Summer Artist Trading Cards and Last Few Photos from my European Trip

Hello everyone, I recently made two ATC's with leftover pieces from my desk, thought it would be a good idea instead of throwing away or adding more things to my ever growing box of scraps. 

First up is a bee themed ATC where I used stamps from the set Bee Happy by Visible Image. Stencil at the top right is by TCW (chickenwire) and the script stamped in black is from Tracy Evans' set Magnolia. I used a black Posca pen for some random spatter. A clear Wink of Stella glitter pen was used on the bees wings to make them sparkle.

I am entering this ATC here:

• ATC Around the World - Monochrome
• Crazy is our fame - STENCILS are our game! - Stencils and Pattern (honeycomb)
• FarmQuest General Store Challenge - Anything Farm or Country 
• The Pick 3 Challenge - I chose Yellow, Sentiment and Sparkle (hard to see the sparkle)
• Tag-Along and ATCS - Favorite Color or AG (I have several favorite colors but always feel drawn to yellow, especially in summer)
• The Little Things Challenge - AG or Elephant/Flamingo (Going with the AG theme here)
• We Love Stamping - Summertime
• Word Art Wednesday - AG

This ATC was made with scraps from Stamperia paper pack  Silent Sea and a stencil for the background. The edges were inked to give it some definition and I added a bow of jute twine to finish it off. 

Entering this ATC here:

• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• Let's Craft & Create Challenge - Fun in the Sun
• Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Coastal
• The Card Concept - Summer by the Sea (inspiration came from the seaside theme - logo below - and I would call the style freestyle collage)
• The Paper Funday - Summer Splash

And it's now or never for my last few photos from my April trip to Europe to visit family and a quick stop in Italy. These were from the time spent in  Northern Bavaria (home sweet home💛💛💛) and a few from my sister's town about 45 minutes north of Munich.

City of Hersbruck - this is a street I frequently walked to get to my work place in the city center.

That was around 28 years ago so things look a bit different but not much. I don't think cars used to be allowed on this street back then.

Same street, pedestrian only part.

 It's a pretty small town so not much going on on this random Tuesday morning in April.

Castle ruin Lichtenegg about 20 minutes from Hersbruck. This fortress is estimated to have been built in the year 1200 and was destroyed in the 15th century. There isn't much info about it. My brother had stumbled onto it while on a bicycle ride through the surrounding area so he took us to see it.

Along the river Pegnitz in Nuremberg about 40 minutes from Hersbruck

Old Town Nuremberg

Castle Ruin Hohenstein about 15 minutes from Hersbruck. Built in the 11th century. 

View from the castle grounds. We didn't go inside as it's only open on Sundays. 

Hohenstein Castle from the other side.

City of Amberg about 30 minutes from Hersbruck

Amberg

These below are from my sister's hometown (Ingolstadt - about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Hersbruck) where we spent our last weekend before flying home from Munich.

Egyptian Geese on Lake Auwald

And this is probably one of the reasons why I gained almost 8 pounds on this trip but so worth it!!

If you would like to see more pictures from this trip you can see them here:

• Milan
• Varenna on Lake Como
• Verona
• Weekend in the Austrian Alps

Have a great weekend! 

A Crafty Cat and an Artist Trading Card for America's 250th Birthday

Hello everyone, it's time for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and Donna is hosting this time. Her optional theme is "Stencils" which are my favorite tools (besides stamps) to use. We have a selection of stencils from the Allsorts prize box for 2 lucky winners. 

And here is what I made:

Some of the links included are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no extra cost to you.

I colored this cute cat at the end of last month when I tried to join the We Love Stamping challenge where the theme was "hobbies and sports". Who can resist this cute crafty kitty working on a handmade card? As it so often happens to me, I didn't get a chance to finish the card for that challenge but it was a perfect starting point for this Allsorts challenge theme. 

The image which is part of the Penny Black stamp set Furry Affection has been stamped with Versafine Onyx ink and colored with Derwent Inktense pencils. For the wall I used a stencil by Tracy Evans for Aall and Create (Crisp Tulips)  and I drew lines for the floor after lightly coloring with the pencils. I added a strip of patterned paper to the top edge and die cuts made with Penny Black's die set Doodles of Love. I've had this die set for a few years now but this was my first time ever using it. 

The card above fits these challenges:

• Addicted to Stamps and More - Die Cuts or Stencils (I used both)
• Craft Rocket Challenges - Animals
• Cut It Up - Critters and a die cut
• Pattie's Creations - AG
• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - PB Stamps
• The Male Room - Hobbies (cardmaking)
• Word Art Wednesday - AG

I have another project to share today which also fits Allsorts' Stencils theme.

As we are celebrating America's 250th Birthday today, I decided to make an Artist Trading Card for this special Independence Day.

I love this eagle stamp from Tracy Evans set Fully Fledged (from her Aall and Create release) and thought it would be a perfect choice as the Bald Eagle is the national bird of the US. Then I used the star stencil Lotsa Stars also from Aall and Create on the background. Also used are Tracy Evans Boutique Design sets Alpha Florals (USA and little squares) and Numerical Cats for the number 250. I used a small circle punch to punch out the numbers then added to the fussy cut squares with glue dots. Inking and stenciling was done with Distress inks Fired Brick, Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans. I also used a stripes stencil but it's hard to see. 

The photo below was taken at the end of January at a dam on the Mississippi River about an hour from where I live. They gather at this dam to hunt for fish in winter when most of the river is frozen and it's always fun to see many of them. Perfect winter activity!

I am linking this ATC up here:

• Ally's Angels - AG
• A Perfect Time To Craft - AG
• Crafty Catz - AG
• Crafts Galore Encore - AG
• Creative Fingers - AG
• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• Fab n' Funky - Beginning with B (Bird)
• If You Give a Crafter a Cookie - Inspiration photo

• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Stars and/or Stripes
• Tag-Along (and ATC's) - AG
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies
• We Love 2 Create - Anything Creative

Thanks so much for visiting and Happy Independence Day to my readers in the United States. 

Artist Trading Card Duo

When I recently made this card I had the luck of messing up my first try. Before throwing it away I decided to see if I could save parts of it and create an ATC, and I ended up making 2 ATCs 😊

This post includes some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

Here I used the "smooshing" technique for the background with Distress inks/oxides then stamped Lavinia's Moon stamp using Twilight Versafine Clair ink. I did not like how the moon stood out on the original card I tried making, and also wasn't a fan of the inky background. But I think it works much better for a miniature project like an ATC instead of a greeting card size. On the background I also used the sentiment Magic Surrounds Us. Cats are Witches Cat on the right side and Luka on the left. Texture 2 stamp was used on the corners and edges, and then I added Lavinia's Miniature Stars using Twilight Versafine ink to match the moon and texture stamp. I used white brilliance ink to lighten up the moon just a little bit. These stamps are all by Lavinia.

A closeup of ATC #1 

I am entering the one above here:

• Crafty Catz - AG
• Lavinia Challenge - Midsummer Moon
• Tag-Along (and ATC's) - option Text
• The Little Things - AG
• The Paper Funday - AG
• We Love Stamping - AG

ATC #2

I finally purchased a binder for my ATCs. I found this cute one on Amazon :)

Enough for 4 cards per page and it does come in a two other options but I loved this "Sakura Cat" style, of course :)

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for visiting!

Artist Trading Card - All About Nature

Sometimes when I make a card, the first attempt doesn't turn out the way I intended but that leaves me with parts that are too nice to throw away so I often put those into my box of "extras" for future use.

When I saw the new Tag-Along (and ATC) challenge was butterflies or birds, I knew I had a perfect starting piece for an ATC in my "extras" box.

This post includes some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

This background isn't quite as vivid as the one on the card I had made previously (see below). And unfortunately the butterfly also didn't stamp as well. It's not as visible in real life as it's a small ATC and the photo on the PC is larger than the actual ATC. For this ATC I added another butterfly at the top and then ran a black ink pad along the edges for some definition. 

The stamp set used is by Tracy Evans for Aall and Create - Spread Your Wings. It's been retired but still available from various retailers.

I am entering the ATC here:

• Critter Crazy Challenges - Critters
• Daisy Chain Challenges - No Design Paper
• Let's Craft & Create Challenge - Beautiful Butterflies
• Stamping Sensations - Inspired by Nature
• We Love Stamping - Spring
• Tag-Along (and ATC's) - Tags or ATC's/ opt. of butterflies, birds or blooms

Btw: This is the card I was referring to using the same stamp set. If you missed that post and would like to read more about it you can find all the info here:

Thanks so much for visiting!

It's Springtime at Allsorts Challenge

It's time already for a new theme at Allsorts challenge and this time Brenda is hosting. For her optional theme she chose It's Springtime and of course the Anything Goes option is there too and we love to see those too along with your spring creations. We have a prize from  Buddly Crafts - two gorgeous stamps by Penny Black.

For my project I decided to make a little Easter ATC so I could join in the current The Little Things challenge (linked below)

.

I used a stamp from Penny Black called Spring Parade 1929K. I was hoping to link it to Buddly Crafts but it's an older wood mounted stamp and no longer in stock. They do have a great assortment of Penny Black stamps (and many others) for those of you in the UK, I hope you'll check them out!

This is a large stamp featuring 5 chicks but I masked them off and only used the two holding flowers. I stamped with Versafine Onyx and colored with Derwent Inktense pencils. The chickenwire stamp is an oldie from Whimsy Stamps stamped using Versafine Clair ink (Portobello). Then on two of the corners I used a stamp by Lavinia (Texture 2) and Versafine Onyx ink.

"Happy Easter" is from a set by Stampin Up recently found at a thrift store. It includes lots of little sentiments like this for all kinds of occasions. 

This post includes some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

I covered the chicks with scraps and then used a black posca pen for a little splatter on the background. After this was dry I inked the edges using Twisted Citron Distress ink.

 

I'm entering my ATC here:

• Ally's Angels - AG
• Crafting from the Art Challenge - AG
• Crafty Calendar - Spring
• Crafty Catz - AG
• DL.ART Thankful Thursday - Spring
• Double Trouble Challenge - 3,2,1 (3 colors from wheel, 2 images, 1 sentiment)
• FarmQuest General Store Challenge - Anything Farm or Country 
• Neglected Stuff Challenge - The "spring parade stamp". I don't think I have ever used it until now!
• Penny Black Saturday Challenge - PB stamps
• Sweet Stampin - Spring or Easter
• The Creative Crafters - AG
• The Little Things - Easter
• The Paper Funday - Feathers or Fur
• Try It On Tuesday - Spring

Thanks so much for visiting, have a wonderful weekend!  

Flowers and Penguins

Hello everyone, I came across a new challenge blog called "The Little Things" (linked below)   and as I want to continue making (at least) one ATC each month I decided to follow their theme of Penguins and then combine that with the Tag-Along &ATC challenge (also linked below) where the theme is Spring Flowers. 

We usually think of winter when we think of penguins and definitely not flowers, but I wanted to make this work. Then I got curious and googled if penguins only live where it's cold and to my surprise I learned that there is a species of penguins - the Galapagos Penguins - that live in a more tropical climate on the Galapagos Island. So my little ATC isn't as far fetched as I thought it would appear 😀 And I could be the only one who didn't know before that some penguins do live in warmer climates 😊

I used stamps from Tracy Evans for this ATC - Malva TE8, Winter Delights (TE23), Myriad of Designs TE44 and Miniatures released by Aall and Create. If you're in the US then you can easily get Tracy Evans stamp at Simon Says or Topflight stamps. In UK of course directly from Tracy's shop. 

I made the background by dabbing a brush with Mowed Lawn Distress ink onto a slightly wet background, then I used a mini tiles stencil and the word stamp to add interest to the background. Stamping was done with Versafine Onyx for the black and Versafine Clair Grass Green for the words on the background.

Flowers were colored using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. To complete my card I simply ran the Mowed Lawn ink pad along the edges of the card.

 

This post includes some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

I plan to share this ATC with these challenges:

• ATC Around the World -  Squares (the stenciled tiles are little squares)
• Beautiful Blossoms - Flowers
• Moving along with the Times - Birds or Bees
• Paper Rock Scissors - Papers and/or Scissors (my ATC is Bristol Vellum paper)
• Simon Says Stamp - Make it cute (I think these penguins are so cute)
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Make your own background
• Tag-Along (and ATC's) - Spring Flowers or AG (Malva are late spring flowers)
• The Little Things  - ATC and other small papercrafts
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies

Thanks so much for visiting. 

Snowdrops and Numbers

Hello everyone, I don't even want to say it out (in case it disappears again!!) but I feel like my mojo returned for the time being and I decided to make an Artist Trading card as I really missed making them and adding to my small but growing collection, so I decided to follow the theme at the Tag-Along challenge which is "include numbers". And since spring is currently on my mind, I chose Tracy Evans' beautiful stamp set Nature's Beauty TE031 for the focal point. I know it will still be a while before my snowdrops are blooming in the garden, but I'm hoping for a mild February so that they appear soon :) 

I started out with a piece of cardstock from my box of extra backgrounds where I had previously used the Grid Texture stamp by Darkroom Door and rust Distress ink along with some spatter of olive green Distress ink. I thought this was a great starting point for my ATC. 

On this backgorund I used Tracy Evans' for Aall and Create stamp Art Notes with Versafine Clair Avocado ink. Using the same Art Notes stamp I stamped some of the numbers uisng Versafine Onyx ink. On the left edge I used a stamp from Tracy Evans' set Berries. As mentioned, the Snowdrops are from the set Nature's Beauty along with the word "Snowdrop". I used the stapler for a simple "embellishment".

This post includes some affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission if you purchase something through the links. As always, this is at no cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!

I am entering this ATC here:

• Beautiful Blossoms - AG with Blossoms
• DL.Art Linky Challenge - AG
• Moving along with the Times -Floral
• Tag-Along (and ATC's) - Add a Number
• Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Add some texture (staples)
• The Paper Funday - AG
• Triple B - Birds, Blooms or Butterflies

Thanks so much for visiting!