A Very Vintage ATC Series- ATC's 1-4

As some of you may know I am part of a Tim Holtz loving group that swaps through swapbot. I LOVE this group and the amazing ladies in it. I have been running a "Very Vintage ATC" series for the past few months (and will continue to do so as long as people are enjoying themselves!) and I wanted to share my first four creations with you. (For those of you who don't know- an ATC is an Artists Trading Card and has to be 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches in size).

The first swap in this series was titled, "A Very Vintage Christmas ATC." I created the following ATC by using a couple different graphics from The Graphics Fairy Blog- a fantastic site to find a vast array of vintage images. I cut out a second cape and placed it over the first one using dimensional adhesives to give this card more visual interest (the affect can't be fully appreciated in this particular photo).
The second swap in this series was, "A Very Vintage Free Theme ATC." I had a lot of fun creating this and spent a lot of time with it as well (or at least more time than an ATC usually takes me) due to the multiple step process and drying times of certain elements. I used a real vintage book page as the background and collaged using cut-outs from the Conservatory stack by 7 Gypsies (which a lurve). I also used a few Tim Holtz products (like the file folder tab die and distress inks).
For the third swap I of course went with a valentine theme- "A Very Vintage Valentine ATC." Again I used images from The Graphics Fairy Blog. In fact, the little boy and girl were two completely separate images, but they so obviously belonged together in my opinion. The girl was originally holding a bow which I cut out of her hand and placed the heart to make it look as if she was taking it from the little boy. The background is done with a variety of Tim's grunge stamps using distress inks and the words were printed off my computer.

The most recent swap in this series was, "A Very Vintage Lady ATC" in celebration of March being National Women's History month. I covered my ATC base using a section of real sewing pattern which I then stamped on top of. I also stamped the women onto sticky back canvas and colored the dresses with distress inks. Once dry, I cut them out and placed them over the original stamped dresses. Again, the texture and dimension of this can only really be appreciated with the card in hand.

I had never even heard of ATC's until I joined swapbot, but now I thoroughly enjoy creating them... they are such a great way to expand your creativity and practice new techniques and styles while also fine-tuning the things you are already great at!

As always

Angela

If you have any questions on supplies used please feel free to ask! And you know I do love any and all comments!

Un Paris PAPILLON

I created this journal a few months ago, but was inspired by this weeks challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show to finally get my rear in gear and share it! (Plus, I've never posted anything through Simon Says Stamp, but I've been wanting to for awhile). I think I've been a bit hesitant because I was unable to really capture the beautiful shimmer of this project and didn't feel the photographs did it proper justice. (If anyone has some tips on photographing shimmer/shine on projects, I would love to hear from you)! Anyway, the challenge was to "stamp and show" something "London, Paris or New York." So here it is... my Paris Butterfly Journal!

The front and back pages are very similar, but the front has the addition of the butterflies. I used two stamps- both from the Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz Papillon Set. I worked on Kraft paper which is probably my most favorite medium to work with at the moment. You can't really see it in the first two photos, but there is a gorgeous shimmer which I created using the Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists in Heirloom Gold and Turquoise.

You can see some of the shimmer here, but not the intensity of the color- it especially looks beautiful over the black ink.

I used plain black cardstock for the inside covers and again utilized the Perfect Pearls Mists to add this lovely shimmer and touch of color. It actually shows up pretty beautifully in this following photograph.

The pages of the journal are also Kraft and I bound my project using my beloved BIA (Bind-It-All)! This is hands down my favorite handmade journal so far and I haven't decided yet whether I am going to allow myself to part with it or not. Yes... selfish, selfish, selfish! (grin)

I hope you've enjoyed this project! If you have any questions about supplies used or comments, you know I always love to hear 'em!

As always

Angela

Charmed! (Tim Holtz Inspired Purse Charms)

I recently had the pleasure of participating in a Tim Holtz inspired purse charm swap. I had never made purse charms before, but I find it fun to get away from paper-related crafting every now and then. For this swap we had to create two purse charms (one for each of our two partners). My favorite thing about these charms is that I ended up using elements which all came from different people through various other swaps I've done. The only part of these charms that I had previously purchased myself were the Tim Holtz clasps. The reason I ended up being so pleased with how these turned out is that even though all the elements were from different sources, they were all perfectly color coordinated!


I decided I wanted to create a special little presentation for my partners so I created petal boxes using some of my Tim Holtz card stock. I then wrapped some hemp around them with small name tags threaded through.

I hope you've enjoyed this little project share! I've noticed I hold myself back from blogging because I feel like I should only post when I have some massive project or a tutorial, but that's just silly. I'm going to try to start just sharing what I do because it honestly is what I love!

As always

Angela

Of course... if you have any questions or comments- I would LOVE to hear them!!

Altered Board Book: Love Theme

It has been awhile since I spent more than a few hours on any one particular project. Recently I joined a swap (through swapbot) where I had the opportunity to do just that... spend A LOT of time on one project. The swap was for altering a children's "chunky book" in a love theme. The experience was a little nerve-racking at first because I had a bunch of muddled ideas running through my head, but I couldn't get myself to commit to any one particular direction. I started with the cover first and once that was done the entire book just started coming together. So here it is... my very first Altered Board Book (Love Theme)!

I used Kraft card stock to cover all of the pages of the book before beginning. For the cover I utilized various stamps to create a lovely background. I then used Tim Holtz dies to create the flourish accents (that was from the Hanging Sign die) and the center bookplate (which I die cut from an aluminum can and colored with Ranger Alcohol Ink). I also created a closure with the Hardware die, grungeboard and a hitch fastener (an idea which I picked up from Tim Holtz). Other supplies used were gel pen, brads, E-6000, Rock Candy Crackle Paint, vellum paper with the word "love" and Distress Inks. The binding on the spine is Tissue Tape.

Next up is pages one and two. These pages are a combined theme and I used the post card as a way of turning them into a cohesive unit. I wanted these pages to reflect vintage inspired love letters and postal themed elements. I created a small tear in the post card for visual interest. When adhering this card, I left a space that was not glued down so I could have a small pocket affect for a tag. The tag was created using bronze UTEE and a postal rubber stamp.

Page two contains an excerpt from a love letter between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Browning. I hand wrote this on a linen textured card stock that I then crinkled and rubbed Vintage Photo Distress Ink over. The seal was created using bronze UTEE and a wax seal. I also added a Tim Holtz pen nib to this page.

Page three was created with two La Blanche stamps and a Tim Holtz stamp then colored in with a variety of Distress Inks. I also removed two of the books pages and used tissue tape to fill in that gap which you can see between page three and four.

Page four was inspired by an ATC I recently created- it is essentially a larger scale version of the same design, but I loved it so much I had to use it for this book. The two adorable little valentine children came from The Graphics Fairy blog (if you love vintage images, you MUST check this site out). I printed the saying out on my computer and the background is comprised of various Tim Holtz "grunge" background stamps and Distress Inks. I also used Glossy Accents over the heart on the little girls pants.

The final pages are a combined theme just like page one and two. For these pages I used these mini paper bag style envelopes and inserts for excerpts from a book titled, This Is My Beloved by Walter Benton. The keys and key holes were die cut from the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Hardware die and given a coating of bronze UTEE. Again the background consists of Tim Holtz background stamps and Distress Inks.

Here is an example of the cards inside the envelopes... they are all hand written. I distressed the edges of each one using my Tonic/Tim Holtz paper distresser and then added Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

And finally, the back cover... I spritzed over the back with a shade of Glimmer Mist (Red Velvet) and also a shade of Perfect Pearls Mist (Heirloom Gold). You can also see the full grungeboard closure here.

And that's that! I'm not going to lie... I had a hard time letting this one go! I just hope the person who received it really loves looking at it as much as I loved making it. I guess that's all we can really ever hope for when we put our heart into something and give it away to someone else.

Well, I know this post was very "down to business" so to speak, but I wanted to be sure I shared as much detail as I could about what I used/did. However, if you have ANY questions at all- about products, techniques... anything- please feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to answer!

As always

Angela