artful bag challenge atc swap

Thank you to all the lovely ladies who played along for the second Artful Bag Challenge ATC swap. I can't believe we just finished another round of our challenge themes. Just one more round to go.

This month I swapped cards with 2 lovely ladies and what an amazing swap it was.

These are the 2 cards I sent out.

I made a Bag Fairy for Karla and a Carpet Bag for Diane.

For each card I also made a bag to hold the card.

The ATC sits inside and the bag closes with mini magnets.

These are both made from scrapbook paper and I made up my own template.

I received both of my partners' cards today.

This package came from Diane of  Dianie Mac Designs.

I already fell in love with the Halloween colors and Diane even treated me to the season's first bag of candy corn!

If you're not familiar with Diane's work you are in for a treat. She creates wonderfully whimsical clay art with a holiday theme, especially Halloween and Christmas.

Diane created this witch bag ATC just for me! What a treat! It's truly magical and amazing. I feel so honored to receive a piece of her art. I just love it.

Thank you so much Diane!

My other swap partner is Karla from Sketchbooks ATCs Mail Art. Karla and I were ATC swap partners last December. When I was a person short for my Artful Bag ATC swap and I didn't have a partner, both she and Diane offered to swap with me.

Karla's beautiful ATC came with all these wonderful goodies, including postcards and mini pieces of handmade art.

What's amazing about Karla's ATC  is that it's actually a bag! And it opens up to reveal more treasures tucked inside. Each section is decorated with a unique design and held a little surprise!

Everything about it is feminine and sweet and makes me think of a lovely afternoon tea. Karla in fact tucked in a little bag of  Perfect Peach tea inside which I know has very special meaning for her.

Thank you so much for creating this just for me Karla.

I feel so lucky to receive 2 very special bags from 2 lovely ladies, both amazing artists. Thank you Diane and Karla for a wonderful swap.

Please feel free to link up your ATC bag post here so everyone can see your lovely creations. You're also welcome to add your photos to the Artful Bag Challenge Flickr page anytime.

I hope everyone enjoyed their swap. Thank you again for playing.

We'll be back next month for another Playing With Paper theme.

august atc swap partners

Here is the partners list for the Artful Bag Challenge ATC swap.

Amy --- Wendy

Elly -- Selma

Fran -- Victoria

JenW -- Patricia

Linda -- Penny

Tina -- Tracy

We have a total of 13 swappers so I paired everyone up except for me. I'm going to wait to see if I get any last minute sign ups so if anyone is interested in swapping just email me. I will be making a card either way.

The swappers list on the right sidebar is also a link to everyone's blog. Please get in touch with your partner and allow enough time for your ATC to arrive before the 25th. On the 25th you can post your card on your blog and link up to my ATC post. You can also add your card to our Flickr page.

I can't wait to see all your fabulous bag themed ATCs.
Thank you for playing and have fun!

Update: I had offers to swap from 2 lovely ladies and I couldn't turn either one down so I'm happily swapping with an old friend and a new one.
Thank you Karla and Diane!

august artful bag challenge atc swap

It's time for another Artful Bag Challenge ATC swap. I have a list of swappers so far (see right side bar). There is still plenty of time to sign up so just email me by Aug 4 and I will add your name to the list. I will post the partners on the 5th.

Remember your ATC should have a bag theme. How you interpret it is completely up to you. Please make sure you allow enough time for your card to reach your partner by the 25th. You can share your ATCs on your blog and on our Artful Bag Challenge Flickr page on that day.

Please also remember that if you sign up to swap you must follow through and send an ATC to your partner. Someone is looking forward to your lovely piece of art. If something comes up please contact your partner and let them know.

OK now I want to share the wonderful ATC I received from my swap partner Ana for our first swap last April. Ana lives in Brazil and owns the blog Scrap da Ana.  She creates beautiful paper art among other things and I first saw her work last year during the Paper Dress challenge.

Ana created a stamped fabric ATC on a vintage air mail envelope. She made it into a little bag with colorful beaded stems tucked inside.

This is the back.

Ana also sent me sheets of vintage pages and ephemera, air mail envelopes and a sweet little bag made in her country. I love the bright cheery colors!

And all of it came in this wonderful box she decorated. It was stuffed with ribbons, laces, doilies and all sorts of  colorful trim. It was so amazing and incredibly thoughtful and generous of her.

I have been having so much fun using these goodies in my creations. Thank you so much Ana for sharing your art and gifts.

Now whether you share a few extras with your partner is completely up to you. There is no requirement to send anything more than your ATC. Many artists love to share supplies and gifts so that again is completely up to you. My swap partner was extraordinarily generous and I just wanted to share her beautiful gifts here. 

For more details about the Artful Bag Challenge please click on the button on the right sidebar. And thank you to everyone that played along for the July theme.

Hope you had a great weekend.

p.s. Happy Birthday today to Harry Potter and JK Rowling!!

Did I tell you we have seen the movie 3 times?!

swapping witches and haunted houses

This month I participated in The Great ATC Witch Swap at Little Messy Miss. I recieved the cards from my swap partners and then I recieved a third one too! I'm not sure if maybe I got the pairings mixed up but I ended up with 3 lovely and unique cards and I'm happy to share them here with you.

From Sharon

From Michelle and Ashley

And a surprise one from Carmen.

The back of Carmen's card.

Thank you ladies for a fun Halloween swap! I love all of your witches.

These are the ones I sent out.

I hope everyone is enjoying these last few days before All Hallows Eve. Some of you are probably getting ready for big parties this weekend or maybe preparing for magickal gatherings at home. My son has been waiting all year long to try out a fog machine he created to scare the trick-or-treaters. And tonight we're hoping to go to a haunted house. Not the mega gorey ones that pop up everywhere (I just don't have the stomach for those) but a real historic Victorian that's turned into a haunted mansion every year by a theatre group. Then they put on a play that moves throughout the house and it's eerie and spooky and the best part is it's all for a charity benefitting a local childrens shelter. I wanted to share pics from last year but they're trapped in a storage device and I can't seem to remember how to open it! I guess I'll have to wait until my son gets home from school to free them lol.

In the mean time here are a few other real haunted mansions from my hometown.

The Leland Stanford Mansion

Photo credit HauntedHouses.com

The Governors Mansion

Photo credit The Sacramento Bee

Evangeline's Costume Mansion

Although not really considered a haunted mansion Evangeline's is a local landmark in Old Town Sacramento. It is two historic mansions put together and it houses several floors of every costume, novelty and joke item imaginable. It's a famous tourist attraction and every now and then a celebrity like Steven Tyler from Aerosmith will show up. I wonder what he bought? The car parked in front is the store's official car. It's a vintage hearse!

Have a beautiful spooky day!