Monochromatic postcards - part 2

It was an awesome mail day!

Look at all the beautiful cards that arrived.

Always thrilled to see some new folks join the group, too.

Cara sent these three:

and here's two from Leslie:

Gina cut up "a bland ghost monotype print of her old philodendron" and used it as the base of these six postcards:

Corrine says she decided at the last minute to do at least one mono

(and I say, last minute?  that would be mailing it today, not 3 days early!)

The next two are from Pat.  The smudgy parts are where I digitally "smooshed" her personal info.  The lucky recipients will actually get to read her message and email address.

These last three are from Lorinda:

 Thanks, everyone, for such a fabulous group of cards.
It made sustaining my first postal injury completely worthwhile.

monochromatic postcards - part 1

The monochromatic postcards have started to come in and they are gorgeous!!!

Here are two beauties from Carol.  The top one is for the swap.  The bottom one is for me :)

Lynn send these four fabulous cards:

and I attacked the scrap basket in an urgent need to glue something.  

I love monochromatic and I love using my scraps.  I think there will be more in this series from me.

 

Don't  you want one of these?

You have until Saturday July 28th to contribute one of you own and get something fabulous in return.

swap details are here

Favorite song postcard - part 2

Corrine thinks "Summertime" by George Gershwin (when sung by Sarah Vaughn) is sublime.

 She's also mighty fond of "Popsicle Toes" by Michael Franks, and sent this bonus card straight to me!  (Thanks Corrine - I love it, and I'm glad my toes feel more like summertime than popsicles at the moment)

 Lynn's postcard is a tribute to Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" and it features an awesome quote from the film "Say Anything" on the back. (plus Lynn just started a blog so you should go over and say hello)

and I couldn't resist playing along for this one, with my favorite line from "Conversation 16" by the National.

Kitchen postcard swap - postmark by August 11

Here's your challenge:

Find something in your kitchen and use it to make a post-card sized piece of art.

(and using food packaging in a collage doesn't count this time)

There are lots of ways you could interpret this.

Here are just a few ideas:

• use a fruit or vegetable as a stamp

•  use a kitchen tool to apply paint
• make a gelatin block for gelatin prints
• use a food ingredient in a creative way
• involve one of your appliances (shrink art anyone?)

You can use plenty of non-kitchen items as well, as long as something from the kitchen is used in your process or imagery.

SWAP DETAILS:

•  Create a postcard, no larger than 4"x6"
• Write a message on the back explaining how you used a kitchen item to create your postcard
• include your name and contact information (address and/or email and/or blog) so that you partner can thank you or find out more about you.
• leave the address section blank
• Stick in in an envelope with:
• a stamp (don't adhere to the postcard in case I need to send yours to someone out of the country)
•  a mailing label with your name and address on it (I will stick it on the card I mail back to you.  This keeps me from having to decipher handwriting on the envelope you send me, and saves me time when swapping everything and mailing it back out) 
•  mail it to me no later than August 11th:

             Karen Isaacson
             PO Box 532
             Shrewsbury, MA 01545
             United States

• Feel free to make more than one ( you can send them to me in the same envelope).  You'll get back the number of postcards you create.  Make sure to include a mailing label and stamp for each post card you create.
• If you live outside the US, don't include stamps, but send me $1 for postage via paypal.  email: iamrushmore@gmail.com
• I will post your work to the blog when I receive it.  If you would like your image linked to your blog, or flickr account, or facebook page, or etsy shop (or whatever) just send me a note telling me how you want it linked.  (this is a great way to meet other artists and make lots of new friends)

Favorite song postcard - Part 1

The first of the Favorite Song Postcards have arrived!

The one below is from Marsie.

Song: Better Together by Jack Johnson

And this next one is from Dori.

Song: Bad As Me by Tom Waits

Today (July 21st) is the deadline to mail these.

(though if you needed until Monday it wouldn't be the end of the world - just let me know it's coming)

Wheels Part 4

 Carol sent two very cool cards and told me I get to keep one. (yippee!)

So I'm swapping the first and keeping the second. (thanks Carol)

Funny story #1:

This sweet Radio Flyer ATC seen below is from Corrine.

It's her first ever ATC and her note said she found it really challenging.  She sealed it in an envelope and apologized that I wouldn't be able to see it.  BUT, I simply couldn't stand it.  And since I've actually met the lovely Corrine in person, I felt I could take a chance and open the envelope.  And then I emailed her and confessed and asked if I could post it and she graciously said yes. 

Because look - it's great.  And I think it does us all a world of good to try things outside of our comfort zone and usual style.  We learn stuff about ourselves - even if all we learn is "I hate making ATCs" at least we know that now.  And I love showing a wide variety of styles and interpretations because I think it encourages more people to join the swaps.

 

Funny story #2:

Kerri and I are in the same Swap-bot group and have mutual mail art friends.  She just learned of MMSA and enthusiastically jumped  right in with two wheels cards.

Except, she thought it was a postcard swap instead of an ATC swap.

So I emailed her and we had a really good laugh about it and I told her I wanted to post them anyway just because they are cool looking and she said if you want to put them up on the blog, feel free to add "sadly she cannot reach the end of paragraphs."

 LOL.  I'm mailing these out to some lucky folks just for fun and I'm going to send something to Kerri in return.  Because awesome art and enthusiasm should not go unrewarded.

Wheels ATC - Part 3

I'm loving all the different interpretations of this theme!

A great card with a great quote from Marsie:

Two from Nydia:

Can you see all the teeny bits of paper collaged around the edges?

Nydia wrote on the back that this is a monoprint of a photo of her husband's truck.  The surface is covered in the teeniest glass beads.  It has amazing texture.

Monochromatic post card swap - postmark by July 28

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it: create a post card based on a single color.

Any color.

It's okay to have a little bit of black or white or a hint of an accent color, but keep the focus on shades of a single color.  

Here are some examples.  (these are actually ATC's I did a while back, but you get the idea).  You can use any materials and any style as long as your postcard is handmade.

This is a really fun exercise, and I hope a lot of you will join the swap.  I've heard personally from a few people who admit to being nervous or shy about swapping.  

Please Please Please don't be afraid.

Everyone's offerings are welcome and appreciated.

We have brand new artists in our midst, and experienced artists trying things for the first time.

We are all here because we like to make art, we like to mail art, and we like to get mail in return.

No one is ever disappointed to open their mailbox and find a cheerful handmade postcard with a friendly note. 

So here are the swap details:

• Make a monochromatic postcard
• Put a stamp on it and write a short message to your partner - include your name and contact information (address and/or email and/or blog) so that you partner can thank you or find out more about you.
• leave the address section blank
• include a mailing label with your name and address on it (I will stick it on the card I mail back to you.  This keeps me from having to decipher handwriting on the envelope you send me, and saves me time when swapping everything and mailing it back out)
• put it in an envelope and mail it to me no later than July 28th.

             Karen Isaacson
             PO Box 532
             Shrewsbury, MA 01545
             United States

• Feel free to make more than one ( you can send them to me in the same envelope).  You'll get back the number of postcards you create.  Make sure to include a mailing label for each post card you create.
• If you live outside the US, don't attach stamps and send me $1 via paypal.  email: iamrushmore@gmail.com

I did it!

I made a button! 

It's right over there in the side bar --------->

And it's got the little code box so that people can copy the code and add the badge to their own blog.  It took hours of following various tutorials and failing repeatedly and then finding a different tutorial with much easier instructions and much clearer code, and presto, it's done.  I can't tell you how happy this makes me.

So if you want to add the "Mail Me Some Art" button to your blog, all you need to do is copy the code in the box under the button, and paste it into a gadget.

(and in case you don't know how to do that, here's how to do it in Blogger. If you use another blog format, I expect it will be a little different.  From the design section, choose "layout" and then "add a gadget".  From the list of gadgets choose "HTML/Java Script" and paste that code into the box that opens up.  Save it, and it should be in the sidebar of your blog.  When people click on it, they will go directly to this site.)

Help spread the word about this lovely group of people so more people can join the fun!

Everyone is welcome here.

If you want to create your own blog button and "grab box" here's the tutorial I found most helpful.

Wheels ATC - part 2

This beautiful ATC arrived from Jo-Murray yesterday as part of the Wheels ATC swap.

(you've still got until tomorrow to send one, in case you are struck by some Friday night inspiration)

so pretty!  Thanks, Jo.

Trash postcards part 5

Here are the latest in the "trash" post card swap.

This one from Jo Murray in Australia

Two from Dani:

and five from Connie:

So much fun!