Seven Steps

Just like most of you, I have a lot of projects in various stages of "finished". So why on earth would I join more challenges or swaps?

     Why? 

Because I love the thrill of a deadline. 
Yes I love a deadline. Sometimes that is the only way I can kick my butt into gear and actually "finish" something. Otherwise the projects pile up and ....well......you know......there's always just one more thing to make it perfect. So you stare at it for days and weeks until that one more thing shows up. By then you have already started several other projects that just couldn't wait to be born.

So in comes a challenge or a swap.....with a deadline and  my usual swap strategy:

1. Sign up
2. Gather materials.
3. Start the project.
4. Set the project aside. ( so I can work on other projects )
5. One week before swap is due.... frantically finish the project.
6. Mail swap items just in the nick of time.
7. Publish a Post on the blog about the swap, ( now that I am a blogger ) .....This step , of course, requires that I take photos of every step along the way, just so I have something to show my readers.

One of my favorite swap organizer is Lenna Andrews. She has a blog dedicated to her swaps.  I have a link posted below.

So this is step # 7....... a post about my contribution to her most recent Garden Variety Post Card Swap.

Now if I can get all these photos posted and in the right order, it will be a small technical miracle.

 I had punched  out 1 inch squares from the required product. In this case it was Garden Style images from Alpha Stamps.  Once the pieces were all punched out I stuck them to the back of a 4x6 piece of sticky back canvas in a random mosaic pattern. Then I adhered a layer of  gauze over the whole thing to hold it together and also tone it down a bit.

The next step was to  "ruff-ly"  trim the gauze to the edge of the canvas. I also added more texture but rubbing some gesso around the edge of the post cards.  I added more gesso in the corners.

 I like how the gesso laid between the threads of the gauze.

                                          You can really see the gauze and gesso in this photo

 love love love texture

No gesso here because I liked the look of this ruff edge

Then I added some color by rubbing Staz-On ink lightly over the edges and corners.

I used my finger to apply the ink.

( fingers are my favorite art tool )  

Now the only step left was to add some embellishments and mail them to Lenna.  I didn't  add too much because I want the background to be a major player in the design.
Why work that hard and then cover it all up?

 Here are the four finished postcards.            YES !           f i n i s h e d  !         yay!

I love how they turned out.

here are the backs

Here's the link to Lenna's creative swap site. You can see more postcards as well as art swaps she has hosted in the past.  Go on over and take a look.     

                                                     Creative Swaps

I'll be back with my contributions to week 2 and 3 in the Creative Color Challenge.
Oh and I have been working on the lovely pink lady found in the cornfield.  Yes I have been having fun.

See you soon,