Cousins Buying War Bonds

Several years ago I made this ATC featuring a photograph of my Uncle Keith.  I hadn't been doing vintage collages for very long at that point, but I thought this card was very successful and it's still one of my favorites.  I've been telling myself that I needed to find a way to share this card with Keith's children, my cousins, but it always got pushed to the back burner.  They all live out of state and only one routinely comes to the family reunion.  To be honest, I don't know many of my cousins very well.  There are about 50 of us born over the course of 35 years or so and most of us haven't spent much time together.

Well, last week I found out that all five of Keith's children would be at the family reunion this year!  It would be the first time in eight years that the five of them had been together anywhere.  And it would be the first time that I remember meeting (as an adult), the two eldest ones.  Here was my opportunity to do something.  I decided to keep it simple since time was short.  I made enlargements of my ATC and mounted them on coordinating pieces of cardstock.  I wrote some relevant information on the back and inserted them into clear cellophane envelopes.

And here are my cousins, holding their custom prints!  They were so surprised to receive them and it made me happy to finally get them copies of the card with their dad's photo.  It was a special moment for all of us and it reinforced why I get so much satisfaction out of the type of art I make.

Have a great day!

Those Whom We Have Loved

My favorite uncle on my dad's side of the family has passed away.  The funeral service is not for a couple of weeks so I planned to mail sympathy cards to my cousins, even though I know I will be seeing them at a family reunion before the service.  I still plan to do that, but in the meantime my mom asked me to make a sympathy card that she can give to them in person.

I used my favorite sympathy stamp set from Stampin' Up for the front.  The flowers were colored with Tombow and Marvy markers and stamped without reinking.

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Fuchsia and pink cardstock by Bazzill; whisper white cardstock and rubber stamps from Stampin' Up; Marvy and Tombow markers; Ranger Archival black ink; Cuttlebug embossing folder (scrollwork) by Provo Craft; Stickles; Nestabilities die cut by Spellbinders; pop-dots.

ICAD No. 28 Dramatic Abstract

I'm a notorious night owl and that's when I do most of my art work.  But today I decided to start my day with some art, specifically an ICAD, so I can fill in some of the days I missed.  I also thought perhaps by creating in the morning, I wouldn't dilly-dally around.  And trust me, I didn't!  Maybe I'll have to become a lark.

This ICAD was inspired by the abstract artwork we saw at a local restaurant on Father's Day.  I took a picture of one of the larger prints to remind myself of the style and colors, which I particularly liked.  I created my version using Liquitex Basics acrylics.  I added a strip of book text that was laying on my craft table and the magic happened when I used my brayer to make sure the book text was adhered well.  Some of the paint was not fully dry and the brayer carried bits of it into the other quadrants.  Below is a close-up of one corner where you can see the color variation better.

I'm thrilled with how this turned out.  It has the feel of a monoprint without as much work (or mess).  I just wish the colors would have scanned better: in reality the green is a bit brighter and the orange a bit deeper.  I tried to edit them but they would not cooperate.

Have a fabulous Monday!

Supplies:
Strathmore smooth bristol vellum paper; Liquitex Basics: titanium white, brilliant yellow green, cad yellow deep hue, burnt sienna, mars black and cad red medium hue; book text; paint brush, palette knife; brayer.

ICAD No. 35 September Song

I don't know why I felt like creating an autumn-themed card on such a warm, summer day.  Perhaps the dry, brown leaves I noticed in the yard this week made me think of fall.  Perhaps I'm feeling a little melancholy, thinking too much about how short life really is and how much of it I've squandered.  For the umpteenth time I have had to tell myself to "turn over a new leaf" about certain things.

I was digging through my paper scraps and found a piece of watercolor paper that I had used to clean off a stencil.  I drew a leaf on a text tag using a black Stabilo All Pencil, went over the pencil with a water pen, then cut out the leaf.  I tinted it using distress inks before adhering it to the background.  I added a strip of old sheet music and some stenciling, then willed myself to stop before the card got too busy.  I didn't want to lose all that beautiful white space, which really sets off the other colors.

In case you're not familiar with September Song, I've included some of the lyrics below.  It was originally used in a 1938 movie but has been covered by many artists since then.  My favorite version happens to be by Willie Nelson.

Thanks for popping in!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
140 lb watercolor paper; TCW stencil Mini Time Travel; Dylusions spray ink (dirty martini I believe); text tag by American Crafts; mustard seed, wild honey, spiced marmalade and gathered twigs distress ink; vintage sheet music; Pigma Graphic 1 archival ink pen (sepia); Tim Holtz stencils; Stabilo All Pencil in black and white: Faber-Castell PITT black pen.

September Song

(Weill, Anderson)

Oh, it's a long long while
From May to December
But the days grow short
When you reach September

When the autumn weather
Turns leaves to flame
One hasn't got time
For the waiting game

Oh, the days dwindle down
To a precious few
September, November

And these few precious days
I'll spend with you
These precious days
I'll spend with you

Happy Independence Day!

Wishing you all a joyous and peaceful July 4!

Patio Party - Watercolor

Even though I had work to do today, the weather was just too perfect to stay indoors.  I played hooky for a while in the afternoon and painted this little vignette based on the set-up my mom had made on the patio.

I was trying to emulate the plein air sketches or paintings that some folks do in their journals, especially when they travel.  It's something I aspire to do even if I stay in my own town.  It's not about making a perfect painting; it's about capturing the experience or the feeling at that moment.  So it doesn't matter that the perspective is off a bit, or that I took artistic license with some things.  What matters is that I enjoyed myself, got to play with watercolors, and now have a wonderful reminder of this beautiful afternoon.

Here's the vignette that inspired my painting.  I think I've mentioned in the past that my parents spend the winter in Arizona.  Even though summer has barely begun here, they're already talking about how soon they head south.  So it was no surprise this week that my mom bought a new umbrella for the patio table they use in Arizona.  She found the perfect tablecloth for it at Goodwill, for a mere $2.88!  (She has the best luck at Goodwill.)  Today she set up everything on the patio, cranked up the stereo in the motorhome and just enjoyed being outside.

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Strathmore 5x7 hot press watercolor card; Grumbacher transparent watercolors; Staedtler black  pigment liner sketch pen.

ICAD No. 31 The Scholar

I kind of fell off the ICAD wagon for a couple of weeks.  I am so disappointed in myself (she wrote, somewhat tongue in cheek).  But we're starting a new month so I'm back on the wagon again.

Today's card was inspired by the academic theme that was posted for a couple of days ago.  I've worked in higher education my entire adult life, so the theme is right up my alley.  It reminded me of this old graduation photo I have in my stash.  I adhered a copy of the photo to a page from a 1934 spelling book and then gave it "the treatment" using acrylic paint, distress inks, rubber stamps, stenciling and a rub-on (the round clock-like image).

Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
4x6 index card; page from an old spelling book; photocopy of old photo; Victorian velvet, vintage photo, walnut stain and black soot distress inks; Tim Holtz ruler stencil and stamp; Tim Holtz rub-on; white acrylic paint; punchinella; splatter pattern stamp by All Night Media.