My First ATC Swap

I wanted to comment on my very first ATC - or Artist Trading Cards - swap. For those of you that might not know, an ATC card is the size of a playing card and is basically just what it says an artist's card - so a small piece of art that is usually centered around a theme/swap and is traded like a baseball card.

My very first swap was called Anything But Paper swap. It was harder than I thought it would be. I think because there was no specific theme, like usual I had too hard a time narrowing down what I wanted to do. I did a couple of samples first and nothing was working for me. Finally I decided to use a technique I learned at The Vintage Workshop and created a mini-fabric postcard. I used some scraps of my favorite fabric from Amy Butler and then sewed it together with a strip of white muslin in the middle. Then I stamped the word inspire on the white strip. I got lots of compliments on my card and praise for it being my first cards ever! I was so nervous that I would be giving someone that card that they would look at and say...this is why I don't do swaps...I work so hard and just get junk back. I loved it but would others. I was great to get a positive response. Thanks Ladies!! Here is a picture of the beautiful cards I received. The materials range from metal, fabric, charms, shrink wrap, etc. I just love my first group.



I've joined a new swap from my Altered Book Club Yahoo Group. It is for the 6th anniversary of the group and it's called a skinny fat book. The pages have to be 3" x 6" leaving an unembellished area on the side for binding. I plan on binding mine with jump rings. I have to make 25 pages all the same and send them to the host. Then I will get 24 pages back (one is for myself). The theme is supposed to be ABC Anniversary or something closely related. The traditional anniversary theme is candy while modern is iron. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do yet. I'm probably make a prototype as usual and go from there. I love the anniversary idea and I'm leaning towards the candy theme too. Hmm..let's see what happens.

Happy Memorial Day to all. Bring the troops home!!! We love and miss every single service person and want them to be home with their families.

Anything But Paper Swap and New Patterns Now Available

Okay after much debate and a phone call to my mom - of course - I finished my Anything but Paper ATC swap cards this morning. They are not exactly perfect but I did my best and they are made from my favorite Amy Butler fabric (which I used to make a great dress from the Dayshift Dress pattern from Indygo Junction - I'll post some pictures of that later).



They are simple, but I like that about them. I guess I never figured how hard it would be to be creative on a deadline or maybe it's because the "theme" was too broad for me. I think if the theme was more specific and not just a materials limit I would have been more inspired. I don't know but since I have the big International Quilt Market trade show coming up in a week or so I had to get them done like now. I have too much to do at work to get ready for the show - although no sewing has to be done this weekend.

I did buy some fabric - also Amy Butler - on ebay this week which I will be using to make a dress/tunic/top out of this week. It's going to be out of one of my new Indygo Junction patterns - which are now available for viewing at the website just click on New Arrivals from the home page. I just put them up on Friday. They are not available for purchase yet, but you can see them. I'm thinking of making either the Audrey's Afternoon Dress (if I have enough fabric) or the top for the Boudoir Basics (plain sleeve version) making it longer and chinching it with a belt!!

Anyway, Maggie's Blanket update - still working on the lap blanket that is full of my memories. It will be the first donated blanket. I hope to really get this going after the show - so probably early June. Again, please email me at cpinkman3@kc.rr.com if you are interested in donating yarn, yarn scraps or knit/crocheting for the cause.

Thanks,
Cheryl

Promises Made, Promises Kept

So I said I'd post some pictures of two different projects I've started working on - one is a knitted wrap I'm making for a co-worker's birthday and the other is the very beginnings of an ATC Anything but paper swap. Here are the promised pictures.

Here is the wrap made in a cherry-chocolate chip varigated yarn (I only use varigated yarn for the most part - just love the patterns it makes).



Here is the start of the ATC which I needle felted free hand. I like it and I'm going to do some embroidery and beading on it. Then to finish it up I'll sew it to the back which I'm printing my info on printable fabric linen you can buy at www.thevintageworkshop.com.



You can't see the variation of yellow and pink in the roving used on the flower, but I really like how it blended. This is not only my first ATC swap, but my first real attempt at needlefelting. I like it quite a bit - I just don't have a lot of uses for it.

Well, what do you think?

Easter Traditions

I know this is a little late to post about Easter, but I wanted to share another tradition our family is carrying on. It's an old tradition for Easter in South St.Louis to have what's called a Lamb Cake. And no, Virginia, it's not made of lamb like a friend of my mother's thought...

It's a kind of creepy, dry and sponge coconut covered, raisin decorated cake shaped like a lamb. I've included a picture. It tastes okay but the really important part is that it's an old tradition that we want to continue. Remembering those things we did as children and then sharing them with our children is important. It teaches them something - like learning from the past, keeping family traditions so we can remember our history, our family history. So starts our new "old" tradition for Easter.



I took lots of Spring has Sprung pictures to inspire while in St. Louis visiting my parents for the weekend and hope to add some of those tomorrow. I've finally got a day off - lots of errands to run, but I hope to also make some ATC cards too. It's hard to get time alone at home to work on my art so tomorrow's my chance.

Tonight I made 24 cupcakes for my son's class, cleaned my sewing/art table in preparation, and dug out all the paperwork for my errands tomorrow - pre work makes all the difference. I hope to have lots of things to share.