It's Time to Pick the Postcards!

Kat, over at Kay Eye Studios, hosts a wonderful post card swap every year. You can read the details here.  I've participated for four years now and always really enjoyed it. You can find my posts about the swap at this link. Every year, I spend some time going through my photographs to see which ones will show well as post cards. This year, I have many to choose from coming out of the Still Life Photography class that I took this year, as well as some photo outings. Here are the ones I'm sending:

These first two were taken at Filoli Gardens, where I spent a wonderful afternoon with Alison of Life in the Slow Lane.

This one was taken in San Francisco's Mission District where I toured the murals with Jacky of Scrappy Jacky.

These last two were taken in my home, as part of Kim Klassen's Still Life 52 class I participated in during the first part of the year. I think they are a pretty good representation of me as a photographer, and they will all show up well on a post card (most got more tightly cropped when converted to post card size).
Are you joining the swap? Do you have a favorite among these cards?

Happy Valentine's/Post Card Swap Day!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I'm not a huge Valentine's Day girl in general, but this year, the holiday was made much sweeter by Sian who organized a wonderful February postcard exchange. I received wonderful post cards from Karen of Random Reflections, Jo of curly scrapbooker, Melissa of Daily Life - Bits and Pieces and a lovely card title "rules are made to be broken" from someone whose name I couldn't quite decipher (Cylie, maybe???).  I love them all! Thank you so much! Were you in on the swap? Have all yours arrived yet?
This is the post card I sent out to my recipients:

I hope they arrived safely and that you have a love-ly day!

It's Time to Pick the Post Cards!

Kat Sloma, over at Kat Eye Studio, hosts a wonderful post card swap every year. I've participated three times now (see all my related posts at this link), and I have always really enjoyed it. You send five post card and receive six in return - they include mixed media and photography. It's so much fun to get art in the mail! 
I also really enjoy perusing my photographs to decide which to include on my post cards. Here are the five that I have chosen for this year:

I find that it takes some effort to find photographs which I like and which I think will also look striking on a post card. I like this selection because each one will show well on a 4x6 post card and because it showcases the variety of different types of photography that I do. 
If you would like to participate in this year's swap, there's plenty of time. The post cards aren't due to Kat until March 14, 2015. You can read more about the swap here. Have you participated before? Are you going to play along this year? If so, have you chosen your design yet? Either way, let me know which of my selections is your favorite. I may just send you an extra!

Seasonal Creative Projects Pt. 1: Finishing Up; Starting Anew

Now that I've been blogging for several years, I have found myself participating in certain annual creative projects over and over again.  I enjoy the rhythm this gives to my blogging; the feeling that I am becoming less of a newbie blogger and more of a wily veteran. Over the next few days, I will share where I am with some of these. In the Spring, I enjoy participating in Kat's "Liberate Your Art" postcard swap. Although this year, I neglected to post the postcards I received and failed to participate in the blog hop.  So, before I move on to my next seasonal endeavor, I wanted to take a moment to thank Mel for the blue trees (miss your blog Mel!); Miriam for the ferns; Kat for the autumn leaves; and Helena for the ocean waves. Some of these were bonus cards, which make them even more sweet.

I also received "Theory of all Fates" from Anne-Camille Tongleux and "Dotson's Restaurant" from pdbennett.  Photography has been the most traditional image on postcards in Kat's swap, but this year, I received some fun mixed media images, too.

Thank you Teresa for the heart, Debbie for the collage and Susan for the gratitude reminder.  Even though I am tardy in posting these, please know that each one touched my heart and was much appreciated!
What's up next? I'm going to participate in Summer of Color 4, hosted by Twinkle, Twinkle. 

I did this last summer and really enjoyed it. I made postcards, using acrylic paints and quotes. You can see my creations by clicking on this link.  This summer I decided that I really wanted to do something three-dimensional. I thought about dominoes or wood blocks. I also toyed with the idea of prayer flags made out of plaster, but ultimately I have settled on little bird houses. Little, tiny bird houses, like these.
And, of course, I'll be hosting the 2014 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt, starting June 1. That's just around the corner!

Are you participating in any summer creativity projects? 

Time to Pick the Postcards! (need advice)

Kat Sloma sponsors a wonderful world-wide art exchange called "Liberate your Art." The idea is simple - print up five postcards featuring your art, send them to Kat, and in return you'll receive six post cards from other artists. I've participated for a couple of years and really enjoyed it. If you want to sign up, check out this link. 
I'm doing photographs this year, but I've done mixed media in the past. I'm in the process of selecting the images I plan to print up. I like to do five different images, but many people just print up one. Here are ones I definitely plan to use. 

I think each of these will look really good on a 4x6 post card, and I am proud of each one as a photograph. I want to include one more image, and I want it to be from the plum harvest series. Which of the following do you think I should use?
#1 plums on a fence:

#2 plums in a basket:

#3 harvest basket:

#4 basket on the lawn:

Thanks for your help, and let me know if you're going to join the swap. The more the merrier!

PPF/SOC: A Summer Afternoon

The color pair for the last week of Summer of Color, hosted by Kristin at Twinkle, Twinkle is sepia and sage. I loved this combination and had picked out a quote to use, but once I finished creating my postcard with acrylic paint and stencils, this Henry James quote seemed to be a better fit: "Summer afternoon - summer afternoon, to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." 
I've really enjoyed the Summer of Color, and I have one extra post card left. So, I'm going to continue to play for one more week.  If anyone wants to join in, feel free to come back here next Friday and I'll set up a linky. The color palette will be red/orange and sky blue!
Let me know in comments if you want to play along.

PPF/SOC 5: Heat Wave

The color palette for this week's Summer of Color Challenge is yellow and candy apple red. This made me think of the heat of summer and decided to simply drip red paint over a yellow background (hoping it wouldn't read too much like blood). I was so pleased when I found this Steven Wright quote to complete my post card. Dedicated to my friend Deb Turtle and everyone else sweltering this summer.  Linking up to Paint Party Friday, as well!
There's only one week left in the summer of color challenge, but I have a couple extra post cards, so I might continue to challenge on my own (using some of the combos that I voted for but which didn't get chosen). Anyone else want to play along for a few more weeks? If so, let me know in a comment and we'll figure something out.

Feeling Up, Up, Up in the Glue it Tuesday Lounge

I love the Glue it Tuesday Lounge, hosted by Aimee of Artsyville, because it allows me to play with my large assortment of papers and collage elements in a stress free environment. This week, I made a pair of mini-collages inspired by the "Feeling Up, Up, Up" challenge at Jennifer's Onwards and Upwards Blog Event this past weekend.  They are both about letting go, being creative, being happy and living your life! Similar bases of paper scraps for both, layerd with an Elle Studio journaling block, collage images from my stash and some stamping.  These were such fun to make and make me really happy!
A shout-out to blog friends who have sent me some happy mail lately (click on the image to see an enlargement):

Suanne Brauer sent a prize package which included the journaling blocks, along with a little journal and other goodies; Melissa of Daily Life - Bits & Pieces sent me an RAK; and Jessica Sporn sent a wonderful water color blog prize with a fantastic quote from Henry Miller.  Thank you ladies for the happy mail!
If you like the look of these little collages, come back on Thursday when I'll have some cards also inspired by pairing the journaling blocks with my collage images. In the meantime, why not check out the Glue it Tuesday Lounge by clicking on this link.

Liberate Your Art Blog Hop

For the third year in a row, I participated in Kat Sloma's Liberate Your Art swap. The purpose is to take the leap to reproduce your artwork and then to share it with the world (in postcard form). Last year I sent out these two postcards (one mixed media; one photo) and received this wonderful assortment. This year, I went with photography and sent out the four post cards above.  In return, I received:

Red Barn #4 from John at artjuv.enation. His wonderful mixed media creation was a bit of a surprise because I sent him one of my post cards, and he spontaneously decided to reciprocate. Thanks John!
"A Picture is a poem without words" from Jill at Finger on the Shutter.
"A Little Flakely" from Granny Sharon

A wonder train crossing from Linda Sewallius. It had this wonderful Rumi quote, "Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love."
"Tillage" from Laura Lok of Stamp Mouse Photo. I loved her Daniel Webster quote, "When tillage begins, other arts follow. The Farmers, therefore, are the founders of the human civilization."
And last, but not least:

"Adorned and Alone" from Kat herself! She sends a postcard to everyone in the swap - can you believe it? You can click here to go to Kat's blog where she has a slide show featuring all the postcards received - 216 in total!
"Good Travels" from Christine in Germany.
I love participating in this swap and hope Kat continues it!  To see other swappers, click below:

"Liberate Your Art" Blog Hop

The Amazing Kat Sloma organized a massive postcard swap for the second year in a row.  Titled "Liberate Your Art," the goal was to reproduce your art work and distribute it to others around the world.  I made two post cards (you can see them here) and ended up with two spots in the swap. I blogged about the first batch of cards I received in this post.  Today, Kat is hosting a blog hop for participants, and it's a great opportunity to share the rest of what I received.  The "Love" postcard is from Teena; "Plant a Smile" is from Jenna Kannas; and the poppies are from Elissa.  Each one had a special meaning for me - the to one had a message "I pray that Love and Kindness enfold the story of your life" - which really spoke to me. The sunflower reminded me to garden. And the poppies - oh how I love poppies!!!

I also received two beautiful photographic postcards:

The top one is from Kat herself! And the second one is from Michelle. They are both so peaceful and dreamy.

If all goes according to plan, you should be able to click on this link to hop around and see some of the other participants in the swap. There's also an amazing video featuring all the postcards at this link ! It's definitely worth checking out. Thanks Kat!

Thursday's This & That

Good morning all! I recently participated in Kat Sloma's Liberate Your Art postcard swap.  I've received some wonderful post card size art in the mail.  The sunshine one is from Deanna Swauger, and the collage is from Karen Smithey.  I also received these:

"Hello" from Janice Darby; Horse from Shelly G; Church from Cara; and roosters from Cinda Bauman.  Aren't they all wonderful?

In other news, Shimelle Laine's annual September class "Learn Something New Everyday" starts on Saturday. I received an email reminder yesterday.  I've done this class a couple of times. This is the mini-album I made in 2010, and you can read my review at this link. I am going back and forth about whether to participate this year. I have a visual journal I could use or a mini-album made of pennant shaped chipboard that has been gathering dust in my closet. Is anyone else going to participate?

Finally, it's been a while since I've shared some music.  Here's a very funny Train video (okay, you have to have a little bit of a dark sense of humor to appreciate it). 

If you're in the mood for something a little softer and beautiful, check out this video of Keep it Loose, Keep it Tight from Amos Lee.

Finally, I love everything about this song and video.  Upbeat, great visuals and a fantastic message.  It fits my upbeat mood this morning because Paul came home from the hospital yesterday! He had a long stay battling an infection, and we are thrilled to have him home. Enjoy your day and keep your eyes on the prize!

Monthly Make: Swap Postcards

For the second year in a row, I'm participating in Kat Sloma's Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap.   The purpose is to take some of your art (photography, poetry, painting, etc.), reproduce it, put it on a postcard and then send it out to be enjoyed by others. Kat has about 300 people sending in sets of five postcards, which she will then swap out and send away. I have two potential postcards to swap.  The first one (up top) features one of my favorite photographs. I love the lines in it, the colors, the sky and the flavor it gives of the harbor near my home.  Here's my second possibility:

It features a mixed media collage.  I'm not sure which one to submit for the swap. Opinions welcome!
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I'm calling this my "monthly make" for July. Monthly Make is sponsored by the Felt Fairy.

Mail In/Mail Out and Pass the Book Recipient

I'm afraid I've been quite derelict in acknowledging some wonderful goodies I've received in the mail.  Ginger of Ginger's Life of Spice runs a wonderful mail art exchange, and, through that, I received a gorgeous package from Ruth with all kinds of goodies! Thank you Ruth!  I've also recently (or not so recently!) received lovely pick-me-ups from Ginger and Amy.  I love getting "good mail" and so will be reciprocating by sending out a few things in the near future. Here's what the outgoing looks like:

It's also time for me to "Pass the Book."  The next recipient of Raw Art Journaling is Amy!

I will be sending it along shortly.

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Today I am grateful for: the moments of calm between the storms (quietly doing homework together or snuggled on the couch watching Hawaii 5-o).

Mail Art: Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap

I'm participating in the "Liberate Your Art" postcard swap sponsored by Kat Sloma. We sent here five postcards featuring our original art, and we receive five back from artists all over the world! It's very cool. These are the first two postcards I received. The one of the left is from Petra Kern.  She lives on the other side of the world (Ljubjlena, Slovenia) and makes beautiful art in a style totally different from my own. The excellent zentangle on the right is from Karen in Idaho. She quilts, zentangles and art journals. So much fun to discover new artists and bloggers. Have you received anything fun in the mail lately?

Good Mail Day!

I had so much fun yesterday taping and gluing bits of paper together to make some mail art.  And then, today, when I went to the post office, I found the fantastic envelope above filled with this beautiful card:

They came from Denise of Chocolate Mousie as part of the mail art exchange organized by Ginger at Ginger's Life of Spice.  Aren't they fabulous!!!
So, what am I sending out?  I taped two of my post cards from ATC's together and then filled the interior with paper and embellies from my stash.  Here's a sample (outside on the top and inside on the bottom):

And here's what my envelopes look like:

They were so much to make! Have you received any "good mail" lately?