June Freebie: Beautiful ATC Backgrounds

It's time for another freebie courtesy of your Paper Traders Moderators.  A great big THANK YOU to Connie Holso for preparing this lovely offering for your personal use.  Please use the link BELOW the photo to download the high resolution file.  Enjoy!

Download Here:

http://1drv.ms/1nnpjKO

New Swap: Charms

This swap is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join our fun. Please click on the purple yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join.

Charm Swap

6-for-6 Handmade Charms

Hosted by: Letha Richardson

Mail out by: June 16th 2014

Skill Level: ALL levels accepted

Make 6 same or similar charms for hanging on journals or other art projects. These should be handmade, have some type of hanging element - like a jump ring, ribbon, etc. - be either assembled from bits and baubles or beads, or completely designed by you. Use your creative imagination to come up with something unique and fun. Please keep these small enough for all 6 of them to fit into a small bubble envelope for mailing back. Some ideas are: altered bottle caps, scrabble tiles, beaded charms, small stamped images cut out and covered with crystal lacquer or glossy accents, shrink plastic charms, paper beads, etc. There is no specific topic for this swap. Just use your creativity!

Please send a return address label. For USA residents, please send same postage as it cost you to mail. International participants may include ephemera or an ATC in lieu of postage - I'll take care of the rest.

~Letha

New Swap: Domino Bird Books

This swap is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join our fun. Please click on the purple yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join.

Domino "Bird" Books

Hosted by Nikki Smith

Sign up ends June 27th

Partners announced June 28th

Postmarked by July 15th

You will be creating a Domino book for a 1-1 partner swap in the theme of "Birds". Also, please make sure to include a short tale or poem somewhere inside your book. Your book can be accordion-style or bound on one side.  Regardless of the style of book you choose to do, please have at least 6 pages in the book. Use a standard size domino. I did a little research on making these and most people say the newer white dominoes work best. But you can use whatever you have handy. The due date is set far enough out so everyone can really take time to create a mini masterpiece. Lots of possibilities for embellishments, trim, glitter, fibers, charms, etc.

I have included a few websites and YouTube videos for lots of inspiration on making these books.

Shabby Chic Altered Domino Book
Domino Mini Book tutorial by JocelynAnn
Pinterest Board: Domino Books
Accordion Fold Domino Book tutorial by Artfully Musing

Hope you can join.

~Nikki

Gallery: Mother Nature Tag Flag Books

Book by Ellen L.

Book by Ellen L.

Amanda E.

Beckie H.

Cathee S.

Connie H.

Ellen L.

Jo M.

Nancy S.

Pam C.

Pam P.

Gallery: Color Harmony

Amanda E

Ann C

Barb A

Cathy C

Debra C

Jo M

Nancy S

Nikki S

Pam C

Pam P

Sandra D

Shelly R

New Swap: A European Affair

This swap is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join our fun. Please click on the purple yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join Paper Traders.

A European Affair  - World Culture Celebration 

(2nd in a series of four swaps this year) 

4/4 ATC Cards - All Levels - Cards due by Thursday, July 3rd
(Due to travel and summer vacation issues Debra needs to receive cards by this date)

More travel around the world of art!  This is the second of four swaps focusing on different continental regions - let’s travel to Europe. The possibilities are endless!

The title is not intended to imply “romance” - other than your love of a particular country or place!  Think of a location you would be excited to visit, have already seen, or maybe the country of your family’s heritage. Debra did her sample card based on the Slovakian heritage of her great grandparents.

Details (4-for-4 Cards):

1. Please keep embellishments as flat as possible, (small brads, ribbon, eyelets, and thin charms are OK) the flatter the better for mailing.

2. U.S. participants please send $1.00 for postage & an address label.

3. International players - NO Ephemera. You have been too generous so Debra needs more swaps to use up all she has. (Instead, consider hosting a swap this year.) A flat swap with no bulky embellishments would be easy to mail out. Or send an International Forever Stamp if you have one. If not, Debra will cover your return postage. Please send an address label.

4. Cards Due by Thursday, July 3rd.
* Note - this is NOT a mail-by date, but a “due in hand” date.

Hosted by: Debra Claxton

Upcoming Swaps:
Asian Adventure
Dive in "Down Under"

Gallery: Fairy Tale Deco Pages

Book by Pam C.

Amanda E.

Ann C.

Beckie H.

Cathee S.

Nancy S.

Pam C.

Sandra D.

Create your own face stencils

Well , Julie Fei Fan Balzer has done it again.

She has come out with a line of face stencils

for those of us who LOVE her art journal pages

and wish we could just draw those darn faces.

So, I thought what about making my own face stencil?

But wait, I can't draw faces.

So you see the dilemma.

What if I found a magazine image of a face and

used it as a template to create a stencil?

Now we are on to something.

I found this image from a local magazine/newspaper.

I tore it out and then using a black sharpie,

I traced over the prominent lines I wanted

to feature in the stencil;

hair lines, eyes, nose, mouth, etc.
You can see that I left out the arm and
just drew hair strands across it.

I then laid my clear mylar over the image

and retraced over those lines with the sharpie.

Next cut out those shapes/lines with

a sharp x-acto knife.

Lay out the stencil on the already prepared background

of your art journal page. I used a make-up sponge

and dabbed black ink into the spaces

(Colorbox archival pigment).

Went back with a brush tip Pitt pen to fill in

the line gaps from the stencil.

I also went in and thickened some lines and

added some more hair curls.

I started to shade the highlights and lowlights

of her face. Looking back at the magazine image

will help you here to see light and dark areas.

All that's left is to add your text and any
embellishments you might want.

You can even take that same stencil,

flip it over and just fill in a few basic lines from

the stencil, just to get the shape of the face

and placement of the eyes and nose.

 I then went in and added a different mouth,

accented the eyes and really changed the hair.

A completely different girl.

How fun and easy is that?

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial from
 Cathy Calamas of Paper Traders.

May Freebie: Vintage Photo Microscope Slides

It's time for another freebie courtesy of your Paper Traders Moderators.  A great big THANK YOU to Connie Holso for preparing this lovely offering for your personal use.  Please use the link BELOW the photo to download the the high resolution file.  Enjoy!

Download Here:

http://1drv.ms/1mr2zcq

ATC Speed Swap #3 - Give Her an Inch

This swap is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join our fun. Please click on the purple yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join Paper Traders.

Time for ATC Speed Swap #3!

Third month's theme: “Give her an inch....”

This month your atc's must include at least one embellished inchie within the design.

Sign-up dates May 1-15.

Mailing list announced May 16.

Skill level - All

Inspiration:
http://rogueredheaddesigns.blogspot.com/2014/04/holiday-inspiration-club-for-april-inch.html

Each month, on the 1st, we will announce a theme or technique for your ATC's. Anyone interested will have until the 15th to sign up. The list will be randomized, announced on the 16th, and you will mail one ATC directly to each of the next two people on the list. A total of two ATC's each month for the speed swaps. You don't have to sign up every month, just when you feel like it or like the theme or have the time.

We'll have brand new creative excitement each month and this will keep postage for each of us to a mininum as long as you don't make bulky ATC's. But of course that will be your choice. It's approximately $1.20 to mail internationally for one ATC in a note card envelope.

New themes will be announced on the 1st of each month.

Please contact Cathy Calamas with any questions.