"Love" & "Hope"

These two were also stitched - the green "Madonna" one has gold beads stitched across the lower right side - this was fun to do.

The pink/yellow "Hope" one was stitched around the background paper, and also around the image. I added a rhinestone to her necklace, as I thought she needed one. I particularly like this stamped image, and enjoy using it.

Hand-stitched ATCs

These two ATC's have been beaded and hand-stitched - I enjoy working with thread & beads - I have such a large collection of beads (and threads) that I really have to remember to use them - otherwise my kids are gonna be left them in my will. That's if they want them !!! LOL

Hand-stitching is sooooooo theraputic - very soothing to the soul. Once I've poked the holes in the card, and picked a colour thread I just lose myself in the repetitive rythym, and find myself solving all the problems of the world.

I really must stitch more often !

Oriental ATCs

This week I've been making ATC's - I only had a few for trading, so I've concentrated on them - almost to the exclusion of everything else - LOL -
since Monday.

These are two of six that I made with an Oriental theme - lots of fun to make. The Japanese woman has been stamped on a long strip of white card, then I've layered all the other papers onto the ATC, and added ribbon, brads, dragonflies etc.

"Blue" & "Wings" postcards

More postcards for a Decorative Envies swap.

This one was "Blue" and "Wings" ...

~ the "Blue" one is a picture from Dover that I printed out on blue paper. I cut it out, and glued it onto writing paper glued to card ~

~ the "Wings" one was fun - I printed the background paper, and cut out the winged children, and glued them to the background ~

My finished Inchies

My 48 finished "Inchies" for NZ-MailArt swap !!!

Mermaid

Today I made this"Mermaid" PAPER doll for our ATC Art Dolls March swap. The template is one that Maggie shared with the group, and it's such an easy one to use. I had to modify the tail - it was originally in one piece - so that it would move. I also used a Mirkwood template for the torso, arms and face.

The paper that I used is some that was sent to me from a member of Cloth Paper Studio group - in a birthday swap. And no ... it's NOT scrapbooking paper !! LOL

I love the look on her face - she's so haughty. Just the way that I think a mermaid would have every right to be.

I will definitely use this template again - mermaids are such fun to make, and I think I would like to make one for myself !!

African Queen

My "African Queen" ... I loved making this doll. She was a joy from start to finish !! I made her for my ATC Art Dolls group February swap - the theme was "Foreign Cultures". The template was one that I found in a "Handmade" magazine - these are great sources for doll templates, even tho they are patterns for cloth dolls.

Her body and limbs are black paper glued onto card, and the stripes on the legs are done with a white pencil. Her dress is lace glued onto braid, and her bra and hair are rhinestones. She has no face, as I couldn't find one that looked right, but I think that she suits not having one.

I had quite a bit of trouble with the wire around her neck and wrists, but after I stopped swearing and cursing I had to admit it was worth it ... LOL

Postcard swap

These postcards were made for a Decorative Envies monthly Postcard swap. They are 6"x 4" (which fit perfectly in a photo album). The "Flower" one is made with scrapbooking paper (surprise, surprise ... LOL). The oval shape is from a set of die-cuts that I bought from the Warehouse, and the daisies have been Kindy Glitz'ed.

The "Green" one has been stamped with some of my favourite stamps - I especially love the Seahorse one - and all the stamping and edges have been done with Adidrondak inks. I do enjoy making postcards, and am planning on participating every month in our swaps.

Altered Notebook

This was made for an Alternative Artists Altered notebook swap.

We had to use "found" objects to decorate a notebook for our partner, and couldn't use any bought items. I discovered that I had a serious lack of "found" stuff in my house (LOL), but I managed to find some paper that
I had done myself with blow-pens - my d-gd and I had a fun & messy day playing with these !! The jandal is a playing card, and I used garden twine to attach the beads. There's builder's tape behind the jandal, and I made the letters myself.

And now I have to start collecting MORE "found" items, so I can keep playing in our swaps !!

All the fun stuff

Dark purple, light aqua and the word "work" - this was what I was given for my challenge when I signed up for ClothPaperStudio's February colour challenge.

The colours aren't difficult to use, but I had problems when I came to adding the word "work" - so I looked thru my Brian Andreas sayings and this one jumped out at me. I made it for my daughter for her birthday - she just turned 19, and she really doesn't want to grow up (I don't want her to either ... LOL).

I enjoyed making this - purple is my favourite colour, and this stamp (from Glamour Girl Stamps) is fun to use. My daughter loved it, and is going to get it framed - I can't wait to see it done, and hanging up in her room.