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…. and I signed up for my first fabric ATC swap with the Textile Artists Trading Cards group at Stitchin Fingers.
I was paired to swap with Cobi in The Netherlands. Cobi also co ordinates a blog entirely devoted to posting pictures of those cards swapped by members of the group – I have signed up as a contributor and recommend that you pop over and have a look at the blog. There are lots of talented artists sharing their work for you to enjoy.
This is the card Cobi sent to me:
Halloween swap from Cobi
……and this is the card I sent to her!
Halloween Swap for Cobi and reverse of second card
I made two of the cards – featuring a reproduction 1930’s fabric from a range designed by Judy Rothermill. The reverse fabric was part of a collection by Debbie Mumm. The spare card is offered as a trade to the Stitchin Fingers ladies….
Sofie has posted on her blog about the swap …. and she has some pictures as well! You can see here the cards I sent her. I can’t wait to see what she will create to send back! She has made some great ATC’s that are used for displays on the site so I am really looking forward to this.
She has also reminded everyone to have a look at the scrapmatts site as the new product for September is up…this includes the new nested shapes range (some of which I have used in my ATCs) and words! I’m guessing this is what card makers are looking for!
Just in time for Christmas!
Today I posted cards for the first ATC swap I have done with anyone. After the Canberra show, Sofie and I decided we should exchange cards and we challenged each other to use a new green with gold ribbon from ArtStamps Aus.
Sofie has been busy at the Stitches and Craft show at Rosehill in the last week and I have been home recovering from my cold. I decided I would get to work on my cards and made six or seven featuring the vintage nude pictures I like working with….as well as the green and gold ribbon, of course!
These are a couple of the cards I didn’t send to Sofie (they didn’t get the “challenge ribbon” in them either!)….I wouldn’t want to spoil her surprise when she gets her packet in the next day or two!
Mixed media ATCs
Naturally, Murphy’s Law dictated that I should have a flat battery in my camera when I wanted to photograph all the cards – this one overly dark shot I managed to squeeze out of it before that nasty flashing red light told me I couldn’t possibly expect it to perform any longer!
Another highly successful craft event has been held at EPIC in Canberra and I have negotiated the roadworks on the Hume back home.
The crowd was larger than previous years and on the Scrapmatts stand we offered a range of product never seen in the national capital before… and it seems it was a great success with paper crafters of all persuasions.
Andrew and I were joined on the stand by Tony – who, by his own admission, had never heard of ATC’s. Of course I had to make one especially for him to take home!
Just along the aisle from our stand were first time exhibitors at this show, the ladies from Waratah Fibres. I found these wonderful bags of colour which I pounced on with plans to use it in my fabric postcards, however some of the orange found its way to the ATC. This is hand dyed silk throwsters waste – delicious colours I can’t wait to do more with!
CraftAlive in Wagga is over for another year and by all accounts, it was a great success. Numbers through the door were far more than last year and I hope all our visitors found something to tempt them.
Local craft groups were well represented – Riverina Woodworkers, Linden Patchwork and Needlework group, Wagga Machine Knitters, Wagga Potters Group and CWA all mounted great displays and demonstrations of their crafts.
Many of the stallholders have made their way straight to Canberra and are recuperating and repacking in preparation for the Canberra Craft and Quilt Fair which opens on Thursday at Exhibition Park in Canberra.
Maybe I will see you there as I will be demonstrating for Scrapmatts once again. Andrew tells me there are some brand new designs in the chipboard range being launched at this show so pop round and have a look.
Scrapmatts Handbag design ATC
…. opens tomorrow at 9.30am!
Andrew and I have finished the set up a little bit later than we planned and I guess that we will be rearranging things on the Scrapmatts stand tomorrow before the doors open.
There are so many new designs in the Chipboard range – I can’t wait to get to play! I am really impressed with the fabulous range of shoes….I think I will have to make sure I have at least one packet each of all the different designs – especially the red ones! 
I am also delighted to find The Thread Studio has a stand at this show… I just love all the delicious threads and products for working on fabric I can find here.
This event is the opportunity for Melbourne and Victorian paper enthusiasts to restock supplies, see new trends and designs and take part in “Make and Takes” of new techniques.
The Paperific Expo is being held once again at the Royal Agricultural ShowGrounds in Epsom Road, Ascot Vale and, unlike last show, there is great new catering available! On site parking is also available at $5.oo per car.
I will be there again with Andrew from Scrapmatts and we will have a great new range of original chipboard designs as well as some fabulous new pens about which Andrew is very excited! Come along and watch our on site demonstrations, pick up supplies for Artist’s Trading Cards, card making and scrapbooking, and see all our new products in action.
Recently I experienced my first exclusively paper crafts show both as a customer and a worker…. and like every good customer, I spent some money on some stuff!
The funny thing is I have had no interest in paper crafts of any sort until the advent of ATCs or Artists Trading Cards. I was introduced to the concept by my great friend, Sonja Cogdell – who shared with me her wonderful exchanges of tag books, cards, treasure boxes and assorted goodies. In case you are wondering, ATCs are 2 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ in size.
Yesterday I decided to get all the bits and pieces I had collected and decided to have a play…..
This is one of four cards I am making for the Man …. and I plan to set them into a frame on a background of bike images …….but then again, maybe that is a bit “pie in the sky” for me!
More of the Man’s collection….. discovered that some of the things I acquired to use have their challenges when photographing the end result – the shine on the carrier tape reflects in the flash!!!!
Just loved these reproduction Vintage nude sheets so I acquired a number of them to play with – further aged effects can be achieved by very lightly sanding back the edges and the surface with a little sanding tongue tool I found on the Collections stand.
The burgandy/black matts I have used to work on here are part of a great range of ATC products available from scrapmatts.com. They also include these wonderful card “frames” and are available in a wide range of colours.
Another trap discovered when takings pics…. the metallic finish of this frame glared badly in the flash!!!
Ah well… all these things are a learning experience!!! One thing I have discovered about myself when working like this….I am a messy sod! I managed to get glue and ink and stuff everywhere! I don’t really mind, however, as I had fun (and isn’t that what it is all about???)
I have never been to an exclusively “paper” event before – despite having quite a varied repetoire in the art and craft fields. This particular event is held twice a year in Melbourne and attracts thousands of people interested in scrapbooking, journaling, paper tole, decoupage, Artists Trading Cards, stamping, card making and anything else you can imagine made with paper.
I am attracted to paper – I make the odd ATC (with a fabric emphasis) – but I like the infinite variety of design. I am impressed with the use of very fine laser cut chipboard, fine MDF and even heavy duty cardboard as a means of creating shapes, letters and symbols for use by the creative mind.
One of the most delightful features of this show was the free “Make and Take” opportunities offered to show visitors. The stand that was behind scrapmatts.com (where I was working) had a free ‘make and take’ table with chairs for four participants…. it was never empty! It appeared they had a waiting list for places on the Friday – goodness knows what Staurday was like! The embellished tag that the girls made there was fantastic. They learned about working with card board, the right type of glues to use, working with transparencies and giving a proper finish to the work with distress inks and the correct sealer. If I had managed the time, I would have taken the mini class myself as I was more than intrigued with what I saw.
I met a delightful young lady who had discovered the art of casting shapes using a heavy grade embossing powder. She was making some fascinating jewelry pieces combining the cast pieces with copper wire. These shapes could also be used in any other form of “paperwork”.
I have come home with some of the scrapmatts product as I quite like the size, scale and challenge of ATCs. All I need now is the time to have a play with them! Andrew has cut a range of frame shapes and base boards that are the correct size for ATCs in a range of colours to suit lots of projects. As these are made from matt board they can easily be painted, stamped, sponged, embossed and, much to the delight of a number of customers, fitted through the “Cuttlebug”. All the scrap matts are available for sale via online ordering at www.scrapmatts.com or from Andrew direct if you happen to be coming to Brisbane for the Craft and Quilt Fair this week!
There was something at this show that would have appealed to anyone with a crafty bent – even if you don’t call yourself a paper arts person, I am sure there would have been something to interest you.
