Valentine ATC Exchange...

We did an annual Valentine ATC Exchange today...very fun! The neat part, this year is that Karen's sister, Lyla joined us. She made us each an ATC to trade. Thank you, Lyla! We all loved your ATCs.

#1 Pinky's ATCs
#2 Jan's ATCs
#3 Karen's ATCs
#4 Lyla's ATCs
#5 April's ATCs

All of these were just totally amazing. Each of us are so different in what we make and that always makes it fun to see what we come up with.

Alice In Wonderland...

I found a cute little book that had the neatest little pics of Alice in Wonderland in it and decided that I wanted to make an ATC out of it. I worked on this while Pinky was working on cards after the girls left to go back to Birkenfeld. It was a fun ATC to make. I love the look on the cat's face.

Before Halloween @Jan's

Halloween ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) by Jan.  Sorry that Pinky and Mary weren't able to make it, they will get theirs next week.

April was embroidering a quilt block that will be part of a gift quilt for her cousin who is getting married. That might not be the exact story, but it is something like that.   It is lovely, April does exquisite embroidery. 

Karen was working in her personal journal book.  She says it is such a relaxing activity for her.  It is super cool.  Lots of nature inspired imagery.

Joan is knitting herself a hat that will be felted down.  If she ever finishes it;-) Notice our mascot Rocky snoozing in the background?

More pages from Karen's journal.

It was another fun day even though it poured down rain and April had to leave too soon.  Karen and Joan stayed until nearly 4pm and we sat talking.  Chain saw man came down and brought fresh salsa for them to take home.  He makes the best salsa around.

Next week we will be meeting at Joan's to celebrate Pinky's birthday!  We will also trade our Round Robin calendars and reveal our altered cigar boxes.  Should be fun!!  Hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween!!

 

A Few More From Last Week...

Jan did such a wonderful job of posting last week, so I will just add a few pics. She already told what we were doing, etc. As usual, it was a wonderful day...

I will add that the ATC shown is from a trade that Jan arranged with a friend of hers, Lorna. We each made an ATC to trade with her and this is the one she sent. The picture shown is Butterfly 3.

The big pile in the lower pic is roving that Cathy brought for us all to share....Thank you so much, Cathy. We enjoyed our day with her.

Red Tuesday At Mary's Place...

Here I (April) am again modifying this post. Please forgive me but I'm removing Robin's leaf photo because I did not get her permission to post it here. She would rather not have her artwork displayed on the 'net.' So sorry, Robin!

Today we did leaf cutting as inspired by April's sister, Robin. She is a wonderful artist and how she ever thought of cutting with leaves...who knows...

Looking below, you will see our efforts in leaf cutting. I know there must be a better description of this, but I am drawing a blank...

From left to right top row: Karen's, Jan's, April's, Mary's. From left to right second row: Mary's, Jan's, Pinky's, and Karen's. I think we all really enjoyed this project. April really did a super job! She was so precise and hers looked so delicate.

The four ATCs pictured are Pinky's. She wanted us all to chose one to send to a friend of Jan's that wanted to trade ATCs. I think we all picked a different one and finally she just shut her eyes, we moved them all around, and she picked the one with the feather that was oriental looking. She did a wonderful job on all of them.

The last pic is of our cigar boxes. Mary challenged the group to each pick a box and the idea is to transform the box in a month...in any way...fabric, paper, used newspaper, etc. You name it, you can use it. We all thought this sounded like fun!

We decided to each do calendars like we did last year. We used a sketch book and transformed it into a calendar by adding lines and dates. We passed them to each other each week and when we were done, each of us had a wonderful calendar that our friends had done their art work in. I just love the one I received last year...a real gift of love.

DAWG Posting Winner!!!

I had to share these with you girls...In the DAWG (Designing Artist Women's Group dawgteam@spruz.com ) group that I belong to online, I was the winner of these three ATCs. Aren't they wonderful? The cat ("Green Sleeper") is by Sue Taylor Perez...the "Cherries" is by Joann Wheeler...and the little fairy is by Gina Sutton. They are all DAWG team members.

DAWG State Fair Challenge...ATCs

In my DAWG online group we did a trade for "State Fair". This was fun to do. The little calf was sent to me by Brenda Thour who is also a DAWG member. I did two and sent Judy O'Hara both of them...it was a fun project.

dawgteam@spruz.com

Key Challenge...

Mary said: In a garage sale we bought the end of, Kit and I found a large can of keys of all kinds. Some of us in the group have used keys on ATCs before, so I bagged up a bunch for each person in the group. When they all received the keys, we thought it would be fun to do a challenge with the keys. Again, it could be any choice of what to do with them and size could be up to the individual. This pic is of one of the assortments of keys. They will be so great to work with. I heard of a couple of us say they already had an idea. With the variety of things we each come up with...this should be a fun project and due in a couple weeks. I will post them then.

ATC Trade

Jan writes: Our group recently participated in a swap at the Mixed Media Art Friends yahoo group that Belinda Spiwak hosts. We were so excited to receive our trades in the mail!

These are the ones Jan received.








I think these are Mary's.
















Pinky's.



















Karen's.


And last but not least, April's. We were all thrilled with the cards we received, they all show lots of talent and creativity. What a fun trade!

Karen's and Her Sister, Lyla's Flag Book...

Mary said: As I said below, Karen brought her extra large trade cards to trade with us this week. She also brought a flag book that her sister, Lyla, made. During this past year we have been able to see several of the cards, post cards, trade cards and now this flag book that Lyla has made. We would love to have her come join us some Tuesday. That would be so fun! Enjoy the pics.

PURPLE TUESDAY... :>))

Mary said: We all had a great day on Tuesday at April's. It is always fun to watch the birds at her house. She gets them all! The whole gang was there...no one missing.

Karen brought her extra large trade cards for us to pick. Every one was so neat and special. It was hard to choose. Double click on the pics for a closer look.

It seems each week one of us brings things to share with the group and Tues. was no exception. Jan brought some great little doily-looking pieces for us each to take. Pinky brought some walnut crystals that turns into a liquid that you can paint over an ATC or card to make them look old. I did try it out and it is fun to work with. April brought us some play money to use on ATCs or cards or ???? Mary brought a cheese cake recipe for a large group she tried at church and loved. This is what makes this group so special...

We all just worked on various projects. Later in the week I got an email from Jan asking if any of us would be interested in doing a little book project, soooooooo of course we will give it a go.

This next week we are to bring back the foam stamps that Jan gave us and some paper made with them to share with each other. I can't wait to see what everyone has done!

Orange Tuesday At Jans...

Today was a great day! We each had the challenge for the week to make 5 each extra large ATCs measuring approx. 3 x 5". There was no particular theme. Scroll down to see the ones that each of us did. I don't know about any one else, but I was thrilled with the ones I traded for! I love each one...so coooool! If you click on any picture, it will zoom larger so you can see the detail. Jan gave each of us two pairs of scissors from her collection and some really neat foam that you can turn into stamps by heating it and pressing any thing into it. See the picture attached. I'm anxious to give it a try. Thank you, Jan for being such a great hostess. The muffins were yummy, as usual.

April was working on a pillow for her favorite Grandson and it turned out so cute. It even has his initials on the back. I know he will love it. See the picture attached.

We were all there today, Joan included. There is no where else I would love to spend my Tuesdays than with these exceptional women...my friends.

Pinky's Challenge and ATC Trade...

Karen's ATC Challenge and Trade...

April's ATC Trade Challenge...

Mary's Large ATC Challenge...

Red Tuesday At Mary's Place...

Mary says: Each week is so fun and this week we all kind of did our own thing and just visited and worked the time away. I made a pot of chicken soup and we each had some of that for lunch. The pictures I am showing are of Karen, Pinky, April, Jan, and myself. Joan wasn't able to be with us this week, but will see her at Jan's next week for sure. I heard rumors of a birthday coming up...

Jan has been working on her hand piece and adding embellishments as she goes. Can't wait to see how she will end up using this piece. Pinky worked on envelopes. Karen and April worked on cards and Karen did an ATC. I worked on some ATCs. I think I am hooked on those little pieces of art...so fun to do. Jan brought us all a couple pieces of rice paper. The texture is so neat. I am anxious to try painting on it, or maybe sewing on it...hmmmm....

Remember Girlies...THE CHALLENGE IS DUE MAY 4.....