Day 8 of Art Every Day Month brings us to the final bunny. Mr. Postman bunny is going to a friend who is a big mail art proponent and occasionally dons a postal uniform for mail art shows etc.
Other creations today included two spreads in my itty bitty Moleskin journal. It measures 3.5" x 5.5" closed, and folds up with flaps to make an envelope out of the covers. It's quite clever.
I have one more rabbit in progress and then that's it - no more! I hope you aren't sick of them yet (I confess I kind of am after doing 11.5 of these cards!).
Today is Day 7 of Art Every Day Month (one week done!). These are today's creations:
My goodness, it's like a bunny assembly line here. AEDM Day 6 brought three more bunny rabbits, all fellows.
Today was day 5 of 30 for Art Every Day Month.
Well they do say that rabbits multiply quickly - yesterday there was one, and today brought three more. I decided these would be a bit more feminine. Words are from an old sewing book a friend donated to me to rip up. If you missed yesterday's post, these are ATC size.
I had a lot of fun making these. I still think yesterday's was my favourite so far.
Two things to show for Day 4 of Art Every Day Month. I made this ATC potentially for a swap but I'm afraid it is too damn cute to let go of! Do you ever keep your swap items? I guess I could make me an extra one but I only have 12 bunny heads... We shall see!
Then I worked on this cute little mini moleskin journal using some of my leftover paints from yesterday's postcards. I was not very happy with it, but decided to throw some magazine silhouettes over it. I kept it sketchy with a Sharpie instead of using paint. I am kind of liking it now - it may be growing on me.
Sorry I haven't been around to many participants' blogs. I am busy with work and other responsibilities. Juggling in aa daily art project and more web time isn't going as well as I'd hoped. I will do a big catch-up on the weeken if not before. Thanks for looking!
I'm participating in a couple of swaps with an online group I belong to that are based on the colour pink:
3 ATCs that I modeled after my "bubble gum" ATC made awhile back:
I also made two pink postcards for a swap (one shown as they are both relatively the same):
I also made a BD card that is going to the US for the end of the month. That wonderful butterfly woman stamp is from Stampington & Co. and I believe it can still be purchased new, even though it is several years old. The background paper is something I've had lying around for ages.
I have been wanting to get back to my Sketchbook Project journal - I am determined it won't be last minute like it usually is (I think I mention that each time I post about it). At any rate, I managed to get two more spreads done. I have three spreads left and something for the cover. Should be a snap before January...right? And if you have been thinking about signing up you still have time - sign ups close in October and books are due in January. Go here for all the details!
This first one was inspired by one of the Daisy Yellow Daily Paper Prompts. I'm so far behind now I'm doing them all out of order, which is perfectly fine. Anyway, this was all about stamping circles - using objects to stamp circles that aren't necessarily meant to be stamps.
I used the top of a pill bottle, the ends of several pens and the bottom of some paints and inks to make these circles except for the ones with the black lines (flowers?). They were painted on a dictionary page with acrylics, doodled "petals" and then cut out and glued to the page. Then there was more doodling and smudging - fun times!
The next page was NOT inspired by Dr. Seuss as you might be guessing, but by an ad for a local (not restaurant, no.. not fish place) hair salon that I saw as I was riding the bus the other day after my car broke down (all is fixed now and under warranty too - a happy ending if ever there was one).
In case you cannot read my faint (and also messy) handwriting at the bottom, it says "I need the sea close by so I can breathe". As a person born and raised in a coastal town I miss the sea almost as much as a person when I'm away.
These pages are together in my book and they share that "window" between them. I made it using a window envelope and a swirly transparency.
I made a couple of ATCs this week as well as part of Daisy Yellow's Fun Colour Challenge. I have mentioned the concept before - pick a colour from one list and a theme from the other. I botched the first one - I picked "bubblegum" as my colour and "the sun" as the theme - well the sun wasn't on the list! It was on the Daily Paper Prompt list though, so I have a pink sun that still fulfilled a challenge. I had a good laugh at that but at the end of the day I do like the card.
I threw everything pink at it - sharpies, ink and Neocolour IIs - and wondered when DID I get all these pink supplies? It is not something I usually reach for, but I will say I like this. finished with red pen & blue Neocolour II.
So then I turned my attention to the real list of prompts - I chose bubblegum again and "happiness". I think as a kid I'd have been pretty please with myself had I blown a bubble this size!
Bascially the same supplies as the sun card + a piece of dictionary.
The other paring I chose was "black" and "magic". Lest I get a bunch of voodoo practitioners or enthusiasts railing against this as a stereotype, remember the colour (background) is black - I'm not saying this cute little doll would be used in "black magic" - in fact I imagine hime to be quite benevolent. He looks about as threatening as a gingerbread man.
I did complete one more Daily Paper prompt earlier in the week - it was simply "paint lines". I kind of dismissed it when I read it but thought I would still give it a go. It was relaxing and fun, and it also helped me learn a lot about loading up my brush with watercolours, how far they will go, how they blend or not, etc. as this is a relatively new medium for me - I think it looks like a tartan.
One more ATC I made for my mother since I liked my Leo one I made last week so well - my mother's BD was in July so instead of making her wait almost a year I just gave it to her yesterday.
Those are the bits and bobs of my week.
Some circle-themed Artists' Trading Cards I made this week for a swap:
Started with a watercolour background I was not too keen on. Then I made circles with high-flow acrylics, sprayed with gold Smooch and then blotted. Outlined with a black Sharpie.
I also made two cards for the Daisy Yellow Fun Colour Challenge (where you pick a colour from one list and a topic from another and make an ATC) - so much fun.
The first was violet / batik
My faux batik was done using clear tar gel over an old dictionary page. Mine is quite old so thicker than it wouldnormaly be. I had so much I was able to place another page on top and get two. I also used a chopstick to apply it, which is partly why it went on thicker than say a brush. Once that was dry (overnight) I sprayed with purple Dylusions inks and blotted. You could do this with other materials - I have done such things with clear embossing powder and Radiant Pearls - remember those?! And gel medium should work also - anything that will dry clear and resist the ink (or paint).
Then last night I picked garnet / horoscope
I'm thrilled with this but it sure doesn't look anything like my original idea! I have a nice lion head stamp that's perfect size for an ATC and also a small rabbit stamp (my lunar year). I wanted to combine the two but couldn't find that darn lion anywhere! After briefly considering drawing a lion (pfft - way too much work!) I turned to my trusty old dictionary and there was this magnificent beast. Sadly there was no room for bunny, but still I like the way this turned out.
I've made quite a few ATCs this week.
First up is one of four I made for a swap with the theme "Autumn Moon". This can be interpreted as harvest moon or as the Autumn Moon Festival, celebrated in China (that I confess I didn't know about). I chose the latter:
I started with a background of acrylic on bristol board paper, purple and blue swiped with an old plastic card. I painted a dictionary page with an orange/red mixture of acrylic and hand cut my moons. I didn't want them to be punch-perfect. After I glued the moon down I stamped the lantern and Asian characters with black ink. I painted another book page with green/gold acrylic and stamped the lantern again, this time cutting out only the main part of the lantern. I lined it up and glued it down on top of the other. White gel pen accents were added at the end.
I sent them out in decorated envelopes:
For the envelopes, I started with a smudge of white gesso, painted on a moon free-hand, and then stamped over with this lovely bamboo stamp. Easy peasy.
The prototype Autumn Moon ATC was made with Derwent Inktense Blocks. No layering, just stamping and colour.
I rejected it because it was too simple and I wanted more vibrant colours but now I'm looking at and thinking I might actually like it better than the ones I ended up making. Do you have a preference?
I made these last night for an upcoming jack-o-lantern swap. Painted with acrylics and the black background is black gesso. White gel pen.
I have also made a few ATCs based on a new series of prompts from Daisy Yellow called the Color Fun Challenge - I did three this week. The first was the lemon doodle on my previous post. I chose two more prompt combinations - the first was Citron and Forest:
The second combination was Vermillion and Mysterious: