Back in the Saddle

So, I chose tonight, instead of making ATC's. (Because I really need to increase my stash) to get organized.

I spent the evening uploading photos so I could post on-line. Of course, since I was behind by almost 90 cards, it took me a minute. But because I love this hobby it was well worth it. I have also decided I am going to get involved in the KennyK's krafty girlz challenge this week. I have not made a card in a while but I think I can figure it out. I will try to enter something for both his challenge and Mojo Monday.

Amazingly, I just opened my first Flickr account. Not sure how I could have waited so long. But I am certainly hoping I can use it for multiple purposes. Most importantly for linking my work to other areas.

So here is one of my ATC's that were made on Friday. I have found a new crafting spot that I love. It is local, about 15 min from my house and they have the coolest crop nights. I am lucky enough that can get there and setup and then go out for an early dinner and still get almost 30 cards done in an evening. It is called Scrapper's Boutique in North Richland Hills.

My first traded ATC

Hi All, I am so proud. I got my first request to trade one of my ATC's. It is the one of the fairy creation. I am so happy that it is going to a great home. I spent some time this weekend really focusing on the task. Hands down it is a lot of fun. I have a lot of supplies because I make cards and scrapbook. Now I need to get rid of it and ATC's are an excellent way to do it. I might even see if I can create a meetup group that would like to swap in my local area. Now wouldn't that be cool? Well. I have to go, so much work and so little time.

Until Next time Blogger family.

Betty

So I thought I would post an example of my first round of ATC's. It's funny because I keep forgetting the ATC doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be a part of me. I have been experimenting with alcohol inks. Not too pleased with the first results but I will definitely post again. I will also take a look at some links on-line to see if I can find some pattern ideas.

I chose to do one of my favorite female cartoon character. Betty, from Archie and friends. My kind of girl, strong, independent and beautiful. She is a fighter. I should know. I have been reading her for almost 30 years. I remember going to the local grocery store and getting a double digest at least once a month. It was the only reason I went to the grocery store.

ATC's

What are ATC's you may ask? Well beyond being just one more hobby for me to fall in love with their true definition is Artist Trading Cards. They are the same size as baseball cards but are created by the artist with their own style and feel for life. Some are drawn, sketched, glued, background colored, etc. But above all I have been found that you DO NOT just slap a sticker on it. Now I am fond of stickers but I love color as well. I am also a fan of magazines so I am certain my style will include color and pictures. If you are into ATC's don't hesitate to send me an e-mail if you want to trade.
I don't have a picture to post today unfortunately. I am in Miami with a customer and have not uploaded any of my new work to my computer. So I will say bye for now.

Make A Wish

Today my company hosted a party for the child we are sponsoring a wish for. It was incredible. The entire building came out to support. I could not have been more proud to see the amount of employees that came out.
As you can see it has been a couple of weeks since I blogged but I definitely hope to start back up soon. I also need to get back on the band wagon with my crafts. just so much to do and so little time.
My kitty is better. After a week and a half he seems to be getting back to the way he wants to be. He is fighing the tube feeding and actually trying to eat on his own which is fine but he needs a certain amount of food in him to not get sick. He is a great cat. So, I am happy I have him but I am really tired of the tube feeding. I was looking for low maintenance, nothing about this is low maintenance. I spend four hours a day feeding my cat. All I can say is he better get with the program soon.

Bones

So I just got the news that my cat is not doing well. His name is Bones and he is 10 years old. Of course I have only had him a short time. He adopted me. He has a mass on his abdomen and it really has to be operated on. He is eating very little as well as drinking very little. He is dehydrated. The real deal is that I just allowed this cat into my home and heart a month ago and now he is sick. But since I am kind of attached now I want to take care of him. I just can't believe it. If you understood me you would know this is exactly what I didn't want to happen. I am not a pet person of any kind. I don't even have fish. My plants barely stay alive. In fact, I have killed 4 of those in the last year. It's getting rough. He really is a cool cat and I don't want to see anything happen to him. I know he is old but he still deserves to have the best life that he can have.
Until later Blogger family....

Home Sweet Home

So I made it back from my jaunt in Chicago. I am so happy to sleep in my own bed. As I get older I realize that I like to take trips but I would rather have my own bed to sleep on. I did not get any journaling done while I was gone. I did work on a paper tinting technique with my cousin. Who is really into card making as well. I haven't made a card in my room in over 3 months. I have scrapbooked. I plan on going to a crop on Friday night. I think it will be cool to do it. I just need to find some pictures to actually scrap. I guess I could do some that I took this past week. I have quite a few of the kids.

But here is one of my creations from before I left. I hope you enjoy it.

Until Later my Blogger Family

Magazine Hunt

I went on a magazine hunt this weekend. I needed some additional material for the art journaling I do. One of the women in my group suggested that I try Half Price Books. Not that I wanted to pay even half price for magazines that I knew I would cut up but that was better than full price. So I hit a couple this weekend. I gotta say, that was a great idea. I am not really a magazine girl. Most of what I read is either via Internet or newspaper. But I found the issues that were roughly a year old to only be $1. A great bargain for me.

So $15 later I had some great selections. My favorite was National Geographic because it had some great backgrounds on almost every page. I only bought 2 but those will probably last me over a month. I also grabbed a think Vogue because I love shoes and clothing. An Architectural Digest and a few Garden Digest issues. The Oprah ones I already had from a couple of days ago. What I also found were some great clearance books that had life's sayings as well as some poetry that I think would really describe me. The name of the book was "angry girls". Need I say more? My son thought I was crazy by getting old magazines but now that he is seeing what I did I think he might actually try it himself. As long as he doesn't resort to cutting up textbooks, I don't really care. )

I am posting one of the entries I completed this weekend. I have to remember to date them.

Until later BloggerLand...

Some great ideas...

I wanted to share some magazines that I have found incredible for getting landscape and background pictures for art journaling (or gluebooking). My favorite is now Nationa Geographic. The great full page layouts that you can overlay a great picture or word art is definitely the way to go. Some of the ladies in my group are fans of Oprah magazine. Which I will say has some great wording. I also love comic books but be very particular about what you get. Graphic novels might work better but you would have to find them at a discount.

Stamping the background is pretty cool as well. I did that in on of my journal entries. It looks like one of the most simplistic entries but to stamp in multicolor takes a minutes.

Today is a pretty lazy day. It's hot and so am I. My cat is clearly nocturnal. He is sleeping all through the day for at least 8 to 10 hours. And then again at night. He is also not eating. It looks like it is off to the vet tomorrow for me. We will check to see what is going on with him. I have brought him in permanently now. We found that a racoon likes his food being outside. So to keep him safe and my side deck, free of predators, Bones and the food comes in.

Until later my blogger family...

Stampin' Up

Hello Again,

I was able to take my first official Stampin' Up card demonstration class. It was cool. Not sure if I would do it again. I am pretty cool with making cards and I can take layouts and idea books and really come up with new stuff. However I am really salivating over the Stampin' up paper. This stuff all matches. For those of you not familiar the entire line matches, paper, markers, ink, etc. They also have great color families. I am thinking about becoming a demonstrator. I have become just that hooked on creating cards.

Here are a couple of pictures of the cards and project that I made on Saturday morning. We mimicked the demonstrators cards, and of course changed them up a little. Thanks Barb for the inspiration.

I am seriously hooked on this now. I really need to pick up a hook again and get back to my crochet or I will never get rid of this room full of yarn I acquired a couple of years ago.

Until Later Blogger Family,

New found hobby

Hey Blogger Land,

Of course it has been a while since we talked but wanted to update you on my new found hobbies. First off, am I am totally into paper crafting. Just about any kind. I started off by card making with a friend of mine and got totally hooked. Next I went to scrapbooking. I took a couple of trips out of the country and wanted to ensure I captured those for my family to see. Now I am so into art journaling.


This is my new passion. Or at least for today. I even signed up for 1001 journals. Hopefully I will get some soon.


So let me talk about my new found passion. Art journaling has really been freeing for me. I (as most people know) tend to be a little controlling. However Art Journaling has allowed me to freely share what I normally would not. It give me an avenue to be mysterious with my message or to be point blank because that I what I think I need to get the message. And of course some of the pages aren't even about sending a message, or sharing a lesson learned. It is really about expressing my strength and compassion in a creative venue.


I am going to post my first page for art journaling and I hope you like it but if nothing else maybe it will inspire you to do your own. Takes very little investment, cheap composition book, old magazines, comic books, poetry books, scissors and some glue. Now I will tell you because I don't cover my work, I am a fan of the no wrinkle glue sticks. I know they are a little bit more than the $.20 ones you can pick up any where. They run roughly $3 to $4 for a package of 2 but they are definitely worth it.

Until Next Time...