new work, etc

i've been off blogging lately. it's mostly because i feel like i have nothing to say, nothing to report really that would interest people. i've also been busy last weekend with chinese new year, visiting relatives and getting my lai see envelopes from them.



this is a tip in journal page i made for a person at atcards. it's inspired by nick bantock & vintage travel. i've been going to this little garage sale not too far from my house and they have a box filled with vintage postcards! most of them are blank, but some of them have been written in by people. i bought a few of the written ones and i plan on using them in my collages.


the collage in my journal for today. most of the time, when i start these collages in my journal i don't have much of an idea of what's going to come next. i've been intrigued lately about using one main color in a collage and trying to find as many things in that color. that's where the pink collage on the right is coming from, just layering pieces of paper of the same color together to see what happens. i also didn't plan on gluing down the glassine envelope down. it's empty right now, but i plan on writing a journal entry and sticking it inside the envelope.

disappointment, etc

today i recieved the returns for an atc swap. the theme was candy. when i ripped open the envelope i only had one card, instead of three :(

but i did get some awesome goodies from hope of paper relics! she held a raffle and i won a collage sheet, some ephemera and five beautiful postcards! the collage on the postcard is lovely, but the only criticism i have is that the postcard is printed on glossy paper, which does not seem to suit very well for writing.

i finished one altoid tin for a swap at atcards. i think atcards is my favorite place to trade, it's got the most organized swaps for atcs, & no uneven swaps. there's not too many altered art swaps yet, but i think more will come. it's not too late to join in the altoid tin swap, the deadline is feb 28.

finishing touches

my collage in my journal today:


lately, i've been altering tins. but i've also been doing several pieces at once and for awhile none of them felt finished. thanks to cassandra's package of goodies - scrabble letters & many other things as well as lia's wonderful package of ephemera i have finally finished up some of the projects.



this is a 5 1/2 x 8 collage done on a cover of a book. it was a book of sonnets by shakespeare and the cover was falling apart.

a fashion themed altered tin:




originally, the inside had a belt buckle glued inside, but i couldn't glue it down flat so i had to remove it.

a school themed tin, full of found/ordinary objects:

wishing for a spring day

i love the color green.
today is such a grey day, everything outside is dull and the sky is ready to release rain.

chinese new year atcs

here are the cards i made for a atcards swap.


i rummaged through a drawer in the house for some used red envelopes. in chinese new year, all unmarried chinese people recieve red envelopes (w/ money inside) from relatives. i ripped and cut the gold designs, and composed them in an abstract sort of way.


the character in this card is my last name, Yu. one year, my mom's boss gave me a red envelope. it was funny because her boss isn't chinese and the design of the envelope included a last name! of course, she wouldn't know that the character was a last name...

Chinese stationery stores sell red envelopes with chinese last names on them. for red envelopes,there tends to be classic images, such as small chinese children, flowers, fish, the character fook - it means good luck and lots of intricate gold patterns. but i've also recieved envelopes w/ mickey mouse and other cartoon characters on them. banks and grocery stores also give away red envelopes to their customers so they can use them.

in my journal today

scrap

this morning i went to scrap .




round dannon yogurt cardboard thingys...i am not sure what they were used for, but i like the colors!

i also got altoid tins, lined paper that children use when learning to write, simplicity booklets, used manilla envelopes, and coasters to alter.