Saturday, March 31, 2012

ATC Saturday: Vintage Greetings

This little girl dressed as a clown is one of my favorite images.  I'm not even a fan of clowns, but something about her expression draws me in.  This was part of a larger image from Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers (now carried by Stamp Francisco) taken from a vintage Valentine's Day post card.

The fan she's holding didn't translate on the scanner well.  I had stamped that portion on shiny wrapping paper, cut it out and glued it to the card.

The background is also from RBBB, with additional fence posts and bridge planks drawn in by hand.  Unlike most of my ATCs, I watercolored this one.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

ATC Saturday: Coffee

It wakes us up, and keeps us going!
I found this large coffee cup at a stamp convention and couldn't resist.  It came from Stamp Camp (I think!) and the little coffee beans in the background were created with one tiny bean stamp from Leavenworth Jackson.   The sentiment is from an alpha originally by A-muse-ing (now 100 Proof Press).

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Get Ready

If you live in the U.S., National Post Card Week is quickly approaching.  The dates for 2012 are May 6 through May 12th.

Here's how it works.  You create a postcard using any medium that you desire.  Then you scan it, and print it ( I used UPrint last year and I highly recommend them.)  How many you print depends on how many you'd like to send out (and receive back from others).

You then contact Demaris and ask her to put you on her mailing list (scroll down the page to find instructions).  She will then email you a list of addresses to which you will send your shiny new NPCW postcards.

Note:  It is important to collectors that your postcards are sent during NPCW.  They pay attention to things like postmarks.  Some collectors request that you send your pc in an envelope; others prefer them sent "naked" (no envelope).  The list you will receive from Demaris will have those preferences noted beside each address.

If you choose to rubber stamp your design (and I hope you will!), then please consider sending a postcard to RubberStampMadness.  RSM has stated that they'll include a selection of cards in a future issue! Send to: 
RSM Postcard Week 
PO Box 610 
Corvallis, OR  97339

If you'd like to have your card printed in Barr's Post Card News, send one of your postcards to:
Barr's Post Card News
National Postcard Week
PO Box 720
Vinton, IA 52349-0729.
More info about that can be found on Demaris' site.

This is what I sent out last year.  I took the advice I read on Demaris' site and included my name on the front of the card, the dates, and which NPCW it was (2012 will be the 29th).




I recommend printing at least 50.  Send some to your friends and relatives in addition to the deltiologists involved in National Post Card Week.

See you in the mail?
I hope so!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Welcome, Spring

Just a quick postcard to celebrate the warm weather.  It's 81* in Michigan today.  Unbelievable!

Blue butterfly from Oxford Impressions.  Yellow butterfly from 100 Proof Press.  All others Beeswax.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

ATC Saturday: Solstice Greetings!

This year the Spring Equinox begins on March 20.  With its increase in daylight, maybe the moon will get to catch a few more z's?

I really should have used my Solstice Greetings stamp--maybe next time.

This week's ATC features a starry background from Stampscapes, and a sleepy moon from Alice In Rubberland (now out of business).  Additional stars were stitched on using DMC metallic gold thread.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

ATC Saturday

Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are original works of art that measure only 2-1/2" x 3-1/2". You can read more about ATCs here and here

This is a freebie I made for use as backing sheets for ATCs.  Simply fill out the information, affix to the back of your card(s), then trade away!  Another helpful link shows you how to get ten ATCs from one piece of cardstock (I should've used that method when creating the backing sheets!)

Announcing ATC Saturday
...in which one stamped trading card will be featured.  If you're new to ATCs, check out these swapping sites:  ATCsforAll and swapbot for inspiration and to start trading.

First up:  Faux Postage featuring the Wise Owl.

100 Proof Press provided the blank postage frame image.  TooMuchFun carries the tree w/owl image, and the other owl is from Grey Wolf Graphics.  The background is a postal cancellation stamp that many companies carry.

Starting with a blank postage frame means cutting masks--both mortise masks (negative) and regular (positive) ones of the image.
In return for time spent cutting masks, you can create a virtually unlimited array of faux postage designs.

Art Saves Lives

I believe it!
The challenge was to use newspaper as a major portion of the postcard.
RSM readers, welcome!