Valentine Spirit..............

hiya everyone! I am finally up and running again. I have been busy with different swaps and such. I thought I would share the 'valentine's love atc' cards that we did for a swap. it was fun letting loose and doing collage work. It is pretty much my favorite medium. that is why I enjoy doing altered art so much, it really is just doing collage work with multi-mediums, as well as working three dimensional items into it. I love the textures and depth of the collage and altered art. taking one item that is going to be the focus and then building around it. I love vintage photos , and used several for these cards.



After I pick an item that is the 'focal' point, then I decide what I will use as the base. I use different scrap booking printed paper. Plain card stock paper that I have painted or drawn on.

the card 'love me' I used a pink paper with gold paint splatter on it, as my base. then I used a piece of darker pink tissue that was torn and used it to split the base paper, your eye follows the tissue to the focal item, which is the heart. on the 'love' atc, I used a light colored print paper with a heart shape in the middle. I added texture to the heart and glitter also, this gives the heart depth. I then used a darker pink distress ink to break up the base paper and used it like I did with tissue or contrasting paper on some. I also added glitter around the edges and wrote the word love on one and love me on the other. I like to do a lot of my own writing and also pen work to add definition to the items on the card and also give the card a finished look. I use pigment ink pens with a small tip and then I spray a fixative to set the ink so that it will not smear or smudge when I use the finishing material. You can also use your sewing machine, or hand sew on your cards to make items pop out and also gives it a unique and finished look as well. Using distress ink on the edges and even some of the images, it gives the item a finished look, a vintage look if you use the right color. you can use a Qtip or sponge tipped tool , like the ones made for applying chalks, and lightly color something to make it look rich and give more depth. I used both chalks and distress inks on the items in these cards. if you look at the 'pink flower babies' below, you can see the touch of pink I added to the white flower pedals. it give the flower a richer, more realistic look.





I always use a finishing spray, or a collage finish medium. it gives the atc's a warm feel and also sets any glitter paint, or other mediums you use. some of the time I will take a dimensional medium that drys clear and makes whatever you use it on stand out. make sure the other mediums are totally dry before you put the dimensional liquid on, or it may dry with a cloudy look. trust me, I have had it happen and it really urks me when I have almost finished an item and then ruin it with the liquid. I would use the dimensional liquid or 'liquid glass' only on the items that you want to stand out, not the whole card. I used it on the wings and some of the hearts. you can not see this or most of the glitter as well. but when you see the cards or items for real, they have such depth and warmth when you use these mediums.


The finishing touch on these cards , as well as all of my work is my signature. people have asked me how I write so little for my signatures, you just need a very small tip sized pigment ink pen. no matter what you make, you should find a place to sign it. when you put your heart and soul into an art piece , remember that the art you just made is going to be somewhere in this world longer than you. I had an art teacher tell me one time, "you sign it, even if you may think you are not a 'real' artist, all art is worthy of your signature, no matter how small" I believe just like he did, that even if you do not think you are a famous artist, or how insignificant you think the piece is, it is a masterpiece and should tell the world forever it's creator.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day. I was lucky enough to spend it with my kids and husband. we decided this year that we are getting healthy, so no candy. we got each other valentine goodies that are useful. I got the kids a set of PJ's , the kind that everyone wears even out side. they got me a little set of IPOD speakers, so that while I am swimming laps at the gym I can listen to my tons of songs.
The whole family joined the gym for a year, so we can't flake out. we go together , to make it easier to work out. Because of my fused neck , shoulder surgeries and back problems...........I don't have a lot of options. So we picked a gym with an indoor heated pool and a huge hot tub. I swim lots of laps then go to heaven in the hot tub. swimming has really loosened up my injuries and given me more motion than I have had since the operations. and the added bonus is I am loosing weight too. everyone in the family is loosing weight and feeling good. Bill is healing wonderfully from his ankle and foot surgery in October. he is loving the work outs and feeling better than he has in years. Kryston and Megan are slimming down and getting in shape. Tyler is mega man and loving all of the work out equipment. he comes out and swims a few laps with me , or just checks to make sure I am OK. the pool is kinda by itself and can be a little dark at night when we go, so he just checks to make sure I am OK. it is so sweet of him. he is trying to make sure he is in shape for the CHP academy. you can not apply to the academy until you are 21 or going to be 21 by the time you graduate. so he still has a year and a half to go.
I am glad that I could get a tad of info and catch up on the blog. hope you all drop by again. I am going to try and write more often.............honest..............I swear............cross my heart.............you get the point. lol