Saturday, February 7, 2009

Summer Mice Dreams

Way back in July 2007 we began our very first House Mouse ATC swap on SplitcoastStampers. Through the next 1 1/2 years we built a core group of talented (and fun!) swappers with new faces joining each round. Our current round, Round 8, is set to swap out on February 9th and consists of over 37 swappers!


Here is my ATC I finally decided on for this round. Good thing I was hosting because inspiration waited until the very last week to strike!

Can you tell I'm suffering a severe case of wintertime blues and am dreaming of warmer days?? Here's a closer view of Mudpie enjoying his summer lemonade:

Stamps: Stampabilities 'Splish, Splash ... a Citrus Bath', Papertrey 'Mailbox Greetings' sentiment. Cardstock: Baja Breeze, GP110 white, Creative Memories pink, K & Co. 'Sweet Berry Kiss' DP, vellum. Ink: Versafine Onyx Black. Accessories: Prismacolor pencils, turpenoid, Crystal Effects, scallop border punch, dotted satin ribbon.

Since the talent level is so high with these House Mouse swaps, I always try to do something beyond the average ATC. In this case, inspiration struck when I was admiring a 3-D drink glass card created by a friend (see this SCS tutorial). I couldn't quite translate it to ATC format, much less figure out how to mail it, so I decided to go with a vellum overlay to simulate a frosty glass. Vellum adhesive has always been a challenge for me because it seems like even the ones advertised specifically for vellum leave tell-tale marks. Crystal Effects is my version of crafting super glue and I thought it would adhere the vellum well; even if it did leave visible adhesion marks they would be just resemble condensation drip trails down the glass. To my surprise, the adhesive points were almost invisible! And the drips came out as real as you can get without actually soaking the card:

Looks like the definition of bliss, doesn't it??

Next week I'll be sure to post the winners of Round 8 House Mouse ATC swap so be sure to stay tuned. And if you'd like to join this fun group of extraordinary swappers, Round 9 hosted by Joanna (Queenbee Jo) is up and running. Not only are there spots for ATCs, but we're also trying out nickelbacks (5 cm x 5 cm) and inchies!

13 comments:

  1. Absolutely adorable Jessica! Amazing what you did with the glass. Love, love, love your ATC!

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  2. Wow, Jessica, I LOVE it!! Very, very creative to use the vellum, it TOTALLY look real! Your coloring is awesome and the dp is perfect. I hope I get one of yours!!!! :)

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  3. Wow, I love how you did the vellum. What a great idea! Can't wait to see them all!

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  4. Oh man!!! This is too awesome!! I totally LOVE that cup!! How creative!! And boy...I missed this awesome ATC swap?!! :) I just love those darn cute HM images!! These are so cute Jess, TFS!

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  5. These came out great! I wish for summer too! And thanks for the trick, I'll have to try it sometimes. Great ATCs!

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  6. You gone and did it ... you WOWed us again, Jessica!! This has to be the CUTEST house mouse in a cup I have ever seen. Love the bright and cheery summer colors, and YEP, I am ready for the warm weather too! . . . umm, maybe slowly over a week or two though, as I have a LOT of snow out here to melt (all at once might be disasterous). LOL ;) Kel

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  7. Oh man Jessica, this is amazing!! I just can't even believe it!! He is so stinking cute and that glass is amazing!! Did I tell you how amazing it is yet ??!! LOL!!

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  8. This is amazing and so awesome!! I love it

    Loribee#1

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  9. Jessica,
    You should have done 37 ATCs for each, now we might have to fight for this wonderful card!
    Did you send me one of yours???

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  10. SOOO cute!!!! You did a great job on that glass - it looks sooo real!!!! AWESOME!!!

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  11. These are adorable!! There is a blog award for you on my blog!

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  12. aaaaaaaaaaw! these are so stinkin' adorable!!

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  13. This fabulous! I love the way it looks "in" the glass. Really, really fabulous! Thanks

    Tonya

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