12x12 Fabric technique swap #1: Anne St. Louis, Canada

I am very excited to share with you what was waiting for me when I returned home from visiting my parents.




All the way from Calgary, in Canada, Anne St. Louis has sent in the very first 12" x 12" mini quilt for our fabric techniques: explore & recycle swap. WOW!!! I am in love with what Anne has created. It really took my breath away, and my husband's too, I might add! I am going to add a photo of the back of Anne's quilt which explains her techniques - Click on the photo and you should be able to read what she wrote on a fabric square and attached.


This is just fabulous, Anne!

Thank you so much for your wonderful contribution and inspiration for our swap!

There are about two spaces left in this swap as I have to limit the participation to make it manageable --please read the details of the swap here if you are interested in filling one of the spaces!(sorry, this swap is FULL - March 2009)

Swap Prizes . . .

When I announced my 12" x 12" mini quilt Fabric Technique swap, I wanted to offer a prize for the "most creative" but did not have time to think about what I would offer. This swap is not due until April 22nd as I like to give a long lead time, especially for those overseas . . . but I wanted you to know I have decided a good prize would be to offer the winner FREE registration for their next creative swap!
I have just a few spaces left in that swap, so if you have been hemming and hawing but not signed up yet, it would be good to do so soon! (This swap is FULL) You can read the details on the Fabric Technique 12x12 swap here in the original post.

I am finishing up my visit with my parents in Florida, borrowing my mom's laptop as usual, but also able to spend lots of time with them. My dad had an out-patient procedure on Wednesday related to his selective internal radiation therapy for his liver cancer and sailed though it with flying colors. When we picked him up and asked how it was, he replied "a piece of cake". Wow. He amazes me. Dad is looking a lot better now that he is off chemo, in remission, and his gall bladder is not bothering him. That still needs to be addressed down the road, but for now he is working on battling the cancer. We had some good visits and we even went out to dinner, giving my mom a needed break. Steven & I will return for another visit at the end of March.

I want to thank you for all your thoughts, prayers & good wishes ~much appreciated!

remember the forest quilties?

Andrea Millington of Indigo Blue in the UK has sent me some photos showing how she put the quilties she received from the forest quiltie swap all together -wow! Andrea also has instruction on her blog on HOW she did this. Thank you, Andrea! It is just wonderful to see how you put these art quilts together for display. If anyone else has taken their swaps and put them together for display, please send me a photo or two and I will share them on the blog : ) Wonderful! (click on the picture for a larger view) Quilties top to bottom: Sharon Walworth, Fiona Brockie, Andrea Millington, Cheri Hins, Beverly Tiechrob. For all posts related to the shades of the forest quilties swap -follow the link!

'Alice' ATC swap ~ completed & sent!

The Alpha Stamps Alice in Wonderland ATC swap is complete! This afternoon when I got out of work, I mailed 21 packages to all of the participants. The 22nd package did not need to be sent. Why? Because it was my own package! I participated in this swap myself, made 9 ATCs, and really enjoyed it, much more that I would have guessed -because I'm not a die hard Alice in Wonderland fan. The images are great! I also received some 'extra' ATCs from a number of the participants and other hostess gifts too -thank you all very much. I was able to keep my favorite ATC (top left) and Steven's favorite too (b&w next to it). You can see what I ended up with below, my trades, the 2 of my own I kept, and the extras I did not need to trade - wow!

Participants please note: you may or may not have had your ATC traded 1 for 1 with another participant . . . most of the time that is what I do when swapping, but as I finish up the trading I often have to switch things around to make sure it all works out and everyone receives trades from different artists instead of 2 from the same artist. In this swap, remember you will receive one of your own ATCs back with 8 different new ones. Everyone should also be receiving a gift collage sheet from Alpha Stamps, so make sure this collage sheet is in your package! I think I did it all correctly, but just in case. And, if you have the time, please let the other artists know how much you appreciate their art. Thanks! Great swap! You are all to be commended!

WINNERS for most creative ATCs . . .

Well, as you can imagine, it was a most difficult task for me to decide on "the most creative" ATCs for our Alpha Stamps sponsored, Alice in Wonderland Artist Trading Card swap. Fortunately, Leslie Elledge, the owner and woman extraordinaire behind Alpha Stamps, sent me 2 Wonderland Tarot Decks! This has made it easier for me to choose. I am awarding TWO first prizes for the 'most creative' and each winner will receive a Wonderland Tarot deck, thanks to Leslie. Here's a peek at what the decks look like:

(drum roll . . ) First prize #1 goes to Sharon Walworth from Rhode Island! See her work below.

Sharon created her own background for her ATCs out of pretty recycled shopping bags and silk flower petals, then copied it all onto card stock for a smooth look as her ATC base. I love the way Sharon stitched on paper to make it look like fabric. Her composition is very appealing, the layering she did is wonderful, and she made very creative use of embellishments, like ribbons, trims, fibers, beads & buttons and even a round paper clip. Fantastic! Congratulations, Sharon! Your Wonderland Deck will be included with your swapped cards : ))

First Prize #2 goes to Shannon Sawyer from Arizona!! See her work below.

Shannon's work always amazes me! It is hard to know where to begin to point out all the creativeness in Sharon's ATCs . . . The way Shannon puts together images is really amazing. On the top right, she combines Alice from the I wonder sheet with a tea cup from the Teaspoons clear stamp set by having Alice link her arm through the handle of the cup! Top left, Sharon puts Alice standing on a brass tea cup. The Alice image is cut out and placed on the ATC with foam tape for even more dimension. Below that, bottom left, is my favorite of Shannon's ATCs. She has used rubber stamps from the Teaspoons clear stamp set and placed both a rabbit and Alice balancing on one of the teaspoons! The legs sticking out of the pitcher is Shannon's creativity showing up again; you will find it is a plain pitcher on the Teaspoons clear rubber stamp set! Congratulations, Shannon! Your Wonderland Deck will be included with your swapped cards : ))

. . . And I have a runner-up prize that I would like to announce too, and it goes to Kate North in New Malden, UK!

I thought the way Kate combined her fabrics, fibers and mesh to create her ATCs, then embellished with beads, buttons and charms was top-notch! I had to give her a mention. Kate will receive an assortment of fabrics & images from my stash with her swapped ATCs, to supply her for her next project : ))

Thank you ALL! Now it is my turn to get busy on swapping the ATCs as my office looks like this:

We had 22 participants complete the swap, all of whom will receive a gift collage sheet from Alpha Stamps. To everyone who is IN the swap, I will email you when the packages are sent -sometime this week. Thank you.

Alpha Stamps Alice in Wonderland ATC swap!

I have created a slide show by picking one of each participant's ATCs and uploading them to the Slide site. Now I have the daunting task of choosing the most creative ATCs in the bunch! Everyone will receive a special gift collage sheet for playing, but one person will receive a first prize of an Alice in Wonderland Tarot Card Deck donated by Alpha Stamps owner Leslie Elledge. Thank you, Leslie! This has been a great swap.

If you would like to leave a comment on your favorite ATCs, just click on COMMENTS below (after -posted by Lenna Andrews at 9:43am) . . . and you can help me to make my decision! I will be back to announce the winner by the end of the weekend.

There are 22 images arranged alphabetically . . . . If you click on View All Images at the bottom of the screen you can pick and choose which to view!

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Janelle Scolaro, California

From Janelle in California ~ the final set of Alice in Wonderland ATCs for our Alpha Stamps swap!

Janelle has done a wonderful job with lots of cutting and layering and adding a little sparkle on each ATC. She has used images from the Mad Hatter's Tea Party #1, Tenniel's Alice, and more image sheets found here at Alpha Stamps. I love the edges of her ATC, below right . . .


Thanks, Janelle for participating again.

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Vicky Martindale, Michigan

This is Vicky Martindale's 7th swap here at creative swaps, and she also participated in many other swaps I hosted before I even started this blog : ) For our Alice in Wonderland swap, Vicky has sent in some lovely dimensional ATCs. Many feature playing cards that are cut out and not glued flat to her base, but are hovering above the surface via foam tape. It is a great effect!

For her ATCs, Vicky relied on the wonderful images from the Mad Hatter's Teaparty #1 available at Alpha Stamps, who is sponsoring this swap. A bit of trivia, Vicky sent me a note with her ATCs telling me she had visited the Detroit institute of Arts and saw a painting by my Great Uncle, William Glackens, "The Promenade" (1927). This is a painting of William's daughter, my namesake, Lenna Glackens! Thank you for sharing that, Vicky! I have a recent post about William Glackens on my creative lenna blog - if you'd like to learn more.

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: wow!

Well, another whirlwind time scanning and uploading swap art today . . . it is always a RUSH of activity at the end. Today is the deadline for all the Alpha Stamps Alice in Wonderland ATCs to be in my hands, but since 2 people have contacted me earlier and let me know their packages were mailed Saturday -- I am going to wait another day for them to arrive. I think that is fair.

There will be prizes for everyone, a yummy gift collage sheet from Alpha Stamps -- and someone will win a special first prize for the most creative ATCs: an Alice in Wonderland Tarot Card Deck donated by Alpha Stamps owner Leslie Elledge. Thank you, Leslie!

I will wrap things up after the last packages arrive.

I have changed the blog template here to a more normal, centered design to see if it makes it easier for me to get the swap pieces uploaded... I've kept my creative lenna blog using the "stretch" design, so we'll see! Thanks.

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Linda Ritter, California

mmmm! Linda Ritter has done paste paper backgrounds for her Alice ATCs, as far as I can tell. Is that correct, Linda? (see comments below) That is a great idea, especially for this subject I think. I also like how you faintly printed the words Wonderland across the backs of your ATCs (see above -click for more detail).

The Mad Tea Party, above right is my husband's favorite. The background and trim are perfect! Most of these images come from the Sweet Alice collage sheet, one of Carol Murphy's design, found at Alpha Stamps. Below, you can see all of Linda's contributions to our swap. Thank you, Linda!

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Vickie Trancho, New York

Oh my goodness! Vickie Trancho from New York has sent in 10 (one extra for me) wonderful Alice in Wonderland ATCs for our swap sponsored by Alpha Stamps. She has used lots of the Alpha Stamps products, which you can find on this page. I particularly like the Brass Tea Set she used above! Click on the picture below to see how she did the back of her ATCs!! : ^) just wonderful . . . love the drawings.

Almost all of them, below. Thank you, Vickie!

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Linda Garcia, New Mexico

Look at these beauties from Linda Garcia in New Mexico!

Very nice, Linda. I love the leafy trim and the images from the Dresden Scrap at Alpha Stamps! Did you do a transfer of sorts with them, I wonder? The foil you added is a wonderful touch. I love the stickers on the back of all of your ATCs!! great idea. I know a lot of the participants did that this time; I think it looks great.

Thank you for joining in on so many of my swaps!

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Kathy Kelly, Texas

From Kathy Kelly in Texas, we have some wonderful, layered Alice ATCs that use mica. I do not think you can tell by looking at these scans -try clicking on one, but Kathy did not simply stamp on card stock. Many of her ATCs feature stamped mica! You can find mica at Alpha Stamps if you would like to give it a whirl. Kathy used the Alice's Adventure rubber stamp set. She also incorporated the Alice in Wonderland stickers. The back of each of her ATCs features the White Rabbit & her info. Here's more:

Thanks for joining us Kathy, and I hope you return for another swap! This is Kathy's first creative swap.

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Sharon Walworth, #2 post

I received another package from Sharon Walworth today with an extra Alice ATC and a few samples of her 'master board' that she created as a base for her ATCs. To read all about how she and Lorraine Webber created their ATC backgrounds, jump to this post. Shown above is the extra ATC for the swap . . . Cool! I get to choose one for myself now : ) thank you, Sharon!

And below is a sample of her background, and the label for the type of cardstock she copied it onto before cutting it up and making her ATCs. Thank you for sharing this with us, Sharon. : )
I just love this idea!

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Teri Calia, California

Oh MY! Teri Calia's beautiful ATCs just blew me away. Teri has been a guest designer at Alpha Stamps and is a working artist whom I admire. Teri's blog is here. Her work is really cool!

Teri used these collage sheets from Alpha Stamps: The Trial, Alice Characters, The Red Queen, and The Mad Hatter's tea party #1. Definitely delicious!

Terri made me an extra special ATC just for me! Thank you, Teri!

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Sharon Walworth, Rhode Island

Sharon Walworth, from Rhode Island, has sent in some amazing ATCs for our Alice in Wonderland swap, at least as far as I am concerned! These ATCs look like they are made of fabric, but they are not, really. Sharon and I had talked a bit about making fabric-paper following my friend Frieda's wonderful instructions and so I wondered how Sharon made them when I received them, because they did not feel like fabric . . .

How cool is this one, above with the ribbon ties? I love it! Or the one below, beautiful!

I asked Sharon if she could tell me briefly how she made her backgrounds and if she made it and then copied it onto . . . ??? I could not figure it out. I should add too that Lorraine Webber (next post) and Sharon are friends, and got together to create their backgrounds . . . . Sharon wrote to me, "Lorraine and I decided that we did not want to get into fabric/glue for the "master board" because it would be messy for her to carry away. So we worked with paper etc. Started with a piece of cardboard which we covered completely with a purplish merchandise bag. Then added layers, including silk leaves, silk flowers, scraps of paper, bits of lace: I found the first run a bit bland, so added some large floral postage stamps and more silk flowers, which I find wonderful for these projects. (For a while, I was gathering the dead blossoms from the floor at Joann's, but decided I'd end up in jail, teaching collage to tattooed ladies in a minimum security facility, so now I just buy them when they are really cheap. With the little plastic veins carefully pulled off they can be sewn or pasted or both). (a note from lenna ~ this is too funny Sharon, you really had me laughing!) I copied the finished project on my hp printer on card stock (I'll send some info on that) and was delighted with the result. I plan to try a valentine's master board, and am assembling a little basket of "stuff" for your tutorial." (Tutorial = I think Sharon means my online collage workshop that will be ready soon!)

I love what Sharon did! All the ribbons/fibers, petals, stitching, trims and the way she made the background makes it look like fabric! Fantastic ATCs, Sharon.

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Lorraine Webber, Rhode Island

Lorraine Webber in Rhode Island has sent us ATCs using collage images from the Mad Hatter's Tea Party 1 & 2, Sweet Alice, Tenniel's Alice Sheet and the Red Queen collage sheet! These images are all found at alphastamps.com. Lorraine emailed me about a week ago saying, "I'll be sending my ATC's off this weekend and had great fun with the challenge of my first ATC's. I look forward to making creating more of them, since they're most challenging and rewarding. My best to you and yours, Lorraine Webber"

Wow, your first ATCs? Very nice, Lorraine! I especially like the backgrounds you created for your ATCs when you got together with Sharon. Here are ALL of Lorraine's ATCs -click on the scan for more detail.


A few close-up -I love that frog! Great job, Lorraine.