Altered Rolodex Fun

I'm trying my hand at making altered rolodex cards.  What's a rolodex card you ask?  Yup, I know - this will date me considerably, haha.  Before computers, before cellphones, to keep track of contacts and their information, they'd be written or typed on a card set in a circular (or flat) holder that you could flip through.  Hence the notches at the bottom of the card.

Anyway, this is my first few altered cards that I've made and I have to say, I think I'm addicted!  I've been a bit conservative with my collages, but I feel like branching out and getting a bit more adventurous now that I've figured out how to go about it.  Those notches are definitely a little difficult to maneuver around.

This is the back side of the card above.  (It's true - I'm terrible with straight lines!)  The pretty toile paper above is some giftwrap that I had left over.  

This one I made as a little thank you to my art friend that inspired me to create these.  She was so generous to send me blank cards to get started!  There's apparently a device to cut out card blanks from cardstock that I'll be looking into.  Otherwise, you can maybe find an old rolodex set at a thrift store or maybe online.  

The hearts are cut from a gelli print that I did awhile ago.  I love being able to use up scraps of pretty paper.

This is the flip side. I really don't have a theme or even think about what these collages mean.  It's just stuff I have around that I like to use up.  I guess that's part of my creative process - seeing things emerge as I go.  

I apologize for the light glares on these phone shots.  My work table is tile and cleans up like a dream, but I'm finding that it glares quite easily.  I can fix that though in the future, no problem.

I painted the background with acrylics, used a marbled paper that I did with the shaving cream technique (older post) and some cutouts from magazines and a beautiful stamp one of my friends from England sent me.

Used an old book page for the background and some antiquing ink to age it a little.  I seal all of these with a matte sealant just in case the ink might come off on anything.  I'm not quite sure that it's necessary as I use permanent, waterproof inks, but I like the feel of it after it's been sealed as well.  

This is the other side of the above card.  It's also the bottom half of the image of the lady I used on the other side.  I don't know - why not, ha!  I added the rose because the title could be for either.  I'm not sure my antiquing was all that effective.  Does it look like it's just dirty?  

Well, it's always fun to try new things, especially when I discover them to be fun and a rewarding experience.  I hope you're trying new things too!  

ATC Swap

Here's a couple of ATC (Artist Trading Cards) that I made for a recent art swap.

The theme was Sealed with a Kiss, and the one requirement was to have "kissy lips" somewhere on the ATC.  Well, I guess mine doesn't really apply very well to the theme.  But, when I sat down to create - this is what came out. 

I use a lot of tribal imagery in my paintings.  I've always been interested in different cultures.  

I made these on a heavy watercolor paper.  Used a marbling technique for the backgrounds and finished up with stickers for the lips and acrylic paints.  These are 2.5 x 3.5 inches in size.

Fingerpainting Swap

Today I sent off four postcards I made for an art swap.  

The theme was fingerpainting.  Well, I don't mind getting messy, so I decided on some colors and smooshed them around on the card stock that I had cut into postcard sizes.

Rules allowed the use of a stencil if you used your fingers to push the paint through it.  I don't have very many stencils, but I found an old fancy paper cupcake holder and used that to make the turquoise highlights.

I'm always on the lookout for items around the house or outside that I can use in my art.  The more unusual - the better!  :)

Easy Marbling Technique

I finally tried the shaving cream marbling technique.  And I'm so happy I did.  What fun!  And it was easy!  

There's videos on Youtube that can easily be found.  But basically, it's just putting shaving cream (bought at the dollar store) into a shallow pan, putting a few drops of acrylic paint on top and then swirling it around to make a pattern.

Then whatever paper you want to "print" on, just put it on top of the swirled paint and lightly press down.  Push around to all of the edges so it gets pressed down all over.  Peel the paper off from the paint/shaving cream and use a ruler or squeegee to scrape the excess off from the surface.  Let dry.

I made some papers and also did a few envelopes.  I protected the envelopes with a matte sealant so they could be sent through the mail.  

Here's some pink papers and envelopes that I did because I loved how the blue colors turned out.  

Think I'm inspired to make some in more autumnal colors next!

And I hope you're inspired to give this easy technique a try!

Feeling Like Halloween

Wooooooo - doing some spooky Halloween themed postcards and envelopes to send out to my like-minded art friends and family.

This Dogman is headed to Wisconsin to someone that has an interest in the many reports in that area.  Of course, I've never seen one, so I have only my imagination to draw from...I think he looks rather frightening.  And it was fun to create a subject matter I'm unfamiliar with.  I'm hoping our postwoman will be entertained.

Here's some colored pencil silhouettes that were fun to do.  I usually do something like this while watching football or whatever program we happen to have on.  I'm kind of partial to the Haunted House.  That one's headed to Scotland.

And here's some less scary options for those that don't like a spooky theme or don't recognize an All Hallows' Eve type day in their country.  I'm not done creating yet, but I'd better get on it or they'll miss receiving them this month.  

It's been awhile since I've posted on this blog.  We downsized this summer and the move was a bit stressful and hectic.  I hope now that we're getting settled in the new (and it sure feels little) place, I can contribute here a bit more often.  Thanks so much for checking in.  Please excuse quality of photos here today, I took them with my phone instead of the Nikon.  

All of the above were created with colored pencils and ink on cardstock or plain white envelopes.

Feeling Kind of Tribal

I've been meaning to do some portrait pieces of different tribes.  So tonight I did a quick painting of a woman from the Karo tribe of Ethiopia.

This represents how they paint their faces with ochre and chalk.  The dots mimic the feather patterns from guinea fowl or from leopards.  They also take ochre and animal fat and wind their hair into little pellets that makes it appear that they're wearing a sort of hat.  I don't think I quite captured how that really looks, haha.  

This is acrylic on bristol board made into a postcard to be sent off to a new art friend in Singapore.

May she travel well...

My Weird Valentine Art

Yeah, this is another of my art collage postcards...it's been so much fun to put these together.  I wanted to make something to do with Valentines Day, but wasn't sure what.

So, I just look through some magazines and old books and find this and that and start throwing them together.  I don't even know what they mean or what message I'm going for half the time.  If it has an overall unity and the colors blend well - it's done!  

Here's the flip side.  Once again, it has nothing to do with the front side.  Oh, well - who cares?!  It was fun.  And the best thing - time escaped me.  When I start getting into doing art, and I have no idea that hours have gone by - that's the best feeling!