Postcards From Scraps

I’m linking my scrappy postcards to The Joyful Quilter’s blog for her May 2022 Table Scraps Challenge. https://thejoyfulquilter.blogspot.com/p/2022-table-scraps-challenge.html  

Scraps are perfect for making postcards.  Especially when they are scraps that you really hate to toss out.  But I did toss these scraps out at first.  

I’m working on a quilt using a bundle of Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements called Abandoned2.  It was hard to not keep these pieces...until it finally dawned on me that I could make postcards with them!  I immediately took a break from the two quilts I’m working on, pulled these scraps from the trash and made some postcards for my Tim Holtz grunge loving friends.

As well as a gift tag.



The desire to sew postcard is in full force right now.

I thought I’d try using the painter’s drop cloth as a postcard base.  It works out really well.  Of course serging the edges helps a great deal.  This fabric has a great texture.  I pulled out my scrap bin and just cut shapes with scissors and stitched them down to create a flower.

Oh, look Joy, there’s a square in this one! **snicker**

I think I might like creating a colorful garden of flowers. I certainly have the scraps to do just that.

And then I got started on that garden...

I wish everyone a happy mail day!

Awful Art Rescue

Another awful art rescue.

It began as an art journal page.  But I got ‘ART’ crooked on the page.  I couldn’t live with it.  It was the only part of the page where modeling paste was used so it really stuck out.  I literally tore the page out of the book and put it in the trash.  Of course the next day I pulled it out thinking I could save part of the page to make a postcard.

I cut the page in half.  I added modeling paste through a numbers/alpha stencil.  I really liked how it looked.  So much so that I knew I would never mail it.  That bit of success encouraged me to try and fix the other half into a postcard.  

‘ART’ is still crooked, but not quite so much as it was and I can live with it.  Had I straightened it more, then the other parts of the card would be crooked.  I needed a happy medium for all elements.  I did a bit more fine tuning on both postcards.  They were then decreed keepable together.

Since I was not going to mail these postcards, I decided they needed to turn back into an art journal page.  My new struggle was to create a background for the postcards.  There’s quite a bit of paint adjusting on that page...too light...too dark...not light enough...then finally just right.

For this journal page I used acrylic paints, Gesso, modeling paste, stencils, Distress Spray Stain, rubber stamping, Distress Ink, Distress Oxide Ink and Distress Crayons.

I’m linking my journal page to the following challenges:

Art Journal Journey for this month’s theme TYPE.

Creative Artiste Mixed Media where the challenge is always ANYTHING GOES.

More Mixed Media Challenge ANYTHING GOES with BRIGHTS

July 2021 Calendar Journal

Postcard Mail Art

I’ve gotten quite lucky of late to receive Postcrossing names that are open to receiving handmade art postcards.  It helps to satisfy my desire to make art on a small scale.  Then send it out into the world.

This first postcard is a terrible blurry photo.  I can’t believe I didn’t notice that.  I have to post it at a small size in order not to damage anyone’s eyesight.

This next one was a request for a private swap.  We decided on collage.  My favorite art.

This next card started with this collage base of paper strips.  This was my first time using Collage Medium.  I definitely don’t get along well with this glue medium...yet.  This is the only process photo I took.



But I was happy with my end result.

Next, this postcard was quite fun to create.  The Postcrosser said she liked postcards about postcards.  So this was my design side.  She’s been in Postcrossing for a lot of years and had already sent and received some 5,000+ postcards.  I’m rather certain this will not be a duplicate.

This last postcard was an experiment with paint and stencils and a bit of Distress inks.  The background got kind of busy on me but I didn’t totally dislike it so I continued to add stenciled numbers, washi tape and modeling paste through stencils.

    

These Tim Holtz paper dolls women seemed a good fit for this correspondence postcard.  After being pen pals since they were young girls, they finally get to meet in person.



HAPPY ART MAIL DAY!

Postcard Crazed!

I’ve been a crazed postcard paper crafter lately.

All of these postcards have been mailed for Postcrossing .

  Although I don’t get to create a handmade postcard for most postcrossers, I do get pretty lucky sometimes and get to make several to send across the world and across my own country.

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Many of them have been to try out a technique.  This one is watercolors painted using a brick stencil as a guide.  Once I removed the stencil I gave the bricks a bit more fine tuning of color.

    

Then gave the brick wall a collage.  The flowers are die cut from white and painted with watercolors.

Adding a bit of number ephemera, washi tape and die cut numbers.

These city buildings die cuts are always a favorite the way others use them.  I painted them with watercolors...oh, so many times!  A strip of washi tape along the bottom.

I’ve made this typewriter postcard before with a different background.  I love this stamp.  The background is Distress Oxide Spray.  I then added Washi Tape bits.

Sometimes a Postcrosser requests a private swap.  She requested a fabric postcard.

This next card started with Distress Oxide Spray.  I then ran it through my BIGkick inside an embossing folder for texture.  I used a steam roller (brayer) to flatten the texture a bit.  Then I blended over the surface with an Oxide ink pad and blending tool.

    

I used glossy clear texture paste mixed with a red acrylic paint.  Then applied it pressed through a stencil.

I used a graphite pencil to give the letters shadow and depth.  Using a water brush to fine tune the shadowing.

    

White modeling paste was pressed through a chevron stencil.  Water based inks usually will tint the white modeling paste.

The stencil used on this next card is a very thin flimsy one.  I wanted to know how it would work trying to press modeling paste through it.  It worked well enough with care, but I prefer to stick with the sturdier plastic stencils.  

I used modeling paste through stencils on this next card.  I then used a cutting die to cut the circles.  I stamped words on the yellow backing paper before adhering the top card to it.  The flower is a die cut painted with watercolors.



If you’ve stuck with me this far, then you can have a chance of receiving this next postcard in your mail.

This postcard was made with rejected and extra pieces of bits and bobs.  Some art might be rejected for its original purpose, but it can soon become a perfect part for another art piece.  I love this postcard.  I wasn’t able to let it go for awhile.  But it is time now for it to travel to a new home.

Simply let me know in a comment if you’d like to received it.

HAPPY MAIL DAY!

Salt and Sand Postcards

Welcome to day 3 of the Salt and Sand blog hop.

Many thanks to Carol of Just Let Me Quilt for her hard work organizing this fun blog hop.

When I decided to join in the fun of this blog hop, I wasn’t ready to make another quilt of any size, nor any other sizable project, so what to sew???

Yes, POSTCARDS!

And I will mail them out to 5 of my followers.

When I think of salt and sand, I think of the ocean/sea and the beach.

And the ever present seagulls.

I always complain that I cannot draw.  I did draw the seagull, but practically used up an entire eraser trying to make him look somewhat like a seagull.

Next came to mind a lighthouse.  I couldn’t make the light light up but the lighthouse building glows-in-the-dark.

From there my mind traveled out to sea for a fish or a boat.  What came to mind were those thieving salty sailors of the high seas...Pirates.

The skull and cross bones on the pirate hat glow-in-the-dark.

Can’t have pirates on the high seas without a ship.

This ship has already been in a battle...with me. The eyelets and I did not see eye to eye.  It’s a battle ship...it should show some battle scars...right?   

What’s a pirate or a pirate ship without a pirate parrot.  He keeps his share of the booty close.  Dare not to take his treasure!

What a fun time I had with this challenge theme!

If you’d like to receive one of these postcards in your mail, mention it in your comment.  Tell me which postcard you’d like to receive and your name will go in the drawing for that card.  If you want to get in more than one postcard drawing just mention which ones.  I will contact winners for mailing info.

Check out my fellow bloggers that are sharing their Salt and Sand projects today.

March 24
Ms P Designs USA
DayBrook Designs
Vroomans Quilts
Kathleen McMusing
Quilt Schmilt
The Darling Dogwood
Daughters of Dorinda
Annie’s Musings

Christmas Greetings

It’s looking a lot like Christmas inside, outside and on the Web.

And in the mail.

This year’s fabric postcards.  

Question:  Do you have/make odd sewing decor?  I’m just looking to confirm my weird.

I’ve tossed my snipped thread tails in these jars for quite a long time.  A few bits of ribbon and bobs too.  And on the left is the oddest.  I think they are called dog ears.  The bits that stick out when sewing crosswise...like from pinwheels and half square triangles.

Back on the normal front of life is my calendar journal.

Too much personal stuff to cover up.  I just want to get back to life being all fun and games on a daily basis.



I’m working on a Christmas quilt and pillow that I am not thrilled with.  It’s hard to finish a project that isn’t turning out as hoped.  But I refuse to store it unfinished!  They will get done.

Halloween Hauntings

Some Halloween sewing has been happening.

In the stash was a Halloween panel that I bought because I liked “parts” of the designs.  I took a couple of years to get to it.  I don’t always know what I’m going to do with a piece of fabric when I buy it.  Since I’ve been trying to use what I have, it was time for this piece to come out into the light of day.  I have cut it apart and used some of it.

First I made a couple of Halloween potholders.  I framed them with fabric from my massive (to me) Halloween stash.  Mitered corners are not the funnest to do and I’m not sure it made much difference with this particular striped piece.

This was a small image block that I added side borders to make it postcard size. Quilted just following lines in the image.

Then I took a “section” from one of the images I wasn’t overly fond of to make another postcard.  Again, quilting is just following the image lines.



This is the original panel piece (I had already started cutting it apart).

I have yet to make the crows, the skeleton and the tree into something.  Probably potholders/hot plate mat.

Hooray!...more stash reduction!

This next postcard is a section of a Halloween fabric and a section of paper piecing that I didn’t use for the Chillingsworth Wall hangings.

This Bat postcard is my usual style for fabric postcards, raw edge applique.  He is a Quilt Doodle Designs pattern called Going Batty Mug Mat.  I shrank the pattern to fit a postcard.

This spider I have made before but it has been many years.  This pattern is a Patch Abilities, Inc. called Eeek!  The pattern is a wall hanging of 3 spiders.  The medium spider is just the right size for a postcard.

This is my version of the pattern done several years ago.

It’s time to get my postcards in the mail!  Time flies by so fast.  Now that I am officially retired, dates and what day it is means nothing.  I have to make a point of paying attention to that now.

Happy Haunting!