My Favorites Friday: ATCs

Happy Friday! I hope this post finds everyone well and gearing up for a fun and exciting weekend. The weekends always seem to fly by so fast. This week I want to share with you one of my favorite art forms...Artist Trading Cards or more affectionately known as ATCs.

What is an ATC? An Artist Trading Card is similar to Baseball Cards. ATCs are miniature works of art. There is really only one strict rule to creating an ATC...size! All ATCs measure 2.5" x 3.5" in size. After that, you are only limited to your imagination.

The ATC above was created using scrap book paper, dye ink, rubber stamps and a miniature tag. It is a mini collage that incorporates several elements. It has many layers which gives it a texture. You can be as simple or elaborate as you wish.

You can purchase blank ATCs just about anywhere. Dick Blick is a very popular site for purchasing such materials. However, you can use simple playing cards or you can cut your own. I like to use card stock or old post cards...as is used in the sample above. I have even created them out of fabric, but I usually use some type of one sided fusible interfacing to give them a little more stability.

On this ATC I punched the image into the top layer of paper. I used gold pigment ink around the edges and image to make them stand out.

This ATC incorporates a decorative brad and a slide. I don't generally worry about things sticking off the edge of the card. I trim them later by turning the card over and trimming off the excess with an Xacto knife.

What do you do with an ATC? That's simple! You trade them, of course!! There are all sorts of swap groups out there. As a matter of fact, if you belong to any of the groups that are out there you should check to see if there are any for Artist Trading Cards. I bet they do! There is a really cool site called ATCsforAll that has been around for quite a while. They are constantly running swaps. You should really check out all the swaps they ran so far this year! These guys are obviously passionate about ATCs!!

If your interest is piqued...here is another fantastic site with some outstanding eye candy: Art-e-zine Trading Card Swap. This takes place in the UK...which just goes to show you...ATCs are global!

I hope you enjoyed this little preview on Artist Trading Cards. Whether you create these precious gems already or are going to give it a try...feel free to share! I'd love to see what you are creating. Plus, if I get enough feedback, I'd love to post some pictures of other artists' cards.

Artfully yours,

Theresa

Tips, Tools and Techniques Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday everyone! Welcome to this week's installment of Tips, Tools and Techniques. This week I am going to share with you one of my very favorite and one of my most cool tools!

If you're wondering what in the heck that thing is pictured above...allow me to introduce you! This is a Japanese Push Drill (sometimes referred to as a Screw Punch) and it's purpose is to punch holes. If you don't have one, I cannot recommend it strongly enough. If you are someone who uses a lot of eyelets and brads, this is a must have tool! Now you might be saying to yourself...I already have hole punches, I don't need anymore. Well this, my crafty friends, is different.

With your average hole punches, you are limited. You can only punch a hole as far into the paper as your tool will let you, which isn't very far! Yes, there are long reach punches, but most of them won't reach into the center of a 12x12 piece of card stock. There are those really great eyelet setter kits that you have to use with a hammer, but they are noisy and everything around you shakes while you're banging the tool with your hammer! Which means a few things... first, it really isn't convenient at 2 am (you know you do it!) and second, if you are at a crop, you're table mates will get irritated quickly.

There are several benefits to adding a Japanese Push Drill to your arsenal of tools. A Japanese Push drill:

• will punch holes anywhere
• has assorted bits in a variety of hole sizes
• is easy to use
• doesn't hurt your hand
• eliminates the need to own several punches
• is quiet and not intrusive
• will punch through a variety of surfaces INCLUDING (but not limited to) paper, fabric and mat board (which really comes in handy if you like to make your own books)

Allow me to give you a really quick demo:

Please....Please....be sure that you have a self healing cutting mat when using this tool. Just as you would use one with an Xacto knife, you need to protect your work surface.

Look carefully at the picture above. Down near the tip of the punch, you'll see that there is a piece that has those sort of ridges. That piece unscrews and loosens so that you can put the bits in and take them out. Once you've put a bit in and tighten it up, you're good to go.

You want to make sure that you place the punch perfectly straight up and down. The punch should be at a 90 degree angle to your work surface. You don't want the punch to be at an angle or what will happen is you will only punch one side of the hole.

Then you want to push straight down. This is all you have to do most of the time. However, if you are punching through thick card stock, mat board or multiple pieces of paper give the punch a twist while it is fully collapsed. This ensures that the punch goes all the way through.

Release the punch and it will fully extend. When you remove it from the paper or whatever you're punching, you will have a nice clean hole.

Japanese Push Drills are not difficult to find in this age of the internet. You can do a Google search or hit eBay. I recommend, however, Talas. Talas is a great resource if you are a book maker or paper artist of any kind.

Artfully yours!

Theresa

My Favorites Friday: Technology

Welcome to this week's installment of My Favorite Things! Now sometimes I will be blogging about some of my very favorite projects whether they be mine or a colleagues (with their expressed permission of course!!). Other times, like today, I will share with you some of my very favorite tools or ideas. As you may be able to surmise from today's segment title, we are going to talk about one of my most very favorite things....TECHNOLOGY!! So here we go...

Let me start by saying...I am absolutely NOT a hater! Of PCs, that is. Quite to the contrary...I am a lover of Apples. More specifically, my Mac Book Pro. Now I have always been a technojunkie, so to speak. I've been using computers since it was not fashionable to do so. Interestingly enough, my very first home computer was given to me by an old friend of mine who was upgrading...and it was, in fact, an Apple computer. When it was time to replace that computer, I switched to a PC. I really didn't know a lot about computers back then and everyone I knew was saying how I HAD to have a PC with Windows.

I will spare you the gory details except to say that I found myself replacing my computer every two years and I absolutely despised the "customer service" I received. My final straw came when I decided to circumvent the first level technicians by asking for a supervisor only to be told (after 45 minutes on hold) that there weren't any supervisors in! In a very seething tone I said to this poor man, "Don't tell me they left you peons there alone!" It was then that I knew if was for everyone's safety that I make the switch.

So, within the week, I had my new Mac Book Pro. That was back in March of 2007 and I haven't looked back. As a matter of fact, everyone in my household is a Mac user. I'm not saying that it was an easy transition. As a matter of fact, it took me quite a while to stop over thinking how to accomplish things. Once I got over it, I was in my glory. I find that all the programs are phenomenal and I haven't been happier.

Some of the perks of a Mac for me are:

• No viruses
• Simplicity of use
• One to One sessions available (you won't find better education anywhere)
• iWeb which comes standard and enables me to create and maintain my websites
• Time Machine - Apple's back up system
• it enables me to save time as I don't have to restart and it is more user friendly
• it enables me to save money as I can create my own marketing materials right in Pages and Keynote

Anyway, I feel it necessary to say that I am not receiving any type of endorsements from Apple!

LOL I just really believe in the product. If you are a creative crafty business owner or not...I highly recommend this product.

Artfully yours,

Theresa

Tips, Tools and Techniques Tuesday!

Welcome to the first of my new weekly segments! If you remember from my post last week, I mentioned that I would have at least two weekly segments going. I also complained about the graphic I made! So, I fixed that...I like this one better. Anyway, my goal here is to not only be consistent, but also to perhaps help you have a more enjoyable crafting experience. I know! Can we stand any more fun!! (yes yes!!)

Over the years, I have learned a lot of interesting tips. Sometimes those tips come from others. Other times they are born from a need to adapt due to the fact that my nails are REALLY long (you'll see in the pics) and I have no desire to cut them. Then there is just those times when I need to find a more efficient way of doing something. I'll be sharing some of those tips with you.

I am also a tool lover! Any kind of tool...from a simple skewer to power tools! (much to my dad's delight!) I'll be showing some of those here as well...in addition to how I use them.

Of course, with just about everything one uses, there is some sort of technique. Which brings me to today's post. It's a kind of three for one....it is a tool...that I will give you some tips for...and a technique that I use. Let's get to it, shall we?

Today I am featuring............

TA DA!!!!!! Decorative scissors! Ok, so some of you are thinking....."wha?!!? All of this build up for this? I was expecting something more exciting!" Lemme just say...yes, they may not be glamourous...but I bet you have several pairs tucked away in a crafting drawer or box somewhere. I'm right, aren't I? Come on....you can admit it.

I have found that many beginner crafters have bought a few of these decorative edge scissors, quickly became disillusioned and then put them away...never to be seen again... (cue creepy music). So let's start with what is so frustrating about them. Here are a few issues. First, some of them are just plain hard to use. Second...lining the scissors up properly so that when you move the scissor, the pattern continues. Finally, if you can't cut a straight edge to save your life...well it can be down right scary to attempt with scissors that create a pattern.

No worries my pretty lil crafters. Here are some of my suggestions and thoughts regarding these issues. Maybe they will entice you to go and find those scissors! They are really worth using.

Not all decorative edge scissors are created equal. There are some that are just plain not worth a buck. My favorites are Fiskars and Family Treasures. These come in a wide variety of patterns (which will will discuss in a minute) and they are easy to manipulate. Believe me, if you have a pair that are just hard to pull open and closed, don't keep frustrating yourself.

Now for patterns. The more intricate the edge of that scissor, the harder it will be to keep the pattern repeating. One of my favorite patterns is the scalloped edge because it is bold and easy to line up. My other favorite is the deckled edge because there it doesn't matter at all if I line up my edge properly! One word of advice when cutting...don't close your scissor all the way while you are cutting. When the tip closes, it could tear the paper.

To address the issue of being able to cut in a straight line, I like to use a ruler and pencil. I make a light line on the REVERSE side of the paper.

Then, when I begin to cut, I follow that line. This helps out a lot as I can not only line my scissor up with the pattern itself, but I can with the line as well.

See how great that scallop just lines up?

If you just take your time and use these simple techniques, you can get a really fantastic looking edge on photos and mats. Whether you are looking to make your project look fun, flirty or sophisticated you can find a decorative edge to meet your needs.

Artfully yours,

Theresa