Mixed Media Postcards

Mixed media postcards 
from recycled cardboard,
fabric scraps, and
watercolor with pen.  

Mixed media postcards
and collage can be
created with almost
anything, and I
decided to use
some bright orange
masking tape in this
collage. I drew on it
with Sharpie pen.

Hearts were sewn
together before gluing to
the postcard, as was
the decorative stitching
with floss. Because the
watercolor papers
will run if gotten wet,
I will probably mail in
an envelope instead of
sending as a postcard.

Several pieces of fabric were stitched

together to make a rectangle, and then

the heart was cut out by folding in half

and cutting free-form.  Once I had 

several hearts made, I glued 

background fabric to 4" x 6" cardboard.

Then I arranged the fabric and paper

elements for the final collage.

I have seen beautiful fabric

postcards made with an assortment

of fabrics, fibers and stiffeners, 

all stitched together on the machine.

My love of fabric makes these

fabric collages a joy to create

and  to send!

To see more of my
mixed media postcards,
go HERE. 

Color Inspires Me

A quilted art journal cover

made similar to Teesha Moore's technique~

making little 'pillows' and then sewing

them together in an

unplanned composition. 

You can see video of Teesha's

 Fabric Journal Workshop here.

As a traditional quilter, it was hard to

avoid carefully planning it all out,

especially the crazy haphazard non-matchy

stitching to connect the pillows together.

But I do like the colors and the beads

and the texture of the quilting...

Click on any image to see more detail.

The back of the cover is one piece, and I 

just started quilting with the contrasting

colors of floss in circular patterns, 

without marking the pattern ahead of time.

I will put watercolor pages inside, probably

one or two signatures with a pamphlet stitch binding.

Above, a collage in my 9" x 12" art journal.

I am trying to use up scraps I've saved. 

I generally don't use magazine images,

but the intricate scroll work in this gate

was just too good to pass up.

Acrylic on cardstock, collage & magazine images,

white gel pen on black cardstock.

Have a colorful day!

Color Swap

Color swap pages for Jan at

Dandelion and Daisy.

The colors she chose were

pink and orange.

Couldn't resist using my stash of

fabrics, and embellishing them

with embroidery for texture.

Photo images are from a 

collage sheet. (unknown source)

 Dresden plate quilt pieces

showed up on this page...

I enjoy the combination of 

fabric and paper, and stitching

through both. Some of the stitching

is drawn on in Sharpie pen.

The tag for the pocket 

used a tag from the office supply store

painted and collaged.

Sharpie pen 'stitching'

around the edges.

I hope your day 

is filled with color!

Pumpkin Man

My taste in Fall decorations has turned to vintage style pumpkins, as shown on the black round box (center). The country angel was made a few years ago with twig angel wings and a raffia garland of wooden stars and a heart. The Halloween ATC's from a previous post can be seen in the foreground. The "Pumpkin Man" was created because I couldn't afford to spend the $65 or so on the one I saw in a shop...mine turned out differently, of course, but I like him. I used panels of golden yellow and rust/orange fabric for the pumpkin, and painted his eyes and mouth in artist's acrylic paint. His nose is 3-dimensional, stuffed with poly fill and darker green paint for shading. I love the look of the skinny legs and feet, but they were terrible to turn right side out! (I know there are gizmos for turning tubes of fabric easily, but I don't have one)

As my paper arts projects, paintings and art journals have been consuming more of my time and interest, the sewing projects are less frequent. The fairly large fabric stash that most sewers and quilters accumulate is still lurking in closets, bags, and bins however...so fabric is turning up in my collages. With the trend of small "art quiltlets" gaining popularity, I may have to try one, but I wonder if my experience with traditional quilting methods may interfere with the art and experimental aspect.. raw edges showing is not a problem for artists, but traditional sewing doesn't go for that. And did you know that Fabric tends to be like art supplies, you are forever seeing one more item you just have to have...?!