Affirmation ATC's!

It's time to host another swap at ATC's For All! This time, instead of focusing on the dark, I am focusing on the light with a swap about affirmations. Called And Gosh Darn It, People Like Me! An Affirmation Swap, the purpose of the swap is to bring positive and uplifting thoughts into our lives.

How often are you mired down in negative thoughts about your self, your art, your family life? These negative thoughts can become ingrained into who we are and what we believe about ourselves and the world if we are not careful. The purpose of this swap is to make cards that affirm the positives in our lives and give us something to focus on when everything is in a tailspin.

The above is quoted from the actual swap post. If interested in joining click the above link and it will take you directly to the swap. Swap is only for 20 folks so sign up now! (You must be a member of ATC's for All to join, but registration is free, easy, and painless!)

Halloween Banners!

ATCsforall.com isn't just for ATC's. (Find out more about Artist Trading Cards/ATC's!) All sorts of mail art abounds within their cyber walls. A current swap that I am participating in is Halloween Banners! This was the fun idea of goatgoddess, a member of atcsforall.com. I couldn't resist signing up when I saw the samples she had displayed.

After much procrastinating I have finally finished my banners. Creating them was a lot of fun, and I am thrilled with how the textures came out with the tissue paper and embossing powder. One of the joys of mail art is finding your mailbox stuffed with art on any given day! I am impatiently wondering what my beauties will bring home!

Message In A Bottle!

WOOT! At gomakesomething.com there is a fabulous challenge going on. Called Message in a Bottle, the idea is that you sign up to take part and you will receive a plastic water bottle in the mail (yep, that's right!) filled with all sorts of goodies! Well, I signed up awhile ago and have been constantly checking to see if my name was among the ones of folks who were being sent bottles. I never saw my name on the list, but somehow, as if by magic, a bottle appeared this afternoon! Loaded with goodies all for me! In the bottle was scrapbooking paper, vintage ephemera, a hand carved stamp, a hand made book mark, beads and other fun things! Check out the photos! If you are interested in this challenge click on the gomakesomething link above!

Art and Dead Babies

So anyone who knows me knows I am into 'dark' art. So silly sounding when I type it out, but the truth is I like to delve into the macabre on occasion. One such occasion arose when a chunky book swap was held on my fave site atcsforall.com. The theme: Trick or Treat! What a better time to get a little creepy than a Halloween theme? So I went ALL out! This meant using mourning photos, which are real photos of dead people. That's right, they are dead and someone took a photo of them! The photos are from the victorian era and many of them are of babies. Creepy, right? Perfect for Halloween? So i thought. Until I posted pics of the chunky pages and received some strong reactions! Seems some folks don't like pics of dead babies. I can't imagine why not! I attempted to be respectful with my art, but at the same time I was def going for creepy. So, I'll let you be the judge. Did I cross the line?