I love to stitch things by hand with embroidery floss! For my ~Sweet Pink~ a Butterfly Angel fabric book, I chose to embellish the pale lavender background of tie dyed cotton with dark red floss accents. She makes a sweet new mom, new baby or Christmas gift! Here are some of the supplies I used for my keepsake fabric book.

1) 8 pieces of cotton fabric 6″ by 9″ includes a 1/4 ” seam allowance on all edges. This makes 4 pages

2) 4 pieces of Felt to stabilize each page

3) 1 piece of cotton fabric to tie dye for the cover

4) Tulip Tie-Dye kit Kaleidoscope, I used purple and teal for the cover, the ribbon and ric-rac trim. Make sure to wear gloves!

5) Tulip Fine Writers Fabric Markers for the polka dots

6) Embroidery floss in monochromatic colors, shades of red.

7) Fabric Transfer sheet for an Ink Jet Printer

Free Vintage Pink Angel postcard from the Graphics Fairy

To Attach photos to the Sweet Pink album use 1) a photo safe glue stick, 2) photo transfer paper to iron on the picture, or 3) photo mounting sleeves glued on with Tacky glue.

You can find all of my supplies at Walmart or walmart.com. Have fun playing with the tie dye on the cotton and ribbon trims. I like to lie down the plastic sheet first and use paper plates to swirl the tie dye onto. Remember to follow me on Pinterest and Facebook

"Lavender Bath" ATC by Claire Selby

I have been making and swapping Artist Trading Cards since 2003 and I don’t think I will ever stop making them! The fun part, and sometimes challenging part, of creating miniature pieces of artwork for one thing is the size! 2.5″ by 3.5″ is not too big or too small to really layer and create a story or collage in those dimensions. It can also be a great way to use up small things that you accumulate in the art making process that would be too small for a greeting card or postcard. I love to recycle and upcycle everything so for me it is a great outlet for creativity. And of course the great artists, friends and swaps that you get to meet and participate in along the way.  ATCs not only challenge you in “What can’t fit on a playing card?” But also to think in a way you might not have imagined before like using a new medium. There are so many ways to make an Artist Trading Card such as painting, collage, fabric & rubber stamping.  For my “Lavender Bath” ATC I layered paper in a monochromatic lavender colorway. ATCs allow you to mix different styles as well. I have combined Itkupilli collage images, an Art chix Lavender sign, and the gorgeous Marie Antoinette bed from the Graphics Fairy! I guess for me ATCs have also taught me to appreciate the small things in life!

Adrianna Selby Mermaid House & Claire Selby Lavender Dream Home ATCs

Adding the Lavender wash over the Gessoed ATC

Close up Fairy Dream Home

Fairy Home ATC Supplies

Lavender Room Project

” You gave me a wide place for my Steps.” Psalm 18:36

I’m just clinging to the promise that my feet will be in a wide place, that there will be a wide place for my steps. So, I’m working on organizing and moving my daughters into the same room to allow for more space. My oldest girl wanted lavender and we picked a pretty shade for the room. I fell in love with the color and decided to paint some ATCs  with the sweet shade. My daughter even got into it and created a Lavender Mermaid card with a sweet hand painted house for her mermaid. My card is just a simplistic and open concept. I didn’t want to clutter it up with my favorite things, but wanted to allow for the space that I so crave for in real life, ( think 2 adults + a twin bed + a crib in 1 master bedroom!).

For my Background I began with a playing card 2.5″ by 3.5″ gently sanded and lightly covered in Gesso. Let dry. I have an earlier post about ATC techniques here. Next, I tore a piece of Phone book paper the size of my card and attached with more gesso. I also covered the top in gesso and let dry again. For the Wash of Lavender I used a color wash over the top and let dry again.

Here are some of our supplies for making the cards

1) a Firm ATC base, either playing cards, eco cardboard base or heavy cardstock

2) Gesso

3) Acrylic Paints

4) 7Gypsies Color Wash in Lavender

5) Art chix Studio Wooden House and fairy images

6) Aleene’s® Original Tacky Glue for attaching the images, house and glitter

7) Martha Stewart Glitter

Paintbrush for water base paint

9) Sandpaper

10) Encore Pigment Ink

Claire Selby- Parisian Mermaid ATC

I have Paris on the brain and now it’s on my ATC!  For my little Parisian Mermaid ATC I combined Twinkling H2O & Pearl X Pigment to my watercolor artist trading card. I like how the Art chix girl looks like a french flapper! She is perfect for adding a hot pink tail to. Here’s some of the supplies I used for my ATC card-

1) Download and Print Vintage Castle image onto Transparency. HERE is the Free for Personal use image. Vintage European Castle by Pinkdilla. If you share or use the image please give credit to my blog www.Pinkdilla.com

2) 1 Watercolor paper ATC 2.5″ by 3.5″

3) Pearl X Pigment in Salmon and Twinkling H2O’s in Jasmine for the background

4) Yellow Acrylic paint dipped onto a piece of bubble wrap, as background texture

5)Aleene’s® Original Tacky Glue™

6) Art chix Studio Paris Eiffel Tower image

7) Small hot pink textured paper for tail

Claire Selby~ Parisian Mermaid with Flash photography

Claire Selby Watercolor card with Art Chixie Mermaid ATC

This Summer I will be arting and crafting with some of my favorite things! And starting with the month of June I will be featuring Art Chix goodies from my friend, Helga, from My Artistic Life. Featured right here on my blog this month with be cards, artwork, reviews, and a GIVEAWAY on June 3rd, all with some of my favorite Art Chix eye candy!

I decided to start off this month with one of my Art Chixie Mermaid ATCs atop one of my watercolor paintings, on top of a deckle edge card!

Here is how I created the Watercolor-

First you need a medium weight watercolor paper, 4″x5″. I start with dry paper and very diluted pink for the sky and diluted emerald green for the sea and Let Dry. If you make a mistake gently dab the paper with a wadded paper towel, (makes a cool texture effect!). Then, I wet my brush, I like sable round and flat, medium to small size brushes.  And slowly add the darker accent areas around the card, you can make this as elaborate or as simple as you like just by touching the wet brush in certain areas. I also picked up one color on my wet brush touched it to the paper and then immediately added a second color to let them run together slightly. Let everything dry, it shouldn’t be dripping wet! I like to also let it dry under a heavy book so the watercolor paper doesn’t ripple.

For my card I used-

1) A 4.5″x6″ deckle edge card, you can also trim the card edge with decorative edge scissors.

2) A 4″x5″ watercolor painting

3) A 2.5″x3.5″ Artist Trading Card (ATC)

4) Aleene’s® Original Tacky Glue™

5) Graphics Fairy Vintage Coral image

6) Gold braid trim 2.5″ long

7) Heidi Swapp Acrylic paint in White and Aqua Blue, as an accent

Claire Selby Art Chixie Mermaid ATC card, flash photography