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.

Alice in Wonderland ATC swap: Shannon Sawyer, Arizona

From Shannon Sawyer in Gold Canyon, Arizona - we have some amazing ATCs. Click on any image for more detail . . . .

Shannon used the tea party clear stamp set , the Alice in Wonderland Collage sheets and stickers and the Dresden scrap available from Alpha Stamps. Wow, is all I can say! I think Shannon shows amazing creativity and variety in everything she does. A close-up of one is below, and I have added a couple more at the bottom of the post...

You can view ALL of the ATCs for this swap on the Alpha Stamps gallery page for the swap - enjoy!

Shannon also made me an incredible gift for hosting this swap. As I told her after I received it, it's amazing because I have even been thinking lately about journaling. Her gift is so apropos! Below are 2 photos what she sent me. Thank you again Shannon -it is beautiful.

I especially love the ATC on the far left : ^ ) -those ears!

Row House Swap: Shannon Sawyer - Arizona

This is how I was greeted when I received Shannon Sawyers package! ooooh, I love mail art, and Shannon really knows how to art-up an envelope. Thank you, Shannon - for this and for all of your amazing art.

For this swap Shannon created very beautiful, detailed, and different Row Houses. Each house she made was decorated on both sides, and each house also opens up . . . see below:

It's hard to see because of the camera's flash, but I have tried to show the inside of a couple of Shannon's row houses to the right . . . . . click on ANY photo for more detail.

Lots of work and so much detail, as usual!!! Just wonderful, Shannon, thank you so much.

Below, one side:

--and then the other side!! All the houses open up ~ like crocodile mouths : ^ )
very cool.

Itty Bitty Collage swap: Shannon Sawyer ~ Arizona

To the right is a close-up of one of the Itty Bitty collages made by Shannon Sawyer. Wow! Click on any photo for more detail.

Shannon never ceases to amaze me with the extreamly dimensional pieces she creates ~simply wonderful and very inspiring. Shannon created 2 sets of 3"x 3" collages on a summer theme, plus some extras -thank you! I keep any extra pieces if I can, as I also use them to help make sure everybody get swapped a different piece of art. Thanks so much!









Shannon's envelopes (highly decorated) and cards are always a treat too!





Thank you, Shannon :^ )

Grimm fairytale 5x5 Collage swap: Shannon Sawyer

Shannon Sawyer is from Gold Canyon, Arizona and she has sent in 4 collages plus 2 extra -- and they are all extra special. I imagine when you look at Shannon's art for the Alpha Stamps Brothers' Grimm fairy tale collage swap you will feel the same way I do . . . . amazed at the beauty her collages hold! It is obvious to me that Shannon puts a lot of time and work into her creations. I think you can tell from the scans that Shannon's collages are quite dimensional. Most of what I have included in this post are scans, but I have also taken a photograph (below) to help share just how dimensional Shannon's pieces are; click on the pictures for more detail.















All of the collage images Shannon used can be found at Alpha Stamps.

Shannon was also very generous and made me a beautiful card and a lovely little book to hold ATCs (with 2 inside). Thank you, Shannon for everything!!









***And a note: You can view ALL of the Grimm 5x5 collages over at the Alpha Stamps Gallery!

Altered by Design swap's most creative ATCs ~ Shannon Sawyer!

I am pleased to announce that Carol Murphy as sponsor of this swap has chosen a first prize winner for the most creative ATCs in our Altered by Design Angels*Fairies*Divas swap . . . . . . . and the winner is: Shannon Sawyer!! See one of Shannon's incredible ATCs to the right. A big congratulations to Shannon! Carol will be sending you a copy of Bernie Berlin's Artist Trading Card Workshop. This is a wonderful book that I am sure you will enjoy. Carol also wrote an email that she would like me to share with you (below). . . and if everyone takes a peek at the post of your own art, you'll see that Carol also left a comment for everyone. : ) Here's Carol's email:

Hi Lenna- I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you hosting this swap and just how much I love everyone's ATCs. I never dreamed my little ladies would take on so many personalities and be so versatile! It brought tears to my eyes to view everyone's work- everyone taking so much care and time to make them just gorgeous!

It was such a difficult choice to choose a winner-I can't tell you how difficult- but I did finally settle on one artist - Shannon Sawyer. Your ATCs just blew me away-such attention to detail and they are all just exquisite! Lots of mixed media used and breathtaking color combinations. Also lots of techniques used- best all around and that's how I chose. All of the ladies are winners in my book and I am honored to have had all of them participate in my very first "Altered By Design" swap!

Huge hugs and thanks to everyone- especially to you Lenna for being such a gracious hostess and a wonderfully sweet person -Carol"

Carol Murphy: http://www.alteredbydesign.com/

Joggles Instructor: http://www.joggles.com/

Krafty Lady DT Member: http://www.kraftylady.com/

Altered by Design ATC swap: Shannon Sawyer

Shannon Sawyer, from Gold Canyon, AZ has sent in 2 sets of extraordinary ATCs and extras for Carol and I. Wow! They are amazing. Shannon wrote me a note and told me a bit about how she made them . . . She pulled out some shrink plastic that she had not played with for a while and stamped, cut out and shrunk the beautiful flourishes you see on each card. She hand made flowers out of sheet music, punches & brads and she painted some of the flowers with Twinkling H2Os to match the ATC. They are incredibly detailed! She did a lot of work and it shows! Shannon was recently a Guest Designer for ALpha Stamps and you can see more of her gorgeous work (26 pieces) in the Alpha Stamps Gallery. She used the new Grimm Brothers' fairytale sheets for these pieces and made more amazing things!

In the meantime, feast your eyes on what Shannon has created for our swap, below! Click on any photo or scan for more detail. Enjoy!

Alpha Stamp/Tallulah's Swap: Shannon Sawyer

From Shannon Sawyer in Gold Canyon, AZ we have received TWO sets of 5 very creative postcards. Shannon wrote to say she was not really sure about her first set of postcards, so she made another . . . and then decided to send both! Well, as I told Shannon, I am quite impressed with both sets she created. This goes to show you how you can doubt your own work -only to find out later you may have been too hard on yourself!

Shannon sent her swaps in a richly painted padded envelope and enclosed a handmade card and a 1/1 special edition ATC as a gift; MUCH appreciated -thank you Shannon! As always, click on any scan for more detail.

The first 2 cards here use collage images from Tallulah's Beauty Queens and rubber stamp images from Alpha Stamps Pen & Ink Clear Stamp set.

Shannon's card & ATC for me:



Just wonderful!
You can see more of Shannon's art in the Alpha Stamps Gallery. I love this Harlequin piece she created especially for Alpha Stamps.