week 29 for 365/2 (part 1)

July 14-20

#195 - ICAD #40, 41 - acrylics, stamps; inktense "stitches", lettering

#196 - ICAD #42, 43 simple do-in-front-of-the-TV cards.....micron & watercolor pencils

#197 - MMSA favorite city postcards- I cut up a visitor map for Barcelona as my base and added one of my photos for the sightseeing place on the map.  Top one is Parc Guell designed by Gaudi, well known for his architecture and love of mosaic.  This is a mosaic bench back in the park - so very cool!  Next one lower is Sagrada Familia, the famous church he designed that's STILL under construction and is an amazing vision.  Next down is another Gaudi designed building and finally a closeup of some tile on a museum column.

Though I live in Seattle and absolutely love it and would recommend you all come visit it, as a traveler, Barcelona is far and away my favorite city - I love the striking architecture, the food, the colors, the vibrancy of the city and the ease of finding your way around.  If you ever get a chance to go, GO!

A few of my pics from our visits (we've been twice) and unfortunately, photos before we owned a digital camera, so these are scanned in.

I'm on the mosaic wavy benches in Parc Guell, designed by Gaudi.  It's an amazing park, full of surprises and color.  (my hair wasn't always white! :)

A couple of the spires from Sagrada Familia.  It's the most unusual church design....odd and kind of creepy in some ways, but amazing for it's originality and design vision.....

Barcelona architecture.....

I'll be interested to see what other cities get chosen for this MMSA theme.....be sure and check out the upcoming themes - Karen keeps us challenged and it's always so much fun to get the postcards in the mail.

week 14 for 365-2 (part 1)

March 31 - April 6 - Week Fourteen and still moving forward..... woohoo!

#90 - week 14 of Documented Life: theme this week is to write and embellish your name - oh boy, right up my alley! :)

I've seen versions of this style around pinterest so wanted to give it a try for a while.  I discovered that it's most effective when all the letters connect or overlap in some way - that was kinda challenging and took quite a few practice stackings to get it right......  filled in with watercolor pencils ......

#91 - the current MMSA theme is to make cards using transparent elements.  Another easy one for me (and for most of us I'm sure) to use stuff from my wealth of translucent materials...... the first card, tissues paper, painted pattern paper and the red splotches are on deli paper and the bug is stamped on tissue.

This second card started with a the polka dot and word tissue paper.  Layer some napkin cutouts on top of that and black dots on deli paper.....you can see through all the layers to the blue dots on the very bottom!

#92 - more transparent postcards:  - This card started as a veggie print - you know, stamping with the end of a celery stalk - then added a few tissue bits and topped it all with ribbony tracing paper and washi edges.

The above p/c started with one of my flower photos and is topped with a drawn floral design on tracing paper and edged with washi.

I had lots of fun with the transparent theme and made lots more so watch your mailboxes! :)

week 11 for 365-2 (part 1)

The year moves on (so darn quickly!) and my artsy efforts for this week, March 10-16, are shared below:

#69 - finished the last installment of my round robin zine swap.  This one has tons of transparent layers - tissue, vellum, etc. and all with a springy theme (it's not too early to wish for spring, is it?!) The bird is on a little pocket of goodies for Dori.

#70 - some more birdy sketches - from my imagination and reference photos.....

#71 - zentangle mail art for MMSA theme

#72 - playing in my art journal which I promised myself I would do more of - the base is a gelli print from my art day last week, then painted the negative space leaving my "lotus" flower.  So fun....think I need to add a quote somewhere though.

Check back in on Monday for the completion of this week's artsy projects.

lots of pretty pages

I just got my swaps for one of my favorite MMSA (mail me some art) swaps - the notched journal.  I sent in four and got four back - each one so different and yet all are gorgeous and colorful and filled with charm and originality.  Thanks ladies!

Four GREAT journals

lovely pages from Julie Taylor

a surprising and delightful journal by Judith Hollowood filled with elephants, elephants everywhere!

Leslie's journal is of paste paper - I love the torn page edges and the color combos.

the layers and range of colors in Christie's journal makes it so much fun to look through over and over

Really, if you haven't discovered MMSA yet or have been reluctant to try - please join in. The swaps are fun and it's so rewarding to share in the creativity flying around the country.  The best part?  There's no skill level requirement......whether it's your first ever postcard or you're an old hand at making art, your efforts are equally appreciated and valued.  So go ahead, make a postcard and join in!

look at my smile!

(yep it's me, happy even then :)

I opened my mailbox and what did I spy?  Six (6) most fabulous postcards from the non-paper MMSA swap and another gorgeous piece from Honi.  This is THE BEST!  I love mail art and I love Karen for hosting all these great swaps.  I hope a few more of you that read this will join in - it's easy and fun and no pressure art - just make something pretty or interesting or funny and join in.  Really, your mailbox will thank you.

Here's what was in my box today:

 All drawn, colored and shaped from foil!  from Carroll D.

Collaged on a CD from Ciara N.

My scan didn't do this one justice - its shimmery sparkly threads on a hunk of wood! from Ellen MB.

Painted on a record!  from Gina V.

A piece of a thrifted silk shirt embellished with threads and stitching!  from Leslie S.

A stitched plastic pouch w/ threads inside from Mandy F.

A very cool collage in yellows (plus she sent me a magazine article about creating with found objects from Honi.

If you want to get your toes wet with mail art, MMSA is the way to go - Karen comes up with great themes, you mail one (or as many as you want) card to her, she gathers them all together and sends them back out....you receive as many as you sent.  Easy, peasy. She keeps a running list of open swaps in a tab at the top - hope you'll join in.  Look at the cool stuff you'll get..... :)

MMSA

Mail Me Some Art - if you haven't found this site yet, it's time.  Click the link and explore the wide world of mail art.  It's the best kind of participative art:  it's quick, easy, no-pressure art; it goes out into the world and brightens someone's day; it makes you smile when you check the mail; it can be as elaborate or as simple as you like; it connects you with other mail artists all over the world.  Many of us use bits and pieces from other projects so there's virtually no cost - how can you beat that????

Karen, the tireless, spirited, totally supportive hostess of MMSA continues to come up with creative themes to pique your interest and creativity each week.  Pick and choose the topics or timeframe that suit you.  Make one postcard per theme or make a half dozen.  You get back as many as you send to Karen.  I love that she posts a month's worth of themes at a time so it's easy to plan ahead.....

Green theme - due 3/18

Here are the 4 cards I'm sending for the green theme....

Jean's Collage Sheet - due 3/25
This is a challenging way to make mail art.....someone (in this case Jean) submits a 8x10 sheet of scanned or photo items and we're to create collages using ONLY images from the collage sheet (made bigger or smaller if you want). It can be embellished with mark making, but no more images.  I find these challenging, but that's sort of the fun of it too.

I'd love you to join in and discover the pleasure of mail art!  Visit the site to see the other themes for March.

a swap & mail art news

A quick FYI - I just read over at Inspiration Avenue that they're planning the first swap of the year - Tags with Hearts.  Any kind of tag -gift, luggage, hang tags or even bookmarks - with a heart in the design....in honor of heart month and Valentines.  The early notification gives you a heads up - if you're ready to jump in and flex those creative muscles this early in the year, this is an easy one to get started on.  Details will be posted next week so check their site....

More good news - Karen has posted two new MMSA prompts for January so it's time to get your mail art mojo working...... I'm busily working in blue!  We'd love to expand the number of participants so if you've ever thought about exchanging a little mail art, this is the perfect time to start.  Karen is quick to encourage everyone, beginners or long-time artists, to participate.  Join in, your mail box will thank you.

I got my ATC cards for Sandy Hook in the mail to Jessica (In Search of Dessert) - she provided each participant with a quote to use, so while each card is different, front and back, the sentiment is the same.  I used some of my own photography on some of the cards.

Here's one more tidbit to share - I've decided to join Hanna in the 365 challenge (commit/try to make/do/create 365 of something of your choice - collages for me) and so has Michelle at Lost Coast Post. She's going to make 365 character drawings!  Anyway, she posted a great reflection on tackling a project like this and how to make it more workable.  It's worth a read if you're considering a year long commitment to anything.

art paper swap

Over at MMSA (mail me some art), Karen had a brilliant idea for a swap.  We just had a paper swap - make 3 pieces of hand decorated paper to swap.  I sent off a double batch and just received my six papers yesterday.  How fun!  These women are so talented and my stash now contains some lovely new additions. THANKS

Tammy

Corrine 

Jo Murray

Dori Singh

Ellen Mika-Brown

Gina Visione

Thanks again ladies - beautiful pages!  I'll try to remember to mention when I use one in a project!

easy journal

One of the MMSA (mail me some art) prompts is to make a simple duct tape art journal to swap.  Since I've had this on my mind for months, this seemed the perfect opportunity to get it out of my head and see if I could make one and whether I'd like it.  This particular version is SUPER easy and truly anyone can make one.  So, if you'd like to swap, just click here for the guidelines (hosted by the ever supportive and creative Karen at I am Rushmore) and join in.  You still have 10 days!

By the way, if making a journal isn't your thing, there are lots of other options: postcards, ATCs, envelopes, etc.  I know she's planning on taking a break over the holidays, so if you'd like to get in on one more swap before the holiday madness crashes in, check it out..........

My journal:

Front cover, spine is decorative duct tape.

Right hand page is one of the decorative papers I started at my class with Jane Davies.

You can see the pages are different sizes, making for a really interesting 'edge' treatment.

Using some of my postage stamps from around the world.

I even experimented with sewing a pocket and making some tags.

This is only some of the pages, but you get the idea.  It was SO much fun and I hope whoever receives finds plenty of space to write and journal and even add to the page starts I've created.  Okay, Karen...it's coming your way!