Tea Bag Wisdom

 For ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) anything is game. So *of course* I collect stuff that I think I can use on these small 2.5" by 3.5" gems. Tea bags or tea bag envelopes have text and peppy saying these days. Of course I have some of them put by.

I started the background with acrylics, first by swiping with a credit card, then through a stencil. The tea bag wisdom really dictated the imagery.

Fusspilz

Thank you for visiting!

kaa-oo

Entering this into:

ATC around the World: #103 Bunt / Colorful

The Outlawz Paper à la Mode Challenge: July Challenge / not a greeting card 

Silpputehdas ATC Challenge: Pitipäs sattua

... said the raven

 A couple of challenges coincide again very aptly, at least for my taste calling for distress and shimmer. The summer was very short and hefty here in the High North and is busy turning into fall. I am longing for the first pumpkins to hit the market stalls, but until then this photo had to do.

 

I completely mistreated it - as I so often do with magazine cuttings - distressing it first with a sanding paper, then applying distress markers and Gelatos into the roughened texture.

The backbround is kraft stock where I had smeared some leftover black acrylics a while ago. Those marks are now hidden under the green paint. I then stamped the trees (stamp by Viva Las Vegas) with black Versamark ink - and while it was still wet I sprinkled a wonderful shimmer powder onto it and rubbed it in. The excess can be removed, it only sticks onto the ink, totally changing it's color. Here the green powder on black ink gave me metallic shimmering trees. (This wonder powder is called Blonde Moments 'Friends Pearl Pigments' and it may be already retired.) The raven stamp is by Lost Coast, I stamped on copy paper and then fussy cut.

The card was completed with black and white splatters and a sentiment that the raven might well express when he has found a heap of pumpkins that he deems to be his, and his alone.

 Entering this in:

Frilly and Funkie: De-stress with a little distressing This is definitely on the funky side!

Simon Says Monday challenge: Glimmer and sparkle 

A Place to Start: #8 What's your style? I love doing collage on mixed media and adding text to it.

Dare 2 be Artzy: Anything goes

Word Art Wednesday: #505-506 Anything goes

Dream

 Koukussa kortteihin vintage-haaste pyörähti toiselle kierrokselle ja tällä kertaa valitsin rivin: 

revitty - runsas - ruudullinen

Pohjapaperit on revitty ja numeroruukko kortin alaoikealla kyllä hieman hukkuvat runsauden alle...

The background was made with several papers including a tissue paper that I had printed with Gelli plate. The flowers and bird are fussy cut.

I'd like to enter it in the following challenges:

Creative Moments: # 218 Anything goes

Love to Craft Challenge Blog: #60 Anything goes 

Creative Fingers #212 Anything goes

Christmas in July

 Christmas in July - why not? It's exactly half-time, and those celebrating the holiday start preparing for it.

Even though I am not a Christmas person I felt myself encouraged by a few challenges to try my hand at a Christmas card.

First, the challenge in Archiscraps to use several design papers at once. I happened to watch a video on Youtube which showed a very nice mosaic piecing technique. I used four or five different scraps of designer papers that I had kept.

I have quite afew Lost Coast Stamps so why not use them for their  Christmas in July
challenge. Their stamps are quirky, so my card gleaned some quirkiness from the use of their shouting lady stamp. I am never quite sure whether she is angry, frightened or is giving a warning shout.

I left the sentiment open to interpretation. 

 

Entering in:

Lost Coast Stampers: Christmas in July

Archiscraps: Multiple patterned papers

Shopping our Stash: #449 Christmas in July

Gingham ladies

I was inspired by a couple of challenges and that lead to the creation of these ladies. Firstly 'summer gingham' and secondly 'use your stash'. I have an extensive stash and remembered a gingham envelope that I had tucked away too long ago.

Gingham combines beautifully with dots, so I used a dotted paper as well.

 Lastly came the ladies - I had picked them up from a broschure last summer.  They had  a bit of an attitude so I used some text bits that had been in my stash forever.

Lastly I drew a bold red outline around the images.

 

Entering in:

Beyond the Blue: BB23 From your stash

Double D Challenge: Summer gingham

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Fun and quirky 

Fab and Funky: Anything goes 

 

Meet Mr. Sunshine

Mr. Sunshine was born in the year of Tiger, yet he is not a go-getter but rather likes to lay and wait for his opportunities to arise. He has a sunny disposition and it must have been the Fate that brought us together...

The background was made by stenciling onto a pale yellow Canson paper. I stenciled with inks, which allowed me to sprinkle on transparent embossing powder and now everything has a transparent, shiny overlay.

The Tiger image is a museum badge that I have kept for years and years. It is so satisfying to collect items but also to let go of them. Text was found in a book.

entering in:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Hello Sunshine

Allsorts Challenge: #632 Masculine

Everybody Art Challenge: €494 Anything goes

Aviation

 The colors red, white and blue call aviation to mind. This is what I had on hand: a dapper, courteous crew, some destinations tags and an air mail stamp.

Entering in:

Simon says Wednesday challenge: Anything goes

Mini challenge

 Taking part in More than Words mini challenge June. The word 'idol' has to appear on the atc.

 

In case you're wondering... Frida (or her lookalike) has been heavily photoshopped for luminosity. She was part of a digitally made collage that was printed and which I received as happy mail not long ago. I took it apart, added TimHoltz rose themed paper to the background, a stamped bird, a red rose for her head (in the collage there were black roses and skulls) and lastly the golden glittery glue dots for earrings.

Where is Cynthia?

An old airmail envelope was used as the background for this tag.Onto it I added postage stamps and ephemera and a second tag as well as the text that I found in a book.

Entering this in:

Tag Tuesdays: Tag on tag

Simon Says Wednesday challenge: Red white and/or blue

Summer feeling

 Today I made this summery card. Flowers for me are the quintessence of summer. I have a flower garden and gather a different bunch for my desk every week.

I started this by tearing a piece of tissue paper that I had prepared with Gelli printing. I often use reclaimed cardstock as my base, this was an invitation to a gallery opening. The dark shapes are still visible behind the tissue and give it some depth.

Next I stamped three flowers with green Versamark ink on printer paper. I have had these stamps for ages, one is Hero Arts, one of my first purchases so it must be at least from 2009, perhaps earlier. The other one is fromArtistic Stamper botanical plate, purchased around 2018. I use them too seldom! The flowers were colored with Gelatos, then cut them out.

Entering this in:

Retro Rubber Challenge: #161

Try it on Tuesday: Here comes summer 

Avenue613: Anything goes June challenge

Red white and blue

 Vacation time is upon us. Red, white and blue give this carefree, breezy summer feel.

I made a skinny-sized card (5" by 3") using a mix of elements: some stamping, a magazine cut-out, paper piecing and inks for the background and found a Tim Holtz saying that fits to a tee.

Entering this in: Simon Says Wednesday challenge  Red /white and/or blue

Game night

 I have had a busy year, and finally have some quality crafting time again. One of my favorite challenges is Use your Stuff - mainly because I have 'stuff' and want to use it. And I love challenges, because they offer themes and ideas I would not necessarily think of myself.

Enough said! This is a simple collaged Skinny-size (5" by 3") card on their theme Game night. I have used magazine cut-outs, washi tape, Tim Holtz Remnant rubs and a bit of game-themed paper.

Kaksoiskortti

OKTK-haasteen kierroksella 63 pyydetään tekemään ATC-kortti, jossa kaksi korttia on laitettu päällekkäin ikäänkuin kirjaksi.

Tältä omani näyttää päällepäin.

Sisällä on 'tarina' joka löyhästi liittyy kannen 'tapahtumiin'.

Kun kortin taittaa selkäpuolelta auki näkee, että takana on 'saranoina' washi-teippiä. Kortin sisäpuolella taustapaperit pitävät huolen siitä, että kortit pysyvät kiinni toisissaan.

Talvisia tarinoita / Winter stories

One fine day the snow came. It was a light snow, the snow crystals floated gracefully down. Soon the ground was covered, but the snowfall went on.
- Oh, snow for Christmas! cried the children.
- I rather feel like taking a ride. Let's go and have a fun trip in the snow, said Papa. Everybody rushed to the car, barely remembering their warm clothes. They rode along the road, snow covering their tracks.

Nobody noticed that Lily had stayed behind. If everybody else was leaving, great. Finally she could try out the pink scooter. She pushed it out to the driveway, but couldn't get it to start. She pushed it a bit further, stopped under a tree and thought: It's just me and my scooter. How lovely.
The snowflakes were floating down, the snow crystals landed on her face and melted, they landed on her hat and stayed there. It was quiet, it was snowing. It was Christmas.

Taking part:
Take a Word: Yesterdays
Silpputehdas: Joulusuunnitelmia

Miehet työnsä ääressä

KKvintagehaasteen aihe on tällä kertaa 'työkaluja'.

Vaikeimmaksi osottautui pohjan teko. Haaveilin kauniista haaleanvärisestä vintagetaustasta, mutta kun vahingossa suihkaisin okrankeltaista vaaleaman vihreän asemasta tarvitsi kortti lisää väriä. Lopulta viininpunainen tuntui olevan ainoa mikä sopi.

Ja onhan tämä aika dramattinen näin. Miehethän eivät yhtään näytä siltä että käsillä oleva työ sopisi heille, puheista huolimatta.

Tervetuloa osallistumaan!

ATC backgrounds

OKTK:n joulukuun haasteessa pyydetään tekemään itse tausta ja käyttämään siinä sapluunaa. Joskus olisi kiva kokeilla tehdä itse sapluuna, mutta näissä taustoissa käytin ostettua sapluunaa.

Pohjalla on jostain kirjasta repimiäni paloja. Kun liima oli kuivaa, laitoin sapluunan läpi valkoista gessoa. Sen kuivuttua leimailin hiukan lisää tekstiä taustalle ja ripotin sitten päälle hauhemaisia Brusho-värejä. Kun niitä suihkii vedellä lähtevät värihiukkaset sulamaan ja tulos on aina yhtä arvaamaton.

Osallistun näillä OKTK:n haasteeseen, molemmat kortit lähtevät vaihtoon.
Osallistutko sinäkin?

Layering / Turkoosia kerroksellisuutta

KKvintagen uusin haaste alkoi juuri. tein tämän inspiraatioksi 'turkoosiin kerroksellisuuteen'. Kerroksia on monia. Pohjalla akruyyliväreillä maalattu paperi. Sen päälle liimasin painettua silkkipaperia. Seuraavaksi tuli postimerkin raamit (itse merkin olin köyttänyt aikaisemmin). Seuraavaksi tulikin itse leidi, alareunaan servetistä leikattu turkoosi linnunmuna. Loput olivatkin sitten pikkupiperrystä, eli mutama sadepisara, kruunu ja läpinäkyvä mutta kimalteleva tähti. Niin, tekstiä unohtamatta. Se on Edith Södergrania.
Kivoja hetkiä haasteen parissa!

Happy happy

KK-vintagen uusimpaan haasteeseen tehty inspiraatiokortti. Pohjassa käytetty melkein kaikkea mitä löytyi: akryylivärejä, krakeluurimaalia ja kimalletta. Hyvää syntymäpäivää sinulle, elokuun lapsi!

Happy birthday!
Background done with crackle paint, acrylics, spray mist and glitter.

entering in:
SimonSays Wednesday: Midsommer blues
More Mixed media Challenge: Anything goes w/ optional bright

Tissues and numbers

This somewhat moody card was inspired by two challenges. The background has paper with numbers and there is a top layer of a flowery tissue on the right.

entering in:
Frilly and Funkie: Pass the tissues, please!
Country View Challenges: Letters and/or numbers

I made a group of three with the same idea and each one took on a different identity.

Hare madness

entering in:
Tag Tuesday: Hares and rabbits
Three Muses: Bowtie
ATC around the World: Anything goes