Purse Art

My to-do list for some time has included getting caught up on art card assignments for my Documented Life planner.  I liked the assignment for the first week in November - Add something from the bottom of your purse.  I don't have a lot of junk in my purse, but I almost always have scraps of lists..  I also found a bandaid, but I ended up not using that (this time).

I tore my lists into strips and collaged them to a piece of file folder that already had some paint on one end.  The file folder piece was a little narrow, so I painted an ATC and attached the file folder to it.

 I added a little stamping, stenciling, and doodling, and stitched around the file folder part.

 I added a little more collage

 I made a vinyl pocket that is big enough to hold several cards, and sewed it a page made from free art from Carolyn Dube (she frequently has her Art Sparks downloads available for free.  I always download them but never know what I'll do with them.  But they are on my computer when I need something quick to use.)

I had a lot of fun and like all the color I ended up with.

Two Things

First, I wanted to share this cool little ATC caddy that my friend Gaye Medbury is teaching at Stampaway in Cincinnati this year.  I was in her studio earlier this year and made this one using her artsy collage sheet. 

The caddy can hold ATCs or tags, photos, business cards, whatever fits! As always, she has so many creative samples to inspire the students.

The class is on Friday, August 5-- sign up here at Stampaway. 

Secondly, I am still one of the few people on earth not on Facebook.  But I did recently enter the world of Instagram.  I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing, and today I added a video of the ATC caddy.  Instagram chopped off the top and bottom of the video but you get the idea.  I do know the pictures there are square, so it's a learning experience on my part!  My account is here.

More Metal

I continue to play around with metal ATCs from time to time.  One reason it is so easy is because I have some pre-cut ATC cards.  Some time back, I got in the habit of cutting up cardboard from Kleenex tissue boxes.  That was back when I was making ATCs featuring fortunes from fortune cookies.  (A project that died before it really went anywhere.)  The cardboard is study, but not too thick.  But having them at the ready really prompts me to pick one up and start a new card.

I am still using punches mostly for the shapes.  The card on the right used two arrows punched out of lightweight cardstock, with numbers punched out to put on top of the arrows.  On the left card, a border punch with different sized circles was used and also a round punch.  I use a small bit of glue stick to hold the shapes where I want them before I put the metal tape over the whole thing. I use metal tools to highlight and outline the shapes, then freehand other designs to fill in the card.  I find I am combining metal working and zentangle patterns most of the time to fill in the backgrounds.  It is so much fun to doodle on the metal.

It's hard to tell on the cards below, but the one on the left has a circle and oval that are recessed, and can be filled in with a paper or picture punched with the same punches.  On the right card, a punched out circle is glued on top and it is raised instead of recessed.

All that's left to do is figure out what to put where for the finishing touches!

Metal Madness

Just because you spend a lot of time on something does not mean it is your current go-to project. Sometimes, it's just a little bit of play to remind you that you want this project front and center later down the road.

I have been playing with metal ATCs (artist trading cards) - they are like potato chips, you can't have just one.  Before I knew it, I had half a dozen.

These are all made by covering a piece of cardboard with metal repair tape (from the hardware store).  An extra wide roll is wide enough to cover the card, plus it is adhesive on the back.  Most of these started with shapes cut out with a punch or freehand, with the shape attached to the card before covering the whole thing with tape. Then I used various tools to make marks and designs.  The final touch was to color with alcohol inks.  Some of these will still get some sort of embellishment on them.

This one above is in progress.  You can see the scrap cardstock on the left with the holes in it.  It was left over from making a spiral bound book with my Bind-it-All.  I got a piece out of the trash to put on the ATC.  I also added tissue tape to the right.  It is awaiting its coloring and doodads.

I have also started an altered book to house these eventually.  Because I'm a copycat, that's why.

 It all started when I saw these ATCs that Gaye made a few months ago.  I knew I had to make some too.

She put hers in this metal book she has worked on off and on over the past several years.

It's so hard to get good pictures of metal without the flash blinding you, but you get the idea.

 

So, as I said, this is not my main project right now, but I can't seem to stop working on it. 

 

And by the way, a true friend is someone who lets you steal their ideas and they don't mind one bit.

:-)

 

Fortunes 8, 9, 10, blah, blah, blah

Greetings, bloggereaderites, this now concludes our Fortune 10 Project.....

I am losing enthusiam for this project and fast. This no longer seems like a challenge. The fortunes are boring. I want to be funny and fresh. This just isn't doing it for me anymore!!!

I'd rather be playing with... Mannequins Gone Mad !!!!!!!

Fortune 5, 6, 7

No, I haven't forgotten my Fortune cards, although I am disappointed I'm not finding typos in the fortunes since that first one. Here's number 5:

I get the feeling someone in the marketing department is writing these fortunes! They obviously want me to buy more cookies. And this "serving suggestion" was actually on the box of fortune cookies! I guess there aren't really a lot of different ways to serve fortune cookies, so drizzling them with chocolate is fine with me!

Deja vu! This little project is going to get really boring really fast if they repeat the fortunes. I mean, there are only 12 cookies in the box. They should not have to repeat that soon! At first, I was going to throw away the duplicate, but then I decided that I love a good challenge, so I would make two cards with the same fortune. (And I don't think they know me well enough to make such insinuations about my past either!!)

Fortune 500

I was in a dollar store not long ago, and for some reason picked up a box of fortune cookies. I don't know why. My brain just said "get those". So I did. On June 1, I opened one and read the fortune. I was disappointed that the paper fortune was not in pretty red ink, but was in blue ink. And where were the Lucky Numbers? This looked like something I could have printed myself. But, I put the fortune aside anyway. On June 2, I opened another one. And then I knew why I needed these cookies. My creative brain was shouting Fortune 500 Project. I would make a card for every fortune until I had 500. Those of you who know me well at this point need to stop all that laughing. I, myself, know it is absurd to think I will follow through with 500 cards! Besides, the box only has 12 cookies!

I was inspired by someone who last year did a 3x3 collage project, one collage for every day of the year. Now she has started another challenge for this year using shipping tags. I believe she said she was inspired by someone who made 1000 inchies in 2007.

So, it's not so unreasonable for me to make a card every day. Maybe it will be the Fortune 100 project. Like she did, I set some rules, but kept them pretty lax. One, they will be ATC size (2.5 x 3.5). Two, they will have a fortune. Three, they will have the date. Four, they will have a number, starting with 1, and going in sequence until I am done (which could be next week or could be in a year!) I started to add more, such as they will use security envelope paper (yes, still stuck on that fascination), or they will use tape (so many kinds of tape out there). But I decided not to put any of those restrictions in there. There is a rule that I will not get behind more than one week. Here are the first four.

Oh, now this will get interesting. I DO mark typos. Wonder how many of those I'll come across!

So, here we go. I'm going to need more fortunes. Just think, if everyone reading this sent me fortunes, in no time I'd have at least, oh, probably ten!!! I suggest you start taking bets on how long I keep this up....