December Misty Shadows ATCs

Oo these are looking very foggy and misty! Do we need to have our fog lights on do you think? Definitely headlights to try and peer through the gloom with. Several of them definitely have that kind of wet fog which makes your clothes damp and sparkly without it actually raining. Question though, if you fly through a cloud in an aeroplane you can experience turbulence, but if you walk through a cloud on the ground you don't? Why is that? Is mist cloud and cloud cloud different types of cloud?

Anyway, whilst I ponder that, let's have a closer look at these beauties!!

There were several cards which I recognised the thoughts and techniques in as being very similar to the path that I went, layering fabrics to build a scene, adding some stitching then covering the whole lot with a sheer material and adding more fabric and stitching over the top to build depth and perspective. It's really nice to see what looks like different types of sheer used though, some are more sparkly and look more like the organza ribbon I used, but the one above with the woodland was a matte sheer so perhaps a chiffon? It certainly looks a lot denser than the organza ones. 

Some haven't layered a sheer so much but have gone with the colour scheme being greyed out and very muted, perhaps more of a light mist in those ones. We also have layers of mist created with dress net or lace which is very clever, and mist made with wool roving by the looks of things for a more three dimensional fluffy cloud look. 

I really enjoy this one - it could almost be underwater as well which, I suppose in a really dense cloud, you kind of are really. All of the textures of the trees and hedges are masked behind a layer of organza, apart from, what I'm interpreting as, the sequin moon which is brilliantly shining from the sky and cutting through those clouds. 

Jackie's is very clever with the built up layers and the pop of colour of the falling leaves works so beautifully with the greys and dark browns. I'd also like to take a moment to appreciate that along the bottom edge of her card she has changed her edging thread to green, varying the length of the stitches so that it becomes both grasses and the edging of her card! Very thoughtful. 

The colours alone say 'misty day' to me, especially with just the outline of trees with no real detail to view. There is also a fine netting added to the top of the trees which you almost miss unless looking closely. I love how this is more of a snowy mist though with the snowflakes falling as well. 

The lace in Sharon's card is beautiful. Different types of lace by the looks of things, with various scalloped edges and even colours. The tree has been fussy cut and just uses the print on the fabric, and there is a pale sun poking through there as well, can you see it?

Jacquie has used a dress net at the top of her piece to add a misty appearance although, again, the muted colours and plain-ish background hint at there being some fog hiding the rest of the wood. The stag silhouette is a really nice addition too, framed beautifully by the silver birch trees. 

This one is really lovely. There are lots of details within it hidden by the fluffy fog here, beautiful stitched trees and fences, plants and bushes. A pale sun here too which is a nice recurring theme!

Abi's cards have got swirls of mist in, almost like her trees are growing up a hillside with a different ribbon of mist on each level. The trees kind of appear and disappear, some half visible and others just a shadow. 

As always, I like to play the 'guess which card you're getting game' before I send them out! Of course some people send in rather distinctive envelopes so they would know straight away, but others would have a harder job of figuring out which one will be plopping through their letterbox. The one without an envelope is the one that I'm keeping so it will get added in to my ATC display folder - which fills it up completely actually! Three years worth of work in one little tiny folder. I'll have to show you in a different post. 

Thank you so much to everyone who joined in with the 2024 swap! I really hope that you had a blast creating your cards and interpreting the themes, whether you were fantastically inspired by them or had to work a little bit harder to get those creative juices flowing. It's all good practice to stretch your creative brain and keep the problem solving and stash busting going (assuming that you are stash busting and not rushing out to buy new materials and tools with every month!).