This website is for the purpose of viewing my LTCs (Letterbox Trading Cards.)
If you do not wish to see spoiler pictures, STOP HERE!
After these 1st two pictures, the remaining carves are listed as I posted them on Atlas Quest. They are in the order that I signed up for the swaps.
My First Carving - with a Number 2 pencil top
I discovered Letterboxing quite by accident on the Internet one Sunday afternoon in November, 2008. I was intrigued, but I didn't want to spend money to invest in carving tools unless I felt I could eventually become a carver.
Following a how-to tip, I took a No. 2 pencil, removed the eraser and crimped the metal band into a V shape. I used a block eraser I had on hand and carved this first image. Although it was rough, I believed it demonstrated that I could, eventually, become a carver. Thus begins my story...
2nd Carve - Chihuahua
My next carve, using the new tools I had purchased--that pink-handled Speedball stuff--was of my chihuahua. If I had listened to my husband that night, I would have never carved again! He took one look at it and burst out laughing. LAUGHING!! At my feeble attempt to handle a carving tool! He said the upper part was OK, but the snout looked like a pig! Imagine! (Good thing I don't get my feelings hurt too easily.)
After doing the Chihuahua mostly in black, I wanted the negative image for AQ Carve #1: The Touch of a Butterfly, which meant carving out the insides of the butterfly. My big mistake in this one was to carve out the entire inside. I had planned to have veins inside the wings, but I don't think you can glue the rubber back in once it's gone! So I carved the veins as a separate stamp and stamped over the butterfly image.
The "hollow" stamp became the base stamp, with the 2nd stamp cut out and added on top. So the butterfly is 3-dimentional, with wings that can move.
AQ Carve #3-4: Valentine: Key to My Heart was my first attempt at a folding LTC. For the front side, I carved a key, stamped and cut it out, attaching it with a couple of 3D Dots to the second carve of a heart with a keyhole, stamped on some scrapbooking paper. On the inside of theh card is the carve of a decorative heart, with a bit of glitter in two areas and a jewel added for good measure... (The jewel looks like some more glitter, but it's really a little "gemstone") RETIRED
AQ Carve #5: If I Were a Rich Man. This is the first carve that I did "just because!" It wasn't for a swap, although I created one afterwards.)
AQ Carve #8: Newbie Says Hi. "Newbie" happened before I even knew there was a little chick involved with Atlas Quest! I designed "Newbie" to take to the Jumping on Japanese Letterboxing Event in Cornelius, NC. It was sort of a celebration of my beginning this wonderful hobby. It was also my first attempt at carving letters--the A.Q. for Atlas Quest. I did the first batch as a pop-up. These pictured here are from the second batch, and my husband and I both agree we like it better.
AQ Carve #9: My Favorite Hobby - a Good Book. This one was fun carving the letters and adding the pages to the book. I had a little trouble with the pages being too loose and had to add a teeny bit of glue to the "spine" area of the book. And the "mini" books along the bottom are actually pics of books by some of my favorite authors...
RETIRED
AQ Carve #10: Oriental Knot (for the Lots of Knots - Celtic Knot Swap)
This was my first attempt at embossing! My husband was so wonderful to help me with this. I stamped, then he sprinkled the powder. I tapped the powder off and he used the embossing heater. I spread the glue with the gluestick and then he placed the embossed paper on the cardstock. We were an assembly line team today, for sure. What fun! Here's the result...
AQ Carve #11 A Knight of Chess. Ahah! I believe I just may -- someday -- lure my hubby into the world of LTCs! I had his help through much of this one. When he first found out I was going to do an LTC based on the game of Chess, he went to the internet (after I had gone to bed) and found a couple dozen pictures to give me some ideas. I found them the next day when I got up.
With input from Hubby about layout, and a trip to the craft store for just the right color paper, we were ready to start building the LTC. Hubby loves the embossed look, and willingly pulled up a chair to help again. I stamped (and REALLY pushed down hard, trying to fill in the vertical sunken area on the stamp), Hubby sprinkled the powder. I tapped the paper off and Hubby used the embossing heat tool. We both cut out all the little horses. Then I glued / glue dotted the pieces and Hubby placed them. What teamwork! And such fun to do it together!
AQ Carve #12: "Perfect Design" is from the "Design Swap". It's not what you'd expect, but it's the first image that popped into my mind when I joined the swap, and I loved the idea! The lower part of the image is one stamp, but I decided the LTC needed more, so a 2nd stamp completed the Universe...
AQ Carve #13: Feather. I did this feather on black cardstock using silver ink. It's for the Featherweight swap. Not the best scan...
AQ Carve #16: Disney-Roo. Last week I attended a Letterboxing Baby Shower! (We letterboxers will use anything as an excuse to get together.) Just4bees is a family of four expecting their third child, which will definitely involve choosing a new Trailname, since they will no longer be 4. One of our responsibilities as attendees was to brainstorm to come up with a new family name.
AQ Carve # 17: Mickey n Minnie. There were 3 possible drawings I wanted to carve for this swap. This one was hubby's favorite, so of course I went with it. On the first attempt, I ruined Minnie's face. After starting fresh, I only made one major flub with this one, and I'm not tellin!
AQ Carve # 18: Faithful Friend. I LOVE DOGS! When this swap opened up, who could resist? Not me!
One of my first attempts had been to carve my chihuahua's head, which my husband laughed at! (Carve #2) This carving turned out much better, don't you think? (It's not of the same dog, by the way.) His eyes are so expressive. A dog is truly man's best friend! The ribbon strips vary from card to card...
AQ Carve # 19 Pesach Lamb. With Pesach (Passover) coming up soon, I was excited to find this swap. My original idea was taken by someone else, but I'm happy with this one. According to the Torah (Sh'mot 12/Exodus 12), the family was to take an unblemished lamb on the 10th day of the first month, and keep it for four days, killing it at dusk on the fourteenth day. Its blood was to be spread over the sides and top of the door frame, and when Adonai passed through Egypt to kill all the firstborn, He promised,
"and when I see the blood, I will pass over [Hebrew: pasach] you -- when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you." ...from the Complete Jewish Bible
AQ Carve # 20: The Healer (a.k.a. The Hem of His Garment.) "But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2) The woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment to be healed was in reality touching the tzitzits on His tallit (prayer shawl). The corners of a Jewish prayer shawl were often called "wings". The same word used in Numbers 15.38 for "corner" is used in Malachi 4.2 for "wings". A Jewish man under his tallit could be said to be dwelling in the secret place of the Most HIgh and under His wings! (Psalm 91. 1-4) What a glorious picture this paints! Praying under a prayer shawl does indeed make one feel as if it's just "you and G-d"
AQ Carve # 21: Catch the Light. What fun we had as children! We spent hours chasing "Lightning Bugs" (also called "Fireflies" in other parts of the world.) We made houses for them, kept them in quart jars, brought them into the house in the darkest corner to see how bright our collection jar had become. We had contests to see who could catch the most, and fights over who claimed the one we each saw at the same time.
2nd Carve - Chihuahua
My next carve, using the new tools I had purchased--that pink-handled Speedball stuff--was of my chihuahua. If I had listened to my husband that night, I would have never carved again! He took one look at it and burst out laughing. LAUGHING!! At my feeble attempt to handle a carving tool! He said the upper part was OK, but the snout looked like a pig! Imagine! (Good thing I don't get my feelings hurt too easily.)
Of course, this one will never be used, but I did learn a lot about handling the carving tool.
After doing the Chihuahua mostly in black, I wanted the negative image for AQ Carve #1: The Touch of a Butterfly, which meant carving out the insides of the butterfly. My big mistake in this one was to carve out the entire inside. I had planned to have veins inside the wings, but I don't think you can glue the rubber back in once it's gone! So I carved the veins as a separate stamp and stamped over the butterfly image.
The "hollow" stamp became the base stamp, with the 2nd stamp cut out and added on top. So the butterfly is 3-dimentional, with wings that can move.
1) Yellow butterfly. (See the veins?) I glued only its body to the card, and bent the wings so they were off the card. A few beads I had on hand completed the image. 2) Blue butterfly. I used some scrapbooking papers for the background.
AQ Carve #2: Winter: A Look at Nature - Holly. This LTC was made using my 3-leaf stamp, and then stamping again, covering up the 3rd leaf. The berries are from a separate 2nd stamp. I added just a hint of green glitter glue on one leaf and red glitter glue on the berries. (Glitter never shows up well on a scan!)
AQ Carve #2: Winter: A Look at Nature - Holly. This LTC was made using my 3-leaf stamp, and then stamping again, covering up the 3rd leaf. The berries are from a separate 2nd stamp. I added just a hint of green glitter glue on one leaf and red glitter glue on the berries. (Glitter never shows up well on a scan!)AQ Carve #3-4: Valentine: Key to My Heart was my first attempt at a folding LTC. For the front side, I carved a key, stamped and cut it out, attaching it with a couple of 3D Dots to the second carve of a heart with a keyhole, stamped on some scrapbooking paper. On the inside of theh card is the carve of a decorative heart, with a bit of glitter in two areas and a jewel added for good measure... (The jewel looks like some more glitter, but it's really a little "gemstone") RETIRED
AQ Carve #5: If I Were a Rich Man. This is the first carve that I did "just because!" It wasn't for a swap, although I created one afterwards.)
I really took my time, and in the middle of doing it, I just HAD to go out and buy a magnifying light. Do you think I'm getting serious about this hobby yet?
AQ Carve #6: Snowman: Lady's Day Out. I love how feminine the snowman turned out! Her purse made me think of shopping; thus, the title "Lady's Day Out"... I did some with scarves, and some with buttons down the front. Hubby likes the buttoned one best, and I like the other. Which do you like best? (As usual, the glitter doesn't scan well.)
I had a lot of fun with AQ Carve #7: The Amazing Race Cluebox. I had to keep straight lines, so in that respect it was a new technique. When I finished, I cut a hole in the card where the top of the cluebox would be, and printed out "pamphlets" to insert in the "box"--Route Information, Road Block, Detour, Fast Forward and Yield. Check out the back side of them if you get one from me. Some famous phrases from the show are printed on the back of the pamphlets. RETIRED
AQ Carve #6: Snowman: Lady's Day Out. I love how feminine the snowman turned out! Her purse made me think of shopping; thus, the title "Lady's Day Out"... I did some with scarves, and some with buttons down the front. Hubby likes the buttoned one best, and I like the other. Which do you like best? (As usual, the glitter doesn't scan well.)
I had a lot of fun with AQ Carve #7: The Amazing Race Cluebox. I had to keep straight lines, so in that respect it was a new technique. When I finished, I cut a hole in the card where the top of the cluebox would be, and printed out "pamphlets" to insert in the "box"--Route Information, Road Block, Detour, Fast Forward and Yield. Check out the back side of them if you get one from me. Some famous phrases from the show are printed on the back of the pamphlets. RETIRED
AQ Carve #8: Newbie Says Hi. "Newbie" happened before I even knew there was a little chick involved with Atlas Quest! I designed "Newbie" to take to the Jumping on Japanese Letterboxing Event in Cornelius, NC. It was sort of a celebration of my beginning this wonderful hobby. It was also my first attempt at carving letters--the A.Q. for Atlas Quest. I did the first batch as a pop-up. These pictured here are from the second batch, and my husband and I both agree we like it better. 
AQ Carve #9: My Favorite Hobby - a Good Book. This one was fun carving the letters and adding the pages to the book. I had a little trouble with the pages being too loose and had to add a teeny bit of glue to the "spine" area of the book. And the "mini" books along the bottom are actually pics of books by some of my favorite authors...RETIRED
AQ Carve #10: Oriental Knot (for the Lots of Knots - Celtic Knot Swap)This was my first attempt at embossing! My husband was so wonderful to help me with this. I stamped, then he sprinkled the powder. I tapped the powder off and he used the embossing heater. I spread the glue with the gluestick and then he placed the embossed paper on the cardstock. We were an assembly line team today, for sure. What fun! Here's the result...
AQ Carve #11 A Knight of Chess. Ahah! I believe I just may -- someday -- lure my hubby into the world of LTCs! I had his help through much of this one. When he first found out I was going to do an LTC based on the game of Chess, he went to the internet (after I had gone to bed) and found a couple dozen pictures to give me some ideas. I found them the next day when I got up.
Carving:
I must have carved on a flawed area of my carving material, because in the end there was a vertical line running through the stamp that wouldn't pick up the ink very well. Dear Hubby insisted that I not re-carve the stamp, although I told him that I enjoy the carving process. He insisted that the line gave the image some character. So if you get one of the "flawed" LTCs, just smile and think, "This one's got CHARACTER!" : )
AQ Carve #12: "Perfect Design" is from the "Design Swap". It's not what you'd expect, but it's the first image that popped into my mind when I joined the swap, and I loved the idea! The lower part of the image is one stamp, but I decided the LTC needed more, so a 2nd stamp completed the Universe...
AQ Carve #13: Feather. I did this feather on black cardstock using silver ink. It's for the Featherweight swap. Not the best scan...
AQ Carve #16: Disney-Roo. Last week I attended a Letterboxing Baby Shower! (We letterboxers will use anything as an excuse to get together.) Just4bees is a family of four expecting their third child, which will definitely involve choosing a new Trailname, since they will no longer be 4. One of our responsibilities as attendees was to brainstorm to come up with a new family name.
Since carving is one of my VERY favorite pastimes, I decided to illustrate my ideas. There were two possibilities..."Just4bees+1LittleHoney" and "Just4bees+1Grasshopper." (see # 31-32) They were fun, quick carves! I also created a "Disney-Roo" LTC announcing "It's a Boy!" Here's Roo...
AQ Carve # 17: Mickey n Minnie. There were 3 possible drawings I wanted to carve for this swap. This one was hubby's favorite, so of course I went with it. On the first attempt, I ruined Minnie's face. After starting fresh, I only made one major flub with this one, and I'm not tellin!
I just happened to have the exact size balloon punch to use...I think she likes the gift, don't you?
AQ Carve # 18: Faithful Friend. I LOVE DOGS! When this swap opened up, who could resist? Not me!
One of my first attempts had been to carve my chihuahua's head, which my husband laughed at! (Carve #2) This carving turned out much better, don't you think? (It's not of the same dog, by the way.) His eyes are so expressive. A dog is truly man's best friend! The ribbon strips vary from card to card...
AQ Carve # 19 Pesach Lamb. With Pesach (Passover) coming up soon, I was excited to find this swap. My original idea was taken by someone else, but I'm happy with this one. According to the Torah (Sh'mot 12/Exodus 12), the family was to take an unblemished lamb on the 10th day of the first month, and keep it for four days, killing it at dusk on the fourteenth day. Its blood was to be spread over the sides and top of the door frame, and when Adonai passed through Egypt to kill all the firstborn, He promised, "and when I see the blood, I will pass over [Hebrew: pasach] you -- when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you." ...from the Complete Jewish Bible
AQ Carve # 20: The Healer (a.k.a. The Hem of His Garment.) "But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2) The woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment to be healed was in reality touching the tzitzits on His tallit (prayer shawl). The corners of a Jewish prayer shawl were often called "wings". The same word used in Numbers 15.38 for "corner" is used in Malachi 4.2 for "wings". A Jewish man under his tallit could be said to be dwelling in the secret place of the Most HIgh and under His wings! (Psalm 91. 1-4) What a glorious picture this paints! Praying under a prayer shawl does indeed make one feel as if it's just "you and G-d" 
AQ Carve # 21: Catch the Light. What fun we had as children! We spent hours chasing "Lightning Bugs" (also called "Fireflies" in other parts of the world.) We made houses for them, kept them in quart jars, brought them into the house in the darkest corner to see how bright our collection jar had become. We had contests to see who could catch the most, and fights over who claimed the one we each saw at the same time.
Now as I watch my grandchildren doing the same thing, there are the happy memories of days long gone...
AQ Carve # 22: Postcard - Israel. This one was really fun! The picture shows the front and back side. I love it when what I picture in my head turns out to be just what I want. The back side was as much fun as the front! I tried to make the 2009 look like a zip code. OK, so the postage would be a BIT more if it really came from Israel...
AQ Carve # 23(Recycled): Postcard - Jerusalem. This is a "recycled" stamping...the LTC background is totally different, but the stamps are the same. For the "postcard-Israel" LTC, I stamped the Israel map on paper and cut it out, mounting it on a 3-D dot. For this one, I stamped directly onto the picture. The back side is very similar to the previous LTC, with the "canceled" stamp and the address, etc.
AQ Carve # 22: Postcard - Israel. This one was really fun! The picture shows the front and back side. I love it when what I picture in my head turns out to be just what I want. The back side was as much fun as the front! I tried to make the 2009 look like a zip code. OK, so the postage would be a BIT more if it really came from Israel...
AQ Carve # 23(Recycled): Postcard - Jerusalem. This is a "recycled" stamping...the LTC background is totally different, but the stamps are the same. For the "postcard-Israel" LTC, I stamped the Israel map on paper and cut it out, mounting it on a 3-D dot. For this one, I stamped directly onto the picture. The back side is very similar to the previous LTC, with the "canceled" stamp and the address, etc.
The golden colors of Jerusalem are so striking, that I just had to choose this "postcard" to use! El AL is Israel's own airline.
AQ Carve # 24 Salute! This LTC has been created for the 4th of July swap. I found a patriotic punch to use at the bottom, and cut out the flags and flagpole for the background and a bit of additional color.
AQ Carve # 25 World Languages - Hebrew Gene Roddenberry probably thought the Vulcan salute was a weird variation of the peace sign. Later Leonard Nimoy (Spock) publicly explained where he got the inspiration for the
sign. He had changed the Kohanim blessing to a one-handed salute. The salute is
close enough to the Kohanim blessing that a Jewish person would recognize it.
In addition to the salute itself, the phrase "Live long and prosper"
and the reply, "Peace and long life," show a hidden Jewish influence. This
is similar to the greeting in Hebrew: "Shalom aleichem" (peace be on
you) and the answer, "Aleichem shalom" (on you peace.)
AQ Carve # 24 Salute! This LTC has been created for the 4th of July swap. I found a patriotic punch to use at the bottom, and cut out the flags and flagpole for the background and a bit of additional color. 
AQ Carve # 25 World Languages - Hebrew Gene Roddenberry probably thought the Vulcan salute was a weird variation of the peace sign. Later Leonard Nimoy (Spock) publicly explained where he got the inspiration for the
sign. He had changed the Kohanim blessing to a one-handed salute. The salute is
close enough to the Kohanim blessing that a Jewish person would recognize it.
In addition to the salute itself, the phrase "Live long and prosper"
and the reply, "Peace and long life," show a hidden Jewish influence. This
is similar to the greeting in Hebrew: "Shalom aleichem" (peace be on
you) and the answer, "Aleichem shalom" (on you peace.)
