Paris ATC

Where oh where has the week gone?  I think maybe my cat stole it.  He's been jostling open the door to my craft room and stealing my ribbon that I have rolled onto vintage clothespins.  He comes downstairs and deposits them in my shoes, or next to my purse.  So, I think he may be stealing my days, too.... yep, that's my story. ;)

Sharing a little ATC I made for a swap I was just in, where the theme was travel.  Three of us chose Paris in some way!  For my version, I started out with a photocopy of a vintage Paris map.  The colors were a little bright, so I opened it in my photo editing program, reduced the vibrancy by about 60%, then tweaked the colors to be warmer than they appeared, and presto! - it had just the colors I wanted.  I did a little stamping on it, too, for a more layered effect.  Next up was the Eiffel Tower image, from I Brake For Stamps.  I first made a background using a variety of Glimmer Mists, then stamped the image in black.  I went back in and added some color with a small dose of Mustard Seed distress ink (that's one very vivid color.... a teensy itty bit goes a long way!)  Then I added color to the flowers using colored pencils, and traced over the word "Paris" with a white gel pen.  I added a stamped Paris cancellation mark and stamped French postage.  I love making ATCs, and this was a fun little project.

I hope everyone along the East Coast of the US stays safe this weekend!  I'm sure many of us will be without power as Hurricane Irene surges through.  Take care and take cover!  Hurricane force winds and torrential rains can affect areas farther inland than you might imagine.... Hurricane Fran was still a category 1 storm when it came through central North Carolina in 1996, and it caused severe damage and power outages that lasted several days (we had a giant oak tree on our house for weeks! and...were without power for 4 days, which was much shorter than some others in the surrounding area).  Just sayin'....  don't treat this thing too lightly.  Okay, end of lecture, LOL!

Have a happy weekend everyone! Hopefully I will still have power so that I can blurf and blog!

Beachy ATCs

A quick little post today, with some ATCs that I made with a gorgeous plate from I Brake For Stamps, called Beach Memoirs.  I had this set on my wishlist forever, then was lucky enough to win Blog Candy from sweet Della (thank you Della!!!).  I was thrilled to play with these stamps when they arrived.  For the backgrounds I used Glimmer Mists and a Tim Holtz compass rose mask.  I added a little tea-stained cheesecloth, and some punched sand dollars and starfish (Martha's). Nothing too fancy, just letting the stamps do the talkin'.

Happy Canada Day to all our Northern friends!

Quick and Easy Big Boy Birthday Invites

These are the invitations I made for my son's 8th birthday party, which is being held at one of those places with giant inflatables to bounce in, and lots of big screen TVs with Wiis. Okay, I know what you're thinking.... why in the world would anyone do handmade cards for 8-year-old boys, who are very probably going to be the least appreciative recipients of anything artsy/scrappy? Well, I'll tell you my excuse(s)....1) the only invites available from the inflatables place were the kind you print out on a sheet of A2 paper (phfewie! these daggone things were u.g.l.y.!!) AND 2) they cost next to no time or money (no embellishments except for staples from a regular old desk stapler).

Anyway, the skateboarder image (and "Air") are from I Brake for Stamps, the guitar is from the Little Paper Shop, and the bingo numbers in the corner are from the Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous line at Michaels. A little stamping, a little ripping and tearing, a little distressing, and I was almost done. I computer-generated the "You're Invited" using a free font I found online (called S'Awesome), printed it out on regular letter paper, stapled it on, and DONE!! So it really won't matter that much that it goes into the trash almost immediately. As a card-maker, I just couldn't bear to send out a printed-out sheet of paper with ugly graphics... so I still have my pride :) Thanks for looking and have a great day!