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Pixeldigger
04-14-2007, 10:39 AM
I went to my very first 'real life' ATC group yesterday, in the wilds of Buckinghamshire - ok, just up the road from me. It was a lot of fun. There were about 7 or 8 of us there, plus the hosts. The lady who ran the group has a small craft shop nearby, which is a treasure trove for me. Anyway, it was her idea to get a group of crafters together. Her mum made tea and coffee, which was lovely of her. There were three main tables - collage, blue and sparkle, with a prize for the best in each group at the end of the evening.

We soon got to know each other, from the formal round the tables introduction of ourselves, to the informal chatting - boy, aren't we a noisy lot when we get going? I managed to cover myself, not in glory, but in confusion, by managing to snip some finger with my scissors, instead of some paper; I was very cack handed last night.

The shop supplied a lot of fun stuff to play with, from angel hair to embossing powders and inks to different types of glue. I ended up with a couple of very quirky cards and one almost 'normal' one. My quirky collage won a £5 gift voucher, so I bought a gold pen, some gold angel hair and some blue mesh to play with at home.

I also gleaned a good tip about embossing powder and static. You CAN get anti-static bags to wipe across a card before starting to emboss, so that the sprinkles don't stick to everything, but a light cloth with talcum powder on it works just as well and is a fraction of the cost. I discovered small glue dots! Much better than twitching glue all over a card by accident.

I'm looking forward to the next time, in a couple of months.

kygirl
04-14-2007, 11:25 AM
What a wonderful embossing tip. Thanks.

Sounds like a great meeting. Congrats on winning the gift certificate.

indybev
04-14-2007, 11:28 AM
I'm green with envy, Judith. It sounds such fun. I wish I weren't thousands of miles away in the heartland of the USA. I'd love to drop in for tea, and go with you to the wee tiny shop!

mizamigo
04-14-2007, 01:24 PM
Judith, it sound like you had a great time at a real life ATC crop. What a great description of your evening and you even found out about glue dots! I'm sure Kim will be pleased that she's not the only one who snips her fingers instead of the paper... it's happened to all of us at one time or another.

And with the gift cert, you have to go back and get some more real stuff and now you can say you are a HYBRID scrapper.

Nevermore
04-14-2007, 02:34 PM
Well, Judith, my attitude toward glue dots just depends on what time of day it is. I swing from thinking they are the best thing since sliced bread to thinking that they are the invention of the devil. I do so envy you your evening although I suppose if I were to attend one I would want it to be with all my DAQ swappers.

I just finished my ATCs for the month and have had to write a note of apology to go with them. My disappointment is still fresh, I don't want to dwell on it. I made a rather crucial mistake at the very end and it is not fixable. What is especially hurtful is that I preplanned these very carefully and did a prototype before I set out to do everyone's. Regardless, I still managed to mess it up. Obviously, I am not so unhappy that I am going to redo them all. It is a question of time and money.

If I want to take something positive from it, I guess it would be that what I am trying to do is tougher than that first wee Warhol Rhino. If I look back over my entire eight month career, I have most definitely gotten better at this.

Dear Judith, when and if convenient, please post a pic of the five pound winner!!!!

Pixeldigger
04-14-2007, 03:52 PM
It wasn't my best work, Nevermore, but you might get a laugh from it. The winner was the googly-eyed bug and the feather.

Crop fun (http://www.digitalartquirks.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2977&cat=500&ppuser=239)