Paper Creations



Reindeer ATC


Tiny Watercolor




Framed ATC - Autumn Leaves



Back side of ATC!





Winter Fairy Babe ATC





Halloween Candy ATC



Cards from Vintage Images and Old German Text






All about Stamps ATC


Not very creative, but that was the theme!


Cards from Vintage Bird Images




Fierce Forest Fairy ATC 



Above: Envelope for Forest Fairy ATC - Back
Below:  Envelope opening to reveal ATC - Inside



I loved creating this ATC and envelope!  
The original envelope image was online along with a template for the envelope.

Disclaimer:  I must give credit to the creator of the online image, but have lost the link.
The checkerboard edges, blue zigzag top, and use of arches all belong to the original creator.
I had no permission to use them. I have not used them commercially.
 All were altered for this fairy theme swap.
  (Please contact me if you are the original creator!)  

I created all of the forest scenes along with animals using copyright free,
vintage images and Photoshop.

The toadstool sticker to seal the envelop seemed cute but was not a good idea.
When the envelope was opened, the sticker ripped away part of the image.
(sigh!)  Lesson learned!


Fully open Envelope for Forest Fairy ATC - Front

I originally intended for the envelope to open up like a triptych and stand on its own.
Unfortunately, the template I used shaped the bottom flap 
(that reads 'fierce forest fairy')  like an envelope flap.

If I had left the bottom the full length of the card, the ends could have 
been bent upward to support the side wings.  Lesson 2 learned!


Fierce Forest Fairy ATC

There are actually 5 layers to this ATC: the background, the frame, the pinecones,
the blue fairy wings, and the fierce forest fairy herself!



Down the Rabbit Hole ATC

 
ATC Front

Here is the ATC I made to go with the charm. 
These were actually more work to make than the charm itself. 

First, I printed the top and back layers including text on
8.5 x 11 inch blue card stock and cut them out
to ATC size (2.5"x3.5")

I used water color pencils to color the vintage Alice images on both layers,
then I cut out the curtain from the top layer and
glued the White Rabbit behind the opening.

On the front, my address tag is attached with string through a tiny punched hole,
stick-on hearts added and edges distressed with pigment ink.

I cut out the toad stools after printing them on glossy photo paper,
and attached them so it appeared Alice was sitting on one.

ATC back

Every swap participant also received a red ribbon from me 
to make their charm into a necklace.

I love the look of ATCs packed in vellum envelopes.
Here is the finished package!




Gothic Arch Halloween ATC



I made this for myself as an idea for some future ATC swap.  
This is another ATC with layers, 6 to be exact:
orange background, glitter paper moon, black arch (shadow), purple arch and grass, 
bat wings, and gothic witch.
I added an extra layer on the back because the orange paper had become smudged!



Mermaid ATC


Doesn't all that iridescent paper just scream 'mermaid'?

This ATC accompanied a mermaid charm in a swap which I will eventually 
post on my jewelry page.  I had fun with this, as well as problems.

First, I created the background paper by painting several
shades of blue, green, and white thin acrylic on heavy paper.

Then I added embossing glitter with a heat gun to give the background
an underwater look.  (It looks better in person than in the image.)

On to the background, I cut out, sealed and glued the scallop shell chair and
the hand-drawn mermaid created from a picture found on the web.
I colored the mermaid with water colors, sealed it, then outlined her with a black
fine-point Sharpie to create more contrast.  Blue glitter nail polish on the tail
(from the Dollar Store) gave her the sparkle I was looking for.  

Finally, I glued the 1/2 fake pearl on to her hand.  The entire ATC was attached to the
plain white backing using blue holographic washi tape.  It didn't really stick!

I ended up deciding to sew over the tape with a zigzag stitch to secure everything.
And touched up the mermaid's tail and hair with a bit more embossing glitter.



Sewing-Theme Swap ATC


On my fabric art page, you can see the India-inspired pin cushion
I made for the swap.  Each pin cushion was sent with an 
accompanying sewing-themed ATC.

Since it was about sewing, I wanted to really stick with the theme by using
layers of fabric, ribbon, rickrack, and notions to create the ATC.

All of the fabric was machine stitched onto a blank ATC card.

I used a spray fabric adhesive to hold the fabric in place
before sewing.

Fabric was added to the back side as well, and a pre-printed
label was sewn onto the backing before the front
and back were joined with stitches.




Postage Stamp ATC


Some swaps are just easy!  I keep a container full of
old postage stamps to use in my creations.  It includes some
that I purchased in bulk and some that I've saved from old snail mail.
(Remember that?)

For this swap, I only had to fill 2 ATC cards with postage stamps.
The other goodies are just fun extras.  I hope they add a sparkle to the recipient's day!


 

Wish You Were Here! - Theme Swap ATC


The Temple of Dawn - Bangkok, Thailand

(vintage copyright free image from Thailand, 
that I colored with fine tip Sharpies, watercolor, and tinted distress ink.)

Originally this image was created as a postcard for a swap.
Later, I recreated it in ATC form.




Spooky Ghost 'BOO' ATC






I love Swap-Bot!  And I love making ATCs!

These 3 ATCs were part of a series swap.
Each one had to include a ghost and one of the letters from the word 'BOO'.  
The letters had to be at least 1 inch tall.
The color palette for this swap was limited to orange, red, purple, 
black and white or cream.

I decided to create similar ATCs to form a triptych - art that comes
in 3 (typically attached) panels. 


Have a Noisy Halloween!


I had such fun finishing these brown-paper craft drums from Michael's!

When you roll the handle between your palms, 
the wooden beads attached on each side will add a noisy beat to your Trick-or-Treat!

Vintage, copyright-free images decoupaged to each side of the drum,
a bit of sparkly ribbon glued round the edge,
and these rattles are good to go!




Mermaid Collage ATC


Well, OK.  The mermaid is not really mine.  It's a vintage image and
I wish like anything I could recall where I got it.  
(If you know, please leave a comment!)

 The backing of this collage is mat board scrap covered in gesso
and colored with Color Box Cat's Eye ink pads and stamped with
flourishes using Ranger Archival ink.

I used the same ink to distress the edges of the mermaid, tag, and text strip,
and to rubber stamp the tag with 'M'.

Under and over the mermaid tail, I created a sea of text strips from
vintage book pages and text strips from vintage books printed
on translucent, paper vellum using Golden Gel Medium Matte

 Commercial paper flower embellishments were attached using 


Valentine for a Sister!


I made this Valentine for my one and only sister.

The background paper is layered with paper scraps, fabric, thread, beads, 
and cut-out text applied with glue and machine stitching.
I have to credit the little 'bird boy' to my daughter, Angela.(http://geminiangelsart.blogspot.com/)  
It is from one of her creative collections.  

Other images are vintage photos and crayon colored hearts.
I distressed the collage with rubber 'postal' stamps.




March Irish Birthday Card




I created this is a mixed-media, birthday card for a friend!
Of course you cannot have a March birthday without
'wearing of the green'!

The back ground is a thin layer of gesso and stamped with green and blue flourishes

The vintage girl, butterflies and 4 leaf clover images are from The Graphics Fairy.
I added watercolor to the images,
then distressed them with Tim Holtz Vintage Distressed Inks.

Paper flowers and leaves were attached with colored brads from my craft stash.
Behind the fairy's wings, I created a pocket and tucked in a tiny birthday tag.

The tag is vintage German inherited from family in the 1980's
I clipped the outer edges with Fiskars Paper Edgers
and more of Tim Holtz inks, then tied on a bit
of green ribbon.


The back side of the card was finished as well.
I prepared the background the same as the front side, 
then layered on a printed copy of a vintage letter.
Gluing on an actual stamp from my stash of 100s
I topped it with a rubber stamp,
added another butterfly, and attached some resin gems
picked up at a local thrift shop.

When the little tag is pulled from behind the fairy's wing,
it reads ''Zum Geburtstag"  (to your birthday!)
The little pig tied up in a bow is a way of 
sending good luck and best wishes, German style!



Mussie Tussie in Black and White


I was so proud that my black and white mussie tussie
was published in the July/August 2011 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors. http://www.clothpaperscissors.com/

I was thinking how fun it would be to make something similar 
for Valentine's Day.....in all kind of pinks and reds!

What do you think?

I started by making a cone from heavy paper that I stamped with swirls and sprinkled with glitter.
The black plastic netting came from a bag of limes I got at the grocery store.  
I gathered it up in back like a dress bustle!


Embellished it with old buttons, ribbon, pearl hat pins, little flowers 
and some white netting left over from a wedding bouquet project.





To make the flowers, I cut out and distressed pages from an old, worn out book to create petals.
I cut more from scanned copy of an old letter my grandmother wrote.

On top of my paper petals are deconstructed silk flower petals.
Everything is held together by wrapped florist wire and a vintage button or a bead.

A bit of glitter for sparkle and Voila' - a flower!


Oh, and there's a bit of lace, feathers and a tail too!
Time to make some for Valentine's Day!



When Pigs Fly Collage


For this mixed media piece, I  used rubber stamps to add plants and dragonflies
to the background dotted paper.

Green textured paper was cut into wings.

Arms, legs, head & body were cut out from a sheet my daughter had, 
and the body was put together using tiny brads.
The green hair flower and pink heart were also brads.

By folding the skirt several times and gluing it to the body with
tabs folded back, it became 3D.

A ribbon was added as a waistband and 
some old lace became garters. 

Before the lovely pig was glued to the background paper,
I gave her dimension by wiping the edges with
Color Box Archival Ink Pads

After gluing piggie down, a tiny distressed envelope & note card 
was added to the background using Jim Holtz Distress Ink.

Next, I added more rubber stamped designs around the outer edges of the
background and sewed sequins to the top.

Finally, using my sewing machine, I stitched around the outer edges 
of the background to create 'When Pigs Fly'!

Later this image was mounted into a scrapbook for display.