Hi everyone, Cath here.
Welcome to the weekend!!!!!
So i know a lot of us do scrapbooking with friends and attend crops etc... but some people who are more distant or don't have friends who scrapbook may not be involved in anything with other people so i just wanted to show you some of the exciting things you can get involved with. Most of these things would require you to be members of scrapping forums etc.... but i'm sure all of you are anyway! ;-)
Circle Journals(CJ)
Now these little journals are very addictive! I myself have done about 4 in the past.
They are a great way of making new friends and learning new things about existing ones.
You get to look in great detail at other peoples work and this is very inspiring.
Basically how it works is you will have a group of friends, say 10, who all make or buy a journal or small album. You decide on a theme for your journal, for example, one of the groups i was in we were all mums of Boys so we all did a Mum of Boys CJ. You will usually do an introduction page telling people a little bit about yourself and then on the following 2 pages do a layout on your theme. Usually you will also have a sign in page. This is where the other people can put their name, maybe a picture of them and a little bit about them. It makes it that little bit more personal. You will have a deadline of say 2-3 wks and at the end of that time you will pop your journal into the post to your designated person(you usually always post to the same person and the same person posts to you). When yours has been posted off, everyone is doing the same so you will also receive someone else's in the post. You then do a layout on their theme, in their journal, and again, at the end of the time you post it on. The key to a good CJ is posting it out on time otherwise you can end up with some people having more than one CJ and others not having any. Eventually you will get yours back and it will be filled with the unique and inspiring work of all your friends!
Here are a few websites that go into more detail:
ATCs
ATC stands for Art Trading Card and they are very popular.
These little cards are like miniature layouts bursting with inspiration. You make cards for yourself or to exchange with other people to build up a collection. Cards are usually 2 ½” x 3 ½".
You can make individual cards but usually you would make a set, say of about 6, with a theme.
Artist trading cards are typically made on card stock but a variety of other things have been used such as metal, plastic, clay, wood, canvas and acetate.
Much like CJs you would set a deadline for the ATCs to be ready but usually the set would be posted to one person who will then sort them all out and split them and post them on to each individual. Alternatively there are lots of one to one swaps where you will just swap your ATCs with someone else.
Altered Books
An Altered Book is a form of art that turns a book from it's original form into a work of art.
Now this can be for your own personal pleasure or you could do as the CJ and let people add to it's pages.
An Altered Book Artist takes an old hard backed book and tears some of the pages out. With the pages that are left you use whatever media you like to 'Alter' them. You can paint them, add collages, add lace and ribbon, photos, ephemera etc..... The possibilities are endless.
Take a look at some here:
I hope this has given you a little insight to some of the things you can get involved in.
Cath x
