Color Me Swappy

Thanks again to iHanna, I'm making art and posting here today!  

I had so many watercolored papers, gel prints, and other art papers

accumulating in my stash, and thought I should use some of them

for my cards this time. But how to use them?

The papers were all so yummy that I thought it would be cool

to combine as a many of them as possible onto each card.

Weaving strips seemed to be the best way to do this.

It was a bit tedious, but it really had me looking closely at each

bit of paper, and it became a meditative process.  

Color is hugely inspiring to me, so the cards became little color studies.

I stood at my kitchen bar, as I have been sitting a lot lately...

and I don't need an Apple Watch to tell me I need to stand!

They look like little quilts in this photo, I think.  Maybe that's good for a Fall Swap!

A couple of my favorites from the stack.

A good "hand".

I am sending these today, but I think I will put them in envelopes this time. 

They need a little protection to arrive in good condition at their destinations!

Can't wait to start getting cards!

I hope all my swappers enjoy these.

Thank you for stopping by!

XO

Sarah

Swap Happy

Time again for another iHanna DIY Postcard Swap.  

I've just resigned myself to the fact that

if it's all the art I do twice a year,

it's the art I will blog about.

I could vow to blog more, make more art, etc., but right now, I'm going to

give myself credit for making art and sharing it...making it and just

sending it away, to others who are making art

and sending it away.

It all started with a binge of making foam stamps, in faith, 

knowing one day I would use them to make art.

(I was inspired by Traci Bautista's printmaking lesson on Strathmore's website

where they have free workshops.  Sign up for a student account!)

So I made a bunch of prints on watercolor paper that I had colored-up with 

goache...a long time ago...just playing with the goache...going nowhere...until...

...these goache-painted papers got printed up with my hand-made foam stamps!

Playing with these foam stamps is a messy business...pure joy!

Then, I decided the postcards I cut from these papers needed more art.

And the doodling began.  The papers were bright and inspired a swirly doodle...

But I was a bit impatient, I learned,
because the different paint surfaces (not thoroughly dry)
had a disturbing effect on my various black ink pens.
One by one, the Sharpies (brand new!) stopped working
on the different paint finishes.

I switched from pen to pen to finish all the postcards.
Fortunately, I had just hit a sale at Staples on Sharpies sets!
It was meant to be!

The last component, inspired by what I had made,
I started thinking about the word "psychedelic"
and decided to look up the definition.

I created my own "dictionary" entry and printed it out, knowing
I would do an adhesive transfer to get it onto each card.

Packing tape would not do...but I had these self-adhesive laminating sheets.
Perfect!
It's important to have your copies laser/heat printed...no inkjet prints will do!

I cut the adhesive transfers a little bigger than the cards
and wrapped the edges around, then glued on a postcard back.

Everything safe and secure for the journey to my swappers!

I hope you enjoy your cards, my friends!

Thank you for visiting!

XO

Sarah

a layer of loveliness

Oh yes...winter....  Time for another iHanna DIY Postcard Swap!

This time I was torn between two ideas, and this one won out because it took less time...

...but at least I already have a plan for the Spring Swap!

For these cards, I was inspired by the leftover paint on some transparency film I use 

to hold my GelliArts printing plate down while I'm making prints.  

There was a bit of randomness here and there; 

haphazard, unintentional art, on this see-through surface.

And when I put it over some of the gel prints I made, it created this cool effect.  

This was the perfect project for me right now.  

Creating without thinking, just letting the layers create themselves.

I decided I would add some paint to the transparencies while I was making the gel prints.  

Just cleaning the brayer and allowing it to roll off the edge of the scrap paper onto the film, 

or cleaning the stencil and adding a "stamp" of sorts to the film.

I made quite a few gel prints, but I stuck to the Bristol (card stock) prints for the postcards.

It was fun seeing how the transparencies and prints went together.

I decided to sew the transparency to the card stock, and threw in a magazine clipping...

...an inspirational word that would just "float" between the layers.

 And a sweet bonus!?  All the scraps of transparency and gel print that I have left to play with!

 THANKS FOR VISITING!  

XO, Sarah

Greetings from 92007

Once again, ihanna is giving me a reason to make art.  I love her for that! Her spring DIY Postcard Swap is in full swing and I am receiving mail art every day.  That is a real treat.  It is also a wonderful excuse to drop everything and make 10 postcards to send out in the mail.  

I decided to create a series inspired by the California beach town that I call home.  

Everyone who lives here is grateful everyday for the beauty, atmosphere and community we share.  

I wanted to share it with some fellow artists that live far away.

[photo by Tess Gardner]

I started with a State Parks of California map, 

and wrote all over it with a big Sharpie, 

all the words and phrases I could think of 

that describe our amazing life here.  

It was a big map and there were a lot of words! 

 Over that, I brushed a coat of gesso

and then scraped on some blue hues of Golden Fluid Acrylics:  

Cerulean Blue Deep, Teal, and Manganese Blue Hue, 

the colors of the ocean and sky in Cardiff by the Sea.  

I took this photo with my iphone today, no filter!

Then, I set to work making packing tape transfers using my Gelli Arts gel plate, 

following this tutorial video.  So much fun!  

These I layered on top of the painted map pieces, added some hand drawn palms with black Copic marker and rubbed on the letters.  

Thanks for visiting!