Final batch for the day, I promise! Click the thumbnails for larger images:

A few more cards, produced in today’s stress-relief frenzy. This time I added scrapbooking paper, stamping, and some embossing. Click the thumbnails for full-size images:

(Note: the image in the bottom center card is of a tangled chromosome.)

Creativity is a great way to vent stress! Here are some ABCs with a scientific flavor, influenced by a few retired science books. Click on thumbnails for larger images:

Added some paint into the materials mix. Click on thumbnails for larger versions:

A few more, again using colored chalk. The middle one didn’t scan very well; it actually has silver ink on top of the gilder’s paste, and then there’s a gray dot pattern stamped on top of the entire card to add texture. The edge effect (dark gray chalk) worked well, though. Click a thumbnail for the larger image:

Three more cards I started last night and finished over lunch today. In addition to the materials used previously, this time I also added in some colored chalk for edging effect — I like how it turned out. Click on thumbnails for larger versions:

A couple of cards inspired by family history — some bits of maps from an old Atlas showing some of our origins in Sweden and India, paired with verses from Edna St. Vincent Millay and Lewis Carroll. I think I’ll use these as bookmarks, and perhaps pass them along to my genealogist mother. Click on thumbnails for larger versions:

My wise eldest sister suggested a few weeks ago that we play around with making Artist Trading Cards (ATCs). As I was clearing up a few things around the house, I came across an old box of (seriously outdated) business cards, and wondered, “Why not use these to make ATCs?” — so I did. Some gilder’s paste in Antique Gold and German Silver covered up the printed information beautifully on some; on others, I used the business card as a base for art clipped from old calendars. Text came from a variety of books, mainly poetry, that had reached the end of their viable lifespan and were rescued from the book shed at our local recycling center. Other materials used were ink, colored pencil, scrapbooking punches, and glue. All in all, an entertaining way to vent some stress and indulge those creative impulses (click on any thumbnail for larger image):