Mermaid Artist Trading Cards

I decided to try a few different things to make the Artist Trading Card for my swap group last month.  The theme was "Alliteration" and I didn't have any brilliant ideas to suit the theme.  I fell back on an old tongue twister, "She sells sea shells, down by the seashore."  (Yes, I know that it isn't fully alliterative...)

I found this lovely mermaid image in one of the free weekly Dover Publishing sampler collections.  (I highly recommend signing up for their emails).  I added a border and the phrase with a pink glow using the StoryBook Creator 4.0 software.  I sized the image at 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches so it could be placed on top of the standard 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 ATC card with a small border.  I printed out a sheet of images on matte photo paper using my home printer.

I wanted to create a shimmery effect over the entire card so I first tried some kaleidoscope embossing powder.  I didn't care for the result (I must have really disliked it since I didn't take a photo of it!).  To cover the entire front of the card, I applied Versamark embossing ink and sprinkled the powder all over the surface.  To make the card easier to handle, I adhered the card to a scrap piece of watercolor paper (you can see it to the right of the card in the photo).  This helps to keep my fingers away from the heat.

Since the kaleidoscope powder looked odd, I changed my mind and tried to make the card look slick like water.  I had some UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) on hand so I started over with that.  You can see in this photo how the grains are larger than those in regular embossing powder.

I took several tries to practice the technique and get smooth, shiny tops on all of the images.  You need to do at least two coats to get rid of any bumps.  The paper did curl up a bit when the cards cooled.

For the base cards, I used watercolor paper.  I sprayed it lightly with glimmer mist and then inked the edges with distress ink.  I did enough pieces to make the cards a double thickness to try to keep the enameled top image flat.

I adhered the enameled image to one layer of the inked watercolor paper.  You can see that there was still a slight curl.  When I added the back piece the cards flattened out even more.  To "train" them to stay flat, I put them under a heavy stack of magazines overnight.  This seemed to do the trick (I hope they don't curl up again before my trading partners receive them!).

It was a small group this time so I only made five cards.  The three layers and the overnight "pressing" seemed to work to create a nice thick and flat card.

I wanted to do something a bit different for the signature information on the backs.  I cut out some shells (from the Dreams Come True Cricut cartridge) and sprayed and inked them.  Then I wrote all of the details with a gold pen.

The final step was to adhere all of the shells to the backs of the cards.  I couldn't really capture the shine of the mist but they do look very pretty when they shimmer in the light.

We've tackled and completed two of the projects my sister had on her list.  I've got one more day to finish another project to send along for my soon-to-be-born great-niece!  When I get home, I'll try to get the simple scrapbook page challenge set up - I may even be able to find a few prizes to keep everyone motivated!

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Fresh Spring Flowers and new beginnings

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a fantastic weekend.  We had a short visit with my Dad but it was great to get the chance to see him.  My husband and son went back home Sunday afternoon and I am staying with my sister for a few days to help her with some projects - maybe I'll even post some of them here.

I have a few photos to share this morning.  The weather was fantastic in Pennsylvania and the sky was so blue.  The flowering trees are out in full force - a little earlier than ours in Massachusetts.

I hope these photos got your day off to a bright start.  Spring is the season of new beginnings - are you starting anything new?  How about trying a technique or a product you haven't used before?  Maybe you could challenge yourself to make a different type of project (if you are a scrapbooker, try a card - if you are a stamper, do some stamping in an unexpected place).

I just finished one big project and I am moving on to the next - but I have this strange urge to do some spring cleaning first (probably because I am not home so I can't do it)!

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Happy Easter!

I hope you can spend the holiday with friends and family.  We will be with my Dad this morning and then we'll be heading up North again.  Have a wonderful day!

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Fun Photo Saturday

What's the most unusual place you have taken a photo?  I carry my camera with me most of the time and, as my friend Enfys says, "Diane will stop and take a photo of a light bulb if she thinks it is interesting!"

A few days ago, I was doing errands with my husband and we went through the car wash.  I had my camera in my hands and suddenly thought - why not snap some photos (don't you love digital photography and the freedom it gives you to experiment with effects inexpensively?).

The colors of the brushes and spinning rags are blue and green at this particular car wash and the effects of the sheets of water and the droplets were really interesting.

I know that some of you may think these are just odd - but I like the look and I think they would be great to try as backgrounds for pages.

I also took lots of photos from the car yesterday - since I was not driving, I could try to record some of the things we always see when we take this trip to see family in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  I haven't edited those photos yet and I am curious to see how they turned out (it's amazing to me that some photos I have shot through car windows have actually turned out rather well!).

I had a note from the Hershey's people and they told me that my post about some Easter Memories is featured on their Bunny Trail.  If you get a chance, be sure to check out the various stories and memories that have been shared - just click HERE to go to the site. 

I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend.

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Good Friday, Passover and travels

We'll be heading south today - making a quick trip to Pennsylvania to see my Dad for Easter.  We'll also visit my sister and brother-in-law in New Jersey and I'll stay on a few days after Easter to help her with some projects.

I tried again today to get some better photos of the exhibit but the lighting makes it very difficult.  Everything had to be framed and under glass, so I am having a hard time with the reflections and color correction.  This is one of the series of glittery silver and gold designs in the show.  I think the center looks a bit like a cross so I thought it was fitting for Good Friday.

If you haven't done any egg dyeing yet - remember the interesting designs that you can achieve by cutting vinyl images and sticking them to the eggs before you put them in the dye.  You can also make these simple collars to stand them up for display.  The post with all of the details is HERE.

I also learned another way to decorate eggs while we lived in Germany.  Gift tissue applied to the eggs with a thin coat of glue makes interesting designs.  You can also use the top layer of pretty paper napkins.  We made these with hollow eggs and they are strung on a wire with beads and ribbons to make a wreath.  The details about making these decorations are in the post HERE.


I hope you will be able to be with family this weekend for the holidays.  Passover begins tonight - Chag Sameach to those of you who celebrate Passover.
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