Burn it

Having read articles in magazines & online about burning synthetic sheer fabrics, I finally got round to trying this technique.

This ATC started with a base layer of acrylic black felt onto which bondaweb was ironed for the sporadic application of gold transfoil. Small diamonds cut from an old book page were also ironed on at this stage then each embellished with a bead & sequin. Next a layer of burgundy organza & black chiffon was machine stitched over the top in a diamond grid pattern & then zapped with a heat gun, this melted & distressed the sheer fabrics revealing the layers beneath. The edges were then finished off with a little gold paint.

This was a fun technique to try & I can see myself experimenting more with sheer fabrics, heat guns & soldering irons.

Health & Safety: Remember synthetics always produce toxic vapours when burnt, so do this in a well ventilated area or wear a suitable mask.

Detail view

TMTA - Houses

Here's my contribution for this week's challenge, used my stamped & distress inked tissue paper again and some silver leaf coloured with black alcohol ink. This one is on it's way to a dear online friend who has been very patient with my delay for a recent trade.

Scratch paper backgrounds

When tidying my workspace after the mess I made playing with the Glimmer Mists, I was loath to chuck the scratch paper that was left with all the shimmery colour overspray. So I picked out the bits I wanted to save & used them as backgrounds for these ATC's.

In the Pink

Well I woke up to a lovely surprise this morning to see that some ATC's I had submitted to Gale at Paper Whimsy have been selected to be included in a special edition collage sheet,which will only be available for a limited period & the profits of all sales will be donated to promote breast cancer awareness........I couldn't think of a more worthy cause as it affects each & every one of us in some way or another.
To purchase these just pop on over to Paper Whimsy & remember they are only available until 31st December 2007. While you're there do check out all the other wonderful collage sheets & art supplies that have recently been added, wonderful ribbons, rusty tin tiles and the most adorable paper roses you've ever seen!

Trip-fish

As I had 3 slide mounts left from playing around with the Glimmer Mists, I decided to use them for this weeks WS theme, triptich.......so here's my trip-fish! Unfortunately the scan just doesn't pick up the wonderful glimmer created by the mists and the colour isn't spot on but you get the general idea.

TMTA - Slidemounts

This weeks submission for the Think Monday- Think ATC challenge is a slidemount that has been stamped then coloured with turquoise & orange Glimmer Mists which I allowed to bleed into each other to create a tarnished metal effect. The background was also coloured the same then covered with punched computer paper from Random Arts which allows glimpses of colour to show through the holes. Stamps used: text - Toybox, ringbinding edge - Paperbag Studios & number at the bottom - Ma Vinci's Reliquary.

Call again

Quite a while ago Mary very kindly sent me some of these vintage Hat labels to play with & I was desperate to use them, but could not incorporate them into anything until this morning when I had one of those aha moments! Below is an ATC which was the result of that moment.
Mary has quite an eye for picking up amazing vintage ephemera and embellishments, the surplus of which she sells on ebay , do go check it out as there's always something really unique to be found.

A few more

Still having fun with gel transfers, so here are a few more ATC's created with the images.

Gel transfers & disasters...

Do you have trouble with these? Sometimes they work & then other times they are a complete disaster! I've had a fair amount of success using gel medium & transparencies, but other methods have been a bit of a flop until I tried Carrie's method explained here. Thanks Carrie :)
I wasn't sure if it would work with an inkjet print so I had a go with some of my Paper Whimsy images & voila....perfect 1st time!

The transfers ended up on these ATC's made up of bits & pieces I had on my work table. The background of the 1st one has been built up in many layers which can't be seen in the scan, believe me they are there! lol Do you get those days where bright ideas just don't work either, this background was one of those, so I ended up covering it with gesso & spraying it with Moon Shadow mist.

TMTA - Metal

The theme for this week's Think Monday Think ATC is metal, I don't think I'll have the time this week to make some but here are a couple that I made as part of a swap last summer. The background for the No 4 of the above ATC was painted with bronze & silver Lumiere paint (silver was mixed with a little black to darken it) , applied fairly thick, then dried with a heat gun to bubble it up & create the texture.

The background on the above Atc is masking tape, painted with black gesso then highligted with metallic rub-ons. The fabric overlay is actaully very fine woven steel fabric which has a lovely texture & sheen.

ATC - I Spy Inchies

Well I've always wanted to have a go at making a few Inchies (tiny 1" squares ) but couldn't decide how I would display them as they can get lost so easily...........this is where the "Atc Master", Mr Nick Romaine came up with a very clever idea in one of my groups, stick them on an Atc...thanks Nick. While you're checking out Nick's picturetrail, do stop over at his Watercolours & Atc Farm series albums.....this guy is one talented artist!

The "spy holes" were created by burning the text squares with a lit incense stick, do take care if you try this & have a bowl of water handy near by should the paper go up in flames!

By the Sea

Once again Hermine has created a fabulous background & challenges us to make ATC's or cards with it. I just love the colours of this one & had to have a go...how could I resist!

More Crackle....

Individual Liberty - Rubber Stamp by Acey Deucy

Traditions

These latest backgrounds are a little too dark & I tried to lighten the 2nd one by applying a thin coat of gesso on top then sanded it in places so it wasn't so "flat".....think I'll stick to the lighter crackle background in future!

You may or may not have noticed that I've added a Flickr link & button to my sidebar which lists all my available ATC's for trade, so if you fancy trading with me drop me a line.......Keep checking back as new cards will be added as they are made, look forward to trading with you : )

Crackle backgrounds

Decided to get the crackle medium out again this weekend & have a play, the thing is, once the backgrounds were done, I had trouble finding the right images to complement them & in the end decided on the above butterflies.

I use the Folk Art Crackle Medium which is dead easy to use in 3 simple steps:

1. Paint your card with a basecoat of acrylic paint (this will be the colour that shows through
the cracks), leave to dry.
2. Next apply one coat of crackle medium (thin coat for small cracks, thick coat for large cracks)
& leave to dry.
3. Finally apply your topcoat of acrylic paint over the crackle layer ensure you use long smooth
even strokes & don't overlap or go over an area again as this will obscure the crackles which
form as soon as the topcoat is applied. For web-like cracking you can sponge on the topcoat....
have to admit that I haven't tried that one yet though!

Fish Poste

This ATC was made with one of the tissue paper backgounds from the post below.....I also stippled some Patina Green Glaze by Goldens through some plastic square mesh on top of the rust. Rubber stamps used by Ma Vinci's Reliquary from the USP(mes)S Sheet.....and here's another with red acrylic paint added.

Fish Poste II

Max Update: Thanks for all the hugs & cuddles for Max,(if he could type I'm sure he'd be writing this himself!) he's still doing fine on his medication...just gets a little breathless but not in any pain whatsoever : )

Cheap Trick - Tissue Paper Backgrounds

Whilst playing around with packing tissue, I remembered Michelle's Street Team call for Crusade No. 8 - Cheap Tricks & thought this entry would qualify...........

I never throw away packing tissue I receive with parcels as its always useful for collage & even stamping on. The above background was simply stamped with blueprints , then crumpled up prior to swiping with distress inks & spritzing with water.

This background started off as a piece of tan tissue paper to which I applied rusting solutions through a square mesh stencil .......quite a neat effect & textural in real life, the scan really doesn't do it justice!

Here are a couple of ATC's made with the first backgound above.

The Architect

Venus

Other Free Cheap Tricks:

Use your old phone book yellow pages for glueing, once the page is sticky just turn over & use the next one.

Use phone book pages as part of your background (as in the ATC below)......picked up this trick from Claudine Hellmuth's book - Collage Discovery Workshop.

Collect & incorporate used postage stamps (as above) in your art & you can even cut out the images from some to add to your collage if your don't wish to include the whole stamp. The butterfly in the example below was cut out from used US postage.

Masking tape which is relatively cheap from any Hardware/DIY store can be used to also create textured backgrounds as in the deco cover above.

When you think about it there are a ton of things you can use in your art for free, you just have to look at things with a different eye!

Architectural Rust

Another rust themed ATC, stamps by Rubber Baby.

I suppose this ATC could possibly qualify as an "Industria" style card a la Julie Van Oosten.

Also check out Keron's & Kelsey's ........they are fab!

Rust & Turquoise

Finally had a play with some rusting solutions I've had in the cupboard for years! These particular ones are by Chemtek but nowadays I believe they are made by Modern Options.

These are so fun to use as you can apply them to anything from paper to plastic to fabric to wood as well as metal.......whatever your heart desires rusted up!

I just quickly made up this ATC with an ammonite stamp by Above the Mark, scraps from my worktable & my squiggly doodles......needed a bit more colour than just rust so I brushed on a little turquoise green patina glaze. Would have looked better had I centred the stamped image, but there you go...this was just an experiment to start with.

As Turquoise is the theme for Wednesday Stamper this week, this one may be suitable......I've missed so many weeks lately, it's nice to participate again.

Doodles & Stamps

Whilst on the phone last weekend, I started doodling with a permanent marker & white gel pen on some pre-made backgrounds I had lying around on my desk & ended up with these ATC's.....

I also played with oil pastels and stamped a few postmarks on the ones below prior to doodling & embellishing with postage stamps.

Click to enlarge

For the original background, I cover a piece of sturdy A4 cardstock with a page from an old phone book, then add bits & pieces of left over text/music paper from other projects. The sheet is then painted with a coat of French Sepia Ink......... this is a beautiful traditional shellac ink produced by Cornelissen & Son, London, which gives a lovely transparent satin finish to the background paper.

My Babe!

I thought it was about time I introduced you to my babe Max, soon to be 13......this is one of the 1st Atc's I made just over a year ago(looking back at it now, it's pretty basic) and below is the original photo of him sitting in my old garden.....I do miss that garden so :(
Bless him, he's now fast asleep, snoring away in his basket after a long day at work with me!