All I Ask - Postcard

I had a birthday RAK to make this month and didn't have any plan in advance, other than that I wanted to use a certain set of stamps.  So I just sat down and started playing, and ended up with this.

For the base I used a piece of watercolor paper that I had already covered with leftover sheet music and book text, swiped with gesso.  I had made this a while ago from scraps during one of my clean-up sessions, stuck it in my big dictionary to press, and just stumbled upon it earlier in the day.  I stamped a variety of London-themed images from Artistic Outpost on the prepared background using Ranger watering can ink.

Big Ben was stamped on a blue patterned paper by Crafty Secrets using the same watering can ink.  My vintage beauty was stamped separately on white cardstock, trimmed, and lightly tinted with distress ink before being adhered.  I added the strips of washi tape to ground the composition.

Thanks for dropping by!

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; vintage sheet music and book page; Golden white gesso; stamps from Artistic Outpost; blue paper by Crafty Secrets; Ranger Archival jet black and watering can ink; Stazon blazing red ink; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; pumice stone, tea dye and black soot distress ink; splatter pattern stamp by All Night Media; Derwent peat tinted charcoal pencil; washi tape.

Love Heart Trio - Valentine Postcard

I sent several Valentine postcards like this one this year.  I started by creating the hearts. I used three different distress inks and the wrinkle-free distress technique on watercolor paper, then cut out the hearts.

The base of the postcard is bristol vellum paper covered with vintage sheet music and book text.  After stamping the sentiment on white tissue paper, I adhered it to the background and sponged distress ink around the edges.  The hearts were adhered with gel medium and outlined with Gelatos and a black Stabilo All Pencil.

The final step was to spatter on some white acrylic paint.  Some pieces just need that extra little touch of white all over to pull everything together.  On this last one, I also sponged on additional distress ink through a piece of punchinella.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Thanks for dropping in.

Love Heart - Postcard

I've created several versions of this Valentine postcard to send to friends.  I like the bright, modern colors which are not always easy for me to work with.  But add a little black and white polka dot washi tape to the mix, and the final result makes me very happy.

I started by adhering torn sheet music and book pages to 140 lb watercolor paper, then gave it all a whitewash using gesso.  Some background stenciling was added next, using distress inks.  The heart was stamped separately on white cardstock, cut out and adhered to the background.  The washi tape was added to ground the composition before adhering the die-cut word.

Have a great day, and Happy Chinese New Year to my Chinese colleagues!

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; old sheet music and book page; Golden white gesso; Tim Holtz and The Crafters Workshop stencils; festive berries, peacock feathers and pumice stone distress inks; heart image by Dina Wakley; whisper white cardstock from Stampin' Up; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Faber-Castell silver metallic gel stick; love die cut from Little Yellow Bicycle; miscellaneous washi tape; Stabilo black All Pencil; titanium white acrylic paint.

May Birthday Postcards

Since May is my birthday month, I decided I should get my act together and send RAK postcards to the other members of our mail art group who are also May babies.  That ended up being five other people!  I knew the only way to accomplish this in a reasonable time period was to make five similar postcards.

I started with a piece of 140 lb watercolor paper cut to A2 size (4.25 x 5.5 inches).  I stamped the word and number collage image using permanent ink (it just happened to have a prominent number 5 in its design, which is appropriate since May is the fifth month of the year).  I then spritzed the card with bubblegum pink Dylusions spray ink and sponged on some wild honey distress ink.  Also in the background is a strip of alphabet washi tape, some sheet music, additional stamping, and white acrylic paint applied through a piece of punchinella.  The birds and the butterfly are both Tim Holtz rub-ons.

The lovely lady's name is Nita.  I bought her picture in a paper arts store that caters to mixed media artists.  I scanned the photo and printed it small enough to make it look like a photo booth photo, although originally it was more like an over-sized wallet print.  To help Nita stand out against the wild background, I matted her on small bits of patterned papers from my scrap bin.  The last touch was to add circles using silver acrylic paint.  I have four different sizes of my mom's old plastic hair rollers; they make great paint stamps!

I had so much fun making these postcards.  I hope they reach their destinations without any problems.  One has to go all the way to Slovenia, so keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; Dylusions bubblegum pink ink spray; wild honey, vintage photo and black soot distress ink; Ranger Archival black ink; alphabet washi tape by Cavallini and Co.; pen and ink background stamp from A Stamp in the Hand; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Tim Holtz alphabet stencil; clock image stamp by Tim Holtz; rub-ons by Tim Holtz; Stabilo black All Pencil; Adirondack silver acrylic paint dabber; white acrylic paint; punchinella; patterned paper scraps; vintage sheet music; vintage photo; Sharpie fine black permanent pen.

Poire Jolie - Mail Art Postcard

The fun and talented leader of our altered envelope group is celebrating her birthday this month.  She does such a fabulous job of keeping the group going, and her artwork is amazing!  Take a moment to visit her blog, A Mynah Production, and you'll see what I mean.  She likes mail art with a lot of layers so I created this postcard to send to her.  Now that she has received it, I can share it with you.

The background started with lime green Dylusions ink sprayed through a chicken wire stencil.  I drew the pear on a separate piece of cardstock that I had colored with distress stains.  After cutting it out I stamped on the numbers.  The red letters have some dimension to them thanks to modeling paste that was applied through a stencil using a palette knife.

Thanks for popping in!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; Dylusions fresh lime ink spray; Crafter's Workshop chicken wire stencil; very vanilla cardstock from Stampin' Up; Tim Holtz wild honey and festive berries distress stains; black and white Stabilo All Pencil; Derwent white and natural charcoal pencils; vintage sheet music scrap; script stamp by Inkadinkado; numbers stamp from Red Lead; Ranger Archival black ink; Tim Holtz letter stencil; Golden modeling paste; Tim Holtz rub on; washi tape; Tim Holtz reinforcer sticker.

My World - Mail Art Postcard

Here's another postcard using the pod cast image from Stampington and Company.  I'm sending this to an old colleague and friend who I just reconnected with.  He has been caring for his mother who has Alzheimer's, so I thought he might enjoy a piece of unexpected mail art.

TGIF!  Have a great weekend.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; tumbled glass, wild honey and peeled paint distress stains; vintage paper distress paint; vintage sheet music; pod image from Stampington and Company; Versamark ink; black embossing powder; Golden embossing paste; gold embossing powder; Tim Holtz word stickers; vintage French postage stamp; round postal cancellation stamp by Stampa Rosa; triangle postal cancellation stamp by Inkadinkado; black soot distress ink; washi tape; Derwent natural charcoal pencil.

No Regrets - Mail Art Postcard

All work and no play makes Miss Iowa a very dull girl!  Fortunately, I got caught up with work this week and was able to reward myself with some art time last night.  I started a couple of different projects that I need to get in the mail soon.

I've had this particular postcard in mind for a couple of months, ever since I did my Bogey and Bacall postcards.  However, this time I was inspired to use more colors and additional stenciling in the background.  I like the juxtaposition of the bright, contemporary colors with the vintage image.  The butterfly and the sentiment are rub-ons.  This postcard will be sent in a clear envelope with an address label on the back so that everyone can enjoy Mae West along the way.  I think she would like that.

TGIF!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; vintage Russian sheet music; picked raspberry, ripe persimmon and peacock feathers distress inks; Tim Holtz and Heidi Swapp stencils; computer-generated photo; Derwent lavender tinted and medium charcoal pencil; Ranger Archival black ink; Tim Holtz and 7 Gypsies rub-ons; Lumiere silver metallic acrylic paint; Adirondack silver acrylic paint dabber; Gelly Roll white pen.

The Bird Sings - Mixed Media Postcards

I created two postcards last weekend but since they were going to folks who now read my blog, I waited until after they had been received to share them with you.  It's the two year anniversary of the "Envie Addicts Unite!" group, and I wanted to surprise the hostesses with a piece of mail art.  Not only do they do a phenomenal job of organizing the swap every month, but they keep the group going with lively conversation.  They have created a community of artists that is truly a pleasure to belong to, and I have had so much fun and learned so much in the few short months that I've been participating.

I was so happy with Marylee's birthday card that I decided to try to replicate the look for my postcards.  I started again with 140 pound watercolor paper, stencils and spray inks.  I wanted to try different colors though, which led to a happy discovery:  the Perfect Pearls Mists I had bought long ago and never found a good use for (especially the sunflower sparkle) were perfect for this project!  I'm not typically a glitter girl but I love the subtle color and shimmer that this spray ink gave to the postcard.

On the other side, I created a bright and festive collage featuring a cupcake by Inkadinkado with two candles (drawn by yours truly).  The postcards are 4.25 x 5.5 inches so they fit into the standard A2-sized clear envelopes that I already had.  I purchased mine from Stampin' Up but I'm sure there are other sources for them. 

Thanks for popping in!  Have a fabulous day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb cold press watercolor paper; Dylusions fresh lime ink spray; Ranger sunflower sparkle Perfect Pearl Mist; Ranger scattered straw, black soot, ripe persimmon, spun sugar, dusty concord and seedless preserves distress inks; Heidi Swapp stencils; Tim Holtz stencil; Tim Holtz patterned tissue paper; vintage sheet music; bird and sentiment stamps from Red Lead Paperworks; washi tape; Gelly Roll white pen; Adirondack black and white acrylic paint dabber; punchinella; splatter background stamp by All Night Media; Adirondack Archival jet black ink; Georgia Pacific white cardstock; Derwent white and lavender charcoal pencil.