Play Time!

Finally some time to play!  This is about how much sewing I feel like doing.  And that’s only because Antoinette likes it when I sew for her.  It’s been a while since I baked a fabric birthday cake.

This mixed media cake has fabric, thread, a bead string, rubber stamped candles, gem stones and Washi tapes, all on card stock.

From there I went to Pinterest for some inspiration to play some more.  I was inspired enough to try new techniques and supplies that have always seemed scary to me.  

I love the Tim Holtz paper dolls, but now I have them I don’t know what to do with them.  That baby is an odd shape.  I thought I was being pretty clever putting her on the man’s shoulders.

This is all watercolors and the dreaded Gesso.  I’ve set my mind to get along with Gesso.  We have not been friends.  I used texture paste over an alphabet stencil.  I tinted the texture paste too dark.  Painted over it with Gesso.  Then it was too light!  So, more watercolor then some shading, added lines behind the family with rubber stamping and finally some “fake” splatters in white and black.  

This was all experiement and not comepletely unfortunate.  So out into the world of mail art it went.

That was encouraging, so off I go to try more!

Watercolor Experiments

I've taken a couple of watercolor experiements and turned them useful.

This one turned into a postcard and went off into the mail.

Even the address side was stamped using watercolor paint.

This one turned out nothing like it was in my mind.  I wasn't sure which way I would use it.

Turned the opposite direction I saw a blue forest across the lake.

I needed a birthday card for my granddaughter who loves skulls at anytime of the year.  And blue is her favorite color.

This is what the blue forest turned into.

I'm glad some of my experiments are being useful.

Vintage Gentlemen Postcard

This week at the Sunday Postcard Art challenge blog, the theme is VINTAGE GENTLEMEN.  They are some of my favorite people for art.

I didn't take process photos as there wasn't much plan for this postcard.  These were most of the supplies I used.  He just surprisingly came together.  I kept thinking this card was going to go to the trash along the way, then suddenly it just felt right.  

I used the die to cut the upper left corner of the card then glued it over a dark paper to peek through the holes.  I then stamped my vintage gentlemen.  I put a mask over him and stamped the unreadable words behind him.  I then added washi tapes, trimming them around him.  Finally adding some shading around the image. 

The correspondence side.

Happy Mail Day! 

Steampunk Cards

I bought a new stamp.  Thinking the bird would work well cut out and placed on any variety of backgrounds.  I didn't like him cut out.  **sad face**.  I was immediately sorry I bought the stamp.  I have too many stamps that stare back at me with the look of 'why did you buy me?' 

But I have been admiring lots of art made with blotches of watercolor with a stamp image over the top of the color.  I love the ones I see.  I don't yet understand watercolor and always end up with a brown mess.  I decided to try the style/technique with Distress Inks.  

There aren't process photos because I never think anything will get past the rubbish bin.  What I did was use an orange Distress ink pounced in the center of the card where I thought the bird would land using a little dauber thingy.  Then went around the orange with the lime color.  Then I spritzed it with water. Dried it a bit with paper towel.  That took off too much color so I just lightly daubered it again.  No more water.

Then I stamped the image with Archival black ink.  After that I added some touches of teal in small areas with a foam make up tool.  I then used more foam make up tools to add deeper color to the bird.  Splattering my art uncontrollably scares me, so I "dotted" the piece with a black maker and a white gel pen.  In the end I added some wood and metal gears here and there.

The envelope was next.  That chevron stamp is another one I love and can never figure out what to do with it.  I think this worked pretty good.

Here's how I colored in the chevron with daubers. 

I love this lettering guide.  It requires the use of very fine pens. I use my Juice .38 gel pens.  I love the very fine lettering I get.

Ready to mail.

I love how this Thank You card turned out.  So much so that I couldn't part with it until I tried to reproduce it as an art postcard that I could use for my postcard swaps.  No one could be more surprised then myself that I managed to be successful with this reproduction.

I'll definitely be trying this style again.

Happy Mail Day!

Valentine Mail Art

For me, it is such a joy to collect the day's mail and find some mail art from a dear one to wipe away the disappointment of junk mail and bills.  So I love making that happen for others.  Not to mention that it's the best excuse to keep playing!

This card is my favorite.  The photo doesn't really show its 3-D appearance using pop dots and beads.  I made an envelope from old paper I never seem to choose for anything.

This postcard was fun to create off-the-cuff.  Why can't I remember to take a photo BEFORE I address the mail??? 

This art postcard got made because I wanted to try that idea of adding an h and an e to the "follow your art" rubber stamp.  I found a piece of cardstock that I had played with awhile back for  a water coloring technique.  

I've decided I love creating Valentines as much as I love creating Halloween art.  Well, at least this year anyway.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

xxx

Annie

Vintage Romance

This week at the Sunday Postcard Art challenge, we are challenged to create a VINTAGE ROMANCE themed postcard.

I hadn't intended to play as the notice came up a bit late for me.  But I was working on a birthday card and thought the background I made would work well for an art card.

I don't normally take process photos as I never know whether it will be a waste of my time.  I took some this time since it was my second try at this background.

I started with these two scrapbook papers.

Then I die cut these two background pieces.

Then a tiny bit of stenciling and little bit of rubber stamping and gluing and ink tinting and I suddenly realized I had a vintage romance postcard.

I had to stamp the correspondence side with my vintage Private Mailing Card rubber stamp.

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie  

Sepia Garden

The Sunday Postcard Art theme this week is SEPIA.

Time to jump in and play.  I pulled several Sepia bits of paper out, cut them up then stitched them together.  After that a splash of color was needed.

And the back is ready for finishing when the recipient is known.

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie

Just Because Card

I so seldom take the time to make a "just because" card these days.  So it felt quite refreshing to do exactly that.  My daughter will be so surprised.

I bought a hearts set of rubber stamps that I have been resisting for almost 2 years.  But now I had to have them.  My Valentine card for my daughter is already done, but I so wanted to play with these heart stamps.  So a "Just Because" card was just the ticket.

I begin with an A2 (4.25" X 5.5") card made from 140# smooth white cardstock.  

When I only have one sheet of a scrapbook paper design I love, I photocopy it then cut the photocopy to the size of my card front and spray glue it on.

  Next comes all the fun stamping and inking.

And then when I love how the card turns out, I have a terrible time letting it go.  This one I thought would make a fun art postcard (that I could keep). You'd think that would be simple but it took 3 tries. And the postcard is a bit longer, so the larger heart worked better here.

I think this design has room for another play day.  I can see adding a small stamped "h e" in front of "art" to change the sentiment to "Follow your heart". Do you see it?  :-)

Happy "Just Because" mail day!

xxx

Annie

Halloween Postcards

These Ghastlie Witches were sent to Washington to haunt there permanently.  I know they'll do a good job of it.  Best keep one eye on these ladies, Opal.

The address/correspondence side.

Ms. Skellie is out again and she's gone to visit her biggest fan, my daughter.

For the address side I found these sticker portraits that change faces at certain angles.

Creepy fun!

Have a fun spooky week!

xxx

Annie

Postcard Mail Art

A couple of new mail art postcards have traveled a long way to arrive at their destinations.

This one was for a fellow bicycling enthusiast.

Scrapbook paper, rubber stamping, coloring and shading with stamping inks.

This one was for an animal lover.  Those of us in the USA will recognize the Geico camel.

Scrapbook paper, rubber stamping, junk mail (camel) and shading with stamping inks.

Happy Mail Day!
xxxx
Annie

Harvest Moon

HARVEST MOON is the theme this week at Sunday Postcard Art.

That falls right into my need to make a few Halloween greetings.

It is a simple make.  The background is scrapbook paper.  I love scrapbook paper as it takes away the hard part of creating a background that I find so hard to do.  The moon is three shades of orange Distress inks, and my Nevermore Raven stamp over the top.  Then a bit more distress ink around the outside edge.

The correspondence side...

Again, scrapbook paper, then I stamped "Post Card".

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie

Ready to Haunt

This week's theme on Sunday Postcard Art is LEAVES.

I took this opportunity to get started on a Halloween greeting.  

The spooky tree is a stencil, the bats and small leaves are paper punched, the rest of the images are die cut.

This postcard will have to travel in a clear sleeve, so I haven't yet decided how I want to do the back address side.

Happy Haunting Soon!

xxx

Annie

Walk Your Pets

This week the theme for Sunday Postcard Art is WHEELS.

I actually started this postcard for last week's theme of PETS.  Needless to say, it didn't get done.  I struggled with the background.  When I finally gave up, I checked what the next theme would be.  Wheels.  My pet walking cart has wheels!  I still had a chance to finish this postcard.  But I was still struggling with the background.  

I worked on the background, but I didn't like it.  Not one little bit.  I finally decided to cut out the images and use my favorite background technique of finding a scrapbook paper that would do the job.  It came with sunshine.  I added Wink of Stella to the fish for his glistening scales look, but the camera doesn't pick it up well.  The tiny silver dots is the very fine Stella glitter.

 

The correspondence side...

Happy Mail Day!

xxx

Annie