Thinking About A Change

I am thinking about changing my blog host. There are a lot of reasons for this, but mainly it's due to my lack of understanding on how to fix little layout issues that really are starting to bug me. Usually I overlook it, but today it is really frustrating.

I'm investigating my options right now. I may end up doing nothing; we'll see. Blogger IS free and you do get what you pay for. Plus, I'm only averaging about four hours of sleep a night (for some reason) and am really grumpy! If I decide to move to another site I will post my new link here and leave it up for a long time so you can make the switch, too!

OK, enough of that. Here is the third ATC I received in the Magic Key ATC swap at Artella. Isn't she cute? Such different takes on the theme!

Here is the last of the ATC's I received in the swap. Interesting, huh? The back of the card says: "Sometimes the darkness comes when I least expect it and I often look for keys to open doors I can't find. Looking for keys, searching but never finding." See? That's the cool thing about these swaps. You never know what somebody's interpretation of the them is going to be. All four cards were really a different take on "Magic Key". It made it one of the more varied swaps this year.

I started cleaning up my studio and felt too overwhelmed so I decided to come in here and post to my blog instead! I do have to get back at it so I can clear room for my next project. I think that's the part I dislike the most in all of this: cleaning up afterward. Of course, if I DID clean up afterward, I wouldn't be whining about it now! Stay tuned...

Taking Risks

I have a little bit of everything in here today. The top photo the pendant I talked about yesterday. I LOVE this! I placed it on a digital background so it would show up better. The scan alone was a little bare. You can click on each photo to get a better view. I'm definitely going to use this with an art doll. I think I found it at Michael's craft store. They have a great jewelry section.

I find this risk theme alot in my magazines and art publications that I follow. I'm wanting to take more risks with my art; try things out of my comfort zone. It's a good exercise to push your creativity to new limits. Some of the things I'm aiming for that are completely new to me: trying an assemblage or shrine, art dolls with more found objects, altering vintage book covers, sketching and painting, small journal quilts and incorporating beading into my work. Whew! That's an ambitious list to start with. I keep a small notebook of ideas that I jot down as I come across them and these are among the ones that really have my interest now.

Oh, I keep forgetting to mention... have you noticed my new blog banner? That was another small risk I took. I was not in love with the plain one we are given with the blog templates here. So, I figured I would try and create one for myself. I've noticed alot of my favorite blogs have their own banners. I figured why not try my hand at it. Working in Photoshop with the digital altered book gave me the push I needed to try and create my own banner. I'm pretty happy with it. Now that I figured out the size, I'll change it up now and then just to keep things fresh! I hope you like it. Hubby liked the new colors in the background and sidebars, too! :)

The second photo is my favorite page of my digital altered book. The original page that we were given before altering was the whole poem on a blank page. I took just the first verse of the poem and created everything else around that. I still have the final page and the back cover to finish; something I'm aiming to complete today.

The last photo is another of my ATC's I created for the magic key ATC swap at Artella. If you look at yesterday's post, the cover (or door) is posted there. When you open the door (which is attached to the front of this card) you see this little guy.

So, back to work. I'm really motivated to wrap up the works in progress and begin with new projects. Plus, I made a trip to the flea market yesterday and came back with some absolute treasures! I'll post those tomorrow. Stay tuned...

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...

Inner Child ATC

This is the third ATC I made for the Artella Magic Key ATC swap. I loved this image. It's a reminder to allow yourself to play! Don't forget your inner child. She is there to give you permission to have fun! Art is a wonderful opportunity to let go and play, just like you used to do in art class.

I used to love art day in grade school. Our art teacher would wheel in this cart filled to the brim with goodies like paints, papers, glue, scissors, etc. She was magical to me. She always wore the most vibrant colors and her jewelry, I realize now, was hand-painted. She was definitely an inspiration to me.

I've continued making more magic key ATC's even though I've already mailed in my five for the swap. I loved this theme! I'm curious to see what I get in return. I've never been disappointed. I'm thinking about what I can do with all of these little canvasses I get in these swaps. There are lots of options out there. I've seen binders with little pre-made pockets to store them in, a wooden carousel with pockets to display them in, people have even strung them on beads and hung them in their studio! I'm thinking about printing them on cloth and sewing them into little art quilts. I've been toying with a layout for these. More to come...

I've got to get to work finishing my next digital altered book and my zine. The altered book contest deadline is Oct. 4 and the zine deadline (fast approaching) is Oct. 11. So, that's it for now. Thanks for stopping in!

Another Magic Key ATC

Here is another of the magic key ATC's that I created for the Artella September ATC swap. The top photo is the cover, which opens like a door to reveal the second photo. The idea is to see what the magic key opens the door TO!

I thought this was such a fun image! It reminds me of my very, best, best, BEST friend, Sharon. We have certainly had our share of fun times through the years. This image just has that feeling of two friends being silly together. That's something Sharon and I have NO problem doing! :) Now that I've moved to another state, I don't see her nearly enough, but I hope that she knows she is always on my mind and in my heart!!!

I've been busy trying to get various projects ready for their deadlines. I have made some more progress on my digital altered book. I'm really loving how it is turning out. I hope to get it wrapped up this week and then put the finishing touches on the zine and get those mailed out next week.

In the meantime, I've been experimenting with doll making. I have completed another one, but am not ready to post a photo of her. She's an experiment with using materials that you have on hand. Art dolls can be made of anything and I stretched the imagination to make her. She's an odd little creature; almost to the point of being cute! I'm working on her sister right now and when I finish her, I'll post them both. :)

That's all for now. I'll post another of my ATC's tomorrow and when I receive my four in the mail, I will post those.

Magic Key ATC's Are Finished!

I had a lot of fun making this latest round of ATC's! I thought I would post one of them here tonight, since I just finished them. The top photo is the cover. All of the ATC's will have this cover. It's a transparency of a door and keyhole over top of some artist paper, a scanned moon face from an old earring, and some text printed onto scrapbook paper. The key is a small metal key that I had from a previous scrapbooking club mailing.

The second photo is the inside of the first ATC. The inside of each card will be different. The effect is supposed to be of a door opening to reveal what the key unlocks! I used all sorts of images, scrap paper, sequins, just about anything I had laying around that inspired me for these cards. I loved this one. Actually, I love them all! :) So, here is the first and the rest will follow tomorrow.

It's getting late and I need to shut down for now. Hope you enjoyed this little peek!