Julie's Challenge

Julie our list mom for Advanced Postcard Swaps....came up with a week end challenge based on my blog entry about using color crayons. We had the week end to do some ATCS...(artist trading cards). As of this afternoon...Julie and I are the only ones playing...I guess we have too much time on our hands....or maybe we are the only ones with broken crayons.

Here is my ATC card...am hoping others will sign up...as I have already made other fabrics using my crayons, rubbing plates, and heat gun.

July/August Postcard Swaps

Have been busy trying to finish up all my July/August postcard swaps so I can focus on other things. I thought I had taken pictures of all cards...but somewhere along the line I missed a few...two old phrases, one mermaid and one spider. But here are the others- one spider card, one Voodoo doll card, one mermaid, and 3 stamp and fabric cards. I really got carried away with the stamp and fabric swap...have always admired altered books, journal covers and the like ....so tried to do my cards like that. Husband said that they might be too busy...so will offer to replace any one's card who doesn't like it.

That Old Box Of Crayons

As I was surfing around the other day I came across the following web page of Daniel Kaufman.

Daniel Kaufman

He is an artist that is making beautiful work with crayons and a heat gun. There is also a 7 minute video on his web page that shows him working with step by step directions. I saw it and had to try is on a piece of muslin....I came up with a real wild piece that I cut into squares and then put on a postcard...just for fun.....the piece turned out pretty good...and with a little more effort on my part could have turn out really well. If you get a chance check it out. I love discovering new techniques using old products...everyone has broken crayons in a box somewhere...go dig them out or sneak into your kid's crayon box and try this technique.

Here is my quickly made piece using his techniques:

One More Turtle

Here is the last turtle for the swap.

Back To Just Me

The grand kids and their parents pulled out for Memphis around 7:30 this morning...leaving me and Rufus and my hubby to adjust to the quiet. Rufus seemed to be at a lost...he followed me around and every time I sat down he was all over me...he definitely misses the girls as they played with him all the time. I thought that I would run upstairs and start playing in my sewing room...but I was just really lazy today.....yesterday while the gang did their last big fling at the beach I did finish one of my Sea Turtle postcards for an upcoming swap, I tried something different and was really pleased with the results. So thought I would share. I did the background fabric as usual on muslin using my watercolor crayons (I wish I owned stock in these as much as I praise them), then attached the background fabric to the card. Then I drew my turtle lightly with pencil...and here is where the experimentation came in...I mixed my watercolor crayons with Gesso....would rub the crayon on card stock and instead of using water .... dipped brush into Gesso...applied color....it was great...no running...easy to shade...also could paint over mistakes. Then went in with permanent black thin marker to add detail lines. I believe that there are a lot of uses for this quart of Gesso that I found under my cabinet....it works great on canvas, wood, or card stock...so why not just plain fabric.

Here is my first card....no stitching yet but you can see how well the Gesso allowed the color to lay on the fabric...it really was easy to paint...now thinking about mixing it with just pure watercolor from tubes...or even use it with watercolor pencils...Gesso....Gesso....Gesso!