Inchies and Twinchies Swap

   I recently joined a couple of unusual swaps. One was "Inchies". Each tiny card was 1"x1". I thought that working with something that little would be quick and easy. There really was nothing easy about it. I thought that if there were any mistakes at all it would take a magnifying glass to see them. It was just the opposite. They were so tiny that your eyes were focused on the one square inch not over a larger surface. I couldn't think of anything to do but draw a freehand image on them. So that's what I did. I painted a small floral still life. Then I used Glossy Accents to fill in the vase.

 THIS IS MY INCHIE

 

THIS IS MY TWINCHIES

 

     The other swap was called "Twinchies". These cards were to be 2"x2" squares. For this I selected a rubber stamp that I have never used for anything other than a background. This time I decided to use brush markers and fill the image with color. I thought that it would be once again quick and easy. It was anything but. I needed three so I had to color in two of the stamped images because I could only get two out of the stamp. I sat for hours over cold coffee coloring in this image. By the time I was finished I was sure I would never do that again, and I won't. Ever. After I was finished with the coloring I stamped over the image using Silver heat embossing powder. I then gave it a coat of glossy Mod Podge. I think it looks a lot like enameled jewelry

 

THESE ARE THE INCHIES I RECEIVED

 Gabriel Dichl

 Jenner Hadley

 Teresa Hoffman

Unknown Artist

THESE ARE THE TWINCHIES I RECEIVED

 Laureta Linett

 Kim Clement

 Karen Rule

 Marjorie Grace

Jeanne McCarthy

   I have to admit that these are some really nice miniatures. All I can say is that I'm glad that everyone else didn't struggle making theirs like I did making mine. I got some really great little ATC's. Thanks to everyone!

Take Care

Kathy  

New Years Resolution ATC Swap

   This swap was extremely hard for me to do. Every idea that I came up with would have needed to be poster size for it to work. Finally I decided that maybe for it to work for me I needed to approach the theme honestly. That would mean no resolutions. I never make New years Resolutions anymore. I stopped making them years ago when I realized that I never kept them anyways. I got tired of dealing with the defeat. So I just stopped making them. My New Years Resolution has been for years "No New Years Resolutions". Once I decided that I should be honest, it was easy to come up with my ATC.

MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION ATC

   I started by finding a scrapbook paper that made me think of a tablecloth. I mounted it on card stock. Then I went on the web and found this silly looking woman clip art. She was perfect so I removed her from her background, re-sized her and printed her out. Then I cut her out and glued her on my background. I used a circle paper punch and punched out a few circles. Using watercolor pencils I drew some of my favorite foods on them. I then scanned and re-sized them, and cut them out. I glued them above the woman's head. Then I cut a narrow piece of paper for the banner. I used a gel pen to write "No Resolutions" on it. Then I folded it and glued it in place. I finished the ATC by writing "No Diets" on her shirt with a fine black felt pen.

THESE ARE THE ATC'S I RECEIVED

Kathy Scholl

 Unknown Artist

Bonnie O Hara

   I really struggled with this theme. I have to wonder "Did the others?" It sure doesn't look like it to me. All I see is confidence. It looks like they knew just exactly what they were going to do and then done it. Maybe I should start thinking ahead to next year. Wait. Are we talking about me? The one that would never get anything done if it weren't for the last minute. 

 I hope that you enjoyed seeing these as much as I enjoyed sharing them with you.

Take Care

Kathy

  

The Wizard Of Oz ATC Swap

   When I was a little girl I saw The Wizard Of Oz. I fell in love with Dorothy and all the other characters, but mostly the cute little dog. I read every Oz book I could get my hands on. I grew up but never outgrew my love for Oz. As an adult I started collecting Oz items. One day I found this adorable pop-up Wizard Of Oz book. I was so excited. I brought it home and could hardly wait to share it with my granddaughter that was five at the time. I could hardly get her to listen as I read her the story and showed her the pictures. I couldn't believe that she just wasn't interested in Oz. When she visits me she sleeps in a room surrounded by my Oz collection. To this day she still isn't interested. Oh well, I am. For years I've been waiting for someone to host a Wizard Of Oz swap. I have wanted for a long time to try to make a pop-up Oz ATC. Finally when I could wait no longer I decided to host the swap myself.   

MY WIZARD OF OZ ATC

This is the front cover.

   The cover was cut from card stock. I cut it 3 1/2"x5". I embossed one half using a brick embossing plate. I folded it in half making a front and back cover. Then I put a coat of Mod Podge on it. I scanned and re-sized a picture of Dorothy that was in the book. I printed her and then cut her out. Then I used Glossy Accents on her. I then found the poppies in another book. I scanned them, re-sized them, cut them out and then put a coat of Glossy Accents on them. I photo shopped the banner. I cut it out and then put a coat of Glossy Accents on it. When everything was dry I assembled the pieces making the cover.

This is the inside.

   For the inside of my ATC I scanned a page from my Wizard Of Oz book. I re-sized it several times before I could make it work. There is a fine line between cutting it out and cutting it up. I finally made it work. Using my large book as a pattern I cut the lines and then made the folds. Gluing it to the cover was a real trick. I had to place pieces of waxed paper between the pop-up and the cover to keep them from becoming glued together. A dab of glue in the wrong place and the card wouldn't work. The whole card would be ruined. This is definitely the hardest ATC that I've ever made. I think it's the nicest. But then it's Oz. Of course I love it.

THESE ARE THE SWAP ATC'S

Jan Caldwell

Bonnie OHara

Laureta Linett

Nark Royer

Melissa Stocker

Teresa Hoffman

Kathy Haynes

Kathleen Spitz

Ann Marie Phipps

Kathy Keller

   After waiting for so long for an Oz swap, I sure wasn't disappointed. There were so many different Oz's. Some that I had never seen before. It was wonderful to see them all together like this. Now I really am an Oz lover! I want to thank all of the artists that made this swap such a roaring success. It was a three for three swap. Those that sent four, one was for me. A huge thank you to everyone that sent me a hostess ATC. It made it a lot easier to let these enchanting ATC's go. I really didn't let them go, by putting them on my blog I can revisit them again and again.

Take Care