Lately...

I've been making altered post cards, trying to find which substrate (base) that I like best, and trying out a few different media (paints, collage, stamping).

Late last summer, right before Ike hit, I started working on this 4x6-inch substrate size by making 4 APC's for a Post Secret swap ( **go here** to see them). The swap was with 4x6 Expressions yahoo group. As I was beginning to make cards for my second swap, Ike hit us.

Well, there went that. Six months later, I finally found time to get involved again. My old friend Diva, as it turned out, is the new owner and I answered a call for moderators. So now I do the topic of the week. I also joined several of the swaps because I only have to do one card per swap if I want. I won't risk my life on it by holding my breath, but I think I might can handle that. :-)))

I like this group's mix of members. There are representatives of various styles: magazine collage contempary, vintage scrapbook, drawing, painting, stamping, multi-media, and digital. We just had a trading frenzy on Sunday and I only got 2 cards made for it and could have traded twice if not triple that number. Our next one is in July and I vowed to be more prepared because it was fun!

"Sacred Spirit" is one of the ones I made to trade, and also my first one made after my long post-Ike hiatus. It began as a page torn out of an elementary curriculum textbook that I painted and stamped and glazed on to make background paper. I liked the illustration that went with the Indian folklore story about The Quillwork Girl, so I colored it with pencils, watercolors and dye inks, then I laminated it with my Xyron to protect it. The lamination's adhered right onto that background paper I cut so that the title of the story would be showing along the long edge. That's adhered to a piece of cereal box that I gesso'd to make stronger and then painted. It's a very well-made APC, and I was able to use a lot of the same techniques I use in making ATC's. :-))


In other news, my loverlicious friend Rose in the UK (also a 4x6 Expressions member) honored me on her blog last week and I am really touched! She's a sweetie and I love how resourceful and creative she is. I think I first connected with her fantastic journal pages and then she joined my Art Share and then I recruited her for the post card art group because she was making those, too. She has also tagged me and since that is a personal list I will do that on my Antics and Rantics blog the next time I post over there.
Thank you, Rose! xoxo

Now, I must pass this on to 8 bloggers who exemplify givers in my online community. I need more than 8! So, I will just go with my old-school long-time blog friends who I usually think of first, anyway:

1. Nancy
2. Linda
3. Lida
4. Sarah
5. Benita
6. Jill
7. Tina
8. Shirley

Until next time,