November Starry Night Sky ATCs

It's finally complete!! This month has taken aaaages to get together thanks to the strikes by Royal Mail (not that I'm saying they shouldn't strike, just that it has delayed my post coming!). The last card to come in has been floating in the postal system for two weeks but it finally came so I could get all of the ATCs together for their final photoshoot before they wing their way back in the post (with the best of luck and fingers crossed for a swift delivery) to their new friends. 

I love these cards and I fear the camera hasn't done them justice as it seemed to really struggle with the fabulous deep blue colours contrasted with the bright whites of the moons or the stars. I spent ages on some cards trying to get the settings right but, as is the case with pretty much all of these ATC cards, you really need to see them in person to do them justice. 

The theme was Starry Night Sky and I think it's wonderful how it has been interpreted here; some abstract skies, some reflective moonscapes, city scapes with moon and stars, fireworks, and even a sweet little owl! I'm sure I say it every month but I love being the host of this swap and getting to see everyone's cards in person! Every envelope is a joy to open. 

The card above was especially hard to photograph to get the colours for some reason. It's fine in the group photos but really bright on it's own. I love how the reflections of the trees have been done with zig-zag stitches, such a simple idea!

And I feel like the above card from Tracy is somewhere you might visit if you go on a camping holiday. I don't know whether it was intended but to me the scene is the moonlight reflected in a lake and I can see the tent and the campfire popping behind me as I sit and peer through the beautiful stem stitch trees to the reflections of the moon on the deep lapping waters. 

The details in Abi's card are so sweet and lovely and whimsical. The little climbing rose growing up on the yellow house on the left is just darling and sets the tone with the beautiful windows and front doors. Maybe there should be some kind of neighbourhood or street scene theme for the 2024 swap (I'm optimistic there will be one!).

Sandra's little owl is super cute. So simple and so effective - something I've come to expect from Sandra's style actually if you look back through on my website at all of her cards. She has a very clever use of composition and really lovely techniques that pack a lot of impact. 

This lovely firework piece from Suzi was also one that the camera struggled with. (Sorry Suzi for the over-bright image!) The textures are lovely in this piece with a slightly textured background fabric and little glittery thread stars. I like the addition of the smoking chimney too actually, it really gives a sense of the time of year and the chilliness of the outside whilst everyone is standing in their back gardens watching the fireworks pop in the darkened starry sky. 

I love the overall colour scheme of this theme. It wasn't something I thought about when I was coming up with themes for the year, the colours that would prove to be the signature of each collection. I wonder whether this will still be the case in the 2023 themes or if they will be a bit more muddled.

So, one more theme to go for 2022 (which will end up being finished in 2023) and then I can do lots of posts about the collections overall. I'm excited to see my 2022 collection in its entirety, both the cards I have made and kept, and the ones that I have swapped for. As always, photos of all of the cards are in their own albums on the dedicated ATC page of my website!