October ATC

I am in an ATC (Artist trading card 2.5" x 3.5") exchange group in Stitchtalk. We exchange 1:1 each month. There are about 10 of us in the group and we are spread across the globe. So fun to receive a little package from England. For October I decided to try something I hadn't done for awhile. I made mine using needle punch. I have to admit I had forgotten how to thread the special needle used in this technique. It's amazing what you can find online though, and I easily found video's, patterns and more. Since it is fall here and Halloween is in October, I went with a pumpkin design for the needle punch and some Halloween fabric for the back.


Here is the lovely ATC I received from Mandy in England. She used silk ribbon embroidery which I just love but have never tried. It is called Autumn Blush. Might have to try this myself soon.

The suggested November theme is Remembrance or Veterans Day. I'm thinking thread painting might be a good choice for this month. I need to start thinking about December too. We are sending to everyone in December, so something that can be done in quantity, yet still show how much I appreciate each of these little treasures.
Have a Creative Day
Janet

Lucky Day!

Fall in Minnesota



Lately I have been having some good luck! I won a blog draw prize from Belinda Spiwak and she sent some fun extras, I received an ATC from Charlie in England along with some bonus prizes, and I won first place in a photo contest.

Belinda Spiwak is the moderator of the mixed media friends yahoo group. She taught at Create in Chicago, and has been published in numerous magazines. After Create Chicago she had a series of giveaways on her blog. I won three stencils from Crafter's Worshop which are wonderful. If that wasn't enough she also sent me one of her Halloween themed ATC's and some additional cut out's I can use with future projects. I made my technique book from an exchange in this group, the altered altoid tin purse and fabric paper are two other creations from being involved in this group. These are photos of my prizes.

I am also a member of Stitchtalk, not as active as many people but I have joined the ATC group. We have a one on one exchange each month. If you don't know ATC stands for Artist Trading Card, they are only 2.5" x 3.5." So far I have sent and received three cards. September's card came from England. Charlie sent a wonderful representation of her part of the world and I feel as if I just went on a virtual trip to the Peak District. The little cookbook she included has a number of pictures of the area. The postcard is a photo near where she lives, she said she likes to walk her dog in this area. Isn't it gorgeous! The red strip is a leather embossed bookmark. And the tiny stitched English Cottage is just amazing work. Thanks Charlie, I love it. Here are some photos of my bounty. I guess I will need to start a new slideshow for my ATC's. My October card will travel to Australia so I hope to finish it today and get it in the mail, it has a long way to travel.


My third lucky project was winning first place in the pets category for a local photo contest. Although maybe it is more persistence than luck. I have been entering this contest off and on for about 11 years. My son has a pet hedgehog. Not your typical pet, I know. He told me he was going to be watching her for a friend who was going on vacation. About ten days later I asked him when his friend was coming home. Well, the red flags went up when he kind of hedged the answer with a mumbled reply of "Not sure." Turns out his friend no longer wanted the hedgehog and he thought I would fall in love with her and not mind. She is kind of cute. I told him as long as he took care of her completely he could keep it. He does ask me to watch Boom(that's her name) while he cleans the habitat. Most of the time I just hold her with a towel on my lap. It was a beautiful day so he decided to let Boom walk around on our patio behind the house while he cleaned the hedgehog home. I came out to keep an eye on her because she can move really fast on the exercise wheel. She didn't go far in the yard, it was a pretty new experience for her. I brought my camera and caught quite a few shots. Last night at the City Council meeting I received a certificate from the mayor along with a $50 gift certificate to Axel's of Prestwick(a local restaurant). Boom's photo was in the city newsletter (October 2011) I received yesterday and may be published in the monthly city magazine(October, 2011). She is famous! This isn't the photo I won the contest with but I thought you might like to see a photo of "Boom."

Have a creative day.
Janet

Artist Trading Card

I finished my ATC (Artist Trading Card) for the September exchange. Hopefully it will arrive on time, this one is traveling to the UK.  This exchange is through the stitchtalk online community.  I'm 'meeting' some very wonderful people on this site.  

I'm trying to extend summer by making a card which brings to mind flowers and water.  The fabric I used for the background has always made me think of Monet's garden.  It's a flowery color wash. 

I worked on this card at our small group meeting for Minnesota Quilter's earlier this week.  I asked the others to help me come up with a name for the card.  Nancy's first thought was that it brings to mind Monet's garden (Great minds think alike!).  So, I said "Monet's garden if he had worked with beads."  It seemed a little cumbersome for such a small card.  June came to the rescue, suggesting "Monet's beaded garden."  Much better!  I could fit that on the back of my card.

Monet's beaded garden

Artist trading cards are only 2.5" x3.5."  The front of the card is an example of your work and the back has your name, the title of the work and the date you completed it.  You just slip it in an envelope and send it in the mail.  Very fun to work on such a small scale.

The photo at the top of the page and the second photo  I took last summer at a local garden show.  They were a little of my inspiration for this card. 

Have a creative day

Janet

Pat on the back, new ATC

I have exciting news. Judy Coates Perez posted a photo of my technique book on her blog. It's always fun to get a pat on the back from someone. I love her work so knowing she liked something I made is very much a compliment.

I went to our city's celebration today. Lot's of businesses have booths, a few craft people, some restaurants, and of course there was a parade and carnival rides. Sometimes you can get good coupons from the business people if there is something you want to buy. There aren't as many craft people as there used to be. Kind of expensive to set up a booth and even harder to sell enough to make it worth while. It's tough to find a place to sell our work that doesn't eat up all the profits. I did buy a tiny purse that someone had for sell. I needed something for change. It isn't homemade but it is very cute.

I also received an ATC in the mail. I sent one in return but forgot to take a photo before I mailed it. Darn! I hate it when I do that. Isn't this cute! The little knitted part can be removed from the ATC and worn as a pin. Very clever.
My husband and I have been doing lot's of walking in the parks lately. That is where I took the butterfly photo. I've been getting quite a few nature shots. We have been blessed with beautiful weather.
Have a creative day
Janet

ATC's and rusty stuff, MCQ quilt for show

I finished my first ATC (Artist Trading Card). It was really fun to make. I thought I took some photos as I was making it to show the process but I guess that was only in my mind. Next time, I will. Picture a simple flat piece of copper, 2.5" x 3.5". That is where it all began. It was shaped, painted, backed and stitched. Above is the card I sent and below is the card I received. I love the one I received it is called Behind the Garden Fence.

Here are a few photos of my rust dyed fabric from the hot humid days we had last week. I love this one. I know I could never make one exactly like this and that is one of the things I appreciate the most about rust dyed fabric.
This next one was hand dyed before I added the rust.
And a simple washer can add a cool touch of dimension to your fabric.

I don't think I ever posted a photo of my quilt for the Minnesota Contemporary Quilters challenge. This years theme was Twin Cities on the bias. We were supposed to show something about the Twin Cities (Minneapolis, St Paul) that shows our bias for one or the other. I created a map of the two cities and printed on fabric some photos of a few of the more notable buildings in the area. The only building with color is the photo of the Textile Center. That is my bias in the Twin Cities area.
Have a Creative Day
Janet