Teaching Myself to Make ATCs

I've been fascinated with all the creative little ATCs I run across in my blogging.
I decided I would sit down & try & make a few...notice I didn't say "make one." They're like potato chips....you can't stop with just one! I think I made 10 yesterday. Had a BLAST doing it...SO much better than cleaning house! I am posting a couple this morning. I promised myself today that I would do what NEEDS to be done prior to starting any other ATCs. I am going to run out & finish buying supplies for the Complex Collage class that starts today! Once I get everything else done I'm going to make a few more. Today, I am going to go goofy with my cards. My husband always encouraged me to mix up the pretty with some silly. That's what I'm going to do today. I have some cute little ideas in mind.
Happy Hump Day!

New beeswax photo

Good morning! Hope you're all having a nice Saturday. As I mentioned yesterday, I did find time to play around with some beeswax. I used an image of Gail (my sister) & I . She was probably two or so & I was around 6. The photo is 8x10 inches. I followed the You tube video by Suze Weinberg to refresh my memory. I did it all in an electric skillet with the temperature set to warm. I first dipped the image in wax & placed that in the center. The rest is various napkins dipped in the wax & positioned however you like. It's a bit messy but I do love the wax look. The you tube link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P_4PzXr-38.
This weekend I will try & finish up my list of supplies for my complex collage class that starts next week. HAPPY SATURDAY!

New Earrings

Happy Friday! The weekend is upon us & a beautiful one it's suppose to be.
Last week I was looking at Silke's blog at http://silkepowers.blogspot.com/ & saw a pair of earring she had purchased. I fell in love with them as I have a fondness for peace signs & birds. I am posting my peace sign earrings this morning. I LOVE them!
They were made by Kelly at http://kellyberkeydesigns.blogspot.com/. How cute are these?
Thank you so much, Kelly.
Today, I am off to do a little playing in beeswax...we'll see what happens....or we
may not! Have a great weekend!

New bleached photos & complex collage class

Good morning! I am posting a couple more bleached photos this morning. As I've said in the past, this is a process I just love doing I have quite the collection.
I also signed up for my 2nd online class called Complex Collage with Julie Prichard & Chris Cozen. The website is: http://julieprichard.squarespace.com/complex-collage/
Class starts April 1st & I am excited. This looks a bit different than any collage I have ever done. Go by & check it out. Have a great day everyone!

And The Two Winners Are...............

Happy Monday morning everyone! My son pulled two winners from my bowl of entries last night. As you can see he selected the 3rd & 19th posts. The two winners are
Elsina of http://emsarts.blogspot.com/
& Tweedles of http://tweedles-georgie.blogspot.com/
Congratulations to you both. I will have your winning in the mail tomorrow.Thank you to all that joined in.

New Fabric Collage

Good morning bloggers! I have completed another fabric collage that I am posting this morning. I finally did a family one. This is my son & I back around 1969 or so.
He was around 4-5 years old which made me about 20-21 years old. It measures 21x22 inches. The photo was taken by my husband. This is actually one of three collages I am working on right now. Hope you enjoy it & hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
I will be drawing two winners tomorrow for my giveaway.

GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY!!!!

Good Monday morning everyone! I am starting this new week with some giveaways.
I have continued making picture after picture with my image transfers. I have an unbelievable collection right now. Selling on Etsy just does not appeal too me as it sounds too much like "work". My sister suggested I just start doing monthly or weekly giveaways. I think that was a great idea. Sometimes it's so hard to find time to do art but I love blogging & I am not letting go of that for ANYTHING!
Soooooo.....giveaways it is! I am offering 2 image transfers this week. The top one is a Mucha image & the bottom is from a vintage postcard, if I recall correctly. They are both 6x8 inches. I will draw two winners on Sunday, March 21st.
GOOD LUCK!!

Check out this gorgeous boy!

I am posting a picture of Cooper this morning that I had done by Rebecca at artdogblog.blogspot.com. This is their "painterly" style & I love it! Cooper is so gorgeous, you'd never know he was born in the back of an old rusty car. He is just as sweet as he is beautiful. Thank you so much Rebecca! Stop by & chec k out her work.

Bleached Photos with Instructions

I am posting some bleached photos this morning with instructions. I've had a few requests since OWOH to post these again. Here it goes..............
This method was covered in Karen Michel's book, Complete Guide to Altered Imagery (pictured.)Get this book! It's one of my favorites out of probably 100 art books. The process is really quite easy with the only draw back being you need to use 35mm photographs. You can't bleach an ink jet print (to my knowledge.)
You can add some additional things to the photo prior to the bleach dip. You can place texture plates or rubber stamps under the photo & press down firmly for a textured look in the background. You can also sand the photo a bit (kind of a grunge look) with fine sandpaper. That adds a nice look also. You place gel medium (I use Golden) over any area of the photograph that you want to resist the bleach. Sometimes I just dip the entire photo without using any gel medium.
I mix 2 bowls (not too deep) with water in one & a 50% bleach/water solution in the other. Dip your photo in the water 1st & then into the bleach solution for 6-10 seconds or so. You can experiment a bit with the time. When you remove it from the bleach, dip again in clear water & wash off the excess. Let dry.
I add water colors & use the Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Artists' Crayons to add additional color. Give it a try...it's so much fun! These photographs are all from my husband's collection. I do love the wall of clogs photo taken in Holland.