ATC Swap and Update on My Going On's....

I cannot believe that Halloween is right around the corner. It has to be my favorite time of the year for my neighborhood. We have about 150 little, haunting guest visit us each year. I always try to have somewhat of a theme to decorate with and to use for my goody bags! I am so behind this season.... My thoughts, mind and heart have been with my mother, father and sister! My daddy became very ill two weeks ago and he was put into CCU in a hospital in Augusta, Georgia. They discovered he had a blood infection, UTI infection and a staff infection. All three of these and there was still a missing infection that was making him so sick. Daddy is a very healthy man, playing golf several times a week with his buddies. To know he is this sick has been terrible. Prayers have been showered all over him and a few days ago they finally found the other bacteria and immediately began to treat it. He is so very much better and hopefully soon, mom and dad can return home and my sister can come return home back to her home. It has been a struggle for me, having to sit back and just watch. With my health the way it is, I could not go and visit. I thank all of you for your prayers and thoughts!

Yesterday was one of the two days the tears covered me. The first was when I grew tired of worry and was upset about not being able to see him. Yesterday tears were Tears of PRAISE. We had special prayer for a Church in our area and this verse was given during the prayer...

Philippians 4:4-9
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
I heard this verse that I love so dearly and the flood gates of Praise opened wide!

I also wanted to share my beautiful ATC from

Susan at Art of Mine http://sjmcdowell.blogspot.com/

Our theme was DARK...... She drew her inspiration from a Ghost tour she went on with her oldest son. They went to Savannah, Georgia and went on the Hearse Ghost Tour, driving through the grounds of the old deserted hospital dating back to the Civil War times. Susan kept looking at the windows imaging a ghostly figure might be staring back at her! Sounds like a wonderful trip! Spooky!!! Hope today is going to be as awesome as I think it is going to be!!!

ATC Swap....

Anna from http://www.frostedpetunias.blogspot.com sent me this wonderful ATC! I love it! Our theme was leaves. This ATC reminded me of raking leaves when I was a little girl and then playing in them. Thanks Anna for bringing back such wonderful memories!

Wow... I can't believe it has been since the 10th that I have posted. Time is slipping away so fast right now. As always, life is good! Even in the valleys I know that the Lord is with me and He has something great waiting on top of the mountain for me! I feel so blessed by the people that surround me and love me. They encourage me, make me smile and are continually building my faith in this world!

Do you have certain people that always makes you look a life in a good way?

Are they a MOM, sister, friend or YOUR OWN husband?

Always make sure that you are the person that God intends you to be and that your attitude so many times determines the attitude of those around you!

William - Adolphe Bouguereau (1825- 1905).....

One of my favorite artist is William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905). His work goes deep in my heart and gives me a peaceful feeling when I look at it. I find myself often using "snippets" of his art to use on my ATC's or other small works of art! I hope you can save and enjoy these pictures as much as I do. I will post a few more tomorrow!

Have an awesome and blessed day my sweet friends!

Can you imagine yourself sitting and making a crown of flowers?

This is so precious!

ATC Swap.....

Recently, I joined an ATC swap! I love making ATC's and they seem to really help bring out my creativity. September's theme is leaves..... Trying to think of something really good to send to my swap partner! The next few ATC's are some of my favorite that I made.

ATC - Artist Trading Cards....

What can catch your creative side and get you hooked?

Artist Trading Cards or easier said and better known~ ATC's.

Artist Trading Cards are miniature works of art 2-1/2 X 3-1/2 inches or about the same size as a baseball card. The ATC movement started in Switzerland where individuals started trading each others pieces of miniature art. You can use any type of media that you want. The size is really the only stipulation. The cards are usually traded or exchanged rather than sold. I have sold many of mine. They are great because you can get a great piece of miniature art at a great price. On E-bay I have seen ATC's running from $1.00 up to sometimes as high as $50.00. You can find many ATC groups in blogland with artist loving to trade cards.

Favorite ATC's....

I love making ATC's!

These are little works of art, that work up pretty fast and they inspire me when they are finished.

As with all of my work, I try to work encouraging words or thoughts into them.

What is an ATC and my FAVORITES???

What is an ATC?

If you are a pilot it is Air Traffic Control, If I said this to my son, who is dedicated to nature conservation, he would say Appalachian Trail Conservancy, but to an Artist we know ATC as Artist Trading Cards.

Today I am going to share the very basics rules with you.
As their name indicates, ATC are collectibles, a idea born of the older sports-themed trading cards. The one rule that makes an ATC derives from their origins: the dimensions of the ATC must be 2.5"x3.5". Which is basically playing card size! Yes, many artist work on playing cards.
Even though you see ATC's being sold on Ebay and such this breaks all rules~

First, an ATC mustn't be sold, only exchanged, as the whole spirit of these tiny works of art is about artists meeting (by correspondence or online if need be) and exchanging their works, thus meeting many artists and getting exposed to many personal styles. Second, on the back of each ATC the artist writes part or all of the following information: name, contact information, title of the ATC and number (1/8, 2/8...) if it's part of an edition. By definition ATCs are made in limited numbers, often no more than one of a kind. One of a Kind (OOaK) ATCs are called originals; sets of identical ATCs are called editions and are numbered; sets of ATCs that are based on one theme but that are different are called series. What most collectors really want are cards that are made with care.

That's all! The above is all you need to know to start making your own ATCs. Common sense say that they should be sturdy enough to survive mailing, and of reasonable thickness. Card sleeves are useful to protect the cards if needed. This is particularly true if they are easily smudged or if the medium might stick to the envelope.

Above are my favorite ATC's that I made~

As you can tell I like to use....

Sewing, Embossing, Inking, Beeswax,

Tearing, Beading, and Glittering.....

And I probably missed some elements....

Now... Have Fun Yourself! Create and Exchange!