Tinnovations - Altoid Tin Works of Art

I love creating works of art from empty Altoid tins - tiny, 3D shadowboxes with delightful scenes. Recently, I was contacted by howstuffworks.com, a Discovery Channel affiliate, about my Altoid tin art, and was asked if I would be interested in submitting my work for an new Altoid ad campaign called "Tinnovations". My "Flying Circus" piece was selected, and included on the "howstuffworks" website.

To make an Altoid tin shadowbox very few supplies are needed - an empty tin, paper, paint or fabric to cover the tin, some graphic images, a few embellishments or "found" objects and a good craft glue. You can use the entire tin, or just the top or bottom. The tin pictured is a hanging tin. I used a drill and small bit to add two holes in the top for the string, and one hole in the bottom center for the charms and clown shoes.

Tins make a great gift and can be personalized using the recipients favorite theme.

Art Magazines

I love looking through art magazines for inspiration and ideas. While browsing at Border's I discovered Somerset Studio magazine. An online search for art magazine led me to Altered Arts magazine. I had to have them!

Somerset Studio magazine is chock full of ideas for paper crafts, rubber stamping, ATC's, art jounals, assemblage and altered art. The magazine has been around since 1999. It's published six times a year and is well worth the $7.95 newstand price. Of course, as with any magazine, a subscription means a savings over newstand prices.

Somerset also offers other art magazines:

• Belle Armoire - marries fabric art with rubber stamping and embellishments
• Stamper's Sampler - rubber stamping magazine
• Somerset Memories - devoted to scrapbook pages, journals, and memorabilia
• Art Doll Quarterly - art dolls, sculpture figures, polymer clay, and wire armature

http://www.stampington.com/html/somerset_studio_magazine.html

Another of my favorite's is Altered Arts Magazine. This magazine specializes in paper arts, mixed media collage and altered books. I am actually in the process of creating the artwork that is on the cover. The magazine came into publication in 2004. It is published six times a year and sells for $5.95 an issue. Altered Arts also features a Club Kit for purchase. Each Club Kit is $28.95 and contains a variety of products including unmounted rubber stamps, collage sheets, transparencies, and a design sheet that details at least two different projects you can create using the items in the kit.

http://alteredarts.com/

Selling on eBay & Postage

With the cost of postage recently increasing, I have to ask myself if it's really worth it to sell on eBay. The shadowboxes I sold cost $4.60 to send in a postal Priority Mail (free to me) box, and $4.30 to send first class with me providing the box. Since finding the right sized box for thirty cents or less was impossible, the choice was easy. But, if someone is paying $5 for an item postage at that price doubles the cost. I'm sure that has made a lot of people think before bidding.

One of the pieces I sold this month was titled "Let It Snow" and featured a vintage reproduction photo of a bundled baby. It fit nicely into a bubble mailer and shipping was very reasonable.

I've started to watch the size of the artwork I list for sale because mailing larger pieces can get quite expensive. In the future, I'm only going to sell artwork that will fit in flat envelopes or bubble mailers, no more boxes for me. I don't want a customer paying twice as much for postage as they paid for the artwork.

HaPpY Halloween!

Well it's almost that time of year again when the little witches and goblins will be haunting my door.
That also means it's time to visit Apple Charlie's Orchard in New Boston, Michigan. Each year my hubby and I make the 40 minute trip to load up on fresh fruit pies, apples (carmeled one's too!), pumpkins, cider, honey, jams and jellies. We normally go the first or second weekend in October. It was nearly 80 degrees outside both weekends and I just can't get into the fall and Halloween spirit when wearing shorts. I enjoy fall so much - the leaves changing colors, the brisk fall breeze... and shopping at Apple Charlie's!

Hubby will be home on Halloween night this year and he loves to dress in his medieval wizard costume and hand out candy.

I put together a few Halloween art cards this year. The first is titled "Going Batty" and the other, my first attempt at a free standing art card, is titled "Haunted House." Both cards are 3D.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

... and happy crafting!

Hanging Small Format Art Cards

As you know, if you've ready my past posts, my favorite artwork pieces to create are art cards. Normally my art cards are small, about 4x6 inches or less. I have some larger pieces of heavy chipboard and decided to use those instead. The two cards below are approximately 7 x 8 inches (Nude Beach) and 6 x 6.5 inches (Paris). I enjoyed making these more than the smaller versions because the pieces I used in the collage were larger, and easier to handle.

For these cards, I placed the graphics so that they would extend beyond the border of the chipboard. I thought this gave the cards a unique look, being "outside the lines". After arranging the pieces in a pattern I was happy with, I glued them down - with the exception of a few pieces. I like to give my artwork a dimensional look. The vintage dancer and the Eiffel Tower were applied using 1/4 inch thick photo mounts, so they stand away from the background, and the same on Nude Beach with the vintage nude and the grandstand. After a light garnishing with embellishments they were finished!

Art Cards - Mermaids & Nudes & Birds... Oh my!

Well the holidays have come and gone so it's time to put the muse to work again. My newest obsession is making mixed media, collaged, art cards. They're similar to ATC's and ACEO's, only a bit larger. And unlike most artist trading cards that I make, the elements go beyond the edges of the card and were attached with 1/4 inch thick photo mounts to add a 3D effect.

Necessity actually dictated the size - I have a stack of 5 x 7 inch heavy chipboard I'd been hoarding for a while and wanted to start using some of it. I prefer creating smaller pieces of art as opposed to larger sizes, so I cut my chipboard in half, bringing the size to 3.5 x 5 inches, or roughly the size of a standard postcard. You can only put so much on a smaller art card, so I may create some larger pieces in the future.

My favorite themes lately, have been mermaids, vintage nudes, and birds with floral elements. I really like the whole Paris thing and that inspired me to make a Moulin Rouge card. Recently, I aquired a large bag of small/tiny seashells, some pygmy seahorses, and 500 real starfish, all being the perfect size for small artwork. I was able to incorporate them into the mermaid themed cards. Using letters and postcards as the backdrop enabled me to use some of the many postage stamps that had been gathering dust.

I had some vintage postcards and letters that I'd been dying to use in my artwork for the longest time. I scanned and printed them and then started going through my stash of collage sheets and vintage images. My muse was in overdrive and I quickly thought of several themes I wanted to do. Since they were too big to be an ATC or ACEO, I had to think of a way to display them. I added wire, twine or ribbon to my cards so they can hang.

I made quite a few, since they didn't require much time to put together. I listed some of them on eBay and most of them have sold. As with about all of my artwork, I seem to never keep anything for myself - except pictures of my creations. It's probably a good thing since I would need to build a storage unit to hold it all.

One of my drawers is filled with shiny new, unstamped Altoid's tins that have been crying out to freed. So, I'm off to the land of art!

Altered Altoids Tins

I had made four altered Altoid tins in November 2006 and left them shelved even though I made them specifically for the purpose of selling on eBay. Maybe it was the thought of parting with my first altered tins that made it so difficult to give them up. In any event, I was finally able to let them go.

The mermaid tin was my first altered tin, and also my favorite, so far. I used a vintage reproduction photo and real seashells to create it.

Other theme's include Paris Travel, a smudge or ruins box, and a Music themed tin.

Moulin Rouge, pictured, sold on eBay and I had a few requests for more with the same theme. I had consider making another Moulin Rouge themed tin but it takes forever to seal the tin and prepare it for paint. It has to cure for at least two weeks before I can begin to work on it, and I don't really have that kind of patience.

The profit margin for these tins is relatively low since they are so time consuming to create. I did see half of a tin decorated with a vintage reproduction image of a child sell for $75 on eBay, but I think this is the exception, not the rule.

I'm currently working on an Asian/Oriental and Travel/Journey themed tins, and may create a few with a Valentine's Day theme.

Summer Project – Create Art Class Syllabus

This summer I've been putting together an outline of an 6-12 week course in altered art & ATC's (artist trading cards) and will submit it to the Community Education Enrichment department of our school district this fall or winter. They're always looking for local talent to teach things like photography, cake decorating, and beginning sign language.

I noticed that Michael's Craft Store has a huge bulletin board asking for people to teach various arts and crafts classes. Nothing for ATC's or altered art was listed but I'm thinking about talking to the store manager to see if this might be something of interest. Since altered art/assemblage, collage, mixed media and ATC's are "hot" right now, I thought this would be a good time to put my creative skills to work.

If anyone has done this before, any suggestions would be appreciated!

Choosing Your Art and/or Craft

I love arts and crafts. My biggest hurdle has been in deciding what type of arts and crafts to pursue because I like so many. I suppose I could try all of the arts and crafts I'm interested in, but I'm not sure that would be wise. Some artforms are easier than others, some require a lot of work space, and some are more expensive than others - and that is certainly something to consider. I made a list of of arts and crafts I've tried or already do, and a list of those I'd like to try or do. This list should help you determine what arts and crafts would best suit you, your budget, and your storage and workspace constraints.

Once you've listed the arts and crafts you've tried, mark off those that you didn't enjoy doing, didn't do well at, or found couldn't do at all. For example: I learned to knit when I was eight years old. It was an easy art/craft to learn, but I didn't really enjoy it. A few years later, I learned to crochet. I enjoyed that much more than knitting, and found it was easier for me to do. Another example was when I learned to do embroidery. I enjoyed that and found it easy to do. Later I tried counted cross stitch with equal results. A similar craft I also tried was latch hook rug making. It was an easy craft but I found I didn't get much enjoyment from it and rugs just really didn't seem to be my thing. Neither was silkscreen - too messy, need too much equipment that you have to buy and store, and you need lots of space for need space for items to dry.

Now make a list of all the arts and crafts you'd like to try. Think about each craft and how it may be similar to something you've done before. Did you enjoy the craft you did that was similar? Was it something you did well?

You'll need to consider a few factors in deciding what arts and crafts to pursue are:

A. How much will this art/craft cost?
B. Do I have room in my house, garage, basement, etc., to pursue this craft?

I like doing ceramics. Ceramics, however, is not the best choice for me. Making things from ceramics is quite expensive. You have to buy the greenware and paint, and then pay to have the pieces fired, once or twice, unless you purchase your molds and kiln. Very, very expensive. You also need room to store your greenware and paints and a large enough workspace to hold your wares. I have pottery listed in things I want to try. Pottery is very similar to ceramics. You need clay, a potters wheel, and then have to get the pieces fired. So for me, pottery is not really a realistic option. To satisfy my urge, I could enroll in a pottery class and make a few pieces without having to invest much. I may do that someday, but it's not high on my priority list considering I probably would not make it a lifelong pursuit.

One of my favorite forms of artwork is paper crafts. I enjoy card making, scrapbooking, collage, and making ATC's (artist trading cards). Paper is not expensive, it's easy to store, and you can do a ton of different things with it. And then there's paper mache - a nice way to put your old newspaper to good use. So pursuing paper crafts, such as card making, scrapbooking, making ATC's and ACEO's are definite - origami is an option. I've never tried it but am not interested in folding paper.

Altered art is basically taking an object and giving it new life, making it into something else.... ART! Since most altered pieces begin with what most people term "junk", it's readily available, or can be had from a thrift store or garage sale at rock bottom prices. You can store as little or as much as you want and it doesn't require a large workspace. Some commercial grade glue, found objects, paint, paper, and a great imagination are all you really need to get started. I tried my hand at altered art because I didn't really need to buy anything. Ialready had so many things handy that I could use.

Woodworking and metal work would require space, materials and expensive tools. Oil paints, brushes and canvas can get expensive and require a fair amount of space. Cake decorating supplies can get expensive and you have to have a good amount of space to store the decorations and cakes - and I'm short on space. I'll have to put these arts/crafts at the bottom of my list.

I have dabbled with mosaic tiles but that was years ago. Its a craft I've thought about taking up but with the expense of tiles, I decided to try paper mosaic. I already have a ton of paper I can cut into tiny pieces and use the same way I would tiles. Tole painting is high on my list because I have acrylic paints and would only have to take a class, buy an instruction book or find a good website to learn the basics. Glass cutting and floral arrangements wouldn't require a huge investment and are also something I could teach myself to do.

Since I already own a digital camera and can print my own pictures photography is something I have considered. I have thought about taking a community enrichment class through my local school system. The class cost about $50 and lasts from 6-12 weeks, which puts photography high on the possibilities list. Candle and soap making are of interest, but again I would have to weigh out the costs of materials and space needed for this craft. Polymer clay art and jewelry making don't require a large work space, and can be done for a reasonable price, althought you can spend a lot if choose to.

Having thought this out, I now have a better idea of what arts and/or crafts would probably suit my budget, workspace and storage constraints, and skill level best.

cHaoTic aRtwOrKs - Art They Never Told You About

Spark your creative imagination!

I've been a self-representing artist for over 30 years. Creating art has always been a way of life. I come from a long line of painters, musicians and metal sculptors. As a small child I learned that my artwork would draw much attention, and not always positive, when I was creating masterpieces on my bedroom wall. Now that I'm grown, I use a different canvas for creating artwork.

I moved from pencil and charcoal drawings to writing during my teen years. After several attempts to write the perfect novel, and stalling after the second chapter, I finally put down my pen. I turned my attention back to the visual arts and began creating collage and mixed media artwork. A few years ago I discovered scrapbooking. It was during my search for scrapbook items and embellishments that I discovered ATC's, better known as artist trading cards. ATC's led me to art squared, assemblage, and altered art.

As any artist knows, supplies can be expensive. Being thrifty and resourseful, I've created, and stumbled upon, many ways to save money. The purpose of my blog is to share that information with you.