What's Black and White and...

Q: What is black and white, white and black, black and white?
A: A zebra caught in a revolving door!!!

OK, apologies for the really poor attempt at humour there, but it was the only black and white joke I could think of right now!

Swiftly moving on, Black and White is a theme for ATC Addicts R Us this month, so I took the bull by the horns and got creating! I already had some stamped acetate images ready with this swap in mind (Crafty Individuals and some other company I cannot remember right now!)

First ATC, Flower Girl, I cut along the shaped side of the image and attached a strip of lace paper (see the texture peeking out the right hand side?) I then used diamond glaze to glue the image onto a piece of DCWV backing paper (black and white stack - sunflowers) hoping that the petals of the sunflowers look like layers of her dress... does that work?

Kind of... anyways, I inked the edges and matted and layered onto white and then black card. To embellish, I used versamark and black and white embossing powders to colorise 2 die cut flowers, and layered them up on the bottom right hand corner, attaching a pearl flower in the centre and a mini micro brad. I added a teeny weeny pearl flower to the image in her hair, and a teeny weeny fabric flower to her dress - onto this one I popped a black gem, and then to finish I attached a few more gems in the centre of the flowers on the stamped image.

Flower Girl

This next ATC, Girls Night Out, was such fun to make! I placed the image over some handmade paper and some lace - I think it looks really cool, like the lace is the top of the girls' dresses! All this needed was matting and layering and a few finishing touches. I added wire and beads down the left hand side, and a tiny star button up the top. Melikes! (I don't say that often!!!)

Girls' Night Out

Actually, melikes this next ATC too (what happened to self doubt?! Maybe it decreases the nearer you get to 30?!) I love this Pierrot image, it seemed to fit perfectly within the black and white theme. I layered it onto handmade paper, then onto black card, adding 3 brads over buttons on the image to help hold the acetate in place. I attached the word "Pierrot" using diamond glaze, and embellished with a pinwheel sequin, pearl flower and mini micro brad. The harlequin style lace down the left hand side adds a bit of texture and interest!

Pierrot

The Holiday is Over; 1 down 1 to go!

Hooray, hooray, it's a holi-holi-day! Done and dusted, 4 Holiday/Vacation Themed ATCs, 3 of which will go in for the ATC Addicts R Us themed swap for August. The other one... aha!

Anyways, to each ATC I chose an image from either the "funnies" or "travel" ATC paper pads, adding colour using direct to paper technique, to lift them up off the background. Also added 4 fancy corners to make each image look like a snapshot from a holiday photo album.

Got Tuna?

Attached the phrase "Got Tuna?" with mini micro brads, adding a fish charm (thank you FDF!) which I had alcohol inked. Final touch, a wavy peel off (yup, you read that right, a *peel off*!!!)...

Memories

Added an alcohol inked metal plaque - memories - and some rustic looking gold glass chips, to create the effect of a pebble beach...

Dip Your Toe In

Added a windsurfer charm which had been alcohol inked, attaching it with a brad. Another wavy line peel off (am I feeling alright?!) and this one was done!

The Gene Pool

My favourite I think - attached an alcohol inked sea conch charm using a mini micro brad, and added the phrase "The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard" - the final touch was a few of those rustic gold glass chips.

And, hip hip hooray, 1 down 1 to go - I have completed one of my gothic arches. I was drawn to them as soon as I woke up, so took advantage and got cracking with finishing one off.

So what have I added to what was once a mere background? 2 stamped images of teeny weeny flutterbies in spring pansy, coating the images with diamond glaze. I also stamped teeny weeny swirls in gold, attached a wire coil/ribbon to the bottom left hand corner, then, using wire, attached tiny lilac sequin flowers all the way round the arch so they kinda hang off - added a bit of ribbon to one of them. I bedazzled up the dark butterfly images on the backround paper using, those things I can never remember the name of... accent beads!!! I also gave both of these butterflies antennae (could resist!) Finally I added my alcohol inked metal butterfly and voila!

The Master Calls a Butterfly

Coasting!!!

Finally my finished Altered Coaster for a swap on Advanced Artist Trading Cards have been completed and sent off in the post! Backgrounds were all done using Bernie Berlin's background technique "emboss resist", then, the theme being numbers, I had to pick my fave no... 2! (no rude jokes please!)

The harlequin background on this coaster gave me a great starting point, and it was easy to choose an image for it - this one is stamped onto acetate, and I had layered 3 strips of mulberry paper underneath, to add a bit of depth to the image. I cracked open a packed of "diamond" Ranger pop outs that I have been hoarding for some time, and used B-Muse embossing powders on them, and then swiped round the edge of the coaster with versamark and used the same colour embossing powder as I had done on the pop outs. Beaded chain around my no.2 and around the diamonds, plus a few diamante stars, and this one was completed!

2 Little Angels

The next coaster was a bit tricky-wicky, as it was the first time I had used my crop-a-dile to attach organza ribbon onto a surface with eyelets. I didn't want to spoil ye olde coaster, and fortunately, after a bit of faffing, I got the effect I was after. Added some velvet ribbon too, for a bit of touchy feely-ness. The no.2 and edge of the coaster have B-Muse embossing powders on them, and the no. is attached with 4 teeny tiny "screw head" brads. I alcohol inked a round frame from The Fruit Pixie, and attached it over my chosen image with brads. A touch of bling was needed to finish off, so I applied gems, beads and wire to complete the coaster.

2 Hearts Beating as 1

This is my secone fave coaster out of the four I made. Image is crafty Individuals, a little ric rac down one side (thank you FDF for your advice!) and interlocked the image into a die cut swirl that I had embossed with, yup, you got it, B-Muse embossing powders (and the edge of the coaster too!) Alcohol inked a washer and a button, using the washer to frame my no. and the button as an embellishment. Completed my chosen phrase "2gether" (not good English I know - but I think it looks good on arty farty stuff) The finishing touch was a flower from a sheet of prima flowers sent to me as an RAK by a member of the group ATC Addicts R Us (thank you!)

2-gether

My most favourite coaster of all... really hard to part with this one, yet I didn't like it at first! How odd... Anyway, attached some vintage lace using some large eyelets, tucking my image (Crafty Individuals) underneath on one side. Added my phrase "IT TAKES" and my no. 2, and used gold trim under both the no. and the image. Used some pink gems to create a corner on the top right, attach these with wire (unusual gems these, they have 2 holes on the top). Finishing touch, attaching some musical note charms with wire, twisted this way and that.

It Takes 2 (to Tango)

If no one wants this one in the swap... I wonder if I could have my own back?!

Girly Wirly

I did something very brave today... I used... wait for it...

s-t-i-c-k-e-r-s !!!

Anyone who knows me, will understand how traumatic this was for me - I am not a sticker person - but with the theme of "Girly Stuff" I didn't have an awful lot of scope in my ever expanding craft stash to use.

And, this is perhaps wierd, (but then I am a Freaky Deaky Crafty Chick after all!) but I find stickers really difficult to use on my work. Give me a few stamps and I am off, but stickers... my head retreats into its shed!

Anyhoo, I managed to locate some rather flash stickers that I think were part of a QVC TSV that me and Mumsy shared, and they tied in perfectly with a set of 3 charms that my Freakie Deaky Friendie had given me to help me get started on this themed swap. Phewie! It took me a while, but they finally came together...

You can never have too many bags, hats or shoes!

Flirty Dress!

Posh Frock

These ATCs are fairly simple: wide piece of pink ribbon, mulberry paper over one corner (you know me and my corners!), the words fun and sassy (DCWV paper methinks), a length of tape measure (all us girlies know about measuring up!) and for the focal point... stickers *shudder*

Had to jazz them up with gems, fibers, flowers, and the final touch, thanks to my FDF, the charms! Which I faffed with of course, and alcohol inked them, attaching a ribbon through the loops before using brads to hold them in place on the ATCs.

Phew, that was pretty stressful. Especially as the deadline is Monday, and they are for ATC Addicts which I co-own with my FDF, and I still have waterfall ATCs to do! What with moving, somehow time for crafting got shoved aside for a while, then wham bam, I've got deadlines looming! Thank goodness my creative muse was by my side today :D

Bernie Berlin... again!

Had to take on the challenge and take part in the Bernie Berlin ATC swap on UKATC. I was able to use 3 different background techniques from her book for this swap :)

I used one of the backgrounds I created on 14th July

http://freakydeakycrafter.blogspot.com/2008/07/bernie-berlin.html

I found a suitable image, and once I had that, the rest just came together! A layer of mesh, some mulberry paper, star eyelets and star gems. Made my own little chipboard letters to spell out "lovers".

"Lovers" (emboss-resist)

My second ATC uses a background created waaaaaay back... maybe early 2007? This uses the technique "fun foam". I had glued foam hearts onto an ATC base, layering some up double, then covered with foil tape and alcohol inked over the top. Yet again, finding an image that fitted in with my background gave me a good starting point and just by adding wire/bead embellishments and a word (again, I created my own chipboard letters) this ATC was done and dusted.

"Possession" (fun foam)

My last ATC used the technique "inky layers" though with a little improvisation on my part - I didn't have a coloured glazing medium as suggested, substituting it with diamond glaze... I don't think it made a huuuuuge difference..? This one was fun to make up, using a bottle cap image from Digital Collage Downloads, creating a framey with flowers to lift the image off the background. Added my trademark mesh, and yet more handmade chipboard letters... I think this one is my fave... or maybe "Lovers"... or maybe "Possession"... or maybe... I am just too darned indecisive!!!

"Innocence" (inky layers)

You see, the thing with the techniques in Bernie Berlin's book is, that you don't need to add much to complete an ATC, mainly because you don't want to cover up your lush backgrounds! Anyone fancying a challenge or a change, I highly recommend her book, available on Amazon and all the other usual places!

Artist Trading Card Workshop by Bernie Berlin.

Nail Varnish Backgrounds Fluttering By!

Finally turned those nail varnish backgrounds from 4th July...

http://freakydeakycrafter.blogspot.com/2008/07/nail-varnish-high-and-somewhere-to-be.html

... into completed ATCs!

I added gorge flutterby sequins which I had embellished myself with beads...

... and a swirly wirly die cut (courtesy of my craft penpal from the U S of A) ...

... then I stuck gems onto the die cuts to lift them off the backgrounds ...

... and used my new mini alphabet stamps from The Fruit Pixie to stamp either "soar" or "fly fly away" ...

I am liking flutterbies at the mo! Really excited as there is a butterfly themed Gothic Arch swap coming up on ATC Addicts in July/Aug... yay! :D

Dreaming of Midsummer

Our first Guest Hostess swap was held on ATC Addicts R Us, the theme was Shakespeare, and I couldn't resist joining in. I decided, after much deliberation, to go with an interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream...

Backgrounds use the handmade papers I created the other day with my fantasy fibers and my trusty iron! Then I took my fave fairy stamp (by Clarity Stamp) to be "Titania" (queen of the fairies) and inked it up with Stazon, placed a couple of pieces of fantasy film over the top, a piece of paper to protect it, and ironed carefully...

Titania, Queen of the Fairies

Attached the images using wire and a couple of brads, then embellished my ATCs with the word "dream" and sparkly gems and sequins. Fun to make!