More Resources, More Fun!!

I'm so excited that so many of you have signed up for the ATC Swap! It's going to be a lot of fun to get a teensy little bit of art of in the mail. If you haven't signed up, you've got until 12 Noon PST 10/10 to sign up, we'd love to have you! If you've already signed up, make sure that you keep looking at the first post of the thread, I'll have info and updates there.



I spent a lot of time surfing the web when I first started doing ATC's...for a Mail Art class I took, guided by Shimelle Laine. It was so fun to send and receive art through the mail, seeing a handmade or decorated envelope amidst the bills made my day, every time. I've compiled a few interesting links for you, that just might help you on your own ATC journey!

How to make your cardstock go farther!
ATC Envelope Template
Community of ATC Artists (lots of cool Q&A here)
ArtTrader Magazine

When I first asked for your input about ATC's, several of you shared cards you've already made! Feel free to post those in the Studio Calico Member Gallery, in case people missed them on the blog comments!

Just remember, that as long as you're having fun and your card is the standard size, there's no wrong way!

But, What About...

ATC Storage? Sharing? Displaying? Have you noticed all the companies that are literally tripping over themselves to help with that? 7Gypsies came out with their fabulous ATC Holder that has so many different possibilites, they also have super cute little tins that will hold a few or a few more. One of my favorite things to do (because, alas, I lack the counter space to display them in the aforementioned manner) is to put them in an album, similar to baseball trading cards. There are some really nice archival options available. Maybe you'd rather have them all out to see, what about a shadow box, a cork board or a ribbon board?


Making The Same Card Over and Over? Erin made the comment "I love ATC's too, but have a hard time with swaps where you have to make tons of the same one to give out. I'd rather make different cards." Personally, I don't like making the same card over and over, either. I like each one to be unique and it's own expression. To that end, I like making series of cards. Maybe I make three cards that all have the same theme or scheme-original art that I would consider a series.

The Front? Seriously? The sky is the limit. You can do ANYTHING! Make it sweet, make it silly, make it crazy...whatever you want. Really. Use a stamp. Use some paint. Use your computer.

The Back? It's standard practice to fill out some information on the back of your card. Your name, your email address, information about the card and the card/edition/series number. There's some fun stamp options, you can just write it or you can use or make a digital back that you can save for re-use. (stamp images shown are Catslife Press and LifePress)


A Swap? What's that? All this talk about mini art has you thinking you'd like to make some and then trade it with others? Good idea, you!! Let's do that!! If you're interested, sign in on to THIS post in the forum and I'll match us all up.

it's true...i do love the mini concept.

not only can you get one concept or 'theme' done at a time, but it allows you to experiment with different things you may want to try on a page, but are a bit timid. so when Jenn mentioned that she was going to do a post on ATC's, i thought that sounded like a good reason to dig these Maya Road ATC minis back out of the stash from the October kit. i knew i LIKED them when they showed up on my doorstep, lol..i just wasn't sure what i wanted to use them for, lol.



so here we go...i got to play with paint/distressing (2 of my faves) AND make a quick reminder for our 'tween' daughter. hey, we all remember that age to some extent...and how it gets harder and harder to choose what's right for YOU. (especially if that may not follow the popular vote) so i jotted a few ideas down and gave her this book...it is sitting on her nightstand, and i have to say it was very cool last evening to walk upstairs to tuck her in and find her reading through it.
so there is a title on the left side and my journaling on the right. after painting the chipboard, i sanded it while the paint was still just a bit wet...and it tore like this. turns out, i like how it looked, lol. then i drew a few lines with a ruler and Slick Writer (regular pen just won't dry on top of the paint)...and just started writing. straight from the cuff...no 'rough drafts', lol.

the journaling pages all have a border sticker at the bottom, and all of the left pages are covered with paper.
(i goofed while writing this page below...and am totally OK with it. like i said, no rough drafts...)

notice how few supplies were used?? just a few scraps of paper, an alphabet and a sheet of Basic Grey stickers. (and paint, of course)

on a side note, this is the smallest mini album i've done. remember, ATC's are oly 2.5 x 3.5 inches...but it was just the right amount of space to say what i needed to say.

a reminder that sometimes, smaller is better.

Artist Trading Cards!!

It's a new week here at Studio Calico and Nik and I thought it would be fun to talk about mini art. You know that girl loves a mini album...I'm not a mini album master like she is, but I do love those little 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 pieces of expression known as Artist Trading Cards.



Maybe you're an old pro at ATC's or maybe you're new to the whole concept. A little background for you (courtesy Wikipedia):

Artist Trading Cards are individual art miniatures which pass hand to hand. Some sources have credited M. Vänçi Stirnemann, who began trading sessions in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1997, as popularizing ATCs in the modern era, although modern ATC's can be traced back to portrait miniatures and to a kind of business card popular with Impressionistic era artists.^[1]

Artists have produced miniatures for trade or self-promotion in many eras and places, and the current trend is thus part of this larger context. Historically there were few standard rules or guidelines to art trading cards, and many variances in sizes can be seen in older cards. The standardization in size of baseball cards is credited with creating the standardization in size for art cards. Today the only rule for these cards is their 2.5 by 3.5 inch size (64 x 89 mm), same as baseball cards and collectible card games. There are, however, certain conventions usually observed by those who make and trade these cards, such as the expectation that they be traded, not sold, and that they be created as unique works or small limited editions of prints. Artists generally sign and date the back, and may also include a title and contact information. For many, the face-to-face trading session is considered an integral part of the concept, although others find each other via the internet and trade by mail.

Artist Trading Cards are typically made on a base of card stock. However, ATCs have been created on metal, stiffened fabric, plastic, clay, glass, balsa wood, leather, embroidery canvas, acetate, heavy watercolor paper, and many other materials. The art on the cards can be done in any media: textile arts, pencil, watercolor, acrylic, oil, collage, scratch board, mixed media, assemblage, digital art, calligraphy, beadwork, rubber stamps, carved soft block stamps, pen and ink, colored pencil, airbrush, pastels, and many others - anything artists use.

When I did a forum search on ATC, I see that there has definitely been some buzz about them! I'd love have you link any ATC's you've done...I have a feeling that we might be cooking up a little RAK by the end of the week!

Here's a few links that I'd like to share with you, if you're interested in learning more about ATC's!

http://www.artist-trading-cards.ch/
http://www.cedarseed.com/air/atc.html
http://www.atcsforall.com/

Kit Questions

Sweet Waleska came up with a great idea for a blog post.
She wanted to know how I stored and used my kits.
So I wanted to do a post with her questions.


I would love to know about the how/what/when of your SC kits.

1. what do you do when it arrives? Freak out? No seriously...I know when it is coming and I usually get the door open before the UPS guy can knock on it. I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm a freak. I don't even wait for scissors to open it. I rip the tape off, sit down on the living room floor and look through it . Usually Harper is helping me and yelling things like "OOOH! PWETTY!!!" and "NIIIICE!".


2. do you have a personal goal with the kits (i.e. to use all the papers at least once, etc.)
- I usually try to do one layout using only the main kit. I don't know why, it's just something I do. I also try to use everything in the kit, even if I only use a tiny bit. My newest challenge to myself is to use the stamps. I am NOT a stamp person, no matter how much I want to be. So lately I'm making sure I use them at least once. They are SO cute and chic, I feel that I'm doing them a disservice by not using them.

when do you decide to put it away?- I usually just run out of steam at some point. It's usually after 4 or 5 layouts and maybe a mini. That has more to do with running out of authentic topics then it has to do with tiring of the kit. I could use every single last scrap if I had enough stories to scrap.

how do you store it?- I keep my kits in a 12x12 Scrapbook Case by Iris:


I usually package the papers in a 2 gallon ziploc and put flowers/soft embellishments in a sandwich size ziploc. Hard embellishments go in a separate ziploc.

When I am down to remnants only, I put the leftovers into another Iris box that houses all of my SC scraps. I like to keep them together so I can use them on challenges, etc. later.



do you ever go back to it?- Always. I love to use past kits on other projects.

So there it is! Thanks so much for a great topic idea, Waleska!
xo
s

Stamp Challenge Winner!

I am sorry for the delay! I didn't want to post on the same day as the last post and had to work yesterday...

The winner of the stamp challenge is:

Deb!
Also known as rosepetal9 in the Studio Calico gallery.

Thank you so much for playing along ladies! If you still want to participate in a challenge, be sure to look into Steph's journaling challenge. The deadline is Saturday night!

Davinie

She Is With Us

Every day we think of Aleida and her family.
I know we all do.
And I know we all miss her terribly.

This month, many of the design team members did a page either lifting Aleida,
or inspired by Aleida.

Nicole Harper did a wonderful tribute page,
see below in the "In Memory of Aleida" post.

I want to share the other tribute pages with you guys.

Joy lifted this gallery page by Aleida:

Me, Myself and I

Here is Her Version:


And here are the other girls' special layouts:










Please take a moment to look at each page, each though, each declaration of love for Aleida and her memory.
And please continue to share your tributes in our gallery.

We miss you, sweet girl.
xo

Journaling from the Heart.

Real journaling.
Not "look at me, i was the perfect mom" journaling.
Let your kiddos see the real you. That you have flaws.
That you were unsure, even scared.
Let them see the good and the bad.
The days you had no idea what you were doing!

Let them know the reasons you fell in love with your husband,
the reasons marriage is a work in progress.

Be YOU.
Don't feel like you have to present a perfect image in your scrapbooks.
I don't know about you, but I'd love to have a scrapbook of my mother's emotions.
To say "OH! She was lost sometimes, too!" or "THAT'S her love story with my dad? How cool!"

I try to "write from the heart" on every layout.
That doesn't mean you need to write a novel on every single page.
Sometimes, a sentence will do.
But I'm a firm believer that all pages need journaling.
Heck, I've been known to even write it on the back of my pages.
Hidden journaling is great, too.

Here are some examples. Some are sappy (i admit it)...and some just show the real deal.
Feel free to use humor in your journaling. I know I do!!









So now comes a challenge.
You knew it was coming, didn't you??
I challenge you to do a page with handwritten, true to life journaling.
It can be serious, or completely funny.
It can be sad, or happy.
You choose...just make sure it comes from the heart.

Link your pages here by Saturday night at midnight (EST)
and I'll choose a winner and send you a RAK from my stash.
I promise it will be good!

Can't wait to see what y'all do!
xo
s

In Love with October!

Have you had a chance to check out the Design Team gallery this month? I have to say, I think this was one of the very best yet! I was so inspired after I finished looking at it. I decided to share my favorites from this month here.

First, our Guest Designer, Leslie Lightfoot. I just LoVE what she did with the buttefly paper. She punched some out, used pop dots, stamped and trimmed some out.... I just love all the details. And did you notice her journaling? I just love that song, Suddenly I see, by KT Tunstall. It's stuck in my head right now, and I don't mind.

April's gallery is always full of fun techniques and innovative ideas. The thing that struck me most about this layout, is how she used the bingo tiles paper. That girl and her circle punch. I just LOVE how she carried the paper back around on the right side with the cut off circles. It really gives the feeling of movement as those three kiddos traipse across the page. Brilliant!


Scarlet is another one who always blows me away every month. This time, however, I chose a card to showcase. If I had seen this and had been asked to recreate it, I wonder how many sheets of kraft I would have gone through before I got it right. Look at all the different ink colors she used! And they are all stamped perfectly straight! I must know how she did that!

This layout from Caroline is just wonderful. I love the grid pattern she made, and how she let all of her friends know how she feels about them, and did it quickly and simply in one layout. I think this one would be fun to scraplift. I might just do that sometime!

I have the pleasure of sitting next to Jenn in the gallery every month, and am always in awe of what she can do with these kits. This layout is fabulous. I love the stamping for the title, the strips of wisdom, the photos.... gal dang I wish I had a little boy that I could make this for. It's just heartfelt and wonderful.

I've seen this photo of Joy and her hubby before, and this layout is the perfect showcase. I love the carefree feel of the leaves with the stitching in comparison to this photo, and I can just feel the love.
"Cherry Blossom" from Kirsty is just gorgeous. I can't believe the things that woman is able to create out of a piece of paper. That little owl is super cute, I love her tree, and I love how she created her flowers and layered everything here. It's just so pretty, and fits perfectly with these photos of Belle.

My pick from Nik was oh so easy. I was perusing the gallery, and the minute I got to this one I busted out laughing. I just love it to bits. The best part? I've met Nik in real life and can actually hear her saying this. I love the distressing she did to everything, especially the birdie, and I love the strips and how everything is in the center, and the use of the chipboard for the title and the contrasting color for the date. Perfect.

Another easy pic was Nic's "Remember This" layout. I love how she colored the bird, I LOVE the use of the Aleida's Garden flowers, I love how she adhered the striped ribbon and applied the flowers, love the little string bow, love how the journaling is around the edges, and I love that she used that BG paper on this one. It brings out the blue color of her eyes even MORE and was by far my favorite piece of paper in the whole kit. This is just stunning.

I really liked Steph's prayer book, but I also really liked this layout. I love how she applied the title with the chipboard and the circles, and I really like the heartfelt journaling on this one. I also like the photos she chose. I like how she was talking to the three most important people in her life and that she included a photo of herself with each of them, individually. Perfect.

Last but not least is "Autumn Girl", from Tina. Tina is subtle in her brilliance. I just adore this photo, and the treatment she did with the words. I lOVe the paper pieces around the outside, and the stitching. I also like the chipboard frame and the birdie with the little title/journaling. I also like how it's off to the side. This is just great!

I hope you find time to go through the gallery this month! We had a lot of fun with this kit and I'm sure you will too!

Have a great week! Davinie

And the winner of $100 in Studio Calico Cash is.....

Debra Flood

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