New Swap: In the Garden

This project is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join us. Please click on the purple Yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join.

In the Garden

4-for-4 ATC swap

Skill Level: 1 - Sprouting

Sign up by: June 9th

Postmarked by: June 23rd

Hosted by: Connie Holso

For this project, you can create ATCs featuring anything to do with gardens but please incorporate a found image or background on each card – it can be from a magazine, an old book, postcard, mailer, etc.

Include $1 for postage, or $2 if you have thick or heavy embellishments. International members may send ephemera in lieu of postage. If you are sending international, please mail early!

Skill Level: 1) SPROUTING - Geared toward the artist who has recently begun their journey into mixed media, these swaps are open to all group members, regardless of experience. Participation is the key - caring and sharing in the spirit of friendship and fun. Every artist needs to understand that contributors to these projects can be of any level of artistic experience.

New Swap: Movable Mermaids

This project is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join us. Please click on the purple Yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join.

Movable Mermaids

3-for-3 ATCs

Skill Level: #2 Budding

Sign up by June 20th

Cards IN HAND July 8th

Hosted by Debra Claxton

I hope you will join in this fun fantasy swap! All mixed media artists & paper crafters are welcome - beginning through advanced. Please make 3 ATCs that have a mermaid (or mer-person) on the card. Your mermaid must have a movable tail. If the tail extends beyond the 2.5 X 3.5 card size, then it should fold up so your card will fit in an ATC sleeve. Other body parts can be movable too - your choice. Enjoy using any of your favorite mixed media techniques!

Here are some inspirational samples, (even though not all have movable tails).

Details:

Please include a return address label (I will supply envelopes)

Enclose $1 return postage for flat cards (standard brads are considered “flat” enough)

Enclose $2 if using embellishments thicker than a brad 

International players may send ephemera, an international stamp, Euros, or use PayPal. Please allow ample mailing time!

Skill Level: 2) BUDDING - Participants will be open to trying new ideas and materials, without necessarily being competent yet with their applications. Swap Hosts are encouraged to add the requirement of a technique or process such as creating texture, using crackle paint, doing photo transfers, painting with watercolor, etc.

New Swap: We'll Always Have Paris

This project is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join us. Please click on the purple Yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join.

We'll Always Have Paris

3-for-3 ATC swap

Theme: Anything to do with Paris. Please include French words.

Sign up by May 31st

Cards due in hand by June 30th

Skill Level: 1 - Sprouting

Hosted by Mel Dunkley

Send me 3 ATCs on the theme of Paris and I will send you 3 different ones back. Any media and styles are fine but there must be at least one French word on each card. You can use text pages as background, torn text pieces, a quote, a postmark, an advert - whatever you like.

PLEASE NOTE THAT I LIVE IN THE UK, WHICH WILL MEAN INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE FOR MOST PEOPLE. I will cover return postage, just send an extra ATC or ephemera. You are welcome to send $5 if you really would rather, but I know it's costly and I do love ephemera!

Skill Level: 1) SPROUTING - Geared toward the artist who has recently begun their journey into mixed media, these swaps are open to all group members, regardless of experience. Participation is the key - caring and sharing in the spirit of friendship and fun. Every artist needs to understand that contributors to these projects can be of any level of artistic experience.

Tutorial: Steampunk Butterflies by Connie Holso

I have been playing with art lately.  I just finished up some ATCs for a Butterfly Swap on our Paper Traders Yahoo Group and I am quite pleased with them.  I thought I would share how I did them in case some of you have not played with foil duct tape yet.  I love this stuff!  Get it in the hardware store.

These cards were a take off of a tag tutorial Tim Holtz posted a while back.  I love all his great ideas...especially anything grunge!

Click image for larger view

What I did:  First I covered my precut ATCs with cut strips of the aluminum tape. (It wasn't wide enough to cover the whole card so I cut strips to make a patchwork look and placed them at various angles. Next I ran them through my Cuttlebug with Tim Holtz's Steampunk Gears embossing folder.  I used a large needle and an embossing stylus to pierce little stitch holes and marks along the "seamlines" of the foil.

Once I had it like I wanted I covered the background with slate alcohol ink, which I then rubbed off with a rag with a bit of alcohol on it so it would leave the ink in the low places.  Glue another ATC blank to the back to give stability -- backgrounds done! Set aside.

For the butterflies I covered some cardstock as I did for the backgrounds but I embossed with Tim Holtz's Patchwork embossing folder,  I covered with slate alcohol ink but rubbed off most of it.  Then I covered it with orange and rust alcohol inks and blended them around to give an aged look.  When doing this you have to be careful not to work it too much or you will dissolve the dark ink from the low places,  You want it in those cracks for depth.  Once I was happy with my foil I hand cut my butterflies,  (I didn't have a die the right size for ATCs.)  I used my stylus to create a "body" for the butterflies, curled the wings up and over to simulate flight and added black foam dots to the back of the lifted part of the wings.

To assemble I added a strip of tissue tape along one side of my background,  then I mounted the butterflies using the foam dots and a flat glue dot at the body to keep the contour.  I used a book arrow for the "fly" tag.  Using metal dies I added the letters to the arrows, then rubbed with the slate alcohol ink, sanded it off so it was only in the letters, and added them to my cards using a small glue dot to keep them from sliding around - or off.  :-)  Ta Da! They are done!

by Connie Holso
http://stampgram.blogspot.com/

New Swap: Patriotic Tag Books

This project is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join us. Please click on the purple Yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join.

Patriotic Red, White & Blue Tag Book

2-for-2 Tag Books

Skill Level: 3 - Blossoming

Sign up by June 5th

Partners announced June 6th

Mail out by June 20th

Hosted by Nikki Smith

We will be making two Red, White & Blue Tag Books to send to random partners assigned after the signup is closed. We will use a #8 size tag, which is 6.25 x 3.25 inches. Each book should have Red, White, and Blue related elements and use four tags. Have lots of fun using texture, color, ribbon, and other embellishments. Please put your name/info on the back of each book.

Here is a link to a tutorial on how to construct a tag book and some inspiration.

Helpful Hint:  I found it easier to tape the tags down to my work surface to keep them from slipping...and be sure to leave  1/16" between the tags so they will fold up without buckling.  Tissue tape works best for binding the book.  The book should consist of four tags accordion folded.

Skill level: 3) BLOSSOMING - Geared toward the artist who is comfortable with most techniques, willing to try new methods and take risks, and include a varied range of techniques and materials, as well as fielding Q&A from group members about their artistic process.

May Freebie

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

Download HERE:

https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=4cc7f78541694f93&id=4cc7f78541694f93%2110915&v=3&ithint=photo,png&authkey=!AGQauw_p5wves34

New Swap: Art on Text

This project is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join us. Please click on the purple Yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join.

The Art on Text Swap

2-for-2 Swap (direct mail to partners)

Theme: Any

Skill level: 1 - Sprouting

Hostess: Cathy Calamas

Sign-up by May 18th

Partners announced May 19th

Mail out by June 8th

You will be creating 2 different 5”x7” art pieces on mat board, chip board, or canvas board with a sheet of text from a book or newspaper as your background. Paint, draw, stamp or photocopy an image directly onto the text page and then embellish away with watercolors, markers, paint, etc.

Inspiration board here.

Mail out deadline is June 8th. If you will be late, please let your partners know. Remember you will be mailing directly to your randomly drawn partners so you may want to keep your embellishments flat to keep your mailing costs low, especially if you have an international partner(s).

Skill Level: 1) SPROUTING - Geared toward the artist who has recently begun their journey into mixed media, these swaps are open to all group members, regardless of experience. Participation is the key - caring and sharing in the spirit of friendship and fun. Every artist needs to understand that contributors to these projects can be of any level of artistic experience.

By The Numbers Art Journaling Challenge "FOUR"

This project is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join us. Please click on the purple Yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join.

“By the Numbers” Art Journaling Challenge

Hostess: Beckie Holso

Skill Level: 2 - Budding

"FOUR" - our fourth By The Numbers Art Journaling Challenge

The fourth challenge for our monthly art journaling project is to create hot glue stamps & or stencils to use for your fourth page/spread. You can find instructions for this technique on our blog here and here. I've also pinned some links related to this technique on Pinterest here.

Don't forget to do some journaling on your page by writing down your thoughts using an idiom for the number "four". You can find a list of idioms here. Just pick one that inspires your thought process and journal about it. I think the number theme of this project can add a fun element to your pages... you might want to use the respective number prominently in decorating your pages. Don't stop with a simple saying - that's just a prompt to get you started. Let the creativity continue to flow as you journal and decorate your pages.

You have the entire month to complete your pages for this challenge. We won’t be swapping or mailing pages – you will keep the journal you create for your own.

Here are some idioms for "FOUR" to get you going...
scatter to the four winds
four corners of the earth
four sheets to the wind
four wheels
four-bagger
four-bits
four-eyes
four-letter word
411
four-topper
on all fours

Skill Level: 2) BUDDING - Participants will be open to trying new ideas and materials, without necessarily being competent yet with their applications. Swap Hosts are encouraged to add the requirement of a technique or process such as creating texture, using crackle paint, doing photo transfers, painting with watercolor, etc.

Don't forget... As a little incentive for this project, the moderators are offering the opportunity to win a prize for participating.

For each challenge in which you participate (there will be a total of 10), you will earn one entry into the random drawing to be held when the project is complete. The more entries you earn, the bigger the potential prize:

1-3 entries = prize value of $5

4-6 entries = prize value of $10

7-9 entries = prize value of $15

10 entries = prize value of $20

One lucky person will win a gift card to their favorite local craft store up to the value for which they qualified.  More participation >> More chances to win >> Bigger potential prize!  Plus... it will be lots of fun, too.

Speed Swap: Prom Dresses & Ball Gowns

This project is for Paper Traders members only but we would love to have you join us. Please click on the purple Yahoo button in the sidebar for more information on how to join.

Time for ATC Speed Swap #15!

This month's theme:

Prom Dresses or Ball Gowns

Sign-up by May 15th

Partners announced May 16th

Mail out by May 31st

Skill Level: 1 - Sprouting

Hosted by Cathy Calamas

This is the season for High School Proms in the US so for this speed swap, your two ATCs should feature a prom style dress or ball gown or fancy party dress.

Each month on the 1st, we will announce a theme or technique for your ATCs. 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 ATCs 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 minimum as long as you don't make bulky ATCs. But of course that will be your choice. It's approximately $1.20 to mail internationally for one ATC in a note card envelope. You must be able to mail internationally to participate in this swap.

After 15 straight Speed Swaps, we will be taking a summer break and will start back up with Speed Swap #16 in September. Thanks to everyone who joined us along the way to make this so successful. We have lots of great swaps going on through the summer, to keep you busy, so be sure to join in.

Skill Level: 1) SPROUTING - Geared toward the artist who has recently begun their journey into mixed media, these swaps are open to all group members, regardless of experience. Participation is the key - caring and sharing in the spirit of friendship and fun. Every artist needs to understand that contributors to these projects can be of any level of artistic experience.