Christmas Cards

Last night I started making my Christmas cards for 2013, and here are some samples:
The two kraft cards were made with a bit gesso, tape, rubber stamps, collage images and brads.

These two cards use digital collages that I´ve printed out, and the left one adds a brad and a rubber stamped sentiment.

These mixed-media cards were made with gesso, found papers, rubber stamps, and brads.
I´ve made many more, but I just wanted to show you the variety of possible designs ...

Twinkling with the Stars

Just in time for starting your Christmas projects, my favourite designers Tracey from Hidden Vintages Studios and Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio have come out with their brand new kits "Sugar Plum Fairies" (full of lovely characters) and "Holiday Twinkle" (some great sparkling backgrounds and elements) that are easy to combine, as you can see in my two digital samples.

Plant a Tree

Heather has chosen "Trees" as the theme for her tip-in book, and I picked a Chinese proverb for my pages.
It´s hard to believe that these are the last pages I´ve made for other participants of our Paper Traders tip-in project - it has been an interesting year-long project, and I can´t wait to receive the last pages for my own book with a Crows and Ravens theme. Then it´s time to make my own pages and covers for my book and to assemble them all - I´ll show you the finished book, I promise!

Down the Rabbit Hole!

Don´t you love Alice in Wonderland? I know I do!! So I´ve been very happy about the new kits from Hidden Vintage Studios and Holliewood Studios both called "Down the Rabbit Hole" which go together very well.

And here´s one more piece using the characters from Hidden Vintage Studios with a background from Finecrafted Designs.

Books are my Friends

I´ve always loved Gibson Girls - not only because of their classical (or should I say classy?) beauty but also because they look intelligent. I have lots of Gibson Girls rubber stamps and use them a lot, so it wasn´t easy to decide which one to use for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge ... This reading beauty is one of my favourites, and it´s so easy to combine her with images not only from her own era; she´s a timeless beauty.

Postage Dogs

Postage People can be dogs, too ...

Images from Tumble Fish Studio at Deviant Scrap, rubber stamp from Catslife Press.

Renaissance

My Renaissance postcard for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge was made digitally with images from Itkupilli.

Home Is Where The Heart Is

Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio has come out with a huge kit today called "Little Houses". You can play with several house templates, backgrounds and elements both digitally and cut and paste, and the possibilities are endless! I have two digital samples for you, and everything I´ve used is from the kit except Santa who made a visit from Marsha´s kit "Putz Houses".

Vintage Sewing

For this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge theme "Vintage Sewing", I didn´t use my sewing machine but several papers, rubber stamps from Tim Holtz and Paper Artsy, a stencil from Red Lead, and a scissors brad - hope you´ll like it nevertheless!

Photography

I´ve made these four ATCs for a photography themed swap today.
Please click on the image to see all the details.

Personal Maps

If you´re a regular reader of  my blog, you already know that you can find maps or at least pieces of maps on most of my cards, ATCs and other artwork - I just love to use strips of maps to "build" a collaged landscape or for other design elements. So I´ve chosen "Maps" as a theme for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and I hope you´ll feel inspired to show us your favourite way of using maps, may they be stamped or collaged, or taped, or just used as a background paper that you paint over.
For my sample, I´ve used three different original vintage maps and rubber stamps from Zettiology and Katzelcraft. Can´t wait to see how YOU like to use maps in your art!

Witches Brew

Here´s my card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Witches Brew", and as a Shakespeare fan I had to use his words of course! I´ve used stamps from Red Lead and Lost Coast Designs here.

Vintage Christmas Ornaments

Tonight I finished my Vintage Christmas Ornaments for the current swap at Red Lead - I´m sorry that I wasn´t able to take better photos of them ... The birds ornament above has a little bell at its bottom, and the snow ornament below has lots of Mica flakes on it. These have been my first Christmas project for this year!

Shades of Yellow/Orange

Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio just came out with her new kit "Shades of Yellow/Orange" plus the according journal cards kit. I´ve made two samples for you showing the wide range of shades and images this kit contains. And though these samples are digital, you can also make cut and paste art with these kits as they come with jpg sheets included.

Sisters with Attitute - My Pages

I´ve told you before about this project organized by my friend Trudi Sissons who invited the whole Tumble Fish Studio creative team to make some 5 x 5 pages using Marsha´s images with the relatively new product called Craft Attitude. It´s a transparent film that you can print on with your inkjet printer, then adhere (glue, laminate or iron) it to your background. The background I´ve used for these two pages is an embossed paper that I´ve collaged with old dictionary pages, old cancelled postage stamps, maps and sheet music. You could also use rubber stamps or whatever you like to see through your transparent image.

If you have questions about Craft Attitude art film,  please visit the FAQ section at:  http://www.craftattitude.com/community/2013-07-10/frequently-asked-questions

Today you´ll find my two pages for this project on the Craft Attitude community page as well as on their Facebook page. And don´t forget to have a look at all the other pages from our great team - here´s the schedule:

October 14 - Trudi Sissons from Canada - Announcement of "Sisters with Attitude" 1 image

October 15 - Jayne Alexander from  England - 1 image

October 16 - Mary Bailey from  Washington - 9 images

October 17 - Nancy Baumiller from  Missouri - 1 image

October 18 - Marion Bockelmann from  Germany - 2 images

October 19 - Amber Tabangay from  New York, 3 images

October 20 - Trudi Sissons from  Canada - 2 images

October 21 - Renee Stien from  Minnesota - 1 image

October 22 - Tracey Parker from Uniontown, Ohio - 2 images

October 23 - Fiona Randall from the United Kingdom - 1 image

October 24 - Donna B. Miller from  Kentucky - 2 images

October 25 - Melissa Kaye from Texas - 1 image

October 26 - Dale Botha from  South Africa - 2 images

October 27 - Marsha Jorgensen from  California - 3 images

If you have a chance to try Craft Attitude, you should try it - it´s fun and gives your finished piece a lovely smooth surface, and I´ve found it easy to use: I had no problems printing on it and glueing it to my base papers with a glue stick. On the page above you can see that the texture of the embossed paper I´ve used looks great and is easily visible.

Sweeney Todd

Have you ever seen Tim Burton´s film "Sweeney Todd"? I´ve only seen it on TV, but I remember that it was a very bloody story ... What I didn´t know is that the story was published as a Penny Dreadful in 1846 and that it was first filmed in 1936. Then in 1979 there was the musical followed by Burton´s film in 2007.
Now Hidden Vintage Studios and Marta van Eck have come out with a collaboration at Deviant Scrap inspired by "The Demon Barber". I´ve used both their kits for my digital collage above showing Sweeney before starting to "shave" the judge who ruined his family while Mrs Lovett is waiting outside for new flesh she can use in her pastry.
Both kits can be used for any Halloween themes and for totally different themed artwork, too!

Follow Your Inner Compass

Here´s my Crow themed card for a monthly postcard exchange in one of my groups.

Sisters with Attitude - started!

Do you remember the teaser I´ve shown here some time ago for this project? I´m excited to tell you that it started TODAY! If you´re interested, please come and have a look at the Craft Attitude Facebook page or at the Craft Attitude Community page every day for the next two weeks, because each day a different artist´s artwork for this project will be shown there. I feel honoured to be a part of this project and will let you know here when my pages are online ... I´ll tell you all about the product and how my pieces were made then!

Unlucky 13

When I was a child, I had a silver "13" on my charm bracelet, so I grew up thinking that it was a lucky number. Of course I couldn´t understand when I heard or read that hotels don´t have 13th floors or rooms with the number 13. It wasn´t until tonight that I DID understand - just have a look at this postcard for this week´s SPA challenge ... I think I´d rather check in No. 14!
(all images used here are from Tumble Fish Studio)

It Must Be Magic

Donna´s theme for our monthly tip-in pages project is "It Must Be Magic", and I knew I wanted to make my pages quite dark. So I blended one of my own spray-inked backgrounds with a stage image from Eena´s Creations and printed it out on watercolour paper. I printed all the other elements on watercolour paper too but the playing cards that are real small cards. Then I put it all together and overworked the spread with coloured pencils and chalks. The quote is from Roald Dahl.
(elements used are from Rucola Designs, Tumble Fish Studio, Holliewood Studios, and Eena´s Creations, all at Deviant Scrap, the magician and doves are from Tangie Baxter)

Dark Nights and Spooky Creatures

You´ve already seen the ATC on the right yesterday, but here it is with its two companions as a set I´ve made for an ATC swap themed "Dark Nights and Spooky Creatures".
The ATC on the left is a cut and paste ATC using images from Holliewood Studios, Tumble Fish Studio and Terri Kahrs, and the middle one is mostly stamped with images from Oxford Impressions and Character Constructions, background and number are from Hidden Vintage Studios.

Rest in Peace

 ... is the title of my cut and paste ATC that I´ve made using a girl from Hidden Vintage Studios´ brand new kit called "Flight of Fancy Halloween 2" (additional images are from Krysty Scrap, Tumble Fish Studio and Holliewood Studios).
My second sample using this kit is a digital one called "Departure" (additional elements are from Krysty Scrap, Eena´s Creations, Rucola Designs, Holliewood Studios, Cryztal Rain and Tumble Fish Studio).

Black Cats

"Black Cats" is this week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and here´s my entry for it. I´ve used images from Tumble Fish Studio, Marta van Eck, Cherry Pie and others for my mixed media postcard.

Call You Honey

Here´s my card for this week´s SPA challenge themed "Bees" - I´ve used images from Hidden Vintage Studios and Finecrafted Designs and rubber stamps from Character Constructions and The Stampmine on a background sprayed with Dylusions spray inks.

Hotel Hell

Be Fearless

(characters from Hidden Vintage Studios, additional elements from Tumble Fish Studio, Holliewood Studios, Downunder Studios, Cryztal Rain and Digilicious)

Come In and Find Out

(characters from Hidden Vintage Studios, additonal elements from Marta van Eck, Holliewood Studios, Downunder Studios and Tumble Fish Studio)

Welcome to Hotel Hell! This is Deviant Scrap´s latest Designer Collaboration, and there are some really creepy kits to explore! Above, I show you two digital collages using characters from the Hidden Vintage Studios part of the collab, and below you´ll find two samples made with Tumble Fish Studio´s part.
Though I´ve made digital collages this time, you´ll be able to use both kits for your cut and paste artwork as well as they come with printable collage sheets!

Special Service

(all images from Tumble Fish Studio)

Terminal Hotel

(all images from Tumble Fish Studio)

Busy Bees

Books and Bees

 (additional elements from Finecrafted Designs, Krysty Scrap and Cryztal Rain)

Queen Bee

(addtional elements from Finecrafted Designs, Holliewood Studios and Altered Emporium)

Tracey from Hidden Vintage Studios has come out with a fab new kit today - Busy Bees!
I´ve made two digital samples for you, but as always this kit comes with collage sheets as well as png images, so you can easily use it for your cut and paste artwork.

Autumn Impressions

Debra´s theme for her tip-in book is "Autumn Impressions", and her format is 5 x 8 inches vertically.
The first thing that came to my mind was Rilke´s famous autumn poem, but finally I decided to use Emily Bronte´s poem on my book spread. I added a tag with Rilke´s poem though ...

Decisions, Decisions ...

"Transport" is this week´s SPA challenge theme, and I couldn´t resist using my new Lost Coast stamp for my entry.

Big City Amusement

To accompany last week´s Postage People ATCs as a hostess gift, I´ve made this cut and paste postcard. All images are from Tumble Fish Studio´s latest kit "Shades of Red" that Marsha published while I was on vacation - couldn´t resist playing with these fun images! (Only the hat is from her kit "Noggin Toppers".)

Meet the Addams Family ...

I´ve had a lot of fun today making this Gothic themed postcard for Renee! I´ve used a painting from German painter Carl Blechen for the background, sanded and painted it and added some collaged and stamped elements.

Home Is Where the Witch Is

These are my ATCs for the ARTchix Halloween ATC swap - hope they´ll reach our hostess this time (as my entry for the last swap got lost in the mail).

Chalkboard ATCs

I´ve made some ATCs using the chalkboard technique just for fun - I really like this effect for Halloween themed artwork. If you want to learn more about this technique, I recommend Daniela Rogall´s Youtube video and the upcoming issue of her magazine "Just Stamps"!

Postage People - Halloween Edition!

I seems that every project I´m starting right now turns out into some kind of Halloween stuff in the end ... So when I made my ATCs for a Postage People ATC swap at Paper Traders, I ended with some really spooky ATCs, even some faces that turned green.
(Image credits: Hidden Vintage Studios, Holliewood Studios, and Tumble Fish Studio, all at Deviant Scrap.)

Flight of Fancy Halloween

Tracey from Hidden Vintage Studios has done it again: a wonderful collab with Hollie from Holliewood Studios! This one is called "Flight of Fancy Halloween", and I´ve had much fun combining Tracey´s characters with Hollie´s backgrounds, frames, and other Halloween stuff.
My first three samples are digital collages, and the last picture shows a cut and paste ATC.