Corrugated Cardboard

When I first started making artist trading cards, I was amazed at all the different materials you could use.

When I saw and felt the first corrugated atc someone sent me, I immediately went on Amazon and ordered some.

I'll be honest, I can't remember what I made. But I did come across the same Amazon cardboard while trying to organize my craft room. So I decided that it would be fun to make some pieces with it. I made three to show all of you.

The first one is an Atc:

I used one piece of corrugated cardboard as my backing. I water colored it lightly to get it that reddish color. I also used masking tape that I grunged up with

some chalk ink. I used the same ink to outline my image and word. I even ran my rik rak over some distress ink for an added touch.

Then I made a tag:

Again, I used the cardboard as my backing. I also added lace to break up the space. The image of the girl is raised by double sided sticky foam.

Lastly, I made what is going to eventually be the cover of a small sized art journal:

This one was super fun to make as it incorporated layers. Starting with my piece of corrugated cardboard, I added tissue paper, cheesecloth, and a book page. I used water colors to ink it. The butterfly and flower are made of chipboard that I painted and squirted with glimmer mist. I also put a light coat of crackle medium on the both. The word "laugh" came from a vellum sticker that I attached to painted chipboard. I added the buttons and viola!

I encourage you all out there, to give corrugated cardboard a try. I'd love to see any projects you do. Please leave a link in the comments section.

Ten Little Inchies

I can't tell you enough how much I love inchies. They are so much fun to make in batches. And that's what I have done. I made a batch of ten inchies for a private swap on swapbot. And like always, I really got into it:

White on Cream

I always use some sort of paper as my background for inchies. This paper is of a textured variety. Using just a glue stick, I attached some cheese cloth. On top is a piece of white German scrap and a white paper punched flower with flat back pearl. In the corners I added a little white using a white out pen. Super cool.

Vintage Bird

I started with a mostly brown square of paper. I stamped it with a dots stamp in black ink. Next I ripped a small piece of music paper and glued it down. Next came the bird. I went around the

edges with a copper marker. I decided to give it a coat of "Hard Coat Modge Podge" maybe a little too soon because I ended up smearing my dots. But actually, I think it made it look even better.

Vintage Love

I started with a green paper background. I added my couple image. To add something different, I used this metallic woven material in a corner that I got in an ephemera purchase on eBay. It's pretty cool stuff and I'd like to get more. If anyone

knows how to find it, let me know! On top of the material, I added a heart shaped rhinestone.

Buzzing Bee

This ones pretty simple. Brown paper with a sparkly sticker border I got at the dollar store. Next came the bee

and some sparkle gel pen around the edges.

Crown Jewels

Started with a paper background that I placed some purple washi across. I glued my little bird with a glue stick and added some legs and detail with a black gel pen. Then I added the strip of rhinestones on the side. Lastly, I broke open some nail jewels I had bought forever ago but never used. I used them to attach jewels to the birdies crown.

Flower Power

This one starts with a fun pink background. I added an image of a vintage woman. The flower is a brown flower punch that I then

added a flat backed pearl and glitter glue to. I touched up the corners with some copper marker.

 A Cracked Heart

After glue sticking my paper backing and my woman image, I was excited to try a new "goo" I bought recently. I smeared on some "Ranger, Rock Candy Crackle Paint". It was very thick and so I

embedded a little wooden heart into it. After a few hours, you can really see how good the stuff works.

Good Luck

I punched a shamrock out of scrapbook paper and put it on my square background. I added little rhinestones to each leaf and gave a heavy dollop of puffy glitter glue in the middle.

Lastly, I outlined my shamrock with green sparkly gel pen.

Raw

This one is an example of all the stuff you can use in mixed media art. The backing is corrugated cardboard. It has metal tape

striping. And on top, a painted and stamped clay embellishment.

Precious

This one I only figured out while I was doing it. It has a sparkly brown paper background, followed by an image of a girl. On her right is a ribbon with a line of clear puffy paint. I

did that to sort of match the top and bottom pieces, which are parts of an epoxy sticker that I cut up.

I hope all of you out there have a great day and found my inchies inspiring. And just so you know, I'm still in need of more inchies from other artists to complete an awesome project I'm doing. So please, if you're interested, I'll give you my address and be more than happy to take any extra inchies off your hands😜

Craft Room Organizing

I got a wild hair and decided my mud/craft room needed some reorganizing. So for the past hour that is what I have frantically been doing. It's making me feel appreciative that my family has the space we do. We also have a huge shop on our property which is where my craft room began. But alas, it is way to cold, so into the mud room I went.

Here are some pics during my organization frenzy:

I'll be honest with you, it will probably never be much better than that. I'm just a messy girl at heart.

Anyway, I'm writing this post to ask any of my readers if they have any good craft room organization tips that I could possibly use or perhaps share with the world. So do you?

Also, I would love, love it if any of you had any input on how better I could make this blog. I am up for any help or insight. I love to share and that's why I did this blog thing, but I'd love any comments on how to improve.

Thanks so much!!

Gothic Arch Atc: Hot Air Balloon

I like how colorful this one turned out. I made it for a group swap on swapbot. The group is about making ATCs in the shape of a Gothic arch. The theme for this swap was "hot air balloon".

🎈 I started by finding the image of the hot air balloon first. I knew finding one that would be easy to cut out

might be difficult.

🎈 Since the image I chose had a blue background, I picked one of my pre-made backgrounds with the same

color blue.

🎈 The background I had made by painting card stock and then scraping different colors over it, using a credit card. Then I had stamped flower designs with white pigment ink. I cut the card stock into Atc sizes.

🎈 I cut my Atc into a Gothic arch shape and glued my hot air balloon in place.\

🎈 I wanted to use stars that were the same colors as my balloon so I searched through my paper and found the

right colors.

🎈 I punched my star shapes out using punches. Then I sparkle midge podged each one.

🎈 I tacky glued my stars into the positions I wanted them.

🎈 Next I got out some tiny rhinestone stars and glued those in the middle of my punched stars.

🎈 Lastly, I added some teal glitter glue around the edge of my Gothic arch.

This was the first Atc I had made in the shape of a Gothic arch. It was fun. Have any of you made them before?