Metal ATCs

              

I belong to an ATC (Artist Trading Card) club, made up of nine fascinating and wildly different ladies who like to play with paper and ink.  Each month one of us chooses a theme and teaches a technique after the swap.  The only rule is that each piece of art must be 3½“ by 2 ½."  Some of us make nine different cards, and others make nine of the same design.  We’re in our fourth year, and I have four thick binders of amazing art to look through and be inspired by. We often go on hilarious roadtrips together to visit stamp stores or craft conventions.  In November, we skip the cards and do some sort of project; this year we are making centerpieces for a local nursing home.

This month’s theme was metal, and I thought I’d choose a few of mine to share with you, plus my favorite from the swap. Ann gave me permission to show it to you and generously shared the directions.

Ann embossed the gold foil with Tim Holtz's Patchwork embossing folder (from the Bingo and Patchwork set), colored it with alcohol inks, wiped the raised surfaces with Ranger's Archival Ink in sepia, and added the small clock charm.  She did an amazing job positioning the embossing folder to maximize the design onto a small canvas. Isn't it beautiful? 

Materials used in top three ATCs:

Dreamweaver Jungle Leaves stencil (LJ825)

Cheery Lynn Exotic Butterflies Small dies

Sizzix Butterfly Migration embossing folder set

Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly Double Punch

Hero Arts Little Stencil Flower

Diamond embossing plate Ten Seconds Studio small eraser tool set
Ranger Alcohol Inks



Cheery Lynn Designs sweetheart challenge in metal

Another of my goals for the new year is to enter some card challenges, so here is my entry for the current Cheery Lynn Designs challenge. I love Cheery Lynn dies and own a lot of them; their intricate designs cut cleanly on my Cuttlebug, usually with a single pass. This month's theme for our ATC club is metal, so I decided to carry that idea through to this challenge. I cut the Cheery Lynn Celtic heart out of TenSeconds Studio Kiss Me Pink 40g sheet metal. Then I embossed a 4-inch square of silver sheet metal in a Cuttlebug damask stripe folder, colored it with currant and denim alcohol inks, and rolled two opposing corners with a wooden skewer. Cutting out metal with dies sharpens them beautifully.

The final touch was the pink and dark blue flowers cut with Cheery Lynn's medium rose die, my new favorite. I applied the denim and pine needles alcohol inks and Brilliance pearlescent orchid ink to white coffee filters, sprayed them with Maya silver-plated metallic mist, and scrunched them on a small brad. Then I added just a hint of popsicle (lavender) Glimmer Mist on the pink flower to coordinate it better with the alcoholic ink blend on the embossed metal.  My fingers tips are a deep shade of purple; I need to remember to wear rubber gloves when applying colored inks.

Materials used:

Cheery Lynn Celtic heart die

Cheery Lynn medium rose die

TenSeconds Studio Kiss Me Pink sheet metal

Cuttlebug damask stripe folder

Distress inks: currant, denim, pine needles

Brilliance pearlescent orchid ink

Maya silver-plated metallic mist, Popsicle Glimmer Mist

Paper: Recollections by Michael's, Que Sera Sera by KC, blue steel by The Paper Company

Stamp: French Script by Stampin' Up