Gold And Tangerine ATCs

It seems a bit strange to upload this picture of the 4 Gold and Tangerine Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) made for the Colour Groupies but despite mailing them at the beginning of December some of them have only just landed at their various destinations.

Sadly this is the last lot of cards I have made for the group as we are all very busy artists and after 4 years of swapping cards based on a combination of 2 different colours we have decided to finish on a high and pursue our separate paths although needless to say Caryl, Debby, Lenna, Tristan and I will remain firm friends. I will treasure the special album I have for all the cards I ever received from them all and will no doubt glance at all the beauty contained therein regularly. And I'm not saying there won't be ATCs winging their way in their direction in the future!

All the images I've used for the above cards are from Alpha Stamps! And you will recognise this card posted earlier which was the one I kept for myself.

Due to my 52 Journals project I have also decided to discontinue my membership of the Marie Antoinette Swap site so as you can see I'm really clearing the decks. Out with the old and in with the new!!

Happy Christmas

Have a very peaceful time and May all your wishes be fulfilled!

Violette et Chocolat ATCs

I made my Artist Trading Cards for the Colour Groupies (Lenna, Caryl, Debby and Tristan) way back in September and mailed them off with the October cards. But decided to only upload them here when November was with us as is the case now. The colour combination was violet and brown (but doesn't it sound so much more exotic in French as per the title of this blog post!).

There are all more or less the same so I'm showing you the one I kept myself. I started with a brown velvet background which was machine quilted. Added a piece of violet silk and on top of that the image (from Alpha Stamps). I then added a violet piece of transparent fabric with silver bits incorporated in it over the entire image. A piece of vintage text that suited the images was glued on using my Xyron.

Finally the cards were edged with tape (from Tim Holtz's Ranger collection) which is self-adhesive although I also sewed it on (just can't help myself!).

Melon and Mauve ATCs

The colour theme for the closed Colour Groupies Yahoo Group this month was melon and mauve. We then all became a bit confused about what colour melon was. I first thought yellow but then discovered in a book I'm reading about colour that melon was considered to be a tint of red so that was what I stuck with.

To make the theme clear I decided to write the colour combination on the front of the card this time. The background fabric as well as the melon colour fabric was hand painted. The background was machine quilted before I handstitched the melon fabric on top. I added a small piece of a fabric - paper collage in the right colours on top and beaded around the edges and voice, melon and mauve.

All the cards are more or less identical and they have now all arrived with Lenna, Debby, Caryl and Tristan.

Grey and Powder Blue ATCs

Another month has flown past (where does all that time go?) and the next round of the Colour Groupies ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) have landed with Lenna, Debby, Caryl and Tristan. The colour combination for this month was Grey and Powder Blue and highly unusually for me I haven't used any fabric in making them, although I did manage to squeeze in some stitching.

All the ATCs started life as a large sheet of watercolour paper which I painted using credit cards, scraping, splashing, stencilling and stamping and probably other methods which I no longer remember. Using grey and powder blue acrylic colours and also throwing in the neutral white and blacks. When I was finished the background looked like the sea to me so I stayed with that theme and after cutting the sheet into ATC sized pieces (2.5 x 3.5") I added transparency fishes (from Artchix Studio)which, shock horror, I glued into position!

I added some more stamping as well as doodling to the cards and finished them off by layering them with another piece of cardstock and then connecting these cards with washi tape in matching colours. That would probably have held them together very well but my inborn distrust of glue led me to also stitch around the perimeter of all the cards, just to be on the safe side.

I've kept the one at the very top for myself and still have one spare which will probably go out into the wide world as a RAK (Random Act of Kindness). All I need to do is decide on the recipient!

Pale Pink and Butter Yellow ATC

This month the Colour Groupies ATCs made it across the Atlantic super fast. Who knows why? I've given up on the vagaries of the postal system. At least so far they have always arrived safely although there were times when it seemed to take forever. The colour combination of this month was Pale Pink and Butter Yellow. I started with a yellow fabric, randomly appliqued pink strips to it, and added the images (all Cavellini labels). On top of the image I played with layers of beaded gel and Clear Accent, which I'm afraid to say is very hard to see on the scans.



But it sort of looks like glass with bubbles. Great effect, just a shame I've not written down just exactly how I did it so will have to experiment again next time I want to do this!
I beaded around the images with size 11 seed beads and finally added the text. On the one I'm keeping, seen at the top, it reads: "the last bird fly into the last night".

Raw Umber and Royal Purple ATCs

Time to upload the latest colour combination ATCs for the Colour Groupies, as Lenna, Debby, Caryl and Tristan have received their respective cards. I started by taken some calico (muslin in US speak) and used Raw Umber and Purple acrylic paint. Once that was dry I ironed the fabric to Fast2Fuse and cut it into ATC sized pieces. I found a batik fabric in just the right raw umber colour and layered it on top, followed by the fabric images. I choose the image seen above on the ATC I kept myself as it's one of my favourites. She just looks so wistful.

The images I used came from a variety of sources, mostly my own vintage postcards, and were printed out onto fabric. They were sewn onto the background by hand and I then added some vintage music with text. Fabric was ironed on to the back of the Fast2Fuse and the edges were also edged by hand, using buttonhole stitching. And then I spotted a pot of Golden gloss medium on my desk and thought: "what would happen if I brushed that over the ATCs?". Well, there was only one way to find out, so I did. And really love the effect, specially that the gloss could be seen really well on the paper music sheets but not on the fabrics so much. I'll definitely add that technique to my box of tricks!

As you can see I made 6 ATCs as this makes it easier to cut out a piece of Fast2Fuse to match without having bits left over. The 6th one usually gets send out into the wide world as a RAK (0r random act of kindness) to someone, for no particular reason, just because I fancy doing it. That one too is now on it's way, courtesy of Royal Mail.

Cherry and Aqua ATCs

The colour combination for June was Cherry and Aqua and so far this has proved to be my favourite for this year. So cheerful and of course also rather patriotic as red and blue (as well as white) figures in the flags of the U.K., USA, The Netherlands and France (and many more, no doubt, Russia comes to mind). There must be something about these colours that talks to the nations.

You will see that these cards were made very much like the Red, White and Blue Marie Antoinette cards I showed here recently. Those ribbons came in handy once again and the images came from a variety of different suppliers. While searching for them I came across the sheet of red swirl rub-offs so they were added to the mix as well.

The cards reached Caryl, Lenna and Tristan quite quickly but Debby (in Canada)'s took a bit longer as there is a postal strike there added to the already sluggish Canadian mail system. As you will notice there is in fact an extra card apart from the one I kept myself (shown at the top). The extra card became a RAK (random act of kindness) and has also landed with its new owner.

Apple Green and Forest Green ATCs

I'm not making a lot at the moment as there is too much going on what with visits, the exhibition in Peebles and the upcoming Loch Lomond Quilt Show to be in the right frame of mind to begin thinking about starting a new piece of work. I know that the time will come that new ideas will come to me as long as I just quietly let my mind go it's own way for now. In the meantime I can't do without some stitching going on so I'm concentrating my efforts on Artist Trading Cards and other small projects.

As a result I have already made the Colour Groupies ATCs for every month from now till August which is a satisfying feeling. Our colour combination for May is Apple Green and Forest Green and above is one of the cards. They are more or less identical apart from the vintage text. The background is one piece of fabric ironed onto Fast2Fuse, of dark green leaves, and I machine quilted the veins of the leaves with a slightly lighter green thread.

I added an inchie that had apple green as the predominant colour. The inchies were left-overs from another project where I covered a large piece of fabric completely with couched green yarns. The final touch was to bead around each inchie and glue on (using a Xyron) the text. On this card it reads: "all the trees are green". Lenna, Caryl, Debby and Tristan have all safely received their green cards so I could show it here too!

Jeune et Noir ATCs

In amidst all the excitement about the exhibition it's sometimes easy to forget that normal life also continues. And every month there is an Artist Trading Card exchange between the members of the Colour Groupies based on a colour combination. For April it was Jeune et Noir which sounds a lot more romantic in French than yellow and black does in English.

I used an African fabric for the background which had large graphic images and a lot of dots too, which immediately grabbed my attention as the perfect place to add some beads, and then some more!

The images are all divas featured on an Artchix Studio collage sheet and as they were all in black/white fitted in well with our colour scheme. The cards have now all landed safely with Caryl, Debby, Lenna and Tristan so can be revealed here too together with the very top card which is the one I made for myself to keep.

Chocolate is good for you!

I tend to disbelieve almost anything I read in the newspapers but I am prepared to make an exception for the article with the headline: Chocolate is good for you, which featured prominently recently. I used it as inspiration for the ATCs I made for the Colour Groupies this month when our colour combination was Coffee and Chocolate.

I drink my coffee as strong as I can get it and black so that is the background colour for these ATCs. It's machine quilted black velvet.

For the chocolate part I took a photograph of the contents of a box of chocolates and printed it out on fabric and then appliqued it to the coffee background and surrounded it with chocolate coloured size 11 seed beads. The text was typed on my computer and also printed on fabric.

The contents of the box in question has long gone and I must go and buy another one soon, purely for medicinal reasons, you understand!

Ruby and Emerald ATCs on a rainy day

Shortly after writing yesterday's blog post the electricity went off again and this time it stayed off. It's hardly the first time this has happened, as it's one of the side-effects of living in a very rural location and the winds were atrocious. Previously I used to be on my own when this happened because John was usually at work and I just settled down with a book by the stove, equipped with a candle and torch. I also treated myself to a lovely hot chocolate drink and really, I did quite enjoy these long dark evenings. But not so John! At first he wanted to start our generator, just to be able to put on the light and the television. A bit ridiculous, if you ask me, and so I offered to read to him instead. Sadly Eat, Pray, Love (by Elizabeth Gilbert) didn't really do it for him! So in the end we went to bed early, perhaps inspired by the last bit of the title!

Today the main feature of the weather is still the wind while rain was also added to the mix and going outside was a very unpleasant experience to which I didn't want to expose my camera so the blip for today (see at the top of this post) was taken inside my studio looking out, through the window. Even in the wet our courtyard still looks good! And this is the studio where it all happens (0r not, if I'm having creative blockages). The Ruby and Emerald cards, made for the Colour Groupies were produced in this studio and as they have now all arrived at their respective destinations (Caryl, Debby, Lenna and Tristan) here they are on this blog. I used very shine materials for the background to stay in tune with our jewel colours. They were snippered down onto Fast2Fuse and machine quilted. I then found fabric images from various sources and added them.

The final touch were the transparency texts (from Altered Pages) which were stitched down as shown. Then, as these cards are for February, the Valentine month, I also added a Ruby shiny heart to all the cards. The edges were satin stitched and beaded in what has become my signature style.
Above are some of the ones I send off and the one seen just above those is the one that's staying here, simply because I fell in love with the lady and her hat.

Turquoise and Copper ATCs

The first round of a new Colour Groupies year has started with this colour combination. If you're new to this blog, we are a selected group of 5 artists who exchange ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) each month, based on a pre-determined colour scheme. We don't show the cards online till everyone (Caryl, Debby, Lenna and Tristan) has received their respective cards.

As copper here in the U.K. is not just the name of a metal but also of one of our lesser coins (as in Give us a copper) I wanted to incorporate one penny on each of the cards. I also wanted to celebrate the fact that Tristan (our one male participant) has rejoined us so the cards had to feature men. I found just the right images on an Alpha Stamps collage sheet. The sheet was dedicated to steampunk art and that too suited my penny theme. The man was adhered to a copper-coloured, machine quilted background and a penny (copper) was attached using Diamond Glaze.

I then covered the entire card with a transparent blue fabric that had turquoise stars already incorporated into its design. A suitable vintage text was also adhered and the edges of every card were finished with copper satin stitching. The cards were all very similar so I've only included one picture.

Black and Silver ATCs

Hard to believe that this is the last colour combination for the Colour Groupies this year but here it is: Silver and Black. Suitable for the season and one that I enjoyed making.

We already have a full schedule of new combinations for 2011 and I'm looking forward to sharing those with you here in the future.

I started the Black and Silver cards by silver machine quilting on a piece of black cotton which had been ironed onto Fast2Fuse. To this was added a vintage travel sticker (from Alpha Stamps) as well as some self-adhesive star shaped decorations. The images are all from Enchanted Mercantile and were made adhesive by using my Xyron Creatopia. They are a wee bit naughtly but not too rude!

A fabric was ironed onto the other side of the Fast2Fuse and the edges were finished with silver satin stitch and size 11 silver seed beads. The 4 cards shown above have arrived with Caryl, Debby, Lenna and Tristan and I'm keeping the one at the very top.

Apple and White ATCs

Our latest colour combination for the Colour Groupies is Apple and White. I automatically interpreted this as apple green and white but one of the other Groupies read this as apple red and white. Perhaps this is because I prefer green apples so that was the colour that came to my mind first.It just goes to show language can be confusing.

I made the ATCs for Caryl, Debby, Lenna and Tristan back at the beginning of October, mailed them at the beginning of November and they have now all safely landed on the other side of the pond.

I used one of our very own crab apples in the making of this ATC. We really tried to eat them as they are the very first ones ever to appear on the tree that we planted some 10 years ago, but I simply could not manage it. The apples were too sour, and adding lots of sugar and baking the apples still did not make them taste any better, while at the same time making them pretty unhealthy! So instead I used a small one as a stamp by cutting it in half and adding acrylic green paint and stamping onto a white fabric background. I echo quilted by hand all around the apple shape and then added the image of the apple blossom fairies (from Altered Pages) and vintage text (different on each card) The cards (all more or less identical) were finished with white satin stitching and beading with size 11 seed beads

A grey and terracotta house

The colour combination for the Colour Groupies this month was Grey and Terracotta and this was such a wonderful example of synchronicity as these were just the colours I needed to celebrate the fact that Colour Groupie Lenna had moved into her new home in Florida.

I made my ATCs in the shape of a house in her honour and of course terracotta was the colour for the bricks. I knew I had a terracotta brick fabric somewhere and found it, ironed it onto Fast2Fuse together with a strip of grey fabric. I machine quilted both in suitable patterns and then cut the pieces out as individual houses. I also knew I had some door and window cardstock elements (from Maya Road), discovered them too, painted them with gesso, grey and terracotta acrylics. I glued on decorative paper with vintage flower images behind the windows and added them to the ATCs using the fabric adhesive cartridge on my Xyron Creatopia. As a skylight a button was sewn onto the roof.

All the ATCs have arrived in their new homes with Lenna herself, Debby and Caryl and here it is on the blog. All houses were more or less identical so here is the one I kept for myself.

Rose and Cream ATCs

As most of you know I exchange ATCs every month with 3 other artists (Lenna, Caryl and Debby). Together we are the Colour Groupies and every month brings a new colour combination that we all use to make our cards. For September it was Rose and Cream and whether I was in a specially romantic mood this month or whether it was the roses but mine turned out very, very sweet. They have now landed with the other Groupies and can therefore be revealed here.

I miscalculated the amount of background which was also used for other projects and I had not have enough left to make one for myself to keep but here are the 3 I made. The background is formed by sewing different strips of fabric (rose fabric in this case in cream and rose colours) to Fast2Fuse, and adding machine quilting. The Victorian scrap roses were added as were the bird circular stickers (from Cavallini). All this was covered by sparkly transparencies (from Create and Craft) and a suitable vintage text.

Another rose fabric was ironed onto to the back of the Fast2Fuse and the edges were finished by zigzag stitching by machine.

Ivory and Mango ATCs

All my Ivory and Mango cards have been received by Lenna, Debby and Caryl, otherwise known as the Colour Groupies some days ago so time to post them on the blog too.

A bit of a strange colour combination this month which at first had me a bit stumped about what to do. Finally a ribbon already in my collection formed the starting point and I mounted it onto an ivory machine quilted background. Then for some reason my mind started to wander (all my school reports mention that I dream too much, as if this is a bad thing!) and came up with sailors carving ivory whilst at sea (and eating mango to counteract scurvy) and that in turn meant I wanted to use men on these cards. I found some charming vintage ones on an Artchix Studio collage sheet and while searching for them I also found the gothic arches transparencies on another Artchix sheet.

The whole lot was mixed together, a few butterflies added for good measure and the cards then were finished with a strong orange thread and satin stitching. I know mango is definitely not this bright but the men demanded something forceful to keep them in check! Just above you can see the man I hung on to for myself.

Avocado Green and Tomato Red

It sounds like a tasty idea for a salad but it was this month's colour combination for the Colour Groupies. Of course it is also a complimentary scheme and one that can make you think of Christmas if you're not careful. I hope I have avoided that because who could want Christmas in July? I'm not that keen on it even in December!

I made my cards in a novel way, by locating two fabrics in the required colours from my stash, and cutting them up into little snippets. There were then put on top of Fast2Fuse and ironed on. Free machine quilting was added to hold them in their place. I added images from an Artchix Studio collage sheet dedicated to old match boxes as well as one actually featuring a tomato and stitched them on. Torn strips of a metallic green fabric were stitched over the images and the cards were finished by ironing a green fabric to the other side of the Fast2Fuse and green zig-zag stitching around the edges. I kept the one with the dancing red figure. All the cards have now arrived with Caryl, Debby and Lenna, my fellow Colour Groupies, which is why I can now show them here.

Campari and Orange ATCs

The colour combination for the Colour Groupies this month is also a wonderful drink which I got to know one sunny day in Sorrento, Italy many, many moons ago and which has been been a favourite ever since, both the drink and as I discovered making these ATCs the colours too.

Lenna, Debby and Caryl, my fellow Groupies, have now received their cards so I can show them here. I made them on the 7th May i.e. not recently but only mailed them off at the beginning of this month. The images and transparencies I used are all from Artchix Studio collage sheets and the backgrounds are strips of batik fabrics in the appropriate colours. Beading, decorative machine stitching and vintage texts were added to the mix. The cards are all quite different this month and as always I made one for me to keep. A romantic one, what else is new??