Day 30 - "Hints"

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Process & Name (These go together today) –   The name “Hints” refers to the fact that this card contains a few hints as to what I have decided to do for my next 30 day challenge.  The base of the card is an unusual one.  It is actually made of dyed, woven casting material.  I have access to old casting material and have made a lot of different things with it.  One day I dyed some with yellow Rit dye and then wove some of the wet pieces together before they dried.  When they dried, they were thick sheets of yellow “paper”.  I cut one up into small pieces including one piece the size of an ATC. (Hint – I like to make familiar things out of unrelated items.)  I knew it would be strong enough to hold heavier elements so I pulled the enamel circle out of my printer’s drawer box.  I actually created that enamel circle years ago when I worked at a camp.  (Hint – Next month I will be doing something I used to like to do).  The odd metal square was a piece that I put together thinking that it looked unique like a small television.  (Hint – I generally like three dimensional elements better than one dimensional). Finally the small palette is a tiny version of a real item.  (Hint – I like small things.)

Were you able to put the hints together?.........   My next 30 Day challenge is going to be “Miniatures”.  I loved doll houses and miniature furniture and items when I was younger and I have held on to some of the pieces.  I almost bought a very large hand built doll house recently, but luckily talked myself out of it not knowing where I would put it and that even if I left a specific room open for Scout (see Day 1) to crawl into, she would certainly go through and “redecorate” all of them with her tail.  I used to make a lot of the items that went into my doll house when I was younger.  I think it might be fun to try this again.  I will try to create / show a new  miniature each day.   Let me know if you have any suggestions of things you think I should miniaturize.  

Congratulations to me!  I completed and enjoyed my June challenge.  

Day 29 - "Be Your Own Star"

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Process –The base of this card is from a piece of handmade paper that I made a while ago.  I inserted some thin wire into the center of some blue cord and then shaped the cord around a tiny cookie cutter to make the star shape.  I put a hole in the card and threaded the ends of the cord through it using the excess wire end to secure the rest of the cord to the back.   I left a background on the scan so that the deckle edges of the handmade paper would show.

Name – I had a hard time coming up with a name for this card.  I finally decided on “Be Your Own Star” because it sounds a bit empowering.  It is also a personal pat on the back for myself in that I have kept up with this 30 day challenge.  Tomorrow will be the last day for the ATC challenge and since June only has 30 days, I will start my next 30 day challenge on the following day.  I will announce what that will be tomorrow. 

Day 28 - "Be There"

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Process – This is a picture that someone took a few years ago (maybe me, but I don’t think so).  I have had it in my ATC basket for the month thinking it might make a nice background, but when I cropped it to fit the ATC size, I liked what it looked like as is.  It looks so peaceful and calm and cool, it just made me want to be there.  It also reminded me of the path that we used to have behind our first house in Michigan.  That was a place I loved to go walking through the woods relaxing and thinking in the quiet and beauty around me.  I have been thinking about the idea of creating a backyard labyrinth and today my friend Rachel and I got to go and visit a local labyrinth.  It was an inspiring experience and the idea of walking meditation appeals to me.  You can move and focus and think and feel at peace.  Since I can’t build a forest in the backyard, perhaps a small labyrinth would be the next best thing.

Name –  I called this card “Be there”, because when I look at it I think – “I want to be there.”

Day 27 - "A Different Point of View"

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Process & Name (These go together today)–   The name “A Different Point of View” summarizes the elements of the card and the elements came together as I looked around the studio deciding what to do.  I started by taking a decorative gift tag and cutting it to the size of an ATC.  I left the tag hole in the top thinking I would add some fiber to it when I was done.  I then dug through a box and found an old pair of cardboard 3D glasses.  There was an eye in the middle of the glasses and I knew I wanted to put that on the card too.  Also in the box I found some old negatives.  I am not sure what they are pictures of, but it doesn’t bother me at all to cut them up.  I also found some punched out stars from the thousands of photographs I have from my aunt and uncle’s collection.  I positioned each item on the card and was thinking that they were all different ways of looking at things and that is when I came up with the name.  At that point I decided not to add the fiber to the hole in the top of the card because the hole looked like a “peep hole” which is also another point of view.   Clever, right?  

Day 26 - "Creative Memories"

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Process – This is an ATC that will probably only have meaning for me, but it has been a fun process of walking down memory lane.  Yesterday when I was sorting through some old card stock and cardboard, I found a couple of pieces of fairly sturdy white card in different sizes.  I thought they would be a good thickness to use with ATCs.  I flipped them over and found that they all had printing on the back.  I quickly recognized that the printing was lists of Simplicity sewing pattern numbers.  I had stumbled across some heavy card stock that my dad – who worked for Simplicity Pattern Company years ago – must have rescued from the trash to use with his art work.  At some point he shared them with me and they have been in my stash all this time.

  

I thought it would be fun to transfer the image of a random Simplicity pattern to the front.  I "googled" pattern images and saw one that reminded me of the first clothing item that I had sewn by myself for 4-H – a red and white flowered smock top.  I wondered what the odds would be for finding that exact pattern – especially since I wasn’t sure I would remember what it looked like after all this time.  I put the words “Vintage Simplicity Pattern Smock Top and I instantly recognized my original pattern and I was flooded with memories of the project.   And guess what – since it was a “first project” for me, I still had the actual smock top folded away in a memory box and here it is:

I printed the image and transferred it to the card using my easy transfer method.  It isn’t a creative work of art, but it is a significant creative memory for me.

Name –   See last line of paragraph above.

Day 25 - "A Good Yarn"

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Process – I love how this card turned out (it looks even better if you look at the enlarged view) and how simple it was to create.  (I guess I should have come up with this idea during my “simplify” days.)  I found some stray, textured, wavy yarn with colors I really like.  All I did was tape the end of the yarn to the back of a card base and then wrapped it around and around the card until it was completely covered.  I then threaded the end piece through the yarn on the back side of the card to keep it all in place and I was done.  I was surprised (and pleased) to find that this extra thick and fluffy card still fit into the card holder. 

Name –   I called it “A Good Yarn” because the name amused me.  There isn’t much of a story to it – though the name implies that there is one – but the card is made with really nice yarn.  :)  

Day 24 - "Stuck in Time"

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Process – I have been continuing the process of simplifying and streamlining my overwhelming to-do list.  Today’s focus was on streamlining creative projects and project supplies.  So I decided to use some things up so I could get rid of them.  I had one paint pen left that still had some color it in – the orange one.  I wanted to use it up and get rid of it so I painted the background of the card with the paint pen.  It was running low and didn’t cover the whole card completely, but I like the white peeking through in places. The theme of the weekend was “Simple” and what could be simpler than a stickers collage.  I got out my sticker box and picked some stickers that seemed like they could go together randomly and started adding them.  It was actually quite fun.  Collage without the sticky glue mess (and I always make a sticky glue mess).

Name – I named the card “Stuck in Time” partly because there is a clock on it and because of the “stickers”, but it could also connect with how I get stuck having too many ideas and not enough time to work on all of them. 

Challenge – I think I will just let myself do whatever comes to mind for the rest of the ATCs this month.  30 days is definitely pushing it to the edge of my attention span.  :)