Vintage Halloween Mini Books

This swap is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join us.  Click on the purple Yahoo button on the right and start on your Paper Traders journey.

One-for-One Vintage Halloween Mini Books
Skill Level: 1 - Sprouting
Sign up Deadline: September 30th
Partners Announced: October 1st
Mail out Deadline: October 8th
Hosted by: Beckie Holso

Summer is soon coming to an end and Fall will be arriving on its heels (at least in the Northern Hemisphere)! Regardless of where you live, we invite you to join in the fun of our Vintage Halloween swap. This swap is inspired by those whimsical vintage postcards that everyone loves.

We're going to be making cute little mini books in the style of the Stampington ones found here:  http://www.stampington.com/creative_impulse/ci_06092009_potw.html. The Stampington sample has more pages than we're going to use for this swap - you only need to cut 3 pieces of cardstock (including the cover) and 2 pieces of vintage text to make our books. The finished size will be 2-1/2" high by 1-1/2" wide (after paper is folded in half). Each book should include a cover, title page, 7 decorated two-page spreads, and a closing page with the artist's information.

Obviously, your books should be made using your own Halloween-themed papers, embellishments, etc. and feature the child-like fun of the holiday (nothing too dark or scary). Need some inspiration? I found lots of freebies in this style here:  http://magicmoonlightfreeimages.blogspot.com/search?q=halloween

Don't forget to sign up by the September 30th deadline in the swaps database on the Paper Traders Yahoo Group.  This is a one-for-one swap but if enough people sign up, we will allow participants to make an extra book for swapping, if they want... So sign up early!

On October 1st, I will announce the swap partners and you will mail out your completed book(s) to your partner(s) by October 8th.

Don't forget to share photos of your little books in the project album on the Paper Traders Swaps Yahoo Group.

Happy Haunting!
Beckie

A New Blog Challenge - Found Poetry

We have been intrigued lately by the concept of Found Poetry.  This is defined as a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them as poetry by making changes in spacing and lines or by adding or deleting text, thus imparting new meaning.  The resulting poems are interesting but even more fun is the artistic way in which people embellish their text.

Beckie is hosting a swap for group members this month and has  set up a Pinterest Board to spotlight some Found Poetry art that caught her eye.  You can check it out here:

http://pinterest.com/artbeckons/found-poetry/.  We also found an entire book altered in this manner by Karen Hatzigeorgiou of Karen's Whimsy.  She has shared images of it here:  http://karenswhimsy.com/altered-books/happiness/.  We also found a nearly 200 page book that was altered by Tom Phillips, called The Humument.  You can view the slideshow and/or gallery here: http://humument.com/.

Hopefully you are inspired by this artistic method as much as we are.  We  invite you to join us in a PT Blog Challenge project using a single torn page from a book of your choice.  Highlight in an artistic manner the words that make up your Found Poem and decorate the page with the theme of your poetry.  You may cut, collage, paint, layer, etc. - whatever inspires you!

You don't have to be a member of Paper Traders Yahoo Art group to participate; but if you would like to join us and be privy to even more great paper crafting swaps and challenges, plus better-than-ever artistic support, that would be super!

When the challenge closes, we will pick a winning piece that best showcases the theme of the challenge and/or supply requirement. The winner will be awarded the following prizes:

Art from Beckie H.

Two collage digistamps from Cathy C

(will be sent to your email as jpg. files)

Challenge Rules

1. Make a paper craft, mixed media, or digital piece of art ( any size). The theme is "Found Poetry".
2. Post your art to your blog, Flickr, Picasa, or other online album.  Mention our name PaperTraders Art Blog with a link back to this post. You are welcome to grab our button and share it on your blog as well.  The last day to post for this challenge is September 30th, 2012.
3. After posting your "Found Poetry" art on your site, come back to this post, and leave us a comment with a link to your post/image.  You must include a direct link to your image or post, not a general link to your album or blog. All you will need to do is copy and paste the url address of your post found at the top of your browser window.
4. The winner will be announced by the October 5th  and,  in addition to the prizes shown above, will be awarded our "Trader Treasure" blog badge which they can choose to feature on their blog. Their art will also be posted on the PaperTraders Art Blog for a month.
5. For the winner to claim the Challenge prizes, please make sure there is a way for us to contact you by email so that your prizes can be sent to you.

Inspiration:

Picasso

by Cathy C

by Beckie H.

Vintage Elements Freebie

The moderators are so pleased to share this wonderful collage image sheet for your personal use.  A great big THANK YOU goes to Connie Holso for putting this together.  Please click the link found below the preview to access the full size file.  Enjoy!

Click HERE for Hi-Res Download

Eye for Color Swap Gallery

Melissa W

Shelly R

Pam C

Leanne S

Debra C

Beckie H

Colored Tangle Swap Gallery

Karen B

Misti S

Cathy C

Beckie H

Stitching Technique Swap Gallery

Beckie H

Cathy C

Connie H

Deanne D

Janne R

Karen B

Misti S

Sam B

Found Poetry Swap announced

for Paper Traders members only

Found Poetry Swap
One-for-One Project
Skill: 2 - Budding
Hosted by: Beckie H.
Post photo of completed project by: August 27th
Rotation announced: August 28th
Mail out by: September 1st

I have been intrigued by the concept of Found Poetry, which is a type of poetry created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them as poetry by making changes in spacing and lines, or by adding or deleting text, thus imparting new meaning.  The resulting poems are interesting but even more fun is the artistic way in which people embellish their text.  I have set up a Pinterest Board to spotlight some Found Poetry art that caught my eye:
http://pinterest.com/artbeckons/found-poetry/.  Karen Hatzigeorgiou of Karen's Whimsy altered an entire book in this manner, shown here:  http://karenswhimsy.com/altered-books/happiness/.  I also found a nearly 200 page book that was altered by Tom Phillips, called The Humument.  You can view the slideshow and/or gallery here: http://humument.com/.

Hopefully you are inspired by this artistic method as much as I am.  I invite you to join me in a swap project using a single torn page from a book of your choice.  Please mount the page on a sturdy background.  Approximate size for this project is 5X7 depending on the size of your book page.  Highlight in an artistic manner the words that make up your Found Poem and decorate the page with the theme of your poetry.  You may cut, collage, paint, layer, etc. - whatever inspires you!

Please sign up in the database on the main Paper Traders Yahoo site.  Your project needs to be completed by August 27th and a photo posted in the project album on the Paper Traders Swaps site.

I will take all of the people who have posted a photo and randomize the participants.  I will announce the rotation on August 28th so make sure your projects are completed and photos posted by the deadline if you want to be included in this project.

Beckie

2012 Version of the Your Stuff / My Stuff Swap

open to Paper Traders group members only

2012 Your Stuff / My Stuff Swap
One-for-One Ephemera & ATC swap
Any theme
Skill Level: 2 - Budding
Hosted by: Beckie H
Sign-up deadline: August 10th
Partners announced: August 13th
Supply mail-out deadline: August 20th
ATC mailout deadline: September 17th

Last year, we hosted one of these swaps and it was a huge success so we decided to do it again! One of the benefits of hosting swaps is all the wonderful ephemera that the participants often send along with their art - it can be a new source of inspiration and make you think outside of your own supply world and the things you are usually drawn to. This is the concept for a fun swap where your creation is made from someone else's supplies. Here are the details:

1. Sign up by August 10th in the Database on the main Paper Traders Yahoo site.  On August 13th, I will randomly assign partners and post it on the blog as well as in the database.
2. By August 20th, mail your partner an A9 (Diplomat, 5¾ × 8¾ inches or 146.1 × 222.3 mm) or A10 (Willow, 6 × 9½ inches or 152.4 × 241.3 mm) size envelope of supplies and ephemera. Don't buy anything special, just raid your stash!! Try to include a variety of type and style. Please do not "direct" your partner on what to make - let them be inspired by the items you send.
3. Make an ATC using the supplies you receive from your partner. Yes, you can incorporate some of your own supplies in, but please try to use mostly the new supplies in keeping with the spirit of the swap.
4. Mail your ATC back to your partner by September 17th. You can keep whatever ephemera is left over.
5. Don't forget to post a photo your ATC in the project album on the Paper Traders Swaps Yahoo site.  And please mention whose supplies you used in the description.

Beckie