• Art - Blog - Creativity

    Butterflies everywhere

    May 17, 2020 - By 

    I’ve been sending so many more cards and little care packages since the stay-at-home order began. I had to order more stamps and really needed to make some new cards to replenish my stash.

    These are my favorite type of cards. Little bits of scraps, snippets from magazines and whatever else finds its way into my scrap bin.

    In 2015, I wrote an article for Sew Somerset describing my process for mini-collages such as these. I now see them all over YouTube in the junk journal community. They call them clusters.

    Without even realizing it, most of my recent creations featured butterflies.

    collage postcard collection

    Even most of these collage postcards I made for my MIL.

    One even found its way onto one of the tags I made from the off cuts of the postcards.

    Maybe I just have mom on my mind. She was nuts about butterflies. They always make me think of her.

  • Art - Creativity - Kitchen

    T Tuesday: mixed media edition

    April 13, 2020 - By 

    Who knew that inspiration could strike while randomly gluing bits and pieces of paper from the scrap bin. Seriously…this is too weird. I was feeling the need to craft something…anything. I had watched a couple of YouTube videos of folks making these insanely beautiful collaged papers. Of course, the bits and pieces that they used were amazing. Pieces that I wouldn’t be “just trying to use up”. But this thought got me to put paper and glue together.serendipity background beginnings

    I started with a double-page spread from a children’s music book. I added bits of paper from my scrap bin until I was pleased or in this case…just “done” with this process.serendipity background

    Not bad right…not super but workable. I added some washi tape, stamping, and stickers.

    Next, I took the sheet to my guillotine cutter and needed to decide how to chop this up.

    serendipity background

    I decided on three postcards and several tags or perhaps journal cards.

    I added some paint and embellishments to the postcards before adhering them to plain paper. I then ran them through the sewing machine to make sure everything stayed firmly together.

    serendipity postcard

    serendipity postcard

    serendipity postcard

    Super fun!serendipity background

    These are the completed pieces that are ready to use. The gaps are still WIP. Not sure what I’ll do with them but that’s ok.

    I had so much fun with this process that I made another collage sheet.serendipity background

    I have 5 postcards and 2 tags with a fun springtime vibe.

    I made this sheet on Saturday…before this happened on Sunday.Merry Eastergiving

    SNOW!! What a crazy weather day. Mini-me and I decided that we should say “Merry Eastergiving” since the outside said Christmas, I was making a Thanksgiving style meal with turkey, all on Easter Sunday for just the 4 of us.

    The card in the collage above was made by a sweet friend of mine.  She is a tremendous card maker. I’ve been sending more cards lately. A card in the mailbox is a tiny bit of joy I can send someone. Just getting a handwritten card by a real person these days is nearly cause for celebration. We need that these days.

    Distance learning continues at our house…both on the teaching and learning ends of things. chromebook styleMy school issued Chromebook is getting a workout. Stickers optional but fun indeed.

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?
  • Blog

    Postcrossing

    May 12, 2018 - By 

    After a bit of thought I decided to give Postcrossing another try. In 2011, after completing the second of two postcard books with traded postcards from both Postcrossing and Swapbot, I took a break. A long break as it turns out.

    This is the postcard I’m sending today. It is heading to Russia. After looking up the postage cost I am beginning to remember why I quit. Oh well. We’ll see how long I continue with this 

    I have a stash of vintage postcards from our trips and travels as a kid with my parents. This is the Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge in Colorado. I can remember the feel of the bridge under my feet. I think perhaps this was one of the experiences that gave me my extreme fear of bridges.