Well, it looks like I am only going to get to post once a week during the school year! I guess once a week is better than once a month, though! I was able to complete 6 ATCs yesterday. (I went to bed last night thinking about the story of the "Brave Little Tailor". I wanted to post that I had completed 6 In one day! Okay, I know only a librarian would think that way!!! LOL) I am now finished my cards for the name swap, and my two Louisiana trades. I am really pleased with the way they all came out. I am looking forward to seeing the comments from those who receive them.

I just joined another group that is just for JAMs. I am not sure exactly why they are called that, but this is how it works: Someone designs a background, then chooses someone else to send the cards to. That person adds to the cards and sends them to a third person, who completes the cards, keeps one for themselves, and sends the other cards to the first two people. I like the idea of sharing the creative process. And it not as limiting as some swaps. The first jam that I worked on is going to be mailed tomorrow. I just received another set, yesterday. So, I am going to work on those today, as well as, a couple of Halloween cards that I am making for a Blog Party. I am not sure exactly how that works. It seems that one person sends out an invitation to others and posts their url's, then others will go to the blogs, and post all the url's and all the blogs will have a Halloween theme. Sounds like fun. I will post more about that when I know more.

I finally!!! uploaded a few of the cards that I have received from trades and swaps on Picasaweb. You can find the link in  "links" on the left of this page under Nolatcher's ATC. Check them out! Very diverse styles, which is the great thing about this process. I get to actually share others creativity and it becomes part of my collection. I will continue to post as they come in.

Happy blogging and crafting this week!

Tags: artsy-fartsy, atcs, creativity
Current Mood: accomplished

Okay, so I know now that school is rapidly approaching, I know that I will not make my daily challenge. I have only created two new ATC's this week. So, I guess I need to just forget the daily challenge, and just try to do the best I can each week. So, stay tuned to see what new things get posted each week.
Now, I just had dinner with Laurie, my niece, whose husband and daughter, Jessica, are both artists. She mentioned that her husband, Jeff, would like to just quit work and  paint all the time. I told her that I would love to share a studio with Jeff and Jessica. She looked at me like I was CRAZY!!! I would love to have a place where I could set up all my "stuff" and share space with other artists who would encourage me, and me them. La Vie Boheme!!!
I think I feel an ATC idea in the making...

Tags: atc's, creativity, la vie boheme, rent
Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Soundtrack from Rent

My mind was so full of ideas last night, that this normally "in bed by 8:00" person, was up until 1:00 and designed ATC's all night in my head, even after I went to bed. Then today, I have procrastinated getting started. So, my question is: Why do I put off getting started doing the creative things that I enjoy? I could understand not wanting to do the "day-to-day' things that I would love to be doing anything but, like laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc. but, why did I procrastinate most of the day today? I wonder if it's an old tape of mine with questions about my work not being "as good as, or good enough" creeping in...
So, here it is later than my normal bed time, and my mind is now swirling again, and I want to get started.This is sooooooo out of character for me! A set bed time has been a ritual for such a long time, I have to see where this goes.

My new challenge:
I have decided to challenge myself to devote some quality "scrappping" time everyday.  With my new sleep habits I may really be in trouble once school starts!

On another note:
When musing about why I enjoy making ATC's I realized that the thing that I like most is that there are no rules! Other than the fact that they have to be 3.5 x 2.5, and they should have the artist's name, email address, etc.on the back, and they are traded-not sold, the possibilities are endless! Any form of medium can be used: fabric, paper, stamps, ephemera, paint, , etc. They can be as simple or detailed as I wish, and I can see a completed project fairly quickly-which is great for my short attention span!
Which brings me my new discovery. I was rummaging through my stuff today, and found some old paint samples that I had picked up from Home Depot when I first started scrappping . I have been using poker cards as the base for my ATC's, but realized that these free samples would make the perfect card! They are already painted, they can easily be cut down to the 3.5 x 2.5 size and they are free! So, I ran to Lowe's and picked up some more. The Disney series even has samples in Mickey shapes! I am going to use one of them for a new card. I will upload a pic when it's finished.

Tags: artist trading cards, artistic block, creativity
Current Mood: contemplative