SCHOOL PROJECT TREE

The school project tree was fun!  Not sure why....maybe because I knew it would eventually be covered with birds so mistakes weren't as important?

All the black lines are done in sharpie.  I LOVE SHARPIE! Especially on this cold press (bumpy) paper.  The pen didn't dry up and sort of soaked into the paper.

I love these lines that look like mapping elevation lines.

The trick was the sky....what trouble.  My MIL was here to witness the frustration.  LOTS of hard lines, back washes and funny white hard water? lines.  The color I used was quinacridone violet.  Ugh...don't like it.

The trunk was fun.  Lots of rust colors.

All the birdies done by Mr. Jensen's 5th grade class!

They are paper clipped to their names so I wouldn't lose track.

Mr. Jensen is at the top!

Tommy's fat pink bird. Love it!

These were such charming little birds.  Anyone know how to rotate a picture after it's loaded?

Nice brown frame to complete the work.

Everyone did such a great job.  I love that they are all looking the same direction.  Except for one!  Can you find him?

I WAS, BUT I DIDN'T

I was going to add the paper leaves....

They don't look so bad in these photos,  BUT they really don't show up very well.  I'm not an intuitive collage artist.  So I decided not to add them.

Here is the new tree I'm working on.

OH, and this is my new pencil cup.  It is the most amazing cup!  My neighbor made it from tulip wood.  He makes the most beautiful things out of  wood.  I'm encouraging him to keep trying to sell his work online.  When I have a link I'll get it out to you. 

WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!

Summer time collage supplies!

Three handmade ATC's made by me. :)

Someone approves!

Close up of the "Red" themed ATC.

This one is called "Pretty In Pink".

This one is called "Tones".

Pig Boy and Cow Boy call #3 is the winner!!

Raven wins!  Hooray...I'll send a message to you as soon as I'm done with this post. :)

 For more inspiration and swaps please visit:   ATC's For All

A great place to trade and chat and play.
 My mail art name is TangoAlphaMike look me up!

Thanks for playing everyone!

ARTIST TRADING CARDS

These were hard for me!  I can see all the mistakes now that they are loaded on the blog.  Not sure what my problem was.  They took a long time and things didn't line up, glue right, dry right or look quite like I wanted when they were finished.  Really having an off couple of days art wise.  I wonder if people have those kind of days when they try an art project and then never try to do it again. 

MORE ATC GOOFINESS

Two more ATC's for swap-bot. I love the bird punch! I love a little touch of sparkle. Collage is fun on these little ATC's but still tricky for me on a large scale.

COLLABORATIVE COLLAGE

This is the collage Andy and I finished. This thing took awhile....I watercolored the whole thing and we all looked at it and thought, BORING! So one night Andy, my 12 year old, helped me finish it with some collage elements. We had a blast and I kept him up way past bed time!

I love how it turned out, thanks Andy

ARTIST TRADING CARDS

Here are some ATC's I've done recently. The robot (above/left) is my favorite. I was going to hand draw a little robot guy but it didn't turn out very good. Instead I used a gold and silver pack of ephemera I received as a swap years ago. Super inspiring little packet!

I just found this great bird punch for the birds and heart ATC (above/right). I am LOVING collage right now. I have a good assortment of paper scraps and trinkets.

I've even found a use for the butterfly feathers from my sisters wedding (right). Of course most of my work has at least a little glitter!

COLLAGE ATC'S

 Here is a picture of the altered playing card collage ATC's I tried for another swap bot swap. I don't usually do collage, I really like it, however it's too time consuming for me. I rethink and rethink the design for so long I feel exhausted by the time I'm finished. I would rather draw. I need to stop signing up for swaps that aren't just drawing/painting. I'm going to get in trouble for being late! BUT, it's good to stretch yourself and try something new all the time. MUST NOT AVOID WHAT'S HARD, (I'm telling myself ) and so I better sign up for what looks interesting.

On another note, thank you to Claire http://clairesheartspace.blogspot.com/ for the wonderful Kreative Blog Award! I love your blog and I visit on a regular basis. I've already listed my 7, or rather 8 favorite things in the previous post.

Below are my seven people who deserve this award! Remember to copy the award to your blog , list seven things about you and seven people who deserve this award!

http://thingsandplacesforkids.blogspot.com/

http://worksofartbysara.blogspot.com/

http://whatsinyourdrawers.blogspot.com/

http://whatthehellwednesday.blogspot.com/

http://whimsy-girl.blogspot.com/

http://debvandetdesigns.blogspot.com/

http://thearthermit.blogspot.com/

There's my seven, you deserve it guys, enjoy!