yesterday after not going there for well over a month. Again this was related to driving by the store on my way to and from the hospital. Again since I was alone and able to browse freely I went in, with a 40% off coupon in hand.

I was disappointed to see that this local store did not carry the Ranger line of alcohol ink products. I was hoping to buy some blending solution.

But there were some great things in the dollar aisle that I wanted to share with you.

The dollar bins were full to the brim!

They had a set of 6 paper, thick coasters decorated with wine images. These could be altered very easily and used as gifts.

There were about six different types of small journals for $1. They ranged in style from hardback book style, to hard covers with a wire spiral. The downside is I am pretty sure they are all lined paper not blank. They were sealed in plastic so I couldn’t see all of them; the lines were not visible on the sides of the pages either. I wish they would make them with blank paper! Still I bought two hardback journals. Some of the designs were pretty floral designs with a vintage feel and wine images. These hardback covers could also be easily altered if you desire.

There were many different styles of note cards at 10 for $1 with many styles that mesh with my style. They also had a few different note card sets with “Thank You” written on them, in styles that I liked.

I bought one very small notepad with a built-in little pen which I plan to keep in my pocketbook.

They also had a lot of different puzzle and activity books for kids but I didn’t buy any.

They had tiny photo albums that I thought might be perfect for holding ATCs. I bought one but when I got home I found out that they are just a fraction of an inch too short for the long end of the ATC. If these were good for ATCs I intended to buy a few more then to alter the covers to look more appealing to my eye.

Lastly they had new sets of foam cube stamps in themes of horses and others with spring flowers on them. I didn’t buy any but they were cute.

Technorati Tags: craft supplies, Michael's Craft Store.

Two Visits To My Local A.C. Moore

I had not been to my local A.C. Moore in over a month. When making art I have been using up what I have here.

Trips to the hospital take me right past the A.C. Moore store (and Michael’s Crafts, too). The combination of being near the store and being child-less at that point made me stop in to shop.

Here is what I found at my local A.C. Moore.

1. They moved the huge book display from the area near the doors/cash registers and I can’t find those books anywhere in the store. Hmmm. I was going to use a 50% coupon to buy a book if they had some of the new books that I am interested in buying. No such luck.

2. They were reorganizing the whole rubber stamp aisle. I overheard a customer ask what was going on and the staff member said new stamps were arriving and they were overhauling the entire aisle. The next time I went in those shelves were only about 30% full, so the new shipment has not yet arrived.

3. New pricing is up for rubber stamps including an alphabetical pricing not the color dot, hooray. It drives me crazy when the dot on the stamp is not on the chart and usually the stamp is charged a higher price than what I thought it was.

4. Nearly all of the punches in the brand “Whale of a Punch” were on final clearance at 50% off the original price. I love these in the shapes of circles and squares. They are nested so that they sell, for example, 7/8th inch square, 1 inch square, 1 1/8th square, 1 ½ square, 1 3/8th square, etc. What a deal. I wonder why their line of nesting punches is being downsized?

5. I bought for the first time, Ranger alcohol inks. However they were out of stock on the blending solution so I am not sure how that will impact me if I use it without that blending solution. Wish me luck.

6. I am disappointed that they don’t carry Jacquard Lumiere paints. They are on my wish list and I was hoping to get them for 40% or 50% off.

7. They had a big set of chipboard alphabet letters which I would like. At $17 for the pack, I’ll wait for the 50% off coupon day.

8. I see that a bunch of the materials in the scrapbooking aisle were on final clearance for 50% off. Those supplies are also used by ATC artists and in other non-scrapbooking artists. For example there were photo corners, brads and lots of other doo-dads.

9. I don’t buy stickers, but there were a lot of them on 50% final clearance.

It seems to me that there are a lot of changes in inventory going on at A.C. Moore.

Technorati Tags: craft supplies, A.C. Moore.

Attention Star Wars Fans: Time To Vote For A Star Wars Postage Stamp

If you like Star Wars you may want to mosey on over to the USPS.com site and vote for your favorite Star Wars postage stamp. The voting began on March 28th and the stamps will be released on May 25, 2007.

Technorati Tags: Star Wars, Star Wars postage stamp.

My ATCs: Various, Swapped Out Already

Here are some scans of some ATCs that I made.

This first one was made with a Bingo game sheet and tourist brochures for attractions in my area.

This pink one was made with watercolor paper and pink and white acrylic paint applied using a sample credit card from junk mail.

The rubber stamp image is from Adorned Surface. I used pigment chalk ink and set it with a heat gun. The edges are also a rubber stamp from an unknown company.

This next one is called "The Fountain". The background is from a Michelin travel guide to Paris and shows a map of this area where this fountain is.

I made a packing tape transfer of the fountain itself. In this case I tried a new roll of packing tape with no brand name which I bought at a dollar store. This roll yielded not-clear packing tape transfers so it was different to work with (I didn't like it).

This ATC was titled "The Cathedral" which is the name of this sculpture. Again the images and map are from the Michelin guide to Paris. The sculpture is by Rodin and it is another packing tape transfer that came out opaque rather than more clear and crisp.

The below ATC was made with watercolor paper and the pink and white acrylic paints applied with a sample of a credit card from junk mail. The paints were a brand that I don't usually use and I won't be using them again (more on that later).

At first I applied the rubber stamped images of the margaritas with pigment dye ink. I colored in the margaritas with Sharpie markers.

I made a mistake on this ATC and was going to trash it. However I saved it to see if I could reuse it in some way. I then learned the UTEE resist technique in the book "Artist Trading Cards Workshop" by Bernie Berlin.

I put the clear embossing ink on the ATC surface where I wanted the image and background to show through. I made sure to not put it where the mistake was. I applied the clear UTEE and melted it with the heat gun and let it cool.

The reason I don't plan to use this brand of acrylic craft paint again is that when the heat gun was applied to it, the color changed in some places. If you look carefully you can see a yellow cast to one of the pink areas. I will stick to the other brand which is also inexpensive which I like better--Folk Art brand

I then proceeded to paint over the entire surface with green acrylic paint and let it cool.

Then when I used the iron on it, the green paint lifted off the places where the clear UTEE was.

I liked how this came out!

The below ATC was made from scraps except for the used postage stamp. I made a simple collage in a spontaneous manner while looking through a little container of scraps left over from other projects. The little cartoon guy is from a book called "Havoc in Heaven" which is said to be a very popular classic children's story from China. This book had fantastic illustrations and was published in the 1970s. I found it at a thrift ship but unfortunately it smelled like mildew so it was not good for a reading copy (the story was also weird possibly due to a poor translation from Chinese to English). So I am using the pages of this book to make artwork with rather than putting the book in the trash. I get headaches when reading books that stink of mold or mildew. (I seal the collages with acrylic gel medium so any mildew or mold spores or scent are locked in.)

Technorati Tags: artist trading card, ATC.

My ATCs: Quick Gel Medium Transfer Method

I took this color image from The Wall Street Journal. It is a charactiture of the Chair of the Federal Reserve, my husband tells me.

This first ATC was made by doing a quick acrylic gel medium transfer onto a background which I had made with acrylic paint.



When I peeled the newspaper off of the print I was left with a distressed looking piece of paper which I didn't want to go to waste.

Taking a piece from The Wall Street Journal I made a background. I then collaged the left over image of the Chair of the Fed onto the top.



I think both ATCs are cool and I especially liked that the main image was from a newspaper which was going to be recycled/thrown away and then also that once the image was used by me I used it a second time for yet another ATC.

This is the QUICK acrylic gel medium transfer method which takes less then 30 seconds to do.

Technorati Tags: artist trading card, ATC, quick acrylic gel medium transfer.

My ATCs: Mixed Media Collages

These two ATCs were originally one collage which was made and then sliced into two ATCs. This is called a diptrych.

The background was hand painted by me with acrylic paints onto watercolor paper. Actually the paints were left over from a painting my children were making and I was trying to use them up rather than wash them down the sink. I applied the paints with a junk mail credit card sample.

The figure of the boy, the die image, and the English bobby were from collage papers which were small and sold to use to make ATCs. I found this little pad at a rubber stamping store for just $3.25. The theme was men.

Also in this collage are cancelled postage stamps and snippets from junk mail trying to sell me season tickets to see the New York Yankees.

Lastly there is a fortune from a fortune cookie from Chinese take out food that we had that weekend.

Both of these were swapped out to Swap-bot members for an ATC swap with a theme of "mixed-media collage".

Technorati Tags: Swap-bot,artist trading card, ATC, mixed-media collage.

Library Thing Widget Added To My Sidebar

I just added the Library Thing widget to my sidebar. Take a look.

I also resubscribed to Library Thing and today have been adding in books that I find inspiring regarding my art hobby. Due to a lack of one phrase that applies to all the books that influence me, I am using the tag "alternative art" for the books I own which I want to show up as being relevant to my art hobby. I know the phrase is not that great but whatever.

Now you will see a random selection of ten books that I own which you might find useful or interesting if you are on the same wavelength as I am.

If you click on the book's cover image you will link through to Amazon. If you end up buying that book from Amazon after linking through my blog I'll earn a small commission on the sale. Any purchase you make is confidential, meaning I'll never know who bought what item. Actually the commission applies to anything at all that you buy from Amazon once you link through my blog. The way it works is after you link through and you put items into your shopping cart right then and there then you finalize those sales within 24 hours, then I get the commission. So hey, if you are going to buy anything from books to shoes to health food to shampoo on Amazon and want to throw me the commission, I'll be happy to take it! My blog income is the only income I have at this point and that is pretty low, believe me! Thanks in advance if you do that!

So anyway each time you visit my blog the sidebar will show random books that I own, in an ever-changing display. Enjoy!

My ATCs: UTEE Resist Smiling Skull Faces

Here are two ATCs which I used the UTEE resist method on. I learned the technique from this book: Artist Trading Card Workshop by Bernie Berlin.



I basically combined two things here, the use of a handcarved art stamp and the UTEE resist method. You can use the UTEE resist method with any kind of art stamp.

The stamp was hand carved by me in the summer of 2006.

The colors here are from acrylic paint (not ink). The UTEE color is clear and that is how you can see the color that was behind the UTEE.

Although I didn't plan on explaining the whole technique I guess I'd better do it or else this post may be very confusing.

The background was acrylic paint. I then used the clear embossing ink to put the image from my rubber stamp onto the background. I then applied the clear UTEE and heated that with the heat gun. Then when cool, a layer of different color acrylic paint was put on top of the whole card and it cooled. Then scrap paper was put on top of it and a hot iron was put on it and it made the UTEE melt and whatever paint was on top of the UTEE came off onto the scrap paper. So basically the rubber stamped image shows the underneath color while the rest of the card shows the top coat of the acrylic paint. Phew. I hope that made sense!

The design of the stamp was chosen by my six year old son. It was based on the logo for Pirates of the Carribbean although it is not an exact replica and since it is hand made it is not exact, either.



I made these ATCs in January 2007. They have been swapped out already.

By the way I have learned a bunch of new techniques from this book and am having a blast trying out the different techniques. I highly recommend this book!

Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATC, handcarved rubber stamp, Artist Trading Card Worshop, UTEE resist.

Made 27 ATCs Last Night

Last night I had some hours without my husband or children in the house. I decided to make art rather than to do various things at the computer or to talk on the phone, watch TV or to read a book. I also stayed up later than normal.

It was great to know I could fill up the kitchen table and just create without worrying about having to clear it off for meal or something. It was fantastic to just be able to work without interruption from anyone.

I had some partially made ATCs which I was stuck on that I finally had an idea about and finished those.

I had creative block previously for ATCs for a certain swap and I got an idea for what to do. I was at my library yesterday and saw a new thing, large stacks of magazines being offered for free (previously they were selling for 25 cents each). In that stack were some magazines on theme of the swap I was stuck on. I took a few of the many magazines on that subject and decided to use that as source material.

I chose a cereal box to recycle into a big collage. I used ads from the magazine as my base collage. The original collage size is 7.5 inches wide by 10.5 inches high. This will be cut into nine ATCs in the end. I used other papers and used postage stamps to further embellish the collage. I also custom tinted some gesso to paint over the background as it looked too bright and new. That was too dense so I ended up rubbing off most of it with a paper towel. In the end it has a distressed look with an ivory color as the color. Today now that it is dry I will finish it off by adding rubber stamped images.

I then went through some scraps of paper that I received in Swap-bot scrap paper/ephemera swaps and used some of that to make ATCs with. I also went those some small containers with tiny scraps from past projects and made a bunch of ATCs.

I also finally used some altered photographs--altered with a bleach and water solution--that I did last year---to make ATCs with. They look very cool. Now I am itching to alter even more photographs with bleach so I'll have a stash ready to use in the future.

Lastly I used the leftover tinted gesso to color some pages of an old, falling apart insect field guide. Those will be used in other projects in the future.

Today is going to be a day of relaxing now that church is over with. I am looking forward to spending time today making even more art. Oh, and also today I picked up 70 old road maps from a Freecycler! So the new to me maps may provide more inspiration and materials for even more art projects.

My ATCs: Newspaper Images

I recently hosted a Swap-bot ATC swap in which the images and/or text had to come from newspapers. The background color or embellishments could be from other sources.

Here are some the ATCs that I made and swapped out on Swap-bot.

I can't find the other scan of the other ones I swapped out so that will have to wait for later. But anyway here are three of them.

All three began with hand painted backgrounds, acrylic paint on recycled cardboard (product containers like pasta boxes).

I found the transfers don't work well when adhering to watercolor paper.

Skiiing in Utah, from an advertisement for a swanky ski resort in Utah.

Manhattan skyline from a newspaper ad.

Another part of the same ad showing the Manhattan skyline.

All three of these were made using the "quick acrylic gel medium" transfer method using Golden acrylic gel medium in soft gloss.

Note that the paint swipes on the background card lent a textured effect especially on the second card. The texture was not from the gel medium, it was from the raised paint parts being what the gel medium stuck to.

This technique takes only seconds to do. I swipe the image's paper with a thin layer, then adhere it to the background. I rub and let it dry for about 10-15 seconds then I removed the paper gently.

There is an art to learning how much gel medium to put on and how long to let it dry or to rub it. It can't be told to you. You have to experiment with it and find what works for you. Also the type of paper you are using matters. For example it is faster and easier to do a transfer from newsprint type paper than from a thicker paper source.

If you pull it off too quickly the whole thing can be ruined.

If you pull it off too late, it leaves paper residue on the background and you can gently rub it off with a dampened finger. This does not always work well, though, as too much rubbing can ruin the image.

I had many errors and mistakes that resulted in about a 50% rate of success. So in that way a project can take longer to finish or sometimes I have many ideas to try, some of which don't come to fruition due to the fact that I'm using original source images not photocopies.

It is fun to play with transfers but it is not always foolproof and mistakes are probably inevitable.

Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATC, gel medium transfer.

My ATCs: Jesters

Here are some ATCs that I made. I can't remember if I made these in January of February 2007.

The rubber stamp image is from Adorned Surface (stamp company).



The purple, teal and yellow papers are handmade in India and are from the craft store.
This background (above) was hand painted by me.


The one below buckled in the drying process so I didn't send it to anyone in a swap. I think that I must not have smoothed the paper out well enough. The rest of the ATCs have all been swapped out.


Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATC, collage, rubber stamp, Adorned Surface.

My ATCs: More "Proud of Where I Live"

Here are more of my ATCs which I made for an ATC swap where we had to depict that we were proud of where we live.

These two were made from junk mail. It was an invitation for a fundraiser for the historical society.

I loved the images. I added two layers of clear UTEE. When cool I crinkled them to crack them. I then added black ink and rubbed it into the cracks.





This is a simple collage. I selected the image from junk mail that I received asking for a donation for an organization which maintains open space. To make the ATC more interesting I added layers of clear UTEE which gave the card a thick, plastic coating which is glassy. It feels wonderful to the touch.




Technorati Tags: Swap-bot,artist trading card, ATC, rubber stamp ATC.

Discovered Creative Mom Podcast Blog Today

Yippee!

Hooray!

I found a new-to-me great site, blog and podcast: Creative Mom Podcast.

Jessica, who knows me through Swap-bot connected to my blog and then thought I should know about the Creative Mom Podcast as she thought that the two of us had a lot in common. You can read Jessica's blog "Ocean of Creativity" here.

I am thrilled to have found out about this creative mom who podcasts and blogs. Today I listened to Podcast #40. I am psyched that there are 39 podcasts in the archives just waiting to be listened to!

I have added a link to Creative Mom Podcast's blog in my sidebar. Check it out!

I see that Creative Mom is also hosting ATC swaps as well as turning her art into products sold through Cafe Press. Hmmm. Now there is an idea.

I still want to know more about podcasting and how one does it!
Technorati Tags: podcast, art podcast, CreativeMomPodcast, Creative Mom Podcast.

A New Book Published About Art Journaling "1000 Journals Project"

Since I am a member and contributor to the 1001Journals.com website, I received an email announcing a new book they have published.

1001 Journals is a collaborative effort in which regular people like you and me make an art journal and send it around to complete strangers to add journal entries to, before passing it back around.

What they have done is taken scans of SOME pages of these journals and published them into a book!

The title of the new book is 1000 Journals Project and it was based on submissions from the 1000 Journals Project.



You can read more about these projects as well as see scans of the artwork on the two sister sites.

The first website was 1000 Journals.

The second website is 1001 Journals.

Here is the official announcement that I received:

The 1000 Journals Project Book is out!

Over two hundred pages of the best journal entries from around the world, all packed into a hard-bound book that strangely resembles... a journal. There are also some fun stories, and two absolutely crazy stitching pages that you'll just have to see to believe.

I CAN’T WAIT TO READ AND BE INSPIRED BY THIS BOOK!

Here is the link to my prior blog entry showing scans of some of the pages of the traveling art journal that I contributed to as part of the 1001 Journals project. Note: I don't think that my own pages have appeared in the current book "1000 Journals".

The way the site works is anyone can sign up for a free membership and access to the site. You can then be the owner of a journal and do the work to set up making it an official journal of the site and either having it be open to the public to contribute or to keep it private. Anyway if you participate in a journal they encourage you to upload scans of your own pages to the site.

Update: Using my Amazon Associates commission that I just received I bought this book and can't wait for it to arrive.

Technorati Tags: 1000 Journals, 1001 Journals, 1000 Journals Project, art journal, artist journal.

My ATCs: Proud of Where I Live (Some of Them)

I made these ATCs while making ATCs for a swap with a theme of “Proud of Where I Live”. I got on a roll (as usual) and made more than I needed for the swap. Here are SOME of the ATCs that I made with that theme. I don't have time to finish uploading scans so I'll just share these for now.





1. These two were originally one piece cardboard, 5 inches across and 3.5 inches high. I made this collage of scenes from Connecticut USA which I found in an old tourist book for the state of Connecticut.

After the collage was done I sliced it into two ATCs.

It looked kind of boring so I applied a top coat of clear UTEE to give it a raised, smooth pebbly texture. That does not show much on the scan.

(Sadly, the person on Swap-bot to whom I sent the ATC on the left to reports that the envelope never arrived. Groan!)

2. The next ATCs were made trying a 'new to me' method which I learned from the book "Artist Trading Card Workshop".

However the stamp that I used on this is a design that I designed myself. I also hand carved the stamp out of rubber. This was the first hand carved rubber stamp I've ever carved from rubber, I made it last summer.

These all started with hand painted backgrounds of acrylic paint on watercolor paper.

Next I did two things with UTEE. First I rubber stamped the image onto the card with the clear embossing ink.

Secondly I applied random swatches of the clear embossing ink onto the card.

Next I applied the UTEE and melted it with the heat gun and let it cool.

Then I applied a layer of acrylic paint on top of the entire card and let it dry completely.

Next using a hot iron with scrap paper on top, I ironed it to melt the UTEE. The paint that was on top of the UTEE areas was moved off onto the scrap paper.

This is how they ended up.

In the below ATCs the heart image inside of the state of Connecticut is visible.


For these two I used some Anita's brand acrylic paint which is not what I usually used. I found that when I applied the heat gun to the UTEE it changed the color of the yellows and greens to something I didn't like. I don't plan to buy any more Anita's brand paint in the future, if it is not stable under heat then I'd prefer my usual brand of inexpensive acrylic paint (Folk Art).

Can you see how the bright pastel yellow turned orange-ish? That is what I mean.


Some people are asking me what UTEE is. It is an abbreviation for "ultra thick embossing enamel". It is made by Ranger, in the Suze Weinberg line. This is the Ranger website with a description and a photo of the UTEE product.

Here is one website with information.

Here is more information with photos showing how to use it.

I made some others but don't have time to upload those scans.

The extra ATCs have been swapped away in other non-Swap-bot trades. So I don't have any of these left. That is why I need to make new/different ATCs to send to the one person who says that my envelope never arrived.

Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, UTEE,Swap-bot.

Making More ATCs

I have been squeezing in time to make ATCs here and there in between other real life stuff.

I wish I could have a solid block of time to just do art for 3, 4, or 5 hours but it is not happening lately.

Even on the recent "snow days" I did other things and had other fun with my kids.

But anyway, I have been making ATCs like crazy lately.

I got creative block on some ATCs that had to have a packing tape transfer on them. I finally broke through that on Saturday and put the finishing touches on yesterday and then they went out in today's mail. I also got on a roll but then had one mistake after another and had to throw a bunch of the transfers away thereby losing the entire concept for that ATC. Since I was using original source materials that means I didn't have another image of the same thing to make a new transfer out of and do the original idea.

I also signed up at the last moment for a swap with ATCs that has a theme of the sea, anything about the sea, the ocean, etc. I started making some of those the other day.

I also got creative block on some ATCs that had to have a used postage stamp on them. I have a bunch half-made that I am stuck on. I was unable to finish those and just had to have new ideas to start new ones from scratch.

I have been too busy to reconfigure the computer files of the scanned ATCs so that is why I have not uploaded my scans lately, sorry!

Although it is not perfect I am enjoying Swap-bot. The latest thing is I have a few people who were members and signed up for swaps then deleted off their profile and don't follow-through with the swaps, which stinks. Nothing is perfect, we are all human, but it is frustrating to make something to give away and to get stiffed by another person. Oh well.

Free Digital Sample of ATC Quarterly Available Online, Free

Have you heard of ATC Quarterly magazine? It is published four times a year out of Canada.

I have resisted subscribing due to tight finances. If I had the money I’d subscribe sight unseen.

I was thrilled today when I looked at their website and saw they offer a free digital sample of one issue of their publication.

If you would like to view it, go to this page of the ATC Quarterly site, look in the left sidebar. Scroll down until you see the link to access it.

You must have the free Adobe software to view it.

I have not read the articles yet but I did scan the lovely ATCs. This is a full color publication.

Check it out!

Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATC Quarterly.

ATC Swaps, Lost In Mail, Damaged In Mail, Not Received, Etc.

I am annoyed and disappointed. I found out that one of my ATC swaps that I did through Swap-bot was lost in the mail. I finished and sent out a bunch of envelopes on one day about five weeks ago.

I keep records of what I send out and when. If I didn’t do this I’d never remember everything!

First I got a message from one person saying that my envelope was received all shredded up with the ATCs of mine in a plastic bag. The USPS had a note saying that it was accidentally damaged. That swapper was relieved that miraculously the ATCs were all there and in fine condition. She said it didn’t appear to be anything wrong with my envelope. The envelope had just two ATCs in it, which were inside of a greeting card in normal greeting card envelope. The ATCs were flat and the whole envelope was thin.

I was happy to hear that envelope did make it.

Then last week I found out that a swapper on Swap-bot rated me a “1--nothing received”. That was a surprise as I had sent it out over four weeks prior. I double checked my records and I did send it out. Other people in that swap received my ATCs in fine condition and way back when I sent them out. I also had sent those out ten days before the due date.

I corresponded with the person and explained that I really did send them. I also offered to make new ones. I had made original collages with source materials. After a couple of day she wrote to me to apologize and removed the rating. Although she says I don’t have to make new ATCs, I definitely will. Since they were original concepts and not “assembly line” ones it is not so easy to just bang them out in a few minutes. When I am done meeting deadlines I have right now I will make those for her.

Meanwhile I have been stiffed by two different Swap-bot members.

It seems that one person is ticking off a lot of people. She signed up for numerous swaps. She then did not send them out. She then deleted her profile, so no one can send her a message through the Swap-bot system. We can see her rating is down to a 3.0 but we cannot view the actual ratings that the members gave her, which annoys me. Also I worry that she is still able to sign up for new swaps. This person also stiffed the person who did not receive MY swap. So that person is mad that she got nothing from two people for the same swap—I can understand her frustration.

There is another person who is not being a good swap partner to me. I have been on the receiving end of her four times. The first time the swap was very late but she sent a note that she was sick. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and rated her a 5, even though technically she did not follow the swap rules.

The next two times I got her swaps postmarked ten days after the swap deadline, with no excuses. At that point I suspected perhaps she is one to sign up for more swaps than she can handle or else perhaps a person who is in the camp of feeling that deadlines don’t apply to them. I encountered that problem on an ATC Yahoo Group, with some saying ATC swapping is a fun hobby and that they intentionally don’t adhere to rules and deadlines as those are for jobs not for hobbies. For those two swaps I rated this person a 3 for not following the rules, which I feel is an accurate rating.

The fourth time is still going on now. I have received nothing from her, the deadline is past due. There has been no communication from her. I rated that swap a “1—nothing received”. That is accurate if you ask me.

So anyway there is some not fun stuff about ATC swapping via the mail but connected through the Internet.

When swapping mail art becomes stressful or annoying I usually back off for a while or look for different types of opportunities to swap mail art. At this point I am still doing Swap-bot swaps, trying to be picky about signing up for swaps that require high rating histories of members and also hosting my own swaps with minimum rating requirements.

Technorati Tags: Swap-bot,artist trading card, ATC.

Painted 95 ATC Backgrounds

One night last week, after dinner, I decided to paint some backgrounds for ATCs.

This was prompted by a very cold day, with temperatures in the single digits. Our furnace is going full blast and the air in the house is so dry that things are drying in a flash. I figured it was a perfect time to paint some backgrounds. (They ended up drying in less than 15 minutes!)

I finished cutting up some food and product boxes that I’ve saved for making ATCs. Most of them were already pre-cut. I like to quickly cut them up as I get an empty box and then I put the cardboard blanks away for later use.

I put some music on the CD player and went to town painting backgrounds. I used foam brushes, stipple brush, an old shaving brush and also used credit cards to apply the paint.

For the first time I used a crackle medium which I purchased a couple of years ago and never used. It worked great but it really warped the cardboard. I am flattening the finished products under heavy books as I speak.


I took a photo of the 95 backgrounds. As you can see some are in larger sizes. After I snapped the photo I finished cutting them into ATC sizes. It is nice to have a large selection to choose from when I need them.

Actually the ones with the X's and O's started as backgrounds but then I did some stamping onto them with children's toy wooden blocks, so those are finished ATCs.

Technorati Tags: artist trading cards.

Some Thougts About Art Composition: Using Words on Collages and ATCs

I have a pet peeve about some art that I see on artist trading cards and the use of words.

Don't state the obvious. That is the issue at the heart of the matter.

Stating the obvious can distract us or take something away from us by patronizing us. Or poor writing style can also be distracting or ruin your otherwise nice composition.

In the art and craft of writing we are advised to say it clearly and don't repeat. Don't use a ton of adjectives and adverbs if they are not necessary. Say what has to be said to convey the meaning. Just use words that convey the message and leave it at that. Don't "over-write".

In a similar vein, it bugs me when I see very nice looking artwork ruined (in my opinion) by extraneous words also appearing on the ATC.

Hey, this is my opinion. I am sorry if this hurts anyone’s feelings. That is not my intention. However I ask that you think about what you are doing and the art that you are making and perhaps question the addition of words.

Here are some examples:

A Paris themed ATC with lots of visual images that clearly convey Paris is the place pictured (i.e. Eiffel Tower) yet the word "Paris" is on it. It is one thing if this is very artsy and adds something visually to the composition (sometimes) but sometimes it is sloppily hand written and other times the writing is some how taking away from the same composition if the word were just absent.

A strong clear image of a dog with the word DOG on it. Or a cup of coffee that says COFFEE. Ditto for any other object or animal. If we can identify the image we don't need to see the word. We are not dummies.

Also if the ATC swap is a themed swap and the ATC is great but then the name of the swap is there, as if we could not figure it out on our own. For example is a St. Patrick's Day ATC not clear enough that a person adds the words "St. Patrick's Day"? If the image is of a Christmas tree do we need to be told it is a "Christmas" themed ATC? Or if the visual is about a movie you don't have to then write "My Favorite Movie Swap" on the front, or even the words "My Favorite Movie". Just keep the ATC the images and other words about that movie. Period. You can write the swap name on the back if you want. It is possible to enjoy the visual image about that movie and we don't need to know on the front that it happens to be YOUR favorite.

What I don't mean to include in this is alphabet cards, A is for Apple etc. where there is an image for the letter Aa and then they choose to write the word apple, that is different, and it is your choice and not bothersome to me if that kind of card says Aa Apple then has an image of an apple. While we don't NEED the word apple on there, if it appears there and it looks good (the writing is nice or even beautiful) then it is fine and adds something positive to the piece of artwork.

Consider letting your images do the talking. Only spell out for us what we are not able to understand from seeing the image.

Another exception to what I am talking about is if you are an excellent calligraphist and use artistic lettering to add a special component to the artwork. Calligraphy artists usually understand and know that their lettering is actually an art form in and of itself and usually the piece is composed in a way to maximize the use of the words and the visual beauty of those actual letters.

Conversely, poor handwriting can detract from the beauty of an otherwise great looking ATC. If you must write words on an ATC, consider using your computer's word processor and consider using the font size and the font style functions to change the text size and style so that it looks nice with the style of art that you are making.

If you use words on the ATC use them for when visuals don't tell the whole story, or when the words are part of the major part of telling what you are trying to represent.

For me composition is a thing I am trying to teach myself and I have a feeling it is difficult for some other people as well. Also for those of us who primarily use words to communicate we struggle to just let visual images do the talking. Consider letting go of the words, it sometimes improves your artwork.

Here is a good website with information and tips on the issue of composition in making art.

Technorati Tags: art composition, artist trading card, ATC, rubber stamp ATC.

My Polymer Clay ATCs

I am not a big polymer clay person (so far!). I have played around with polymer clay exactly three time in my life, the first being about seven years ago. The last time was last month and I made some ATCs out of polymer clay that day.

Some of them broke in the process of making them or gluing them or were dropped on the floor. So in the end I have two finished products to share with you.

The snowflake ATC was made by rolling polymer clay through a clay machine (pasta machine).


I then used a rubber stamp to make the impression. I then used a template on top (lightly) while I cut off the edges. So while still unbaked I had trimmed this to 2.5 to 3.5 inches in size. I then baked it. That is it!

The second one was a small scrap of polymer clay rolled through the clay machine.

I then used an angel image rubber stamp to make the impression.



After it was baked I could not see the image very much. I used India Ink to smear into the crevices.

I rubbed the top with a paper towel so the ink was not covering everything, it just sayed in the crevices.

I then adhered the clay to a prepared background of a wallpaper sample on top of recycled cardboard using Golden Acrylic Gel Medium Regular Matte.

Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, polymer clay, polymer clay ATC, ATC.

What I Do When Making ATCs

Last year, one of my chat lists has a thread asking what we do while making ATCs. I drafted a blog entry on the topic but realized I had never published it. So here it is.

If no one else is playing something like a TV or music I will put on an audiobook. I have been listening to some classics that I had never read before. I also listen to some juvenile fiction that is okay for my kids to hear which is good literature. For example, The Chronicles of Narnia and unabridged classics like Heidi. I borrow these from the library.

I also tried out some 'old time radio shows'. I borrow these from a nearby library with a huge amount of audio books. I just listened to the unabridged Heidi, Spider Sparrow, 10 CDs of old time radio shows.

I also listen to those while doing dishes and cleaning the kitchen. I found that having the TV on while I make ATCs such as when my husband is in the room and is listening to Fox News Channel squashes my creativity. Hearing bad news and complaining is not good for the creative process.

Sometimes I'll try to listen to a TV show, such as old reruns of shows I watched when I was a child (Andy Griffith, The Jeffersons, Sanford and Son, etc.), or current reality shows that happen to be on at the moment, but I also find the mind-deadening shows on TV to squash the creativity. More importantly the commercials bother me.

I also listen to music sometimes. I listen to old 80s music that I've owned for years since that music was current. Some of the music is depressing and uninspiring, though. I also listen to some Contemporary Christian music which is uplifting. Right now I am listening to "Beetoven's Wig" which started with my children wanting to listen to it inside the house and now the songs are in my head and I keep listening to it since it is so upbeat, funny, and lighthearted (good for making art to).

Stained Glass Technique Tip for Art or ATCs

I found this old unpublished entry which I originally wrote in April 2006.

Last night I worked more on stained glass (paint) technique ATCs.

Weeks ago I made the outline part. Last week I painted the insides, then cut them into ATCs. (I did big paper of the design then did random cuttings.)

However, during the drying process, the lines flattened out significantly. When I painted inside the lines it was hard to not get the black part wet with the watercolor paint and when it dried I could see the paint on top of the black (looked terrible).

Last night I sat down with damp Q-tips and cleaned up the black lines. I had to be very careful and make sure the Q-tip was damp, not wet. It worked.

I just wanted to share this in case anyone else had this problem.

Started a Journal for Ideas and Inspiration

Last night I decided to start a journal for writing ideas and for visual and text that are inspirational.

I pulled down from a bookshelf, a blank journal which I bought about five years ago for $3.99 and had never used. It is oversized and square with a spiral binding. The paper is blank and white colored thicker than normal pages. I would estimate that the pages are about 9 inches x 9 inches (but I didn’t measure it).

Last night I went through some of my clippings, scraps and ephemera to select images that are inspirational to me. I also chose some comic strips which I thought were very funny. I could use some lightening up so to me anything that makes me laugh is helpful. I chose text that I had formerly cut out of magazines of words and phrases that are positive in attitude and are uplifting.

Today while looking through a little box of scraps, while making ATCs, I’d pluck out scraps from past projects whose images are inspiring to me. Some are little bits that remind me of making a certain ATC or a certain theme that I worked on. To look at a tiny piece of scrap paper and remember an afternoon of making art with a specific theme is a good thing.

I laid this journal next to me while making ATCs and I’d slap in cuttings while making the ATCs.

I am using Golden Acrylic Gel Medium in soft gloss as the adhesive. I use waxed paper in between the pages to keep them from sticking together in case any of the adhesive oozed out of the edges.

My tip for putting the adhesive on the paper is to use an old phone book. I lay the paper on the phone book and put the adhesive on with a one inch wide foam brush. I lift the wet paper up and put it onto my dry surface. This works for anything but teeny-tiny pieces of paper. When the phone book page is gooped up, I turn the page and start on a new page.

I am still keeping my other journal which is an “everyday matters” journal. That one documents my life and has sketches along with collaged elements from my daily life.

I am being careful to have the one journal be uplifting and idea filled while the other is other ephemera from my experiences.

So far this is a fun journal to keep!

Making ATCs Like Crazy Lately

The other day I made nine angel themed ATCs. These were last minute ATCs for an angel themed swap. I did get them out just in the nick of time, on the "due to mail" date.

Last night I sat down to make some butterfly themed ATCs and finished four. I made them in a block of four then cut it apart afterwards.

This morning I went to work on "Garfield and Friends" themed ATCs and made and finished six. They are one big block right now and will be cut into six ATCs tomorrow.

This afternoon I worked on a "junk mail" themed ATC swap. I made a block collage that is the size of six ATCs.

Tonight I worked on more ATCs that are comprised of 100% junk mail but also are made in the abstract style. I am not sure if I will use these for the junk mail ATC swap or the abstract ATC swap.

Tomorrow I need to do some scanning of these larger collages. Then I will cut them into ATCs, scan those, then prepare some for mailing out.

One reason I am pushing myself to do these is I found out I have to go out of state to help a relative and that is right in the middle of a time when some ATC swaps are due to be mailed out. It is too hard to make ATCs while visiting that relative and when I am there I have no Internet access. My goal is get these done and out in the mail before I leave. Also due to this trip I went to Swap-bot and dropped out of some of the swaps that I had signed up for, to lighten my load.

My ATC: Angel Statuary

I took a digital photograph of an angel statue in a cemetary. I then used Photoshop Elements to alter the image. I printed it on cream colored paper on my computer printer. I adhered that paper to a piece of cardboard for strength. The letters were rubber stamped onto the front of the ATC.

My complaint is that due to the quality of my printer, you can see the pixels. In this case I used the image anyway chalking it up to giving the image a grainy, interesting look.

Misplaced Rubber Stamps

I am annoyed today because I have misplaced a whole set of rubber stamps. How that could have happened I have no idea. I am very organized with my rubber stamps thanks to a local Freecycler having given me her two rolling carts with drawers. I promptly filled them with my rubber stamps, even divided into categories per drawer.

I was reading a book about artist trading cards and saw a cool bleach rubber stamp technique explained. I had tried the bleach method of rubber stamping once before and it did not work. I decided to give it another try.

I had signed up for a Science Fiction themed ATC swap. I have a set of stamps which is perfect for using on this swap.

I started the day with a plan to try the bleach technique on black cardstock and to color in the bleached out parts with a makeup sponge and rubber stamp ink.

However upon going to fetch the rubber stamps I found them missing!

Later when I had time I thought perhaps they got mixed up with my paints and my rubber stamp ink pads. I did a quick check, no, they were not there.

I then faced my little craft closet which had grown cluttered. I didn’t know if in the pre-holiday prep period I had accidentally shoved them in there, someplace where they didn’t belong. I then spent about 90 minutes putting my hands on every single art and craft supply that I have in that closet. In the process I reorganized some things to put like things with like things. I put all the beeswax collage equipment into one box and that will go to the basement. I put all the metal crafting supplies in one box and that will also go to the basement. I put all the crafts for kids in one box.

I found all kinds of supplies I had forgotten about that are crying out to be used.

And finally I have all my embossing powders in one place.

I also found my hand carved rubber stamps and my carving tools. Those were nicely put away in the closet but I had forgotten that is where I had put them!

One tube of gouache watercolor paint had a loose top and had dried up. That was a hint to get to using the rest of the colors before they dry out.

I then went to the dining room table which right now is covered with various art and craft supplies which I have been using in the last month. I sorted and reorganized and put stuff away.

I then checked the rubber stamp carts yet again, yes, again.

Then, my next stop was in the basement to go through ALL of my ephemera. I have about a dozen copy paper boxes full of stuff. Some are only books to cut up and use in art making. Some boxes are magazines. Four of the boxes are ephemera from my grandmother from the 1950s-1980s. The rest of the boxes are random papers that I’ve saved, anything from tourist brochures to snippets of gift wrap to maps to interesting pieces of junk mail. Only one box has store bought papers, amazingly enough. I get most of my papers for making artist trading cards through ephemera from my daily life. I still didn’t find the stamps (or any stamps for that matter).

I then rechecked those rubber stamp carts yet again. The light is low over there and so I thought maybe I missed them. Now that I think of it, I should have used the head lamp that we use when camping with the Cub Scouts!

The issue is not just me wanting the rubber stamps for this swap. I have a real pet peeve when I lose something. I then will spend hours and hours looking for it! I always find what I am looking for in the end.

While writing this one more idea came to me. I have a few boxes of craft supplies stashed in the basement that I did not check. I thought those were mostly various children’s craft kits but maybe I am wrong. After dinner I’ll have to go check those. Otherwise this will bug me and may even cause me to lose sleep or to dream about lost rubber stamps!

In case you are wondering what set I am looking for it is a set of stamps made by Mars/Toyko/Adorned Surface and is of vintage toys. Some of the stamps feature images of robot toys and ray guns. I really love that set (and others made by that company).

My ATCs: Various Themes

This first ATC was created a few months ago. Someone was hosting an ATC swap in which we could use only the comics to make an ATC with. Although I didn't participate in it, I challenged myself to use some Sunday newspaper comics to make an ATC with.

The Harry Potter image was a goodie bag that one of my children came home from a birthday party with. There is a paint chip there as well. The word "score" is from junk mail trying to sell use tickets or season tickets to see the New York Yankees.

This next ATC was inspired by collage papers from Autumn Moon. The owner of Autumn Moon contacted me as she owns one of my ATCs from a swap. She was beginning her business and offered to send me some of her new collage sheets if I would make some ATCs from them so she could put my ATC images on her website if she desired.

I was looking at this image of the woman and I thought she looked a little like she had the devil and an angel inside of her at the same time. I looked through some postage stamps that I had from that starter kit that Kenmore Stamp sells for $2 (500 stamps for $2). I chose a background which I had painted previously with acrylic craft paints and a stipple brush. I made a packing tape transfer out of the collage sheet. I selected the stamps that showed the woman as both a pussycat and a tigress (or is that a leopardess?).

I didn't think the ATC was finishe so I didn't send it in to Autumn Moon. For months I kept it in a box of what I consider to be 'partially done' ATCs. However last week I decided it was good just 'as is'. So here it is.

I was reading "The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery" by Karen Michel and was inspired to make paper doll chains out of newspapers. I used The Wall Street Journal financial papers to make men. The paper dolls were adhered to a background which I had painted with acrylic craft paints and a stipple brush a couple of months ago.

My brother purcashed a home from an artist two years ago. She was already moved to Manhattan and very busy working. She asked that my brother throw away a whole basement and garage full of clutter that she had saved. My brother offered me some of it. She had art instruction books and art school textbooks. There were books on making homemade greeting cards (from back when it was not a mainstream thing to do). There were some finished handmade greeting cards. There were some new, expensive papers also. These origami cranes were amongst the things she wanted thrown away, as they were part of a homemade greeting card. However last month the cranes fell off the card which I had not yet used. I decided to put the cranes onto an ATC background and call it an ATC.

I made this background using acrylic craft paints and a stipple brush.

I considered putting the number "2" on this but left it as is.

I particpated in an ATC challenge swap in which we were to use ONLY elements from a box that something came in (food, products, whatever). The below images were cut from an action figure box of a Pirates of the Carribbean toy.

I had a very hard time making this ATC as I could not get the composition right. I finally ened up with this and liked it so much I decided to keep it.

The purple background is another hand painted background of acrylic craft paint applied with a stipple brush to a food product box.

This originated when I saw the image of the woman in a Dover children's book mail order cataglog and realized she was just the right size for an ATC. I cut out the image.

The background paper (would you believe) is an envelope which contained junk mail. The company was trying to sell us a luxury condo in a resort community. The paper had great texture as well as pretty colors so I saved it for possible use in the "junk mail' ATC swap. I made this long after the junk mail ATC swap was over.

With a 50% off coupon from A.C. Moore craft store I bought a square shaped die cutter.

One night while watching TV I went through a UNICEF mail order catalog and cut out these images.

Last week I used a brown tinted acrylic craft paint and added a cream colored craft paint. I applied the paint with a junk mail credit card sample. When it dried it looked more like a dusty rose, which was different than what I was trying for, but anyway...

I applied the images in a grid like pattern to the background.

This was originally one piece. When it was finished I sliced it into two ATCs.

I was doing an ATC swap for Valentine's Day in which we had to use an image of a heart somewhere on the ATC. I found this little girl in the Dover Publishing children's book mail order catalog and clipped her out. I placed her on a background of a handmade paper from India purchased at A.C. Moore. The greenish background is actually a brochure from junk mail, yet another luxury vacation home place.

(For some reason we are on some mailing lists for medical doctors and they think we are also of retirement age. We get mail addressed to my husband as an M.D. My husband is NOT an M.D. We are no where near retirement age and to boot we are not in the market for a retirement home or to purchase a second home in a luxury golfing community in South Carolina or Florida or Costa Rica.)

Lastly I thought the card was missing something so I added these four little flowers which are rubber stamped with a stamp by HeroArts (they came with an alphabet set).

While decluttering my paternal grandmother's house I came upon loads of new gift wrap. This was from the late 60s or early 70s. I knew it was perfect for making ATCs with. I adhered the gift wrap to a base card of a recycled box. It was very bright so I added a top coat of a custom tinted acrlyic glaze paint.

I was then stuck on this and didn't know how I could embellish it further. I let it sit for months in the 'not done yet' box. I then declared it done and let it free by swapping it out.

The important thing about this is that I had a lot of images to choose from and I carefully chose a section of the paper which looked good on an ATC and had a nice composition and a good flow to it. Some people might criticize this for being an 'easy' ATC but I think that sometimes it is not about being heavily embellished or having dangling things off of it, or chunky things glued onto it, but rather carefully choosing images and having a good composition.

The colors were also very cool and so typical of the early 1970s.

This was another in which I was trying to use comics in the ATC in some way. The piece of envelope and stamps is from an ATC swap I did with someone in the Netherlands.

This ATC was yet another when trying to use colorful comic strips to make an ATC with. Here is another used stamp and envelope piece from an ATC swapper. The phrase "All new..." is from a tourist brochure to the P.T. Barnum Museum. The little letters were sent to me by an ATC swapper. The dollar bill is play money which came inside of a birthday party goody bag that my kids received. The Home/Away piece is from the New York Yankees junk mail brochure that came in the mail.

Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATCs, collage, ephemera.