Give Away and Mail Art

First - check out my pal Beth's give away! She is one of my Mail Art peeps and I am happy to do a little advertising for her (at the risk of lucking out myself, LOL). For March (yeah I'm just getting around to posting - blame it on a little postal hiccup (my bad) that Leslie and I had...) our theme was the Ocean - as usual whatever you wanted to do. Of course being three creative spirits (if I do say so myself) we each came up with something different.

I was not sure when I received Beth's if I could actually open or not - the mail truly was the art! You can't really tell from the picture but the top layer has a clear "peep hole" to Mr Octopus in the background - wonderful.

Leslie said she was in a "fantasy mood" when she made hers. Quote " I made zetti-ish fish rooster creatures" LOL. Very fun.

I was a little more dramatic. The whole time I was thinking about this theme I kept hearing the lyrics for the old ELO (Electric Light Orchestra for the uneducated) song Can't Get it Out of My Head. So that's what I played with - and kept to our agreement to try something new (I've not done much with white ink pens and a little sewing as well). So there you have it - April is "You Oughta Be In Pictures". I've already recieved Beth's and it is a hoot - but that can wait till next time. Enjoy! Jewels

And the Winner Is...

While mightly intrigued by not one but TWO bribes, Miss Gwendoline decided to do the right thing and do a blind pull of a name for the ATC give away...

And the winner is (drum roll please)...Leslie S, one of my Mail Art buddies! Leslie I think I know your adress by now *LOL* so will get the Ski Bunnies into the Post shortly. Thanks everyone for leaving comments, they are ALWAYS appreciated. Jewels

Winter Give Away

OMG - arty friends there is hope! While working on this ATC hubbie, who was walking by, actually came and asked "What'cha workin on?" followed by "Something Christmasy". I just about fainted. I explained that I was celebrating  >18,000 hits on my blog (which we agreed I probably accounted for half that number LOL).

Anywho, made my day. I found this image in a travel book which just felt right for the time of year. I think it was actually taken at Lake Tahoe. Love the girls "nordic" sweaters. Can just see the two of them going for hot chocolate (maybe spiked with a little brandy) at the Ski Lodge afterwards. It's "holiday" neutral so you can display till all the snow melts if you like! If your interested just leave a comment on this post (be sure I can get to your email address) and I'll let Miss Gwendoline randomly pull a name next weekend. Enjoy. Jewels

And the Winner is...

Rebecca who stopped by for my Give Away - she Home Schools and is going to try this technique with her two daughters ( I did warn her about the high messiness factor, LOL). Miss Gwendoline gave her nod of approval. Cheers. Jewels

New Technique and Give Away...

On my last book purchase from Amazon I picked up some new ones on collage techniques.

I immediately fell in love with Jane Davies (author of Collage Journeys) latest book, Adventures in Mixed Media - lots of great ideas including how to make Fabric Paper.

Which I am sure is not "new" for many of you but it sure was for me - and such a simple thing to make.

Start with fabric (including one for your foundation), paper, tissue paper and a solution of water/white glue (2:1 ratio) and just start layering. It is a messy process (kinda reminds me of all those paper mache projects when I was young) and you do have to wait overnight for your end product to dry...

...but fun results - and this was my first try!

I made a big square so I could try different techniques on top - stamping, painting, aging...Davies gives more ideas in her book.

After a lot of experimenting I managed to create a gluebook spread (well I figure it is still involves cutting, gluing and paper so counts).

I also created some ATCs (thanks Lenna for the tip for my photo)...

...including one I would like to give away! Just leave a comment on this post and I will draw the lucky winner next weekend - be sure I can get to your email address...as for fabric paper - I think the possibilities are endless! Enjoy, Jewels (p.s. feel free to give me a shout if you want more details on how to make...)

ATC Tutorial and Give Away

Well September is here which means our Guild will be kicking into gear again for the 2009/2010 season. It also means time for my monthly Artist Trading Card (ATC) exchange with three of my Guild peeps. I thought I would not only give you a “look see” what I’ve done this month, but also share the steps on how I actually made it.
We always do ours in fabric, but ATCs can be made of pretty much anything as long as they follow some basic rules:
2 ½ x 3 ½ inches in size (just like a Baseball card)
Exchanged not Sold
Vital stats on the back
(You can GOOGLE ATC to find out more but WARNING - you will also pull up stuff on Air Traffic Control – who knew). After that, it’s pretty much up to you how you make it. I know the gals I exchange with all have their different styles and approaches so you are only seeing my take on how to make them.
First off – what’s your muse! Fortunately we have a theme already lined up for each month – but even then I either get overly ambitious or stuck for an idea. This month it is “underneath the sea” – I went back and forth on mermaids, treasure chests, fish…finally settled on a Seahorse.

I love scanning images or finding them on the web (but be sensitive to copyright) I usually copy into Microsoft PowerPoint (do I need a copyright sign here?) so I can ensure the size is right and adjust. I usually print a paper copy first (black and white) to check.

Then print on to fabric. You need an inkjet printer for this (though there are lots of creative ways to transfer images on to fabric). I get my trusty Michaels coupon to buy the fabric I use to print on – mind you there are many ways to prep fabric to go through your printer (some definitely more economical). I typically design my back label the same time and print those out as well...

Books have been written about it!
Once that is out of the way – my card usually consists of 1. Fabric Layer 2. Batting 3. Paper back (Heavy Stock). Have fun choosing your fabric layer (you can get really creative).
This fabric looks watery to me – a very pretty batik (which Carol will like ;->) – it is actually more purple then it looks in this shot.
First step is to adhere the fabric to the batting – I use either Wonder Under or Steam a Seam(whatever is at hand). TIP – do NOT get carried away with the Iron! Too much heat results in a lumpy top! (been there, done that)
Then you get to “play” and see what kinds of embellishments will look best – looks sea weedy to me! TIP – you need to decide what order you are going to adhere/sew things into place – especially if you want to achieve a clean finish on the back – more on that.
I decided to sew my little fella into place first and then sew around the edge edge of the whole card – including through the paper backing (Don’t worry, I will show you how this gets covered – though some times you can just leave as is).
Then I fussed and got my “seaweed” in place – whatever glue works for you. Since the gals I exchange with like to use the plastic baseball sheets for storing their cards I normally try not to go over the edge (though I may buck a trend some time this year just to be different!)
I also like to set my cards under a stack of books overnight to “flatten” out (unless there is an embellishment I don’t want to do this to).
Finally, I adhere the labels on the back – which covers up that sewing you saw earlier!
So there you have it – by the way notice that I made SIX this month instead of four? If you want to own an original piece of Jewels art work let me know (but I don’t want to see you making millions on EBay with it LOL) and I will send your way (first two folks who ask will receive)! Meanwhile, hope you enjoyed some of the other cards from past exchanges – enjoy!

And the winner is...

Gwendoline: We are happy to announce that Carson's Mum won the draw.

Gryphon: And it had nothing to do with her blatant bribes - though they sounded very nice - I especially like vanilla ice cream..lucky Carson!

Gwendonline: Yes it was all very "official" - Mum put numbers in a hat and we "drew" - so all above board. Gryphon: Too scientific for me...We hope you like your treats and your collage! It will go in the post shortly. And Thanks to BJ and Carol to - we love to read your comments! Cheers and Licks, G&G...

It's Time For A...UPDATE!

To celebrate the Dog Days of Summer, Master Gryphon and Miss Gwendoline asked me to have a Give Away. I'm off to Canada again so will bring something back (don't know what it will be yet) so if you are interested in being "selected" leave a comment and G&G will do a draw next Friday, August 7th. G&G wish you luck (and a couple of licks)!

G&G UPDATE:

Gwendoline: Besides some Canadiana that Mum brought back (yes we have that)...She is also including a cute little fabric collage using one of her old birthday cards (Gryphon: Do we get those?) - how's that for a teaser! Leave a comment by this Friday for the draw!