Distant Shores - Envelope Mail Art

I created a postcard for my partner this month. The front features a photo of an actor cut from a magazine from the 1890s (amazing what one can find at a garage sale!), part of a vintage map and two old postage stamps.

On the back, I combined some new ephemera (the butterfly and the red label), with some old ephemera ( the postage stamps and the book page), and some rubber stamping.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

You Are the Cat's Meow

A couple of weeks ago I went to a local brew pub to hear a band that plays Prohibition Era jazz music.  The band was absolutely fabulous, and in addition to the music I was greatly entertained by a group of folks dressed in 1920s attire.  The ladies looked fabulous in their flapper dresses, but I think my favorite was the guy in a vintage football uniform, complete with soft leather helmet.  Ever since then I've been itching to make a card using some 1920s-themed stamps in my stash.

I used patterned papers by My Mind's Eye to create the background and a Spellbinders scalloped oval die to cut out a large opening before adhering it to my black cardstock base.  The focal image by Artistic Outpost was stamped on another patterned paper from the same MME collection, die-cut, and adhered to the card with pop-dots.  The flowers are by Prima.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a terrific day.

Supplies:
Black cardstock by Bazzill; patterned paper by My Mind's Eye; stamps from Artistic Outpost; black Ranger Archival ink; frayed burlap distress ink; flowers by Prima Marketing; oval and scalloped oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders; EK Success scalloped border punch; black ribbon from my stash; frayed burlap Distress Stickles; black Stabilo All Pencil; pop-dots; corner rounder punch.

I Want To Ride My Bicycle

I'm woefully behind in sending birthday cards to my friends, so my goal this month is to make a bunch and get them sent, even if they are late.  The recipients will be really surprised, won't they?! 

This card features patterned papers by Heidi Swapp and a bicycle die by Spellbinders.   I heat embossed the sentiment and added some Sticklers to the flower and to the bike for a little bling.

I no longer own a bicycle, but I have many fond memories of the ones I had as a kid (banana seat, anyone?), especially the bright yellow Schwinn ten-speed that I got for my birthday in 8th grade.  I was as tall then as I am now, and that bike took me all the way through college.  I don't think I've been on a bicycle since then, other than a stationary exercise bike.  That really is a shame.

Have a fabulous day!

Supplies:
Black, silver and white cardstock by Bazzill; patterned papers by Heidi Swapp; bicycle die by Spellbinders; sentiment from Stampin' Up; Versamark watermark ink; black embossing powder; oval, scalloped oval and banner dies by Spellbinders; flower by Prima; brushed pewter Stickles.

Tap Tap and In My Garden - Art Journal Pages

Hello all!  It's been a while since I had anything to post on my beloved blog, and I have missed it.  Sadly, my dad was diagnosed with cancer in August.  To say that it's been a rollercoaster ride is an understatement.  And even though I know in my head that doing some art would be good therapy for me, I also knew that my heart just wasn't in it.  However, I think I've finally reached the point where I *need* to make some art.

So tonight I went to an "art journal junkie hangout" at a local art studio.  This was not a class, but simply an evening to spend working in your art journal.  Now, I would not say that I am an art journaler.  It's something I aspire to, and I have several different journals that I've started working in (one dating back three years already!), but I just haven't been able to establish a routine and stick with it.  Still, I haven't given up on myself.

I threw that old journal and a bunch of supplies into a tote bag and headed out for a fun evening with 10 other art journal enthusiasts.  One of the main supplies I took was a 12x12 plastic container stuffed full of paper scraps left over from previous projects.  In that container I found this woodpecker illustration and some sheet music with the lyrics "Tap, tap, my sturdy fellow."  I used watercolor pencils to extend the tree to the top of the page. That's some washi tape on the left side.

The other half of the spread features the remnants of a watercolor painting I did a year ago, a butterfly cut out of some Tim Holtz tissue paper, scrapbooking paper and the title of a song.  I actually did this page first.  Oh, and I should tell you that both of these pages already had some green patterned papers glued onto them, that I covered up with a layer of white gesso.

I'm not sure if either page is fully done yet, but for tonight I can't think of anything more I want to add to them, and I'm not going to force the issue.  The main thing is that I enjoyed myself tonight and created two pages that make me happy.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
Strathmore 5x8 Visual Journal and other supplies as noted above.

The New Art! Bah! Envelope Mail Art

This is the altered envelope I sent to my September partner.  I thought the quote from an old novel was fun so I built a collage around it using random items from my stash.

The base is a 6x6 red envelope by Bazzill made out of textured cardstock.  I gave it a thin coat of white gesso and then removed some of the gesso by laying a honeycomb stencil on top and wiping with a baby wipe.

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great weekend.

You Are Here - Tag

I haven't felt like creating much lately, but I did manage to squeak out this small tag that will make a sweet bookmark for someone.

I found the "You Are Here" stamp at a craft store and thought I could have some real fun with it, since I like to use old maps a lot in my designs.  I used a scrap of a map on this tag, although most of it ended up underneath the photo booth picture which is a Tim Holtz product.

Thanks for dropping by!  Have a wonderful day.

Supplies:
Tag from The Paper Studio; vintage map and textbook scraps; photo booth image by Tim Holtz; You Are Here stamp by Stampabilities; Little America postal cancellation stamp by Inkadinkado; splatter pattern background stamp by All Night Media; alphabet stencil by Tim Holtz; peeled paint, tumbled glass, gathered twigs and vintage photo distress inks; Ranger black Archival ink; Wendy Vecchi watering can Archival Ink; polka dot washi tape; Stabilo black All Pencil; gold seam binding.

G is for Gymnast

Sometimes I agonize over a collage for far too long and still am not happy with the results.  Other times a collage comes together as easily as hitting a home run.  What?  You don't think it's easy to hit a home run?  OK, maybe it's not.  And yes, I know I'm mixing sports analogies here.  But if you've ever played baseball (or softball), or even just watched a game, you know almost instantaneously when that bat has connected perfectly with the ball.  The batter's swing appears to be effortless.  The ball takes off at an optimal arc.  And you just know that baby is going over the fence.

This collage was kind of like that.

It started with the perfect pitch:  an 1897 magazine article (with awesome photos) on the training of professional gymnasts.

The magazine images connected perfectly with a "G" card from a 1938 game called Quick Wit.  G?  Gymnastics!  Anything with legs?  My fabulous gymnast doing a one-armed hand stand.  (I didn't get a scan of the complete "G" card I used, so here's a sample of an "O" card.)

An effortless swing through my vintage ephemera netted a graphic from a 1942 math textbook.  It showed a group of children playing a bean bag game (G!  Game!).  Turned upside down, the circular image made a perfect mat for my gymnast to balance on.  And hey!  More legs!

Finally, to put my collage over the fence: a bingo card with the exact same yellow and red tones as the other images.

Home run!

As I leisurely round the bases, I have time to tell you that the style of this collage was inspired by Randel Plowman, collage artist and author of The Collage Workbook: How to Get Started and Stay Inspired.  It's one of my go-to collage art books and never fails to energize me.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now go out there and swing for the fences.