Coupon ATCs- Part deux

After the last batch of ATCs, I figured I'd try the junk mail ones again.  There's an endless supply in the mail, especially around this time of year.  So, away we go!

Fall in Love

Junk mail, paper clippings and 3-D teardrop on Bristol.

A bit emo but that happens sometimes.  I love the balance created by the butterfly wings.

To Public Indecency

Junk mail and paper clippings on bristol.

I was thinking of a certain individual (not me) when I was making this, lol.  Don't worry, she approved of being the inspiration behind this one.  The working title being, DRI- Daily Recommended Intake.

Two Olives!

Shiny junk mail, paper clippings, embroidery floss and toothpicks on bristol.

Can you tell I really, really like olives?  

I love the look of 3-D embellishments on cards, so I've been trying to incorporate more into mine lately.  I figured it was the perfect way to blend ATCs with my other true love- embroidery!  Normally, I'm a bit particular about making my stitches tiny and neat, so this style was difficult for me at first.  (But I need to loosen up, so I'm experimenting.)  I think that this look works well for this card.  I couldn't resist the toothpicks.  The background became a bit distressed during the process but I guess that's to be expected from shiny junk mail paper.  Or maybe I just manhandled it?

As of now, all of these cards are available.

What do you think, do you like the "messy" or "free" style of embroidery? 

I do, but I don't know if I'm relaxed enough for that :)  I don't really know what it's called so I don't  mean messy as a bad thing!

Recent ATCs

I just can't stop making these little guys!

Mas littles....

Prima Ballerina

Fabric, watercolors and paper collage on bristol.  I made this by rolling little tubes of paper, covering them with double-sided tape and attaching the fabric to look like the wavy curtains of a stage.  I'm happy with it as a prototype, I definitely want to expand on this and try it again.

Spaced out

Watercolors and ink on background I received from swapping with Shayna.  Plus glitter and space image from  takeabreak's photostream.  Thanks guys.  There are a ton more of these cute space playing cards, so I'm going to do a whole series of them.

Oh la la

aka Sorry for my crude sense of humor ;)

Paper clippings on bristol.

The day I got my 1 in. hole punch I sat down with a stack of magazines and bad television.  I happily punched away for several hours and filled a envelope with tons of circular goodies.  Although, you can't tell from this card I did get more images than cleavage.  I swear.  Anyways, they are the perfect size for ATCs.  (And they fit perfectly into a bottle cap! Which is why I wanted the punch in the first place.)  My envelope is getting a little low so it looks like I need to find some sort of CSI Marathon and start punching again.

Presence

Soft pastels and paper clippings on bristol.

You guys know all about my new found WNWN (Waste not, Want not) policy when it comes to my crafty supplies.  With that being said, I was glad that I was able to make the following cards out of materials I usually toss without a second thought.  I give you the Coupon Series!  Twice a week we get a stack of fliers, ads, and coupons in the mail.  In an attempt to be more economical I look through them but end up tossing them as they are filled with stuff we don't buy or places we don't go.  99% of it still ends up in the recycling but so far I've got some good cards from my annoying junk mail!

I LOVE TACOS!!

Shiny ad coupon and embroidery floss on bristol.

One of my favorites so far, just because it's so silly.  DH thinks it's ridiculous, but I said, "Mark my words.  Someone will want to trade.  I know someone out there likes Tacos as much as me!"

Hey, I'm not ashamed of my love for Mexican food :)

I'm Tired of Nuts!

Shiny ad and paper clippings on bristol.

That Nutcracker looks mad!

Conspicuous

Shiny ad and paper clippings on bristol.

Good Company.

Shiny ad and paper clippings on bristol.

As of now, all of the cards in this batch, except Conspicuous, are available.  Let me know if you want to trade!!

ATCs

These are a few ATCs that I made yesterday.  Sorry, the photo quality is not so hot, I still haven't fixed my camera problem so I scanned them.  I know, excuses, excuses.  Maybe I'll have to re-post em later.

Pink Princess 

Watercolors, vintage lace, gemstone and paper clippings on Bristol.

Sailor's Demise

Security envelope, paper clippings, metallic heart and vintage lace on Bristol.
Not so happy with this one here.  Originally, it only had the one girl with the hands behind her head.  After some bad decisions I had to add the second girl to cover up the hot mess I had made.
Happily, I stuck to my "Waste not, want not" plan and adapted.  As tempting as it was I didn't throw it out.

And last but not least, my Halloween inspired card-
Zombie Wound.

  Watercolors and embroidery floss on Bristol.
I don't think it comes across as pus filled as I would have liked, but it is Zombie like.

Currently, all three of available for trade.  Contact me if interested or find me on Flickr, which is where I normally do my trading.

Made this in a Jiffy!

Wow, I'm almost as lame as my titles.  Oh well, at least I can admit it.  I'm big on recycling, so I like to save things I can make into cute stuff.  Like this little notebook for example.  I saw a similar notebook in a magazine a long time ago, but I've been making them since I was a kid.  I have tons of sugary cereal sketchbooks from back in the day.   My fav?   The  Froot Loops one with rainbow construction paper, hell yeah.  Thank goodness my man borrowed the paper-cutter from his work when I decided that I absolutely needed to make notebooks.  It made it so easy, I see a new investment item for my future. What can I say, I work in spurts.

Yep, more of that polka dot tissue paper. As well as some vintage gingham ribbon from my stash.  For this one, I just used my staple gun to bind it together (hence the ribbon to cover up the ugly staples!)  I'm really happy with this one.  The next one, not so much, lol.

I also made one from a 6 pack of my favorite beer, Racer 5.  Man, I'm so lucky to live in an area known for it's micro-brews.  Shop local!  For this one I actually stitched the paper together.  I didn't really know what I was doing so I doubt it's actually the "correct" way to bind it.  I attached the covers separately, I don't plan to do this in the future.  Sewing all the way through the next ones.  The edges are trimmed with vintage bias tape from my stash.

 

Inside I added silly little collages to cover the ugly cardboard.

 

The glittery Bee Keeper.

 

Sailor Jerry, tattoo artist and rum purveyor extraordinaire, on vacation at the Grand Canyon.

   

For some reason, when making things for myself I'm not so concerned with neatness.  That's what happened with my beer one.  This is one case where Modge-Podge was not my friend.  The inside collages demonstrate this well, haha, but then again I was just using the regular kind.  Maybe I need to venture out and use one of the specialized ones.  Oh well, I'll still use it.  I guess I figure since I'm a messy klutz no sense in making it perfect.  However, when making things as gifts or for clients I obsess over every little detail.  When it comes to everything else I'm a perfectionist, just not myself.  Go figure.

2nd Batch of ATCs

This was my second batch of ATCs.  Starting out with this-

The shiny surface created by the modge-podge makes it hard to photograph (it's ok, I still love ya MP)  All of the trim and ribbon is vintage.  It's tiny left over pieces from when I was cutting and packaging yardage for my etsy.  I couldn't resist the jeweled eye, because like every gal with an inner pin-up, the thought of frilly "unmentionables" puts a sparkle in my eye.

Then this little window.

The shingles are also left over from my etsy packaging exstravaganza.  The yellow fabric came from my scrap jar, some may recognize it from my Lazy Daisy Crafting Kit.   The rest is card stock and watercolors on bristol.  There is actually a tiny piece of plastic for the window, but you can't tell here.

And finally, Hope.

Featuring my official ballot and the one, the only President Barak Obama.  Almost entitled, "PILF" however, I figured that was just plain inappropriate. Ha ha, sometimes I just can't help myself.

ATCs.

I've decided to try my hand at ATCs.  I've always loved looking at them, viewing each as tiny little works of art.  These were the first two I whipped up.

 

For this, I combined my love of fabric and proverbs.  I collaged scraps from my jar onto the cards with Modge Podge (love it!!) and let it dry overnight.  I used Glad Press and Seal to write the words on top and punched holes with a straight pin... it was a pain with all of that Modge Podge to go through.  I embroidered the words with two strands of floss.  I wish I had either used more floss or a more visible color.  I had intended on hanging it in my studio area as a little reminder to use every possible material to it's fullest.  In an attempt to make it more visible in the little frame I was going to use I colored the white floss with marker... however, this didn't really work.  Oh well, in the album it goes instead.

The second one, because I'm sassy and sweet at the same time!  I've had that polka dot tissue paper forever, ha ha.  My Mama wrapped a few of my Christmas presents in it a few years ago.  I'm not a pack-rat, I just see potential in things others throw out!