SCS ATC Weekly Challenge-Tooty Fruity

This week's challenge is to use a piece of fruit in your art work. I was inspired by some beautiful photos of raspberries that a friend shared with us. I really stepped outside my comfort zone to create this ATC. I used patterned background paper, and six different stamps. Thanks to Kim for the ribbon and Phyllis for the button. You can find the challenge here: Tooty Fruity

Fired Brick Distress Ink

Have you ever started using an ink color-and then you can't put it down? My new favorite is Fired Brick Distress Ink. I made this ATC for a single swap and loved it. Now I have decided I will make some slightly different for my August Western swap on Stampin' D'amour. I like the sassy Gil Elvgren pin up juxtaposed over the weathered old cowgirl stamp. I am looking for a different embellishment, as I am out of those cool red star eyelets. That is the problem with buying the mixed color packs-there are never enough to complete a swap of 9 or 10 ATCs. I have amused myself this weekend with focusing on one Distress Inkpad at a time-and trying to create a monochromatic ATC with it-try it sometime-it's challenging.

SCS ATC Weekly Challenge-Sketch

This week I have offered my friends on SCS a Sketch Challenge-kind of unusual for ATCers. This first pic is the challenge design. Did you ever start a piece of art with a simple, quick idea-then the whole story behind the art grows and grows?

I started out to make a card to answer my own challenge-then I thought I should just make a card for another swap I am in-Sharon's Pick a Theme 8 on SCS-then wondered which theme to pick-then I thought Jan Darrah's theme of ""opposites" would be a good fit-then I looked for images like "young and old" etc..-then I opened my order from Inka stamps and there was a lovely transparentcy of a fisherman and his little daughter as a gift-BINGO!

So my card is about "Opposites":

Land and Sea
Blue and Brown
Father and Daughter
Staying and Going

Now I think my card has become about my youngest child leaving home-the longing to stay and the longing to go-I think that is what my husband, my daughter and I are all feeling-torn in two about the change in our lives. A little irony in the picture is the little girl has a boat in her hand-she feels the same pull as her father. And as some of my friends know my oldest daughter left earlier this year to work on an adventure cruise ship in the Alaskan waters, now my second daughter will join her-a continent away......Another piece of irony is that my husband was born in Alaska-and left as a toddler. So strangely enough-my card is also about daughters following their father's footsteps...

SCS ATC Weekly Challenge

This is my sample for my challenge on SCS this week. I hope everyone has a happy and safe Independence Day!

Tuesday Challenge-Black-Grey and White

Had this one from earlier in the week, it sure fits the challenge today:
Black-Grey-White
At Created by Hand.