Frida Kahlo ATCs

One of the best things about Christmas is that there´s always enough time to do a bit of stamping and collage. This time, I´ve had an upcoming Frida Kahlo ATC swap on my to do list, and the first batch shows the six ATCs I´ve chosen for it. But sometimes when I´ve been diving deep into a theme, I just can´t stop, so I´ve made four more just for fun and for my trading album ...

Winter Fest

Are you looking forward to the holidays? If you´re like me, you can´t wait to have a few quiet days possibly with your family, but especially if you´re very young, you might be curious about the gifts you´ll receive ...
My digital collage in 4 x 6 postcard format was made with the new Songbirdy kit called "Winter Fest".

Jingle Bells

"Jingle Bells" is not my favourite Christmas song, but it´s this week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge. For my digital collage, elements from Rebecca McMeen, Itkupilli, Erica Zwart and Shadowhouse came together.

Holiday Card Ideas

Have you already made all your holiday cards, or do you need some fresh ideas especially for cards that are easy to make?
If you know me for a while, you already know that I´m a big fan of brads, and holiday cards are my favourite items to use them - for my cards here I´ve combined antlers, hats and holly brads with Tim Holtz´ photobooth people, but you can also use people from magazines or your own family photos of course ...

The next two cards don´t use brads but cards pre-printed with dots and stripes - just add your favourite stamps, and maybe a bit of colouring.

Discombobulated

I must confess that I had to look up the title of Beth Todd´s new Songbirdy kit "Discombobulated" - but I loved it at first sight! So many wonderful black and white elements with just a few hints of yellow and red are very inspiring, so these two collages called "Higher" and "Naked" came together very easily.

Charlie Chaplin

You´ll hardly find anyone who doesn´t know Charlie Chaplin´s name, and most of us have been watching his films and have laughed about them. But what I really adore about him and his work is that he made us laugh about things that aren´t funny at all, and I´ve always been interested in his indirect political statements and their consequences for his life - if you haven´t heard about these, I recommend an internet research.
For my card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Charlie Chaplin" I´ve used a portrait from Carmen´s Veranda and a stamp with a scene from "Modern Times" (Stempelbar), and in my opinion the words from Dina Wakley fit perfectly.

And as Lost Coast Designs and Carmen´s Veranda have a new challenge theme called "For the Men" right now, this card is my entry for it - please check it out here:

Entomology

Do you like insects? Personally, I´m not too fond of having them around me, but of course I know how important they are, and some of them are real beauties, too. In addition, their biology and social life is very interesting, and they deserve our respect.
My sister Sabine has picked "insects" as this week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and I decided to make a digital card this time (credits: The Urban Fairy, Holliewood Studios and Foxeysquirrel).

Poe´s Secret

What´s better than hours of reading when it gets darker outside? And the perfect read for October is anything from Edgar Allan Poe ... For this postcard, I´ve picked an old book page from "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" (remember Alan Parsons Project?), as a background and used some new Poe stamps from IndigoBlu.
What´s your read for October?

Leave Your Fears Behind

For this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Bats" I´ve made a card that works as a Halloween card as well as a Steampunk card. I´ve used my favourite bat stamp and a bat winged Steampunk Flying Machine stamp on a background made with a Gelli print and a piece of a map. The words make the card useful for many other occasions.
(Stamp credits: Oxford Impressions, Lost Coast Designs, Visible Image)

Wicked

Halloween is coming near, and for a "Wicked" themed skinny swap I´ve made this 3 x 5 inches skinny page, front and back. Hope it will arrive in Canada in time!

Why Not?

"Happily Ever After" is the title of this digital collage, and I hope that your relationship looks much happier!
And don´t you know the moment when your surroundings seem to burst from inspiration while your canvas stay white? The lady below has practiced a lot on the walls, but she doesn´t dare to start her canvas ...
I´ve made both collages with the new Songbirdy kit "Why Not?", available at MischiefCircus, and there are sooooo many more possibilities to use this fun kit!

Autumn Trees

For this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Trees", I´ve been inspired by the weather today - a sunny and warm but also rainy day showing all the colours of Autumn.
I´ve used rubber stamps from Stampendous and American Crafts on a watercolour postcard and painted the background with pearlescent watercolours. Unfortunately it´s not possible to show their lovely shimmer in a scan ...

Halloween Swap ATCs

It´s that time of the year again - yes, Halloween is near! So here are my ATCs for a Halloween swap including three Postage People.

We could be Queens

This week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge is "Queens". I´ve been in the mood to make a colourful street art card with my Zetti girls and an altered Bowie quote - hope you´ll like it!

Evolution

"You tell me that it´s evolution - Well, you know - We all want to change the World ..." (The Beatles, Revolution)

For this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge, I´ve chosen the theme "Evolution". Please don´t be scared - you don´t have to tell us anything about Darwin etc. but can illustrate ANY form of evolution, any development like a chrysalis or whatever comes to your mind - feel free to surprise me!

For my card, I´ve used a quote from Henry Louis Mencken (1880-1956) and some cool stamps from Stempelbar.

It is all in your Hand

"Hands" is this week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and I´ve had a hard time choosing my stamps and stencils for this card because I own quite a collection of hand stamps :-))
I´ve picked a stencil and hand stamps from Visible Image in the end and a Klartext alphabet.

New Postage People ATCs

These are nine new Postage People ATCs fresh from my kitchen table - and if you´ve ever tried to make some of these, you know that it´s hard to stop! I have a few more "people" put together who just haven´t found their surroundings yet, but I´m quite happy with these so far. Some of them are for a swap in one of my ATC trading groups, and the rest will go to my trading album ... much needed because there´ll be Germany´s biggest stamping fair next week, and I don´t have enough ATCs in my album to trade with all my stamping friends I´ll meet there.

Can you help me to find out the best ATCs for the swap? Which are your favourites? Please tell me, and I´ll be happy to follow your tips.

Shenanigans!

Fun Fun Fun! That´s what the new Songbirdy kit "Shenanigans" is all about, and this is what you´ll have with it. I´ve made these two collages with it, "All Mad" and "Smile!".

Sovereignty - some more Zetti style collages

What I love about Nancy Baumiller´s image kits is that they come with beautiful printable collage sheets as well as png images. Recently, I´ve been in the mood to make some cut and paste collages again. With the new Sovereignty papers and images (available at MischiefCircus.com) I´ve made another cut and paste collaged page in my Moleskine journal (above) as well as a collaged envelope meant to hold a gift coupon - that´s why I´ve called it "With Love" (and because her chest is heart shaped, of course).

Turn the Music on

While playing with papers, inks and rubber stamps, I love to listen to my favourite music, and all those things together sometimes make me feel like I´m completely out of this world - that´s the best thing about making art, and such an art night can have the same effect as a short vacation.
My ATC illustrating that was made with rubber stamps from Stempelbar, AALL & Create and Klartext, and the tiny headphones brad was the perfect addition ...

Olympus

My digital "Olympus" collage was made with the new "Celestial" kits (papers, elements, and transparents) from Songbirdy at MischiefCircus.com.

Imagine

 "Out and About" is a cut and paste collage in my moleskine journal.

"I´ll keep an Eye on you" is a cut and paste 4 x 6 postcard.

I´ve been surprised lately to feel the need to make some cut and paste collages again after quite a long time ... and Nancy Baumiller´s Zetti inspired image kits always come handy then, and her new large kits called "Imagine" (images and papers) gave me the excuse to PLAY and have fun! It comes with six printable collage sheets, so I had to stop myself playing when the weekend was over ;-) 

We are like Butterflies

We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever - these words by Carl Sagan match with Lynne Perrella´s lovely butterfly lady stamp and the transparent wings. What is your idea for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Butterfly Wings"?

Renewal

When I saw Nancy Baumiller´s new image and collage sheets kit called "Renewal", I immediately wanted to pull out my scissors and glue and PLAY! So this cut and paste collage in my Moleskine journal came together quite quickly, and I´ve had so much fun with it.

Freedom

I´ve always loved these words by Jean-Paul Sartre, and when I decided to use the wolf and the bird from Nancy Baumiller´s new Crowabout StudioB kits "Evolving" images and papers, they came to my mind immediately. Fly away, little yellow bird!

Dogs

No, I´ve never had a dog or a cat, just canaries when I was very young ... But haven´t you ever thought about what our pets think about this world and mankind? I´ve had much fun watching the first "Pets" movie and am looking forward to the second one - who knows if the moths and spiders in my apartment celebrate a heavy metal party when I´m off to work?!
The quote I´ve used for my card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Dogs" is from Mme de Stael (born in the 18th century, and I fear that she wouldn´t have changed her mind if she lived nowadays).

Dragonfly

Dragonflies are very elegant and lightweight animals, and I tried to keep that in mind when I made my card for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Dragonflies".

Thingymabob

 I´ve been really happy when my friend Beth told me that her new digital image kit would be colourful, and when I saw it I immediately fell in love with the funny and quirky images of "Thingymabob". What came out first when I worked with it wasn´t so funny (see my collage "Another Toy" above) but that´s just another quality of this kit. With my second collage "Time for a Rest" below I came back to a funnier style, playing with size, exaggeration and artificial style.

Follow Your Inner Compass

My sister Sabine is hosting this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge, and she has chosen the theme "Travel/Maps". My 4 x 6 postcard was made using rubber stamps from Art Specially and Unity Stamps.

Chaos

Have you ever asked a book lover for her/his favourite quote? Well, Mandy from Sunday Postcard Art Challenge blog and her guest host Deann did it this week ... and of course I couldn´t decide which quote to use, so I ended using a line from the wonderful Kinks song "Lola" (published in 1973, an important year in my own life by the way). I´ve used rubber stamps from The Stamping Cottage, Paperbag Studios, Silvercrow and Visible Image for my card, and as this is one of my favourite themes, I can´t wait to see your own creation using your personal favourite quote! (And now I should spend some time reading more of Ray Davies´ great lyrics ...)

Coins and Seaside

I´ve had a week off work recently and have made my first ATC coins (not my favourite format) for a swap and some seaside themed ATCs just for fun.

My Home is my Castle

When you think of a chair, what is your first thought? For me, a chair means coziness, a place to read books or to talk to guests, a sort of nest inside your home - and that´s how this card came together.
It´s my entry for this week´s  Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Chair".

Zetti Coins

If you´re a stamper, you´ve already noticed that ATC coins are in vogue for a while now. Well, they won´t be my favourite shape, but at least I´ve tried them ... because I couldn´t resist the Zetti Coins theme.

Crow Girl and Friends

It´s party time ín the forum over at Mischief Circus with some really great challenges. Marta asked us which bird depicts our character, and I´ve chosen Crow Girl as my alter ego.
Then Hollie gave us a free kit with some heads to use with any modern photos to show "where are they now" - I´ve picked two photos from my own stash to make "In the Gallery" and "Rivals". Hope you´ll come over to the forum and show us your own creations!

Houses

I´ve told you before that I´m a city girl - I need theatres and museums and cinemas and shopping malls that I can reach by bike to feel comfortable where I live. But if you ask people why they like the place they live, I think that most people would tell you that they like their hometown because of their friends that live there (and I am no exception). Every house stands for the people that live in it, and that´s what makes a city loveable.
I´ve found the words for my card in a magazine and combined them with rubber stamps from IndigoBlu and Visible Image.
Oh, and I should mention that this card was made for this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed Houses - one of my all time favourite themes (houses, home etc.).

Art has no Rules

I haven´t made any ATCs for quite a while now, but as my sister is hosting an art themed ATC swap in one of our groups, I sat down to stamp some cards this afternoon. They don´t really make a "set", but hey - art has no rules!