Einsteinium ATC

I completed my last ATC for the "Elements" ATC swap in which I am participating. It was a bit tedious cutting out and popping up all the pieces. And, yes, the edges are colored in medium gray!

I think I should have reversed the element abbreviation and the formula, but was not going to start all over again.  The background is layered with Da Vinci backward handwriting and some circular stamps from Club Scrap's Solstice. I also edged the entire card in blue ink to tie all the colors together and give a more finished edge.

Mail Art

I am participating in an informal mail art exchange with my friend, Sherry, in Indiana. I wanted to use this background for something surreal and vibrant. It was not until after I stamped the image on matte coat that I decided to use pastels. Since matte coat has a smooth clay coating, it does not have the "tooth" to grab certain coloring media. However, I was persistent and found that my Pan Pastels would work. The background was colored with the pastels and sealed with workable fixative. The moon man was stamped on a mate coat scrap and colored in with Copics. I cut him out and glued him to the background. The hand was colored with Souffle pens.  This was actually quite quick to create as I did not do a lot of painstaking coloring. The broad strokes of the pastels made it super easy. Just remember, if you use your pastels to add color, use the appropriate non-coated paper.

New Embossing Folder

Actually, this embossing folder is not all that new. However, this is the first time I had the opportunity to use it. I made this card for a monthly card swap of sorts. I really like the tree trunk folder and thought one of my bird/owl stamps would be fun.

After embossing the brown panel, I rubbed white ink and several Distress inks over the raised portions of the image. The color variations in the photo are as dramatic in the photo. I thought it would be fun to punch a hole in the bark and have a feathered friend peek out. I colored the owl with Copic markers, but left the eyes white to pop out at the recipient. I felt that the front needed a little something, but I did not want to ruin the tree texture by adding a sentiment. I used Flower Soft in spots to mimic moss/fungus on the trunk.
Do you use embossing folders? What is your favorite to use?

Thrinchies

I spent last weekend with gal pals of West Coast Scrap at the annual Scramp Camp.  I decided to use my time to complete swaps for club Scrap's retreat. If you have participated in a swap, you know it can get a bit tedious making multiples of the same thing. I had 50 (yes, 50) 6 x 6 scrapbook pages to assemble. Thankfully, the fun and activities of Scramp Camp made it go quickly.

I also started on my thrinchies (3 x 3 's).  I used  Club Scraps' Gratitude red print as my base. The white glossy was painted with Glimmer Glaze. Once dry, I stamped the Destinations stamp on the prepared square. After re stamping, trimming and popping up the Tower of Pisa, I decided it needed a little something.

I stamped the wine glass image on shrink plastic. Before shrinking, I colored the image with Copic markers. They worked great on the shrink plastic - however, you must color on the opposite side of the stamped image. The alcohol ink will react with the permanent ink of the plastic.

I am very pleased to say i have completed my swaps! On to the next project.

Vintage Women

I really love the Graphic 45 papers and tags. This page, made for my GAB swap, has the background, tag, and postoids form the "Fashionista" line from Graphic 45. I used Maya Mist in Iridescent Pearl to tone down the brightness of the background collage. The "pattern girls" are a stamp from Paula Montgomery's kit club. I colored them in using Copic markers. There is a little bustier charm dangling from wire near the top right edge of the page.