We´ll Always Have Paris

You´ve probably heard the phrase "We´ll always have Paris", a sentence that Bogart says to Ingrid Bergman at the end of "Casablanca" and that evokes romantic images and memories of happy days in Paris. This is what I tried to reflect on my ATCs for the swap with this theme over at the Paper Traders Yahoo Group. And as it´s hard to stop once you´ve started making Paris themed cards, I´ve also made a hostess gift card and two more ATCs just for fun ...

Postage People Revisited Blog Swap Update No. 6

It´s time for my weekly update though I don´t have much news for you today. When I returned from my vacation on Sunday, I found envelopes from Jo, Kati, Lillian and Peggy in my mail, but I haven´t received any emails with links to finished ATCs from other swap participants - maybe you´re all working on your ATCs right now? I really hope so, because your ATCs have to be in my hands in about 5 weeks. Considering that international mail takes up to 2 weeks (if it´s sent in a regular business envelope) and we have a postal strike here in Germany, you should start working on your cards now if you haven´t already ...

Melange Mash Up and Journal Words

What a great, colourful image kit Marsha made with her Melange Mash Up kit that came out today at MischiefCircus.com! I´ve made two digital collages with it for you, "Lohengrin" and "Sing". And to show you that these images can easily be used in your cut and paste artwork, too, I´ve also made the cut and paste journal page in my Moleskine journal that you can see below; the kit comes with png images as well as 14 collage sheets with jpg images.
And if you like the words I´ve used on these pieces, you should have a look at Tumble Fish Studio´s new kit Journal Words 2 that was also released today: I love the design of those words and am sure I´ll use them a lot!

Meow

For this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge themed "Furry Friends", I`ve made a card using the wonderful cat stamp from Stampers Anonymous/Brett Weldele, and additional stamps from Catslife Press and Flamingo Art.

Postage People Revisited Blog Swap Update No. 5

As I´m still on vacation, I can´t tell you which ATCs arrived in my mailbox since Friday, but I have two new links to finished ATCs for you - you´ll find Gina´s ATCs as the first three pics on her Pinterest board, and Marita has posted her ATCs on Pinterest, too. As neither of them has a blog, please leave your comments on their pinboards if you´re able to, or on our swap pinboard of course.
I´ll be back home on Sunday, and I´ll let you know then if your ATCs arrived in the meantime.
If you like Postage People but haven´t signed up yet, you might consider joining us because there´s plenty of time left before your ATCs have to be in my hands on June 30 ...

Postage People Revisited Blog Swap Update No. 4

Here´s Agent No. 5, presenting this week´s swap update!

Our swap is running for four weeks now, and there are more than seven weeks left before your ATCs have to be in my hands. Last week, I received envelopes from Peggy (with the first part of her ATCs) and Solvey.

And here are a few links to the latest finished swap ATCs from Birgit, Solvey, Lillian and Kati. Please have a look at their blogs or photo albums and if you like what you see, don´t forget to leave them a comment. Their ATCs have also been pinned to our swap board at Pinterest.

There´s still time to join the swap, so if you´d like to play with us, just send me an email.
Have fun creating!

Stencils

For this week´s Sunday Postcard Art challenge, I´ve picked "Stencils" as my theme as there are so many ways to use them - you can spray, stipple or sponge through them, or you can scribble within their openings, and you can even use digital stencils in a similar way.

For my sample card above above, I´ve used the four stencils below in different ways, and I can´t wait to see what you´ll do with stencils for your own postcard this week.

Postage People Revisited Blog Swap Update No. 3

Mr Galilei says welcome to another swap update! Did you realize that this is a really international swap? Right now, we are 26 artists from 8 countries, from Germany, the UK, Finland, Brazil, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, and the USA.

The first envelopes already arrived from Liz, Alexandra, Sabine, and Sirkkis.

And here are this week´s links for you: Please have a look at the posts from Alexandra, Jo, Sirkkis, and Peggy and leave them a comment if you like what you see. I´ve already pinned their ATCs to our swap board at Pinterest here.

There´s still plenty of time to join the swap as all cards have to be in my hands before June 30.

Melange

Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio has come out with some unusual Full Page kits called "Melange", and I´ve used Melange 3 for my cut and paste Moleskine journal page above, and Melange 2 for the page below. Have a look at them and get inspired!

And in case you´ve missed the lovely kits from Hidden Vintage Studios recently, I have some bad news for you that you can make good news for you if you´d like to go shopping during Tracey´s retirement sale here:

Postage People Revisited Blog Swap Update No. 2

Nofretete is juggling with balls, and I hope that you´re already juggling with ideas for your Postage People ATCs!

Two of you have already finished and posted their ATCs:
Have a look at what Liz and Sabine have posted, and if you like what you see, please don´t forget to leave them a nice comment. I´ve already uploaded them to our Pinterest swap board.

I´ve had a few more sign-ups last week, so now we´re 23 artists from 8 countries in this swap.
If you decide to sign up, please don´t forget to send me your snail mail address so that I can put you on my swap list!

Welcome to Everland!

Marsha from Tumble Fish Studio and Hollie from Holliewood Studios have come out with lovely collaboration kits called "Everland" today at MischiefCircus.com. I´ve combined both kits in my digital collages "Fairy Magic" above and "I Believe" (with a Flaubert quote) below.

Postage People Revisited Blog Swap Update No. 1

Last week I announced my blog swap for this year, and  I´ve already had 20 sign-ups from 7 countries for this swap. I´m sure that many of you will feel inspired and some will join the fun soon! 

To send you in the right direction, here are a few more Postage People samples (not all of them ATC sized!) that haven´t been on my Pinterest inspiration board last week - I´ll upload them now for future reference.

There´s also another Pinterest board just for this current swap that you´ll find here. This is where I´ll upload the ATCs made by all the participants in this swap.

If you´re feeling inspired now and consider to join us, please read the announcement post carefully and remember: There´s no sign up date, but don´t forget that your ATCs have to be in my hands before June 30. Can´t wait to see your Postage People ideas! 

Announcing my 9th Annual Blog Swap: Postage People Revisited!

It´s time again for my Annual ATC Blog Swap! This year´s theme is Postage People Revisited, and I hope you´ll be inspired by it!

I´ve had a Postage People Blog Swap in 2008 already which has been a big success, and after all these years I thought we should have another one. If you don´t know what Postage People are, please have a look at the samples on my Pinterest Board here.

And there´s also a video on Postage People on my Youtube channel where you can watch me making a card and searching for the right images.

The idea is to mix postage stamps with collage images, stamped images, or even handdrawn images to create new creatures. The heads on the postage stamps can be human as well as animal heads.

I´ve seen some bad examples on the internet of heads not really fitting their bodies, so I ask you to do your best work and really try to find a perfect match! I often draw on the postage stamp to continue the outline of the shoulders. Use your imagination and tell us the story of your new character!

As always, you can use any technique you like - you can stamp, collage, draw, sew, or work digitally (if you use at least one tactile element). So if you join the swap, be aware of the fact that you won´t necessarily receive ATCs in the same technique that you used yourself.

Please sign up via personal email (just click on the link in the sidebar) and let me know your snail mail address. There´s no sign up date.

Then send 3 ATCs (each of them has to be 2,5 x 3,5 inches or 6,4 x 8,9 cm) to my address (that I´ll send you when I answer your email) so that I receive them before June 30, 2015.

There have been some issues with slow mail last year, so please do NOT use a padded or large envelope for your ATCs if you´re from overseas – if you do, the envelope will be held up in the customs for 3-8 weeks! Please do not send any extras for the recipients of your cards, no lovely small envelopes or little gifts please as I would have to pay the extra costs to send these to the recipients!

I will pay the return postage for all international players if you send a little something with your ATCs (trust me, there´s enough space in a business envelope to send along a few stamps, unmounted rubber stamps or ephemera).

If you´re from Germany, please include a return envelope with sufficient postage on it.

As always, you´ll find updates on my blog with links to all participants´ ATCs. So when you´ve finished your ATCs, please send me an email with the link to the place where you´ve posted them online, and I´ll add that link to my next update so that everyone can go to your blog or other website to have a look at your artwork. And we´ll have a Pinterest board again here as a swap gallery for all to visit and comment. Please don´t forget to comment on the other artists´ blogs if you like their cards – we all like a bit feedback, and this swap is all about connecting and getting to know other artists!

Please read the rules again before you decide to sign up and please read the newsletters that will be sent to you if you sign up. I´ve had many issues with people not following the rules last year, and I really have to be sure that you do.

 I´ll send out invitations to all previous participants, but this swap is open to all my blog visitors. Have fun creating!

Eggs

This week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge is "Eggs", and as we´re allowed to use other than Easter eggs, I´ve made a card with my favourite bird, nest, and egg stamps from Red Lead. Happy Easter and a sunny Spring to all of you!

Full Moon

This week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge is "Full Moon / Eclipse", so I`ve pulled out my Goddess Diana stamp as she´s not only the Roman goddess of Hunting, but also of the Moon (besides Luna), as well as the protectress of women.
I have used stamps from Cherry Pie, Stamp Francisco and Red Lead for my card as well as a lovely planets tape.

Vagabond Adventures

Vagabond Adventures is the name of the latest shopwide collaboration over at MischiefCircus.com that came out today - and it´s wonderful!
I´ve been playing with Tumble Fish Studio´s part of it for my digital collage above, called "Coming Home", and the cut and paste Moleskine journal page below, called "Luggage Lady".
And I couldn´t resist shopping a few of the other designers´ kits and get the large free add-on kit!

Egg People

Yes, it´s that time of the year again, time to blow some eggs and paint your Easter eggs! You already know that I do that every year together with a few friends, and it´s always great fun and sort of a happening.
I´ve had "drawing faces" on my to do list for 2015, so when I took a look at my eggs, I decided to use them as my canvas for that resolution. I have used acrylic paints and coloured pencils for my eggs, and I like the results more than any of the faces I had drawn on paper before ...

Make Your Own Smile!

Do you remember Tumble Fish Studio´s kit Wispy Pieces from last week? The good news is that Marsha came out with the fabulous "Wispy Pieces 2" today which means more eyes, noses, mouths and patterns for your digital art! They especially look great when used together with black and white images; that really makes them pop. Have fun playing!
For my sample above, Make Your Own Smile, I´ve added b/w elements from Marsha´s older kits Nitty Gritty 1 and 2, Journaling Pieces, and Freestyle 2.
For "Drawn" below, I´ve added pieces from Marsha´s kits Nitty Gritty 4 and 5 and Nitty Gritty Neighborhood.

Grief is a Private Land

Sometimes I´m tired of all that art stuff using affirmations like "You´re strong" etc. - what if you´re just feeling weak? It´s necessary to work with your grief, to shed tears for a while to get over it instead of running away from grief. For me, January felt like a month when many people passed away, more than usual. And with darkness and cold outside, you have to find a reason to carry on within yourself. Art can definitely be helpful, and art that tells about someone´s grief always speaks to my soul.
This is why I´ve chosen "Grief/Tears" as this week´s theme for the Sunday Postcard Art challenge.
For my sample card, I´ve used a stamp of a woman from Viva Las Vegas, and alpha stamps from Darkroom Door, and added the woman´s body by collaging an old map. The paint drip technique seemed to be appropriate to illustrate the tears running down the lady´s face which are hidden by her hands here.
And what about the quote? I´ve had it in my notebook for a while and think that it says the truth in a very short way, just like Anne Morrow Lindbergh said it a bit longer:
"Grief can´t be shared. Everyone carries it alone. His own burden in his own way." Sad but true.
I´m very curious to see what everyone else will create for this challenge - what about you?

And here´s a little extra surprise for those who took the trouble to come to my blog and who will leave a comment on this post - I´ll pick one of your names on Saturday and will ask that person for his/her address to send my card to him/her. Maybe it will bring a little solace to someone who needs it?

Nitty Gritty Again

Tumble Fish Studio at MischiefCircus.com has come out with her latest Nitty Gritty kit today which is Nitty Gritty 5. I´ve made a cut and paste Moleskine journal page with it that you can see below, and the digital collage below.

 
And if you think that every black and white collage needs some colour, you should have a look at Marsha´s other new kit called "Whispy Pieces 1" that enables you to insert colourful eyes, noses and mouths as well as background patterns - this one is a digital kit only.

The Lifted Veil

This week my sister Sabine is hosting the Sunday Postcard  Art challenge, so I just had to play! Her theme is Street Art, and my card was made with stamps from Stempelbar. Maybe there´s some hidden dirt between everything beautiful ...

What happens while you dream?

"Whatnot No. 1" is the name of Tumble Fish Studio´s new kit at MischiefCircus.com. My two collages shown here were exclusively made with images from that kit. And do I have to mention that it´s also a great kit for your cut and paste art journaling? Just print out the collage sheets coming with the kit and give it a go.

Nest & Egg

Nikki is hosting an ATC swap themed "Nest & Egg" over at Paper Traders - how could I resist?

Va Va Voom

These two digital collages have been made with Tumble Fish Studio´s new kit "Va Va Voom" exclusively - and there are sooooo many more possibilities to use it!

What If ...

This month´s theme for the Art Journal Journey challenge blog is "Birds, Beasts, and Humans", and you´ll be surprised to see that there´s NO bird on my journal spread, LOL! But what if ... one day you notice that your only friend is your cat? Maybe your cat will tell you that cats are people too. (And maybe I should tell you that I don´t have a cat but some friends :-))