L is for Letterboxing

Another one of my favorite pass times is Letterboxing. It is the reason I started carving stamps. The basic concept is that there are thousands of little containers (Lock N' Locks are my favorite) all over the world. In these containers are a stamp and a book. You also have a stamp and a book. You follow the directions, hopefully finding the prize which is the stamp. First you stamp the boxes stamp in your book. Then stamp your stamp in the boxes book. If you like it you repeat the process. Some of the stamps I have found are simply amazing. Most have been hand carved, which I prefer. The best place I have found to get the directions and discuss the finer points of the hobby is Atlas Quest. They have a great section for beginners and information on how the hobby started. I would like to share some of my favorite pages out of my book with you all.

This one is my favorite because Gwen carved them when she was 6 and 7.

These were from a Renaissance event.

 

L is also for LTC

LTCs or Letterbox Trading Cards are a branch off from letterboxing. They are 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 and contain a hand carved stamp. Other than that you there aren't other rules. Sometimes the swaps focus on a certain theme and those are my favorite. These are a few of the cards I made.

Morning Star

Hugin and Munin

Gadget

Dronkey

Yellow Trumpet Tree Blossom

Hey Diddle Diddle

Gwen made this one it is Epona from Zelda.

Follow your craft,
Michelle

E is for Etsy

I have been shopping on Etsy for a long time, but am now thinking about putting some things up for sale. I have been wondering if my stamps and the cards they make would be interesting enough to sell. Has anyone had luck or have any tips for using Etsy? My photo's aren't the best, but I know a good photo can really help sell your creations. I am not sure what I can do besides up grading my camera.

These are the note cards that the winners of my contest received. Ok, so they look WAY better in  person than this picture. This makes me very sad.

Sorry for the short post, but it has been one heck of a day.

Follow your craft,
Michelle

A is for April

So today it starts! The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is something I have been thinking about for a while. I am number 480 on the list and supper excited. As of the time I wrote this post there were 1579 bloggers signed up. Whooo Hoooo! I can't wait to get to hopping and see what everyone has to say.

A is also for abandoned projects

It is interesting how so many people begin something with such a bang then get busy or find something new they want to try and things fall by the wayside. I looked around and found a handful of abandoned projects that I would still like to share and hope to finish. (Eventually) I thought a lovely group shot would be the best way to start.

I am sure we all remember Scarfzilla, you know the scarf that thought it was a blanket. Oh no, you forgot about him. Well, so did I. Here he sits waiting for me to buy more yarn and come back to him.

More recently abandoned is this lovely cotton scarf. I was having a great time working on it, but had to start learning new stitches for this very challenge.

This beautiful fairy card, while finished was never given to the intended recipient. So it sits sadly in my box of unfinished projects.

These baby announcements feature one of my favorite carvings I have done. I carved the stamp for a friends first baby girl and she did use it for her announcements. However, this sad prototype was never finished. I was supposed to add a shinny pink ribbon to the edges, but this fantastic ribbon has been lost somewhere in the depths of my crafting stuff.

This stamp was discarded when I decided that I didn't like the way the scales bowl looked carved out and wanted to start over. I was able to finish the project, but this poor little guy has been waiting to be finished for quite some time now.

This stamp is one of my favorite mythological creatures, the hippocampus. I honestly can't remember why I stopped carving it, but do remember that I was very happy to find the image it is based off.

I love the art of JRR Tolkien. I wanted to try and capture some of the beauty with this stamp that was started on a family vacation. However, the vacation came to and end and as you can see the dragon is still uncarved. 

I hope you enjoyed being drug down memory lane with me. I can't wait to show you some of the things I was able to finish and learn in the coming days.

Follow your craft,
Michelle