Artist Trading Cards - (ATC) - Swap-bot

Have you heard of Artist Trading Cards (ATC)? They are small original works of art exchanged amongst artists. They are given away, never sold. The size of ATCs is 2.5 x3.5 and are typically made on card stock or heavy watercolour paper.  The tiny works of art are exchanged in person or online in group swaps. There are several swapping sites open to general interest people from all over the world. The ATC community accepts people from all abilities, using a wide range of  medium to create their cards. 

I belong to the online group Swap-bot.  This group is very large and has hundreds of themed swaps. They not only sponsor ATC swaps, they also have many other outlets for creative swapping. I've participated in fiber, collage, journal page, ephemere, and decorated envelope swaps, but my favorite is the ATC swap.

Here is an example of the card I'm sending this week.....

The theme of this swap was "Profile Based"; after I was assigned a swap partner, I took a look at her profile for ideas on what she like, where she lived, and any special requests.  She is an Emergency Medical Technician living in Cheyenne, WY; she said that she would like to receive a emergency services themed ATC...so that is what I made for her. 

I used a collage technique to create this card. I included a map of Cheyenne, Wy as the background, added emergency services ephemere, and vintage photos.  I like how it turned out. 

I drew and colored this cute little ambulance on the front of the envelope I'm using to send the trading card.  I hope she will like them. 

Additional Envelopes that I've created...

I always decorate the envelope I'm sending the cards in.  It is so much fun to open the mailbox and find brightly colored mail in amongst the bills and such....I love swapping! Below are examples of other decorated envelopes that I've sent recently...

Check out Swap-bot if you are looking for a creative outlet, but be careful, it's addicting!

Cheers,

Lori in Blue Ridge, GA

Wait...You're only Seven?

I had a funny and surprising conversation with my 7 year old Granddaughter this weekend. I asked her to write out her Christmas Wish List so we could complete our shopping. Off she skipped with pen and paper in hand to work on the list. 

About an hour later she returned with a nicely written list containing about 10 items. She announce with an impressive sweep of her hand "You can get me all these things". I think she mistook my look of surprise at her decree as a look of bewilderment, because she launched into a detailed description of each item on the list

She emphasized that she wanted "a lot of this" and "really fast that" and "not the small one, get the large one".  She repeated the word "real" several times when describing a phone and a car; not the toy one mind you, the "REAL" one. 

Since I retired early, our budget for gifts is much reduced this year. To get her expectations in line with our budget, I told her that we would only be getting one item from her list. I also told her that Grandma and Grandpa would decide what to get based on the items on her "Wish" list. 

She thought about that for a minute and then asked for the list back. She scratched everything off the list except for the "real" car, handed it back to me, and skipped off. LOL She's a hand full....but I'm glad she is using her brain to troubleshot a problem. Look out world! 

Cheers and Best Wishes!

Lori in Blue Ridge, GA

A letter to my friends...

My Friends, 

We all lead very busy lives, our days are jam-packed with work, family, hobbies, study, and many social and service obligations.  The gift of your time and loving support has been a blessing throughout the years. Today I dedicate this blog post my friends past and present. I want you to know how grateful I am to have you in my life and how much you mean to me…

Thank you for not letting time or distance affect our friendship. (You know who you are, my long distance friends)

Thank you for asking how I’m doing, and actually wanting to hear the answer. Thank you for making time for me, even on your busiest days.

Thank you for being there for me through some of the most difficult times in my life. (My father’s emergency lifesaving surgery, abusive relationships, difficult career choices…)

Thank you for being genuinely happy for my success & good fortune, as if it were your own.

Thank you for forgiving my faults and lapses in judgment, and for tolerating my idiosyncrasies (e.g. my zero toilet paper phobia; don't lie, I know you want one).

Thank you for always being my friend, not just when it was convenient.

Thank you for being honest with me when I really needed you to be. (Does this make my butt look fat? giggle)

Thank you for hugs, smiles, inside jokes, and adventure memories. (Especially while camping)

And….

Thank you for understanding that I could never write a long enough blog post to express how much you all mean to me.

  

I firmly believe that friendships are the greatest earthly treasure we have, and unlike material possessions, friendships may follow us into eternity. 

If this message has sparked any memories of friendship, please share by commenting below. :)

Cheers!

Giving a Hostess Gift...

The holiday season is quickly approaching and with it comes a lot of seasonal social obligations: cookie exchanges, open houses, dinner parties, and cabin weekends away. We still live by this simple rule: never arrive at someone’s home without something more to contribute than our company. No matter what the occasion, a considerate guest never arrives empty-handed.

When we do remember to bring a nice little something, it’s invariably a bouquet of flowers or a bottle of wine from the corner liquor store. Really!?! Can’t we do better than that? I’m on a mission to plan ahead and purchase meaningful gifts for this social season. 

Here are some of my ideas… click on the picture if you’d like to go to the seller’s website.

 Party wear is a great choice for hosts that frequently entertain in their home. This unique cheese board is also a 'lazy susan', making it easy for guests to help themselves to appetizers or a selection of artisan cheese.

For the cookie exchange, handmade pot holders are a functional and fun hostess gift.

This gift is perfect for a formal dinner party, a high quality stainless steel cake serving set with hand worked bead and pearl embellishments.

If your host for the event is a gentleman, an organic vegan shaving soap gift set might be a good choice. The ceramic cup is a nice touch.

 

If the event is an afternoon open house, cookies in a pretty tin box would be a nice gift for your hosts. Not your ordinary chocolate chip cookie, but something like the Brooklyn Market Cookie. It’s fully loaded with chewy dried cherries, crunchy macadamia nuts, rich chocolate and white chocolate chips, oats and cocoa nibs. Yummy!

A great hostess gift for almost any holiday occasion is a set of handmade screen printed tea towels or a set of handmade coasters.

Remember The Rules of Appropriate Gifting:

A hostess gift doesn’t have to be expensive, but it should be thoughtful. Consider the types of activities your hosts enjoy, and gift accordingly. As a general rule, your budget should be around $15 to $30, depending upon the formality of the occasion.

Cheers!

I care about you…

I believe giving handmade is truly the core of gift-giving. When you give a friend or loved one a gift, you are really saying "I care about you." A handmade gift expresses so much more than something pulled off the end-cap display of a mega store. You are telling the gift recipient that you cared enough about them to seek out something as individual as they are.

Beyond the evident economic benefits of supporting independent artists, buying and giving handmade is a loving act. You are also supporting the future, family, confidence, mind, body and soul of that artist. It creates an amazing relationship between 2 people: the buyer and seller. You are not just a customer; you become a supporter, a fan, a collector of art.

I feel that I’m also getting a gift with each handmade purchase: knowing I have helped someone get one step closer to their dream. Supporting each other is after all the most rewarding gift we can give!

Please consider something handmade when gift giving. Etsy is a wonderful place to find all things handmade.

Here are some of my favorite handmade items on Etsy today….

Bracelet - http://www.etsy.com/listing/109185087/urban-warrior-tribal-gypsy-bangle-stack

Felt Mouse - http://www.etsy.com/listing/78242673/mouse-needle-felting-kit-without-needles

Tea Pot - http://www.etsy.com/listing/99149409/tiny-ceramic-teapot-blue-green-yixing

CHEERS!

Lori in Atlanta

I love little surprises....

I’m not only a part time Etsy seller; I’m a full time buyer. (Ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a little… I'm not shopping all the time). My very favorite thing about buying on Etsy is getting packages in the mail — it's like a mini holiday each time a package arrives. Not only do I receive wonderful hand crafted goodies, I also get to open the creative packaging Etsy sellers put together. Ribbons, stickers, stamps, extra little goodies, oh my… What a pleasure!

So, dear sellers, why not show this off in your item listings? Use one of your five listing photos to let your shoppers know how beautiful your packaging is. With Mother’s Day just around the corner, it's also good to let your buyers know your items will come ready for giving. In the photo above, I've selected a few packages that I love! A simple bow to an Elaborately decorated window box. They are charming and add a special touch.

The Handmade Revolution......

The fact that sites such as ArtFire and Etsy are doing so well proves that the handmade revolution is very much upon us, but just in case you are not convinced, here are my do’s and dont’s of giving the gift of handmade.

Do take pride in your work. Never give something you wouldn’t be pleased to receive yourself.

Don’t give anything but your best work as a gift – Practice runs & less than perfect examples are fine to give away to friends ‘just because’, but otherwise, keep them for yourself.

Do put some effort into your presentation. A pretty gift box or a chic frame can make all the difference to the overall feel of your piece. Imagine you bought it in a swanky boutique – dress it up & make it special!

Don’t put yourself down. Never hand over a handmade gift saying ‘sorry, it’s homemade…’ – if you don’t love what you’re making, why should anyone else?

Do promote yourself – put your web address discretely on the back of a card, or slip a business card inside a gift box. That said,

Don’t overdo it – it’s a present, not a promo-pack!

Do put some thought into each gift you create and make it somehow unique and personal to the recipient.

Don’t make a dozen pairs of earrings in the same design and give them to every girl you know at Christmas!

Do embellish – perhaps team your handmade gift with a small box of chocolates or a bottle of wine, but…

Don’t make the handmade part of the gift look like an afterthought!

And of course, if making your own gifts really isn’t an option, why not buy handmade instead?

All the goodness of giving someone something personal and unique – and you get a free warm fuzzy glow from knowing you’re helping to support an aspiring artist!

So next time a friend or relative’s birthday is looming – don’t head straight to the mall - consider giving the gift of handmade.