Queen For A Day ATC

Here is the fourth ATC I created for the Artella Magic Key ATC swap. The first photo is the "door" and the second photo is what the magic key opens the door TO. The door is attached to the bottom card by tiny brass brads down the left side. Usually we don't get to see any of the participants' ATC's before they are sent to us. However, I think everyone was a little excited by this theme. Some of them have posted their cards to their galleries already. The usual practice is for the host of the swap to scan all of the cards and then post each participant's card to the Artella site a day at a time. I just post mine here, and then when they are posted at the Artella site, I get to see them again! ;)

The new theme for the next ATC swap was announced yesterday: the '60's. You can interpret this any way you want. I was born in 1960, so I'll just look through images of that time. The music is always a good place to look for inspiration. Hubby is a classic rock fan and most of his music is 60's and 70's. UNLIKE mine...but that's another story.

I know... I know... I said no more signing up for anymore swaps until my digital altered book and zine are out the door (or the computer in the digital book's case). But, these little cards are addicting! As I said yesterday, I'm still making a few more magic key ATC's just for my own use!! They were more labor intensive than the others that I've made, but I knew the effect I was going for and I was pretty proud of them.

Speaking of being a perfectionist...I found this cool pendant in the bead section of the craft store. It just screamed my name when I saw it. It's my motto when it comes to my art. I'll post it tomorrow. *devilish grin* I want to learn how to bead! There are a million different kinds of beads, wire, findings, etc. It's overwhelming for someone who has NIL experience with beads. I've never strung a bead. Anyway, there are also little charms, pendants, etc. in these aisles. This pendant was so on target! I'm going to design an art doll around the theme of the pendant. *sigh* I need more hours in the day.

OK, back to work. Two more pages to go on my digital altered book and I'll be able to send it in to Artella for conversion BEFORE the deadline. Ha! That' a first. If you are not familiar with digital altered books, click on my two books in my sidebar under "My digital altered books." They are also addicting and a great way to play with Photoshop. They are just like the traditional altered books, but they are done digitally. I know, I was skeptical too, before I signed up. I still LOVE altering old books the traditional way, but this is a good alternative. My studio space is a wreck right now with all of the other projects I have going, so digitally altering something is a lot less messy! Go to the Artella website and check out their gallery of all of the digital altered books. There are some pretty amazing ones besides the two by yours truly.

Stay tuned for more to come...