In my busy life...

ATCs
I have to make time to make things. Mostly I am knitting and cooking, but lately I obsessed with Artist Trading Cards. You can read more about it at these places: official history, online swap groups, and the newly forming swap group at Rockport Library. They are small pieces of art, 2.5x3.5", for trade or give-away...the sky, or your imagination, is the limit on what to put on it: collage, poetry, photos, painting, drawing, stamps, rubber stamping, and of course, sometimes, glitter.

I learned about them from talented artist-mama Robinsunne (http://robinsunne.com/)who will be starting and leading the new swap group. She was in at the library talking about the program, and I saw some of her brilliant examples, and got promptly hooked! I came home with a stack of freebie magazines, pulled out the old dormant art and scrapbooking supplies and got started. I have been spreading the gospel to anyone who'll listen, friends far and near, seeing potential in most everything, and always itching to get the dishes done, wipe the table off, and start snipping and clipping. We ate dinner picnic-style one night while Hannah was visiting, so we could keep our supplies spread out on the dining room table!

These are two Valentine ATCs. I like the one at left so much that I may keep it for myself...I hope I will be friends with myself forever! At left I used two different origami papers, a rubber stamp with hand-coloring by colored pencils, and some magazine pictures. At right, Penguin Love, has some crinkled up brown paper bag that I stamped on, also I used sewing to sew around a heart in the upper left corner. Both are mod-podged for shiny-ness.

Above, this one is now Jake's, entitled "The Chef Was Happy to Model Raw Beef Couture." It was his favorite, and I gave it to him for a party favor for my b-day dinner.
"Three Fish" is nice because it's simple and elegant. I am in love with the pack of origami paper I got that is called "folk designs" and it's rice paper so it feels lovely.

Two more party favors, now officially not mine, since I gave them away. At left, the penguin is in ink, with glitter, and the caption up top reads: "The penguin was ready for Mardi Gras." He looks happy. At right, the hedgehogs are also in ink, inspired because I read that baby hedgies follow their mamas in a line. I thought, so orderly, so sweet, and who could resist the image of mother hedgehog and her queue of little prickles behind her?