My Home is my Castle Blog Swap Update No. 6

I´m back from my vacation and have found a few swap envelopes in my mailbox. Plus I received a few emails with late sign-ups or links to finished ATCs, yeah! So here are the links to more fantastic swap artwork from Melissa (plus here and here), Lynda (and the middle two here), Glenda, Beckie, Daniela, Sandy, and Charlotte. Lots of eye candy this week, and I hope you´ll visit these ladies´ blogs and leave them a nice comment if you like what you see. All cards have also been pinned to the swap board at Pinterest, so you can also like or comment there.

It looks like we´ll be 28 or 29 participants this year, and I´ve already received 13 entries in the mail. Most others have already sent me a link to their blog posts where their cards are shown. If you haven´t sent me your link, please remember to do it soon.

I´ll send out another newsletter today with a list of all cards received. If you´ve sent yours a while ago but don´t find your name on that list, please let me know.
See you all next week!

La Vie Bohème

Take a Risk

using lady from HVS kit "La Vie Boheme"
additional elements from Eena´s Creations, Finecrafted Designs, Rucola Designs, Art by January, Marta van Eck, Downunder Studio 

Deviant Scrap have come out with another fabulous designer collab this week themed "La Vie Boheme". Here are my digital samples for Hidden Vintage Studio (above) and Tumble Fish Studio (below).

Boheman Life

all images from Tumble Fish Studio kit "La Vie Boheme"

My Home is my Castle Blog Swap Update No. 5

It´s time for my weekly swap update, and there´s a lot of news today for you!

After two new arrivals today from Ilka and Fiona I now have 7 artists´ entries in my hands already, thanks ladies!

And as you may have seen on the Pinterest board, several of you have finished their entries last week: please have a look at the lovely ATCs from Joy, Ilka, Bevlea, Connie, Valerie-Jael, and Trudi, and leave some kind words if you like what you see.

There won´t be an update next week as I´ll be on vacation then, but I´ll be back with more news after my return - hope my mailbox will be full with your artwork then!

We Find Our Way

This week´s SPA challenge theme is "masculine", so I started my card asking myself what that means ... Are men really more ambitious, goal-oriented and straight forward? Or blind for the things out of the way?
On the other hand, I don´t know many women who are able to just enjoy the journey and take it as the reward ... People are different, and I don´t think that there are feminine and masculine characteristics at all. But if you have a look at the most successful people, you´ll see a lot of men and very few women, so it seems that men always find their way (or are found by other successful men, but that´s another story ...). That´s what my card is about.
(I have used stamps from Stamp Camp, Creavil, Stampers Anonymous and Artful Illusions.)

My Home is my Castle Blog Swap Update No. 4

Exactly half the time you have in this swap is over now, so I´ll send out my first blog swap reminder to all participants today. So far I´ve only received four envelopes from you, so I hope there´ll be more soon. But there are four weeks left for your ATCs to arrive, so it´s not even too late to join the swap ...

I have two more links to finished ATCs for you today: Please have a look at the fabulous cards from Fiona and Marilyn and leave them a nice comment if you like them! (You should have seen them already because I hope you´ve had a look at the swap board on Pinterest here.)

Have fun with your ATCs!

Girls of Summer

Hidden Vintage Studios have come out with a new kit today that´s called "Girls of Summer". I´ve made two cut and paste samples this time: "Destination unknown" above is a 4 x 6 postcard, the tag below is a standard sized one. The clouds in the background of the tag are taken from the new Tumble Fish Studio kit "Send in the Clouds" - hope you´ll check out these lovely new kits at Deviant Scrap!

Art Journaling 4 x 6 sized

Today has been a wonderful sunny day. I´ve spent most of my day sitting on my balcony, reading a great book. In the afternoon, I´ve listened to a band playing great songs from the 70s just beneath my balcony, being part of a cultural event in my hometown. Then in the evening I´ve been watching "The other F word", a wonderful documentary about aging punkrockers, and I finished my Saturday with a documentary about Ozzy Osbourne ... What a happy day this was!
But be honest - when did you ever write a good poem on a happy day? I know I never did. I´m old enough to know that I need sadness and darkness to be creative. That´s why my postcard sized art journal page for this week´s SPA challenge celebrates the dark side of my life. Obviously I didn´t make it today ...
For this card I used a watercolour background on watercolour paper, then applied a magazine photo that I then altered in any possible way - I sanded it, scratched it with a knife, smeared gesso over it, painted and drew over it to make it my own and to intensify the broken look and make it all mine. Then I stenciled the theme, stamped the raven and wrote a few words in black at the bottom and in white around the face on the left ("Why do I feel that broken?"). Quick and easy, but very intense, this "page" will always remind me of the necessity of those days.
Maybe some of you prefer bright pages with uplifting messages, affirmations and such - but what´s an art journal for? It´s for YOU, and if you´re not feeling optimistic today, why should you hide that? Make art from the feelings life gives you every day, and it will be good art, and it doesn´t matter if anybody else will have a look at it and will be able to read your words or not. That´s art journaling, and I can´t wait to see what you all come up with for this week´s challenge. I´m planning to make more postcard sized pages and then bind them in the end - and you?

My Home is my Castle Blog Swap Update No. 3

It´s time for my weekly swap update, and as it´s the third one you can see that three weeks have gone and five weeks are left for you to join this swap and have fun with us!

I´ve already received cards from Martina, Birgit, Sabine, and Laura - thanks, ladies, for sending your entries so fast and for the wonderful extras each of you has sent!

I hope you´ve all read the previous updates and had a look at the swap board at Pinterest here.

Before I´ll give you the links to more finished ATCs, I´d like to remind you to follow the rules of this swap: Please make sure that your cards have buildings as body parts or headdresses! 

And here are this week´s new cards from Jo, Nancy, and Peggy. Please have a look at them and leave a nice comment if you like them.
Have a creative week!

Love on the Lam

Tumble Fish Studio and Holliewood Studios came out with a wonderful collab kit called "Love on the Lam" - think Bonnie and Clyde, Chicago gangster movies and so on!
The two samples above are cut and paste collages using Marsha´s kit only; "For You" is a Moleskine journal page, "Caught by Love" is a postcard.
The two digital samples below combine Marsha´s and Hollie´s kits; the first one ist called "A Short Rest" (additional elements from Cryztal Rain and Jessica Sprague), the second one is called "Fingerprints"
Hope you´ll have a look at Deviant Scrap´s gallery to see all those other fabulous samples made with these inspiring kits.

Where Summer Hides ...

Making these Beach themed ATCs for a swap that my sister hosts has been a surrogate for the real sun - seems like my cards get more colourful the more the sky gets grey ... I´m desperately waiting for summer!

No Place Like Home, ...

... said Dorothy, and it´s this week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge. Houses, homes and nests are my favourite themes, so how could I resist to participate this week?
We have an art exhibition with this title just now in my hometown, so I took the words from a city magazine. The stamps I´ve used are from Paperbag Studio, Catslife, Ma Vinci´s and Darkroom Door, the lady is from Hidden Vintage Studios, eggs and nest from Elisha Barnett.

My Home is my Castle Blog Swap Update No. 2

Two weeks are over, and I´ve had 24 sign-ups for this swap so far - remember, there´s still so much time to sign up and join the fun because you only have to make 3 ATCs that have to be in my hands before July 15 ...

I hope you´ve all seen last week´s update and have clicked on the links to the first finished entries!? Here are two more for you as Birgit and Laura have finished their cards, too! Don´t forget to have a look at their wonderfully creative cards and leave them a nice comment!

I haven´t received much feedback about my idea of putting all entries on a special Pinterest board for this swap - have you visited it and do you like it? Please let me know! Even if you´re not on Pinterest, you´ll be able to see all entries in one place there. All images are automatically linked back to their online source, so you can either leave a comment on the board or directly on the artist´s blog.

Paper Sirens

 Down by the Sea

(credits: HVS, Finecrafted Designs, Beth Rimmer, Tumble Fish Studio, Crowabout Studio, Eena´s Creations, Cryztal Rain, all at Deviant Scrap

Jewels of the Sea

credits: HVS, PinkLotty, Beth Rimmer, Finecrafted Designs, Eena´s Creations, all at Deviant Scrap 

Today Hidden Vintage Studios have come out with a lovely new kit, Paper Sirens.  My first two samples are digital collages, but as you´ll also get jpg images with this kit, I´ve also made a cut and paste sample for you in my moleskine journal - hope you´ll like these lovely mermaids!

Friends Forever

cut and paste Moleskine page using elements from HVS, Crowabout Studio, Tumble Fish Studio

Party Time!

Yes, it´s Party time today because this is this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge theme - so let´s celebrate!

White on White

What a difficult theme Cathy has chosen for her tip-in book - at least for a colour lover like me! So I used white, cream and ivory scraps, lots of gesso, tissue tapes, paper lace, buttons, rub-ons and a bit of sewing to break up the dull surface. Personally, I prefer more contrast and a less vintage feeling, but as these pages look much better in real life, I´m satisfied with them, and they´ll be on their way to South Carolina soon.

My Home is my Castle Blog Swap Update No. 1

I´ve been busy working on my own ATCs for this swap last weekend to have enough to accompany each and every update, so here´s my first one to give you some more inspiration ...
I´ve had 21 sign-ups from 4 different countries for this swap so far, and two of you have already posted their finished ATCs, yeah! Please have a look at the fabulous entries from Sabine and Martina, get inspired and don´t forget to leave them a comment if you like their cards (if you´re new to my swaps: I´ll use your comments to know what you like when it comes to swapping all cards out ...).
There´s one thing I´m trying for the first time this year: If you are on Pinterest, you can have a look at my board called "My Home is my Castle" swap there, just click here. Please let me know if you think that this is a good idea or not!
That´s all news for today, I hope you all have fun creating your ATCs!

I Love Red Lead Stamps!

I´m proud to say that I´m a guest designer for Red Lead this week - and it has been such fun to play with their wonderful rubber stamps, collage sheets, papers and embellishments for these samples. Many thanks to Chris and Sharon for running such a great business and for always coming up with inspiring new art and with fun swaps at their Yahoo group!

Announcing my 7th Annual Blog Swap: My Home is my Castle

Yes, it´s time for my next blog swap, and this year´s theme is My Home is my Castle - hope you´ll like it!
Please think of a person or animal who loves her/his home so much that she/he carries it with her/him permanently! The building can be part of the human´s/animal´s body or a headdress, your decision.
Here are a few samples from my old photo files to inspire you - these are NOT my own ATCs for the swap:

As always, you can use any technique you like - you can stamp, collage, draw, sew, or work digitally (if you use at least one tactile element).

Please sign up via personal email (just click on the link in the sidebar) and let me know your snail mail address. There´s no sign up date.

Then send 3 ATCs to my address (that I´ll send you when I answer your email) before July 15, 2013.

As always, you´ll find updates on my blog with links to all participants´ ATCs. So when you´ve finished your ATCs, please send me an email with the link to the place where you´ve posted them online, and I´ll add that link to my next update so that everyone can go to your blog or other website to have a look at your artwork.

I´ve sent out invitations to all previous participants, but this swap is open to all my visitors. Have fun creating!

Shades of Pink

I´ve been busy making samples with the new Tumble Fish Studio kit "Shades of Pink" last weekend, and though I´m not a pink girl at all, I must say that this kit really inspired me and I just couldn´t stop playing with it ... So here are three digital collages and one cut and paste moleskine journal page for you, all images are from this kit only.

Nests

ARTchix Studio is running a new swap themed Nests, and I couldn´t resist joining of course ... You can still  join if you want!

In the Clouds

In the Clouds

HVS kit AirHeads plus elements from PinkLotty, Mr Whiskers and Finecrafted Designs

Hidden Vintage Studios have some inspiring new images out that are called AirHeads. Have a look at them and let your mind flow to find out their stories and mysteries!

Imagination

HVS kit AirHeads, all other elements by Finecrafted Designs

The Little Zetti Instruction Book for a Creative Life

What a wonderful theme Beckie has chosen for her tip-in book over at Paper Traders!! I´ve been looking forward to these pages because I love everything Zetti, and I´ve had much fun making these - and for the first time I´ve finished my pages very early in the month ;-)) These pages will be on their way to California very soon! (please click on the images to see more details)

Artful Defined

... is the title of the latest Red Lead ATC swap. The three ATCs above will go to St. Louis tomorrow, but as I just couldn´t stop once I had started, I´ve made the two additional cards below just for fun.

Paint it Purple!

Do you love the colour purple? I know I do! So I´ve been thrilled to see the new Tumble Fish Studio kit called "Shades of Purple". I´ve made three samples for you with this kit, one digital one and two Moleskine pages with the collage sheets included in this kit. And don´t forget to check out the lovely new purple and pink journal cards that I´ve used in the first Moleskine sample.

Mail Art Postcards

For this week´s SPA challenge I´ve made two cut and paste postcards - both use images from Tumble Fish Studios, the one above combines them with images from Hidden Vintage Studios, the one below has an additional image from Crowabout Studios. Tape, real postage stamps, hand-dyed paper and several postage stamps finish my cards that will go out as mail art very soon ... if you want to get one of them, you should join the mail art challenge at Deviant Scrap until April 30.

My Bonnie

Amanda´s theme for her Paper Traders tip-in book is "Ocean". Here are my pages for her, and as California is definitely over the ocean from here, I hope that my pages won´t get wet on their way to her ...
(please click on the image for more details)

Viva Mexico!

For my Mexican themed postcard that I´ve made for our postcard exchange, I´ve based my design on the Mexican flag and added elements that I associate with Mexico: Dia de los muertos, a Mexican pyramid, a map of the region, and Frida Kahlo of course ... This card is already on its way to Michigan!

And the Winner is ...

JoAnne!
I´ve just drawn her name as the winner for my giveaway at last weekend´s Paper Traders´ Blog Hop. Congrats to JoAnne and many thanks to all who hopped with us and left me those lovely comments!