Art-a-thons

Another of my favorite things to do with my friends at AFA are Art-a-thons.  These are usually over a weekend, starting at 12:01am Friday and ending at 11:59pm on Sunday in whatever time zone you are in.  The theme is usually set and the idea is to create items in that theme, post them to the thread and trade like crazy.  Its so much fun and the trading gets fast and furious.  The best part though is all the fabulous mail that trickles in over the couple of weeks after...from all over the world!  Its like Christmas in the mailbox everyday!

I participated in 2 recently.  The first was a Chunky-a-thon.  Chunky pages are 4in X 4in squares that are mounted on rigid cardboard usually (i cut up old cereal boxes for my bases).  They also are usually adorned with dangly things and chunkier decorations than ATCs.  People usually collect them in themes and connect them in some way to make a fat book that can stand on a table or shelf.  I was limited in the amount of time I was able to play that weekend but I was able to make and trade 7 chunky pages.

I dont add the danglies until after I've scanned them but you get the idea anyway.

Thanksgiving weekend was an extended a-thon from 12:01am Thanksgiving Day all the way through to 11:59pm on Sunday.  Except for cooking Thanksgiving Dinner and enjoying it with the family, I was able to spend the rest of the weekend on this a-thon.  The theme for the weekend was Birds.  I created 32 cards...most of them APCs (altered playing cards) and 19 chunky pages.  I traded all but 2 of the cards and quite a few of the chunkies.  I'm still getting returns in the mail.  Its awesome!  I was able to add quite a few cards to the Bird themed APC deck that I am collecting!  Here is just a sampling...

I was also able to try out a technique that I absolutely love the look of but had been too intimidated to try.  It involves layering decorative napkins with beeswax and creates a wonderfully transparent layered look.  I love the way my first attempts turned out and really hope to do more of this technique in the future.