The next 6 ATCs

 Here are the next 6 ATCs to arrive in my mailboax - I love them all.


The first one is from Anne in the UK - the technique she has used is organza bonded onto a felt background, cutback and then stitched.  The amazing card she sent with it is, in her words "a bit of encaustic arwork'!!!  At bit - it is amazing work, the first of this type I have seen.  Thank you so much Anne.

This photo of the card sent from Julie in California doesn't do her work the justice it should - it is a beautifully pieced 8-point star which is small enough to fit on the size of an ATC!

 This next one is from Maria Clara in Spain - a delicate dragonfly made from fine tuille and beaded on a delicately dyed/painted lace background.  Much better in real life.

This next one came from Kathy in the UK which is applique, hand and machine embroidery, and she included some beautiful pieces of silk and tuille with it which will go into my 'play box'.  Can't wait to do something with this beautiful fabric.

Diana from NZ included a postcard with hers.  I love this idea as you can see the different places in the world where your swap partners come from.  It is something I have always done when sending an ATC or Postcard to another country and have always had positive feedback from it.  The ATC Diana sent is hand-dyed silk background with a piece of Paua shell and NZ stamp collaged on. Lovely card Diana.

Finally for this post the lovely birthday cake complete with candles, which looksis good enough to eat, came from Montse, another lady from Spain.

That's all folks for today, there are more to photograph and put up very soon.  I just love being part of this international swap.  The cards are so diverse with both style and technique and there is no huge demand of one's time to have the cards for each month ready and sent in time for the birthday girl as long as you get the cards in the mail in the month of the birthday and let the list know when you have posted them.  If some arrive before your birthday you have to try and not open till the day (a very hard thing to do -:) )but your birthday can last a whole month! It's great going to the letterbox and finding a little envelope instead of those horrible window-faced ones which mean a bill, ugh, hate those things.

Have a good week, be happy, create something, take care.....Joy

International mail

I had a birthday last week and every day for the past fortnight I have been receiving ATCs from all around the world as part of Kate North's International Birthday ATC swap.  Every single one that has arrived is beautiful and so many different techniques. I will try and post 6 photos a day so as not to make it too big of a posting!

This first one is from Kate herself and is a beautiful butterfly cut out in relief and is 3-dimensional.  She has also added stitching and beads. 

This next one is from Carol in Wales - painted pelmet vilene -

This one was received from Marina in Spain - not sure how she did her background,but it looks like painted and then enamelled and the ribbon stitched flowers are on canvas.  She also included a couple of crazy stitched hearts..

This card is from Anna in the UK - Anna has made long thin materials beads and put them on a metallic background

This ATC came from Simone in The Netherlands and Simone did a Transfer dyeing and stitched card.

And finally this one came from Gemma, also in Spain and she has hand stitched on a piece of printed silk

 Enjoy and I will put some more up very soon.  Have a good week and take care

...Joy

A small finish from Houston

 One of the highlights of my trip to the USA and Houston last year was meeting with Pokey Bolton of Quilting Arts fame and to be lucky enough to attend one of the Quilt-It Univeristy workshops.  The one I was able to get into was with Lesley Riley who developed the TAP product for using images in your quilts.
Here I am looking pleased with myself.

 It was  fascinating process and very easy.  The images come out so clear.  In our little kit we all received an image to use and some quotations along with the transfer paper, very clear instructions to use later, and iron-on webbing.

She had a humungous case of materials from which we could choose our background and any other bits we thought we might like to use.  In the workshop we managed to just finish doing the transfer and the iron-on bit.  The rest of the finishing was left to us to do later.  I had left mine as I wasn't sure as to how to finish it.  BUT I have been playing with a needle felting machine and having great time with it, that I want to needle felt anything that comes across my sewing table!!!

I got my little project out and did some free-motion stitching on the background thinking I might add some applique, but that felting machine was beckoning - so I searched my scraps of wool, found some I liked and felted some flowers onto the stitching. 

Did some round ones, long ones and a couple of leaves.  Rather like how it was looking, so rather than over do it I backed and edged my little quilt. For those interested it measures 10"x8.5".

Now onto more PHD's.  (I don't have UFOs!!!)