Cubist ATC

Here’s an ATC that was cheery and fun to put together. My inspiration came from a You Tube video by Dick Blick featuring the packs of blank ATCs available now in stores and online.  The video reminded me of how much fun cubist and abstract drawings are to create. I’ve been looking for some inspiration beyond vintage collage and scrapbook style ATCs. I used a rainbow ink pad as background and solid card stock collage shapes for the figure. The shiny parts you see were done with my “way cool” gel pens from Sakura.

This card was traded away in the Easy Swap we do at all of the First Christian Church’s Scrap & Stamp FUNdraiser . Join us for the next one on July 27, 2013. Email scrapfcc@verchat.org for reservations or information.

There's still time to sign up for the FREE wreath making workshop on March 9th in West Palm. Click here for details: http://www.artfultourist.blogspot.com/2013/02/freespring-wreath-workshop-at-first.html

Free—Spring Wreath Workshop at First Christian Church WPB

Here's the festive wreath you will create.

First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ in West Palm Beach invites you to attend our FREE Spring Wreath Workshop.
 
 

Date: March 9, 2013

Time: 10am-12noon

Description: Use accessible and inexpensive supplies to create a cheery outdoor or indoor wreath for spring. Bring scissors and a pair of pliers IF you have them available.

Cost: FREE

Registration: Required

Register by Email: scrapfcc@verchat.org

 

Location:  First Christian Church, 215 S Congress Ave, West Palm Beach, FL 33409

Creativity honors the great Creator. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. My amazing church has had some great opportunities for creativity and we’re planning even more. In addition to our bi-annual Scrap & Stamp FUNdraiser (next one July 27, 2013) we are offering small group workshops FREE to members and the community. If you live in the area and would like to request a topic for an upcoming workshop please email me nachattin@nachattin.com  or scrapfcc@verchat.org

Design by NAChattin, the Artful Tourist

Can't make it to the workshop? I'll be posting the "how to" for this easy and frugal wreath on the blog or web site very soon.


Backgrounds anyone?

This ATC has a nice black border but I'm still
figuring out how to upload correctly from my
camera. Sorry for the (worse than usual) picture.

I have been working on Artist Trading Cards for the upcoming Easy Swap at the First Christian Church Scrap & Stamp FUNdraiser. Get more details on that here:  http://www.nachattin.com/fcccrop.html

I have been enamoured with ATCs and tag art since my early forays into paper art back around 1999--I thinking this is a long-term commitment (smile).

My latest set of backgrounds are done with rainbow ink pads on white artist paper. They are simple, easy and colorful. I forget about all the options available to me like the ones shown in this great blog post by Kara Nichols in her blog "Ooops, I craft my pants." In addition to this tutorial there are some fun projects on her blog and she definitely gets today's best blog name award.


Oops, I Craft My Pants: How to make 8 funky backgrounds using Tim Holtz Di...: Hey homies, it's playtime! I love playing with colors, you all know that. It should come as no surprise that I've been spending a lot of ...

How Movies, Music and Books Help Us Be Happy

How Movies, Music and Books Help Us Be Happy

Finally--did something I saw on Pinterest

The original tee shirt scarf on Pinterest:
http://pinterest.com/pin/142356038193125104/

I have been using Pinterest for over a year. When it was introduced I loved the concept as I understood it--an online bulletin board. It was like a visual favorites folder. If you ever saw my favorites folder you would understand my interest in Pinterest--there are more than 30 sub-folders in my favorites folder (yikes).

I still love and use my favorites folder for research, quick links to frequent sites, and sites that I know I'll need infrequently but I want them accessible.

My version--if I were prone to retaking

photos I'd move the short loop closer to

my neck. My loops are fatter because I

want this to be more of an outdoor, cold-

weather scarf.

Pinterest inspires the artist in me. It has also become a way to understand the online community, visit new blog sites for their most popular posts, and get great ideas for projects from my studio.


One small problem with Pinterest for me:

  I SPEND TOO MUCH TIME LOOKING AT POSTS ON PINTEREST

To justify my new found interest in clicking and pinning and in lieu of the 12-step Pinterest recovery program I'm sure is forming as we read and write, I decided that I could not continue my obsession with Pinterest unless I used at least one pin per month.

My November project was the recycled tee shirt scarf. This looked fun, easy, and environmentally friendly. Of course, I had to put my own spin on it. Instead of the subtle gray on the Pinterest model, I chose to use two of my brother's worn out tee shirts in bright yellow and tie dye. I know just who I want to give this to for Christmas.


Check out my boards on Pinterest and follow them if you are so inclined. Those with obsessive personalities should consult a therapist before clicking this link. :)

https://pinterest.com/nachattin/

The Craft Patch: 46 Pun-Intended Thank You Gift Ideas

I love puns! Not as much as my friend Andrew Cain--but close. Although this blog post was written for summer thanks--I'll use it all year around. Enjoy!



The Craft Patch: 46 Pun-Intended Thank You Gift Ideas: With summer coming on, it's time for changes. And usually when there are changes, there are people to thank. So today I'm sharing an arsena...

Recipe by request

I put a picture of this classic family cake on my personal Facebook page and tagged lots of cousins. There were some wonderful comments and lots of "likes" so I am publishing the recipe here.

Burnett Plain Cake

—from the kitchen of Norma Anne Chattin by way of my Grandma Lizzie who claimed this recipe went further back than she did….

This is written the way she wrote it so it’s not in typical recipe fashion and that’s part of the charm.

Cream together:

·         1 cup butter

·         ½ cup Crisco shortening

·         3 cups sugar

Add:

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         ½ teaspoon baking powder

Alternately Add:

·         3 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 cup canned milk (not sweetened condensed but canned milk)

Add :

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         1 teaspoon other flavoring extract (mom likes lemon, I like almond, it’s also great with 2 teaspoons of REAL vanilla extract like Watkins)

Add one at a time:

·         5 large eggs

Beat really well and then beat it some more—the longer the better

Pour batter in to wax paper lined classic tube cake pan* and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cake will be golden brown.

Remove from pan before completely cool and store in airtight container.

*A note on the pan—our tube cake pans have been passed along for ages and are the kind with a removable bottom which is why you need the wax paper lining. Use just enough wax paper to keep batter from leaking. The “crust” on this cake is one of its most magnificent features and the wax paper doesn’t allow the crust to form as well.