More ATC Fun

This ATC is a mini of birthday cards I made with Stampin Up's "Bootiful Occasions".  The background is the woodgrain stamp also by Stampin Up.  Found something similar on Pinterest & put my twist on it.  Gotta love that Pinterest.  If you want to follow my Pinterest you can go to:  https://www.pinterest.com/tad52/

I had to make the boots "alligator" leather by running them through the Cuttlebug.

I think you can see the texture on the ATC.  I used the canvas ATC base I bought at JoAnn's.

I hand cut the boots, but Dies by Dave (http://diesbydave.storenvy.com/) now has dies so you can run them through a Cuttlebug or a similar machine. 

We have been visiting with some friends for the past 3 days & we have been on the go go go.  Fun!  It's supposed to rain all weekend here on the coast so it will be a perfect time to continue making product for the 3 craft fairs I have coming up in November & December. 

ATC #2

 

Here is the 2nd design I came up with for my ATC swap.    I love Halloween because it is at my favorite time of year...Fall. 

 

The background was on Paper Accent glossy cardstock so I could use my Alcohol Inks.

 

The stamp is an old one I had so I really don't know who the manufacturer is, though it may be a Martha Stewart. I stamped part of the stamp using Staz-On.

 

The letters I pulled from my stash of ephemera from Hot Off the Press.  When I had a scrapbook store I stocked it with a lot of their products.  I still love their product.  The best thing about them is they are an Oregon company out of Canby.  Check out their website:  http://www.paperwishes.com/

Last, but not least, the ghost.  I cut it using the Cricut "Paper Doll Dress-up" cartridge & white Shrink-It.  I added the eyes and wrinkles in the bottom before I put it in the oven.

I have an exciting announcement soon.  It is EPIC...at least for me.

ATC Swap

A few years ago I was doing a few swaps on the Cricut Board and the last one I did, which was inchies, I got burned.  You had to do 100 inchies and then you would receive 100 different inchies back.  Well, the gal who was doing the swap not only kept all the inchies that were sent to her, but all the postage money.

That was it for me until I went to Roni's blog (see Blog Sidebar Ink Stains) & did some swaps while we were full-time Rving.  I love her challenges & her blog.  There is always something new to try.

Now that our Swaps for the Summer are in, I want to share them with you techniques & products I used:

 



This is my favorite.  It is a mini-painting, mixed media.  I have painted several larger ones using the same techniques.

The base of this ATC card is canvas ATC paper I bought at JoAnn's.  It comes in a pack of 10 which was great because I painted 6 of these. 5 for the Swap & I always make a set for Roni.It is a lot of work conducting a Swap so it is a Thank You gift to her.

I used acrylic paints for the background, real sand & very small shells for the beach, Studio G letter stamps & Shrink It.

SURPRISE...the seagulls were cut from white Shrink-It with my Cricut using Life's a Beach cartridge.

To get the right size for whatever canvas I use, I took a tip from Tim Holtz and made a Shrink-It ruler.

If you have never heard of a Shrink-It ruler, this is how to make it:

• Cut a length of Shrink-It.  I made mine 8" x 1".
• Using a sharpie, make & label inches, half inches and even 1/4" if you want.
• Punch a hole in the top of the "ruler" before you bake it according to manufacturers directions.

It may come out a little wonky, meaning not exactly straight, but it will help you to know what an inch of shrunk plastic will look like if you cut or punch a 1" shape or letter.