The Horror

I love doing transfers in my artwork. I have taken to Purell Transfers like I took to boys when I was 14. Fast and Furious. To put it Mildly. teehee. Well, my beloved Apollo Transparencies 7031s for HP inkjet printers are NO MORE. I had a panic attack when I tried to reorder them last week. They are discontinued. I can't believe it. My entire style revolves around these transfers. My PhrenMen, my ShellSeekers, BoneHeads and ScareyClowns. WTF???? I put on my big girl panties and ordered the Apollo 7039. They'll work, right? WRONG. I spent 40 bucks and I am Bereft. The new packaging says for Canon, Epson, Lexmark. No mention of my humble HP. The purell lifted a very small amount of ink. The transfer is very light, almost all of the ink remained on the trans. I tried different amounts of Purell. Over and Over and Over. I swore, I made bargains with The Universe, all to NO AVAIL. I then tried Goldens Soft Gel Medium. I don't like transfers using this because, well , they are Glossy. They lay on top of the paper. With my old technique the paper sucked in the ink and BECAME ONE with the substrate. The image didn't lay on top like a foreign body. Ok, I'm getting dramatic now. teehee. Here are the BAD transfers, make sure the children are OUT of the room first:


Look at the time and materials I wasted. But I could not make myself give up. I even sanded some of the paper first, because some of it was scrapbook paper and may have some kind of evil plasticy coating on it. Here are the so-so transfers:
The transferred image ends up with brushstrokes from applying the gel with well, a brush. Sponge and fingers still left streaks. And gloss. Ok, I know I can spray a matte sealer on top and that should eliminate the gloss. But, well, WHY??? The 7031s's were PERFECT. Anyone else having this issue or know of a source for the 7031s's??? I am going to consult with my inkjet transfer Yahoo group and see if anyone has The Answer. xoSusan

Mermaid ATC's

These next 2 ATC's are more practice with Purell transfers. I used an old book page, sticker flourish, oil pastels, Apollo transparency. I don't like the sticker, but when I tried to pull it up, it started to tear the image. Live and Learn!!

I really like this one. Old book page, purell transfers from Apollo transparency, and bling. I transfered on top of other transfers with very little wait time in between. No problems, nothing smeared. This is one of those times that practice results in a most satisfying ATC!!
I'm digging Purell big time. Almost as much as my white wine. Ok, well not that much. teehee.
xoSusan

All Things Books Swap

Sadly, this is the second to last swap I will be participating in with ArttechniquesATC's yahoo group. The group owner has decided to shut down the group. Our sister group Arttechniques is still going strong though. The owners' feeling is that interest in ATC's is dying.And unfortunately the small number of artists who sign up for swaps supports her decision. What do you think? Are you still interested in creating and trading ATC's? I know I am. A lot of trading goes on at Flickr. Maybe this is why there is less traffic on the groups. Thoughts?

Here is my sample ATC. Why is it the sample? It was the first Purell transfer and I lifted the transparency before enough of the book cover image had transferred.
Because the background lacks interest I colored the focal point in bolder colors than I do in the cards to be traded. She is done with chalks and Portfolio oil pastels.
Some day I'm going to get the Caran d'Ache pastels. Hey, a girl can dream. I want the set with 96 different colors. Hold on, I'm drooling. Ok, I'm back.

After applying the chalks et al, I sealed the cards with PYM II. I just got it. Doesn't smell bad, dries in 2 minutes, won't kill the cats. What's not to like? I did rub the chalk after spraying and a little bit came up, but I was pretty rough. So I think it will work out well. Check out their site which has videos and tutorials.

The backs are fun too:

I had to replace the one label. Why? I didn't seal it. Duh. Printed labels out on adhesive vellum.

And here are the final 4 to go postal tomorrow:
The End!! teehee. xoSusan

All Things Books

I'm working on a set of ATC's for my arttechniquesATC's group. The subject is "All things Books". You could go in sooooo many directions with this one. I was gonna "do" sarcastic and use a man with a book, LOL, but decided against it. "Men With Books" will come later. Much later.Like Never. teehee.
I am really enjoying participating in swaps this year. It's a creative stretch to work with subjects another artist has chosen. My apologies, I made that sound way too much like exercise, teehee. Anyhoo, I covered both sides of cardboard with text from "Wuthering Heights". I had a very old copy, from my youth, completely falling apart. Did a couple washes of paint. Found an ornate book cover from a purchased collage sheet. (can't remember where, sorry)Printed it to transparency. Did a transfer using Purell, and had success. This was my first transfer using this technique. Lay down some Purell, lay down the transfer, Here is the Trick I learned from Many Failed Attempts, Do Not Move IT, Do NOT BURNISH. Let the Purell suck the ink onto the page. One or two minutes later lift off the transparency. Done. The Purell works far better for me than using an alcohol spray. I'm a convert now. I love how distressed it looks, see for yourself:
Wow, my work surface is about a 6" space. Here is what is left on the transp after transferring. Because I am a total pack rat, I will keep these to use as a layering device on another project.

I used a gold pen for the edges:

Here is the image focal point. I googled people reading or something like that and found her. I chalked her and used a fixative spray.
I have A Lot of copper and black corners. But I want Gold. So I embossed them:
I'm gonna add words. This is far as I got. I decided I couldn't work like this anymore:
What was once Madness and Mayhem,

Becomes clean and orderly.

Pay no attention to that BEER at my computer station.......

Wow, You can actually see the floor!! I give it two weeks. Now what did I do with my BEER?

xoSusan

Getting Back in The Game

Taking this whole break up thing an hour at a time. I'm OK, then I get sucker punched by a song or a sweet or sexy memory. I tried to keep really busy. I spent the day at the UPS store, shopped at Tuesday Mornings, (a cool designer type discount store) grocery store, bank, taking my daughter to the salon, and the veterinarian. My kitty, Buddy Guy, was neutered today. Poor confused boy was humping my 9 year old declawed Cat, PT Barnum. Declawed or not, BG was about to lose an eye if he kept up with the unwanted attention to PT's nether regions. I also did some gift wrapping, banking online and planning our trip to visit Grace and Tori in Adamstown tomorrow. After the 2 hour drive, we will antique, eat and laugh our asses off! Our teenager's will go off and talk about how mortifying we are to be around.
Obviously my mind set has influenced these ATC's I made tonight. Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid.

This exhausted girl is hitting the sack. Wonderful Sunday to you.

xo