ATC's - Roses

Graphics and photos from IClipart and Rubys Blossom.

ATC's - corrugated/Metallic

A sample of the swap. Tim Holtz lock andkey, Webster scrap paper, Itkupilli letters, Kaiser scrap paper, stamping etc.

Heat emboss ATC's using stamps from Clearly Vintage (Etsy), V&A new stamp collection.

Tea and coffee ATC swap

ATC - Tulip and Vintage art swap

Having fun, making friends, dragging out beloved art materials, downloading public domain vintage photos, drawings... whiling away the hours...more time off work... creating ATC's seems like good therapy?

Small pieces of art to share

Although an enforced rest was put upon me for 6 weeks after major surgery, I am enjoying the rest and time for creativity.

And an art form that I think is really me! Oh to use up all those little scraps of paper, lace, to use my hundreds of sets of pens, pencils, crayons, paint brushes, inks, chalks, beads. It might take me forever but hey, it's fun! Sitting in the sun overlooking my garden filled with birds, sun and light streaming all around is an inspirational setting in our lovely autumn.

I discovered ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) at the Newcastle Craft expo in February and I'm loving them! Small pieces of art to share...These little wonders are very inspiring, 2½ x 3½" using any medium, style, flattish i.e not too 3D so they can fit into a plastic sleeve, ready to swap with other ATC artists. I find I can incorporate all the crafts that I have loved for 20+ years - stamping, collage, knitting (well photos of my knitting!), photography, stencilling, painting, calligraphy, pergamano, scrapbooking, embossing, creating... playing...

I have met some fabulous people all over the world, read some inspiring blogs of kind, helpful wonderfully creative artists - all fellow addicts to altered art and ATC's. I joined two ATC swap groups and have been very productive, trying to keep up with swaps. I met a warm and friendly Canadian lady who puts out a wonderful journal quarterly with news of ATC swappers all over the world http://www.atcquarterly.com/. I subscribed to her journal and love to use this journal as a reference.

ATC's go way back and a good description with links is on wiki to save me reinventing the wheel:- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards

I have uploaded my ATC photos to Flickr, and of course at this stage, they are fairly basic, but give me time, give me time!!! LOL! http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelebellechic/ will display a photostream.

Pumpkin lasagne - comfort food

PUMPKIN AND RICOTTA LASAGNE

The lasagne dish. This is a dish that many of my friends will remember, bought by my dear late husband, Don and part of a 12 piece dinner setting called Figgi from Norway. Ever since I was 16 this dinner set was on my wishlist. I still use it every day and still love it.

Lasagne sheets. If I am being lazy I use fresh lasagne sheets from the supermarket because they are quick and easy. If I am being creative and a purist, I make my own lasagne sheets. But the middle of summer is not the best time to make hand made lasagne. Sometimes we use dried italian lasagne pasta, but fresh is far superior in this instance.

First roast the pumpkin, adding a littel seasoning. Wrap up chunks in Glad Bake to keep the moisture in, similar to when you roast a whole garlic clove.

Next smash the cooked pumpkin. I like to use the Mouli, my favourite kichen (Ludite friendly) tool. It gives a texture without spoiling the cooked ingredient. Ah, trust the Italians for their simplicity.

What I like most about this recipe, is the simplicity and the observation of Italian principles, less is more. Using only few ingredients and not being overly spiced or 'souped up' this dish is easy on the palette, and even more splendid the next day. It is one of our comfort foods. The original recipe came from Good Weekend years ago and we don't vary the recipe too much.

Pumpkin, ricotta, finely grated Parmesan, good quality Fetta or goats cheese (extra tasty), strips of pancetta, butter, raw ginger grated, toasted pine nuts and lightly fried sage leaves on top. layer the cheese mix alternately with lasagne sheets and pancetta and add the fried sage leaves to the top layer. Simply delicious!