ATCs and Inchies

About a year ago I joined the ATC (artist trading card) group at my local scrapbook store, The Crop Shop. The group meets on Saturday mornings which is great for me because I work the second shift and this early morning meeting fits right into my schedule. I've know about other groups but they meet in the evening; yes, I could turn them into swap and pick them up later but I like to see everyone and hear how they came up with their ideas and techniques they used on the cards. Below are just a few of the recent swaps that were done at the store.

 Books

 

Guilty Pleasures

National Parks

Automotive

Wizard of Oz

Recipes

 1920s

I'm pretty precise with my ATCs. I don't do too much collage on them. The 'Wizard of Oz' ATC is about the only one that I did that fits the technique category and that I'm really proud of myself for stepping outside my comfort zone with this one.

Not sure how it happens but almost all my ATCs end up having some element on them that I cut out with my Silhouette Cameo. I love that no matter what I might want to cut out or design myself I can usually do it with the Cameo. I think I'm most proud the 'Automotive' one because I downloaded the 'DQ' logo and then separated to elements and was able to cut them out on the Cameo and it looks great.

I run the 'Inchie' swap at the store and we meet right after the ATC group, so it's convenient for those who are in both swaps. We've recently opted to use the same themes as the ATC group. I won't be able to make this weekends meeting, I'm heading down to Texas for a long weekend to celebrate my 40th birthday with my family, but Ann who runs the ATC group is going to fill in for me. Ann is a great ATC instructor and I know she'll do just fine helping the 'inchie' group in my absence. Here are my 'inchies' for the 'food' and '1920s' themes.

Food

Food

1920s

I couldn't decide on what to do for the 'food' theme so I did two. I'm a huge sweets person but also thought the watermelon was a good one for summer. I'm not a huge vintage/retro person and I had a hard time with the 1920s theme for the ATCs and 'inchies.' As I researched I came up with the 19th amendment, the right to vote for women. I love this stamp that came out in the late 1990s and thought it would be good to use for both swaps. I was able to adapt it and put the amendment on the inside of the inchie. I use Inchie Arts 'inchie' squares to back most of my 'inchies,' not only do they have white and black squares but also have them in neutral shades like the one in the photo above.

Challenge 'Hobbies'

And of course, I cannot forget about the 'challenge' for the next 'inchie' swap. The theme was 'Hobbies' and it couldn't relate to scrapbooking or crafting. I own a motorcycle and was just overjoyed when DeNami Design came out with this cute motorcycle chickie stamp in their latest release. I received it last Friday just in time to use it for the challenge.

These groups meet this Saturday, July 14th from 10am-12pm at The Crop Shop in Rockland, MA. Drop by and check it out.

YUMMI DENAMI!

Yes, I know two posts in less than 24 hours, it's unheard of from me. But I just couldn't contain myself when I opened my door to see this....

Then I opened it and saw this...

Just a little of what was in the box; you'll see these featured in classes to come this fall...

Thank you DeNami Design for creating new chickies and plenty of more fantastic stamps for me to play with in my studio. Also, the turn around on my order was phenomenal. Ordered on Monday received today, Friday, don't forget there was a holiday in the middle of the week. Plus, there was a little sample of their twine! This company is great and cannot wait to create more classes using their stamps. In the future, look for classes featuring these stamps at KEPT Creations in Whitman, MA, which will be opening on September 1st, 2012.

ATCs and more

Well June was a busy month for me created three different classes for The Crop Shop in Rockland. I created a seasonal calendar set with 7 Gypsies shadowboxes along with stamps, embellishments and die cuts.

Also, this Teacher thank you gift using the Kaisercraft drawer set.

Finally, I ended the month by teaching this napkin decoupage technique using the Viva Decor Ultra Licht and their napkin decoupage. Two cards and one journal were given a three dimensional look using this technique.

Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) are 3.5 x 2.5 inch cards that are decorated with a theme and/or technique. People can swap these in groups to exchange ideas and techniques. Since this can be daunting to some at first I created this class to help new comers create their own ATCs using the new ATC line by Creative Imaginations. This company has made it convenient to create ATCs by packaging cooridinating frames, diecuts and paper. This class shows that you can do more than just swap the ATCs but you can also use them to adorn cards. This class is Saturday, July 7th from 10am-12pm at The Crop Shop in Rockland, MA.

I'm currently working on classes for August and September along with more class for the fall. Come by and take a class.