They do it so well

I enjoy making videos and posting them on YouTube. I have not posted one in ages.  There's a good reason for that...

So many others do it so well, there's no need for me to do it again.

 I say this with gratitude, appreciation, and quite cheerfully.

 Here is a link to the playlists on my channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/nachattin

 As you view it you will see some of the things that interest me. Many of them I've never mentioned on the blog because they are not topics I focus on here in the blog.
This means you now have some insight into what interests me in the world. It also leads me to suggest that you look at the playlist on any You Tube channels created by individuals. I have found this enlightening, possibly because I'm always curious and occasionally find myself down a rabbit hole..

Here are some recent greeting cards I made inspired by videos and Pinterest which is another rabbit hole I'll address another time-smile.

Both cards are goofing around
with doodles
and Grunge stamps
 by Stampin' Up.

They are also here because everyone likes photos and reads more with pictures.

Cleaning rubber stamps and so much more

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 



Meet the Absorber:

I was tooling around online and saw a product sold by a popular stamp and die cut company that looked awesome. It's an absorbent cloth that will clean the ink off of a rubber stamp in one swipe.

Their price seemed a bit high without knowing it worked so I checked out some product reviews and learned that everyone who uses it loves it.

In the process of checking around I learned that the cloth is not something invented for rubber stamping--it's been around for some time for use with car washing and other chores.

Enjoy the Absorber: 

Store your Absorber cloths in zip close bag.
Keep them moist to be ready for use. If they do
dry out, Just moisten them again. Rinse them out
occasionally--the one in my hand is clean but
stained. I love the way they wipe ink off my hands
when I am stamping. I wipe ink pads too and prevent
smears from getting on my hands then paper.

I found it on Amazon in a larger size for a smaller price. I cut mine up into smaller pieces and shared with my artsy friends and also with my Sir Henry for use in the tool shed. Everybody loves it!

Even my artsy friends like the fabulous Lynn Barwald called to find out how she could get more. She hadn't used it in studio at all but in her kitchen!

This thing picks up tons of water if there's a spill. It wipes any wet or damp surface clean and shiny--like cars, counters, ovens, faucets, etc.  I've watched it pick up surface level ink, grime, water spots and all kinds of liquid spills.

This one is currently priced at $8.79 on Amazon. If you keep the entire 27" by 17" for yourself, you won't need another one with in the next few years. My fees from Amazon never, ever effect your purchase price.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 

Just Cuttin' Up

More designs from the Recycled Greeting creative session taught this summer:

Designer note: Use a black
pen to make borders around
the shapes and around the edges
of the card. Stamp or write
word greetings on the front
to balance design.


Circles and leaves--simple easy fun.
Reminds me of the amazing and
talented Mary Engelbreit.



Just one big bloom & handwritten sentiment.            



Just draw, cut, and paste. This design used print
 paper from scrapbooking scraps.

Re-Runs, Reclaimed, Recycled

I cropped and improved the lighting on this photo once but dang if I can't find the photo now...sorry.

Being a part of the artful card making community means I receive as well as send some really great cards. I save them, it's only natural.

My parents get the majority of my card art and they live in a small space that cannot accommodate the dozens of cards they get every year from me and from others. They can't bear to throw them away.

I participate in card swaps that are enjoyable and inspiring and that means I have more cards in my "saved" files too.

I got out my box of saved cards and started re-designing them one week and the result is pictured above. This entire grouping was finished in about 3 hours--now that's a FLASH CARD.

When I used a design from someone else, they are always credited on the back. I have had some fun sending them back to the people who first made them as well.

I had a stack of larger envelopes that originally matched holiday cards and odd greeting card sets I picked up at yard sales. This project was a great way to enlarge some of my A-4 size greetings into larger cards that fit the envelopes.

Stop hoarding your solid card stock (I know you do this--grin) and cut some larger card bases that can be translated into reclaimed cards to mail out. Share the environmentally friendly joy my friends.

The Anna Griffin Kit Adventure--Flash Cards!

Bonus: card not shown on video or web page.

Finally, I'm getting around to publishing the video and companion web page for these kits. Sir Henry gave me an "auto-ship" collection of Anna Griffin card kits from HSN last year. I surprised myself by really enjoying the kits.

I have only completed about 50% of them, but it's great to be able to put them down and pick them back up whenever I want to create more and think less.

Summary: When you find a really great kit for a good price, it's okay to color inside the lines once in a while.

Tips for selecting and using kits:

• Don't skimp on quality--these Anna G. kits are really high end and it shows.
• When reviewing for value look at how many cards you can make, what size cards you make, and whether or not the envelopes are included. (I know, sounds crazy, but there are several card kits out there without envelopes).
• Venture outside of your comfort zone, which for me was taking a walk on the mild side.
• Don't frustrate yourself with kits that involve tons of intricate directions, additional cutting, or creating your own embellishments.
• If you have a room full of supplies, check out how you can easily distress or add ribbon/glitter for a more personalized look.
• If you don't have a room full of supplies or a lot of time--just use the directions and be proud of your accomplishment.

More cards from the DCV card set--2

These fabric flower patches were purchased many years ago to decorate a pair of jeans. While I'm not beyond ripping off embroidered areas from my discard clothing, these particular flowers never made it to the jeans in the first place. The sticker words are also from an older set.

Get your stuff within reach and use it up my friends.

Card Making with DCV

The fairy here is from a set of "Wallies" also purchased at JoAnn's.

As we've discussed before, when you stop buying new 'things" for the studio, you begin to discover the joy of what you already have in stock. My local JoAnn's store keeps a great inventory of DCV products including paper pads of all sizes and note cards with envelopes. I suspect they keep the regular price a little high just so they can mark them half price every month. Seriously, every single month they put the paper pads and usually the other products from this line on sale.

I bought a boxed set of print cards in 2011 and finally got around to designing fronts for them. I'm going to feature them over a few posts since I don't have the tutorial page up on the web site yet. Enjoy!

The entire box of cards are black and white prints. These left over embellishments
have been hanging out in my studio for years (as in 5 or more years).

Vase full of Hearts

Card Notes:
This Penny Black stamp isn't the type of stamp I usually feel drawn to when shopping. I liked the the block style and I have really enjoyed working with it. I use EK Success watercolor markers  The original card front was trimmed and matted on a double sided print card stock base.


Posting Notes:
November and December are rich with holiday joy. This year I'm relishing the season with fewer gifts, more meaningful gifts, and more time with my spirit and my loved ones. My blog posts through the end of the year will be a series of cards I've been working on called "Recycled Flash Cards." I've done a video but the editing isn't done and I'm not worried about that right now.

The cards in this series were made June 2011-November 2011 and feature designs created by recycling other greeting cards. Some are done from "store bought" cards, some from handmade cards sent to me by others, and some from cards I made and sent to people who didn't want to throw them away but didn't have space to keep them either. (Thanks Mom)

Celebrating a Beautiful Pear

                                                                             Card Notes:

I own at least four pear stamp images--this, however, is not one of the ones I own. It was created at a Stamping Up party hosted by my friend Kim Byrne around 2003. It's stamped in a dark green ink and lightly colored with chalks. Very simple and fast to create without looking too 'standardized." I just can't help myself with the pears--they often turn into anniversary cards with happy wishes to a beautiful pair.

Posting Notes:

November and December are rich with holiday joy. This year I'm relishing the season with fewer gifts, more meaningful gifts, and more time with my spirit and my loved ones. My blog posts through the end of the year will be a series of cards I've been working on called "Recycled Flash Cards." I've done a video but the editing isn't done and I'm not worried about that right now.

The cards in this series were made June 2011-November 2011 and feature designs created by recycling other greeting cards. Some are done from "store bought" cards, some from handmade cards sent to me by others, and some from cards I made and sent to people who didn't want to throw them away but didn't have space to keep them either. (Thanks Mom)

Dragonfly Blessings

Card Notes:
The tag and vellum dragonfly were from a Father's Day card I made for my Dad in 2004. I pulled them off the original card stock, matted on brown and then matted that on a green card stock base. The word Blessings was from a different card I took apart during another session.



Posting Notes:
November and December are rich with holiday joy. This year I'm relishing the season with fewer gifts, more meaningful gifts, and more time with my spirit and my loved ones. My blog posts through the end of the year will be a series of cards I've been working on called "Recycled Flash Cards." I've done a video but the editing isn't done and I'm not worried about that right now.

The cards in this series were made June 2011-November 2011 and feature designs created by recycling other greeting cards. Some are done from "store bought" cards, some from handmade cards sent to me by others, and some from cards I made and sent to people who didn't want to throw them away but didn't have space to keep them either. (Thanks Mom)

A mother's Love

Card Notes:

Somewhere in the late 90's I purchased books of stickers depicting fine art paintings. This Picasso makes me think of that Paul Simon song, "Mother and child reunion is only a motion away..." the original card front was matted on a blue card base. I like this revised version better than the original.


Posting Notes:
November and December are rich with holiday joy. This year I'm relishing the season with fewer gifts, more meaningful gifts, and more time with my spirit and my loved ones. My blog posts through the end of the year will be a series of cards I've been working on called "Recycled Flash Cards." I've done a video but the editing isn't done and I'm not worried about that right now.

The cards in this series were made June 2011-November 2011 and feature designs created by recycling other greeting cards. Some are done from "store bought" cards, some from handmade cards sent to me by others, and some from cards I made and sent to people who didn't want to throw them away but didn't have space to keep them either. (Thanks Mom)

A Queen of Hearts

Card Notes:
This design with the heart and the queen is a favorite of mine. I've done it in several color combinations. The heart was colored with markers and sprayed with water to blend. This particular image was originally a card for my Mom in 2005. I liked it so much I just cut around the whole piece and matted it on a larger card.




Posting Notes:

November and December are rich with holiday joy. This year I'm relishing the season with fewer gifts, more meaningful gifts, and more time with my spirit and my loved ones. My blog posts through the end of the year will be a series of cards I've been working on called "Recycled Flash Cards." I've done a video but the editing isn't done and I'm not worried about that right now.



The cards in this series were made June 2011-November 2011 and feature designs created by recycling other greeting cards. Some are done from "store bought" cards, some from handmade cards sent to me by others, and some from cards I made and sent to people who didn't want to throw them away but didn't have space to keep them either. (Thanks Mom)

Summer means...cookouts, weddings, and travels

We're having a Red(neck), white, and blue cookout for July 4th. Here's out it works:
Bring your own--side dish, meat for the grill, and beer with cousins/spouses and chewing tobacco optional :)

Here's a few cards I made to send after our May cookout with family:

After the Memorial Day visit to Virginia we geared up for hosting our wonderful God-daughter's wedding. We really had a great time sprucing up the yard and hosting a nice dinner for Brittany, John, and their guests. I was honored to perform the ceremony for them too and the videos we took for far away family and friends are on YouTube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPpgpBRjv3U

The Arbor you see on the video was built by Sir Henry and decorated with ribbons and florals from the craft store. We're so happy with how it turned out as a setting for their ceremony.

Below are some of the digital designs and photos of decorations created for the nuptials:

We made lots of flower arrangements, decorated bags of customized M&M's and baskets for sparklers used in the send off.  Photos should be forthcoming...

The support, labor, and food contributed by family and friends for this wedding has left us overwhelmed with gratitude and love. Although we could spend the rest of our lives thanking everyone, we're starting with some nice handmade cards:

The wedding and the thank you notes were all able to easily and creatively slide out of the studio with ease thanks to my new clear and simple method of organization.

No regular features this time. I'm still in recovery mode but my schedule will be lighter for the next few months so I hope to share lots more here and on the web site.

In the interim-- enjoy, create, and savor my friends.

Chocolate Covered Goodness

Artful Tourist blog posts may be viewed chronologically and in their entirely by visiting www.artfultourist.blogspot.com .


The Christmas season took over my heart and just about everything else for the past two months. I am so grateful for such a joyful and wonderful time of giving and receiving.

Working Backwards
Just as I teach in my workshops, when you get behind in journaling or scrapbooking, start with the most recent and work backwards as desired. Enjoy the moment you’re in right now. The moment of the last 48 hours has been one of gratitude. I created a new series of cards yesterday that I call “Chocolate Covered Recycling.”

The base for these are card blanks and envelopes given to me at least 4 years ago by my precious friend Bridget as a Christmas gift. They were white and sized 5” by 7”. For some reason, the stark white canvas and/or the size just kept me from opening and using these packs.

Adhering to my commitment to use more of what I have laying around—I pulled out these card blanks to start working on some thank you notes. Also sitting on my table in the studio were some mail catalogs that came in over the holidays.

Tip: I keep these mail catalogs around as a surface for “glue waste” on my projects. You can rub glue off the project and onto the surface of the catalog pages—then just turn the page and get a fresh surface for the next little scrap that needs gluing. Once the catalog pages are all glued together you can still pop it into the recycling bin.



The Godiva™ catalog was just too pretty to use as glue scraps and I started tearing and punching images out of the catalog to play with on the pure white background of the cards. All five cards I completed in about an hour are posted in the recycled project gallery that is new to the web site this week. http://www.nachattin.com/Gallerymain.html

Digital Greetings
Finally, in the interest of the environment this year we also prepared a digital Holiday card. I posted it on Facebook and emailed it to many others, but just in case you didn’t get your copy—here’s a reprint just for you. May your 2010 be filled with wonder and abundance,

Regular Features




Surf stops—web sites I’ve visited recently:


http://www.king.com/ to play the Chuzzle game which is really the old version of Bejeweled.






Mind Map with Mind Meister-- http://www.mindmeister.com/content/product






Touch of color—what color(s) influenced me— Silver sparkles






Pleasing sounds- Children laughing






Studio progress: Creating a mind map of my vision for the studio






In the kitchen— Steam fresh asparagus in the microwave with McCormick’s ™ vegetable seasoning and Promise™ spread






Austerity Plan progress ($15.00 per month for art supplies and tools): It’s all a blur for December, I don’t think I went over budget on my studio, but I did pick up a lot of stuff for gifting.






Points of Interest: (random things I’ve paid attention to lately) Snow fell in south Florida all month. We took the neighbor girls to CityPlace on Christmas Eve, Eve and had a blast.

My opinion and where it may lead: I married the right man for the job.

New Cards, Updates on ATC and Destination Heartfelt Art

Artwork Update:
In addition to the Artist Trading Cards added to the slide show, I made some fun cards and legacy pages this week. Shown here are some of the cards I made.

The Birthday Cone: Created around a sticker set I’ve owned for several years. I ‘puffed” the ice cream to give it dimension as well as aging the sticker with sand paper and ink.

The Now Moment: Done completely with scraps from the Club Scrap™ cardstock base (I haven’t been a member for 3+ years) to the polished stone inked background and stray die cuts—all collaged into a fun card.

The Birthday ATC: I used my Colluzle™ to cut a tiny envelope for an ATC and sent it as a gift on a card. The ATC is secured with another Club Scrap™ left over-the printed twist tie.

The Floral Tri-fold Pocket: The ladies on Jean’s Art Dolls had a challenge to make these cards from instructions on Split Coast ampers. //www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/trifold_pocket_card/ Mine came out very pink and festive.

The Taj Tri-fold Pocket II: My second attempt with this template evolved into a moving card for a friend. She’s not really moving; she is merely expanding her kingdom…

Seven seems to be my stopping point

As mentioned in the last post, I decided to try the 7/30/365 ATC challenge from Flickr. I made my seven, but I’m not sure I want to go forward. The effort helped “spawn” lots of other projects—still, I’m not motivated to go on and I haven’t made an ATC in two days now.

I posted the final three to the Flickr album at right. I like them all and if you visit the album on Flickr you can see the story behind each one. I think I may add the ones I didn’t give away to a legacy art piece as a collection.

Studio Make-over and Austerity Plan

I’ve had a set back in the Austerity Plan—of course, we addicts have lots of excuses that justify our mistakes and I’m no exception. I said I wouldn’t spend over $15.00 per month on my art supplies. I spent my $15 this month on adhesives, a bit of print paper, and some envelopes I needed for spring cards. That went very well. Then I watched Home Shopping Network for a special National Craft Month celebration and totally lost my resolve. My excuse was I had a little extra money that my Daddy had slipped me when he visited.

The item that was my downfall is the We R Memory Keepers™ Ultimate Cutting Tool Kit. It was especially designed for HSN and included a 17” by 14” magnetic mat, a circle cutter (their new one) plus the paper trimmer with scallop and straight blade, ruler, ergonomic cutting knife, extra blades, and magnets to keep your work in place. It was a Today’s Special Value with them for $29.95. Here’s a link to their site, currently priced at $39.95. If you click on the video you’ll see what I just couldn’t resist.

The purchase, and the inevitable guilt that followed, inspired me to do some additional work in the studio. I moved out a bunch of empty containers that I’ve been tripping over because I wanted to use them for organizing. I sorted a 12” high stack of papers and scraps that needed to be put away. I asked Sir Henry to stabilize a shelf I’ve been using to store papers which had sagged. I really did work.

I had one of the most productively creative weeks ever in the studio as well. The seven ATCs, three legacy art pieces, and several cards all flowed out this week. I also worked on the web site and posted some new pages as well as doing clean up. One set back doesn’t mean the end of my plan, it just means I’ve had a wake up call and now I’m back on track.

Nudge in the Right Direction

Big Inspiration in a small format
Explorations and destinations this week have been fruitful this week. I visited the web site of an old friend and, as always, I was inspired anew. Aisling D’Art was one of the first Internet friends to make me feel right at home in my art while helping me realize that chaos and/or change spurs creativity. She hosted the yahoo group on art journals when very few people had ever heard of art journals and she opened her journal pages for the world to see as she experienced some significant life changes. I still think of her as the original blogger.

Her site linked me to the 7/30/365 Art Card Project and that just blew me away. I visited the Flickr group and was impressed with the work I saw there. I have been working on an ATC article for Suite101 and marveling at the number of people that are still making artist trading cards after what seems like all this time.

Give yourself a nudge
What I love about the 7/30/365 challenge is that you can just do it for a week or for a month—then you keep going from there. It’s one day at a time in a very artful direction-like a nudge instead of a big challenge. I decided to create an ATC series celebrating the scraps in my studio and the influences in my creativity over the last 15+ years.

I have created a Flickr account and posted my first four artist’s trading cards. With just four cards I have learned so much.
* I learned that making these small treasures gives me a sense of accomplishment.
* I learned that, as with legacy art, this format allows me to revisit memories and be inspired anew.
* I have learned that one small piece of artwork often leads to larger creations.

I’m not as enamored of the artwork in these first four designs (see slide show at right) as I am of the process itself. When I look at the creations of the artists that have been doing this for months, I am humbled by the primitive appearance of my own work. Yet, I love the story wrapped up in each of my designs and I look forward to the progression in style and execution.

ATC-Admit One 2001

This is one of the earliest artist trading cards I created. I don't have photos of the earlier ones which I cheerfully traded away.

This one was created with the 10 from 1 method where you decorate and then cut 10 trading cards from one sheet of paper. This topic will be featured in my upcoming Suite 101 article.

Coming soon:
Progress and setbacks in the studio
Austerity plan update
More cards from the Within Reach Doctrine and tri-fold cami cards
Stick Figures reemerge.—see preview here

http://www.nachattin.com/gallerystickfigure.html

Mail Art My Way

I love cards, the designing, the making, the sending...it's all good. I most frequently create what I call "flash cards" that are easy to create and put together--usually with scraps from other projects. (See the Within Reach Doctrine post). I just don't believe every card should take hours to complete. I mail out more this way and I have more fun too.

When I feel the need to do more elaborate cards or cards for class projects, I turn to Split Coast Stampers first and usually don't have to go further for inspiration. The step card I created last month is a perfect example.

In keeping with my Destination Heart Felt Art--I am creating things that I love and finding ways to share that with the ones I love. I have released my fears that my "messy stuff" will not appeal and I just create with love in my heart. I'm very pleased with the results so far.

Here's the latest Mail Art My Way that I created for my precious niece Katie. She's pregnant for the first time and I thought I'd send her some smiles and affection. I purchased a set of funny buttons from Wal-Mart and mailed them with a tag message about cherishing the moments while counting the days.

The tag front was "within reach" from a tag calendar I had designed, started, and then abandoned because I decided to do big photo calendars instead. The padded envelope was recovered in my great study overhaul of 2009 and was the perfect size for the tag and buttons. As always, you can click to enlarge the photos.

Joy to you!

The Within Reach Doctrine

The InspirationWe were watching the History Channel President series this week and I was reminded of the Monroe Doctrine. While the Within Reach Doctrine does not have such lofty ambitions—I have arbitrarily created it and I highly recommend adherence in the world of paper art. The benevolent dictator hath spoken…smile.

I finished the second layout for my wedding book on Saturday. Not that I’ve actually come near finishing the honeymoon album, but back to the topic at hand. Often, when I haven’t finished a theme album I conserve the scraps to use on subsequent pages. In end, I have a huge pile of scraps instead of the smaller ones after a two-page layout.

The best solution for a theme album is to create page elements for upcoming layouts. However, even that can backfire on me and while the scrap pile is smaller, the pile of pre-made elements that need to be put on cards or SOMEwhere is now too large.

The Doctrine
Hence The Within Reach Doctrine which reads as follows: Use the leftover supplies from the completion of a project along with any items within reach of your workspace to create something from the scraps. In other words, leave no scrap unturned.

The Doctrine in Action
The projects shown here are from my most recent adherence to the WR doctrine. The layout is called “dance” and features a professional 5” x 7” photo taken by Palm Beach Photography. I used a sketch to make designing easy and papers from multiple manufacturers including Club Scrap (background) DCV (prints from two different collections) and Marko Papers (the stone finish mauve). Other supplies include letter stamps by Tim Holtz, Ranger ink, Offray ribbon, Sakura ink pen, pastels, Spellbinders scalloped circle and doodles die cuts with the Wizard machine.

Once the page was finished, I created a 5.5” square card with same papers, a Tim Holtz stamp, and even a variation of the sketch. I scored the stone mauve card stock to make the top lift up and reveal a message underneath.

Now that I’m in full compliance with the WR Doctrine, I will be sending neutral inspectors commissioned by the United Paper Crafters to inspect your work area. Be on the look out….