"Thinking Cap" with Sunday Postcard Art!

"You can have fun, but you must also put on your thinking cap every day."

-- Tommy Shaw

Hellooooo & Happy Sunday Postcard Art!

I'm excited to be playing host this week, and have suggested the theme of "Thinking Cap." 

Mine is inspired by my role as a homeschool teacher / parent, and the beautiful fact that school's almost out! It was our first year of Middle School - our 4th year homeschooling - and although very rewarding, there were definitely moments of stress; mostly coming from yours truly. Now that pool parties are starting to replace tutoring sessions, the 11-year-old's not the only one that's doing a happy dance around here. 

But I digress: won't you join us by trying your hand at postcard art? I'd love to see how you interpret the theme!

Check out all the details here. . . 

With Love,

Kristin xo

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Sunday Postcard Art: "Quirky"

"Fabulous"

4 x 6 Postcard

Okay, um, sorry about the unexplained absence: I didn't expect to be away for so long, but I can't think of a better reason for return than to play guest host over at Sunday Postcard Art. This week's challenge is to create a piece of postcard-sized art with the theme of "Quirky" in mind. . . .

If my little Alice-inspired lady looks familiar, it's because she was influenced by this piece I created earlier in the year. I love playing with the varied eye shapes (and colors) and thought she would look rather fetching with the Mad Hatter hat that I found in my collage stash. Once that was placed on her head, the rest of it - including the tiny Alice silhouette as an earring - all seemed to come together. 

Thank you for taking the time to visit and thank you to Mandy & Donna for making me feel so welcome at  Sunday Postcard Art. I'd love to see what you do with the "Quirky" theme; why not give it a try? 

"Certain aspects of my personality are always going to come out on-screen. 

I guess that's just me - if they say I'm quirky, I'm quirky. It's better than being boring." 

-- Zooey Deschanel

I'll see you there,

Kristin xo

SPA: My Heart Belongs to You

"Hopelessly Devoted To You"

4 x 6 Postcard

(Image from Retro Cafe Art)

Playing along with Sunday Postcard Art and the very cool Valentine's theme, "My Heart Belongs to You"  . . . .

Thank you for taking the time to visit! I wish for you a day full of love, roses and plenty of chocolate! 

Kristin xo

SPA: Pierrot

"Tears of a Clown"

4 x 6 Postcard

I've been wanting to experiment with "paintovers"for a while now and this week's theme - Pierrot - over at Sunday Postcard Art gave me the perfect opportunity to do so. My goal was to come up with a way to "paint" over an existing image from a magazine or catalogue in order to create a stylized version of the original. I also wanted to challenge myself to work fast and free - and hopefully become a little less cautious with my art in the process . . . Since this was new to me, I took pictures as I went. Wanna see? 

Original image from the new Macy's Fall catalogue

For a distressed look, I removed some of the ink with nail polish remover before sealing 

the image with clear Gesso. I then backed it onto watercolor paper for strength.

Now here's the tricky part: To challenge myself even further, 

I used only wax crayons (Manley) and my finger to blend them.

Final details include the use of pencil, charcoal and Hallmark's B & W sticky ribbons to complete the background.

Thanks for looking! Be sure to check out Sunday Postcard Art for more Pierrot pieces this week. I for one can not wait . . .

Kristin xo

SPA: Stork

"Dreams"

6 x 4 Postcard

I'm honored to play host this week over at Sunday Postcard Art! It may not come as a surprise that I choose a theme near and dear to my heart, Stork. . . .

This postcard was created using several collage elements including decorative paper for the background, vintage floral wallpaper for the cloud and vintage baby shower greeting cards for both the baby bundle and the stork. Both buff and titanium acrylics were used to keep the piece soft and several charcoals, wax pastels and wax crayons were added for depth. Final touches included a vintage poem by Harriet Dustin Buffum, Stickles glitter as a lining to the cloud, a few sprinkles of german glass glitter to represent stars and a single Swarovski stone on the Stork.

Thank you for allowing me to act as your host this week. I look forward to seeing all your beautiful Stork creations . . .

Kristin xo

SPA: Dada

"Journey"

6 x 4 Postcard

I loved this week's prompt - Dada - over at Sunday Postcard Art. If you are not familiar with Dada, you're not alone. I had no idea what it was until Marion's challenge inspired me to check it out. Essentially, Dada was an art movement at the turn of the century that came to be known as "anti-art." It's strove to "buck the system" or create pieces which were political, humorous or in some was opposite of the traditional art forms at the time. In a way, it was an art sub-culture that ironically changed all art as we know it today.  

I loved the idea of creating something out of my comfort zone and for this piece, I challenged myself to dig into my box of scraps and just create. There was no preconceived notion of what I wanted to achieve, just some subliminal collage work going on. And I have to say, what I came up with surprised even myself.  . . 

"Journey" was created on a base of handmade papers (the pig's flying stamp sealed the deal), that was collaged with a magazine image and other ephemera. Her arm was "tattooed" with rub-ons and her eye was enhanced with a false lash barcode that came with the Journey transparency found on the bottom. The piece above her eyes is meant to represent sunglasses and the vintage text reads, "your failures, each mistake." Final touches included a Swarovski art "earring, " stamping and Stickles glitter.

Kristin xo

SPA: Dance

"Dancing Feet"

6 x 4 Postcard

I had a lot of fun with this week's prompt, Dance at Sunday Postcard Art . . . I started with the cutest image of dancing children from The Graphics Fairy which I enhanced with colored pencils, pen and Stickles glitter. I then placed them on a background of blue and white acrylic with painted drapes (to represent a stage), some charcoal for a bit of distressing and an image of a chandelier. Final touches included outlining the dancers in black ink and the addition of more glitter on their shoes to underline the sentiment, "Dancing Feet." 

Thanks for looking! I look forward to seeing all your beautiful Dance pieces this week . . . 

Kristin xo

SPA: White

"Whites"

6 x 4 Postcard

Detail of glass slide with dictionary definition and pearl

One of my favorite color palettes - White - is the prompt for this week's challenge at Sunday Postcard Art. I love the look of warm creams and bright whites used in combination with a lot of texture and welcomed the opportunity to play with them here.

There were actually so many products used for this tiny piece, I thought you may find it interesting if I listed them. . . Okay, here goes: cardstock, vintage ledger sheet, buff acrylic, molding paste, pearl white acrylic, stamped muslin, a glass slide with the dictionary definition of the word "white," a vintage Mother Goose image, Stickles glitter, white gel pen, ink, melted candle wax, melted white wax crayon, wire and, finally, a vintage pearl. Whew!

Thanks for your visit: I'm really looking forward to seeing your beautiful White postcards this week. . .

Kristin xo

SPA: No. 1

"That there ought!"

4 x 6 Postcard

I had a lot of fun with this week's theme - No. 1 - at Sunday Postcard Art. It's been a while since I've done any collage, and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to get out some of my Alice sheets and play . . .

"That there Ought" started life as a piece of painted card stock that was first treated with a Gesso Relief technique (you can go here to see it first hand). To that, I placed several #1 stickers over the surface and used them as a mask for bright green acrylic. Once peeled off, I added images From Alice in Wonderland that spoke to me and enhanced them with white gel pen. Final touches included a border of bold paint pens to create a scallop (still into them from last week ;), colored pencil, black ink and two forms of glitter. The quote reads, "There ought to be a book written about me, that there ought! And when I grow up, I'll write one."

Thanks for your time! I look forward to seeing all of your "No. 1" postcards this week . . . 

Kristin xo

SPA: Illusion

"Lost Rabbit"

4 x 6 Postcard

I've been working on little girls with page-boy cuts lately and thought that this one, with her black do and glittered dress would be perfect for this week's theme - Illusion - at Sunday Postcard Art. 

This little one was created on watercolor paper using pencil, acrylic, Caran d'Ache watercolor crayons, Sharpie paint pens and Stickles glitter before being cut out and placed on a background of grey card stock enhanced with white acrylic, black & white charcoal and a border of neon pink doot-doot-doots (technical term) which served as a scalloped edge. Final touches include the addition of a black magician's hat and silver metallic pen under her eyes to represent tears. 

Thank you for your time! I look forward to seeing all of your Illusions this week . . . Oh! And if you've seen a Lost Rabbit, please be sure to let us know . . .

Kristin xo

SPA: Faces

"Baby Face"

6 x 4

When I read this week's prompt at Sunday Postcard Art, I knew that I wanted to create a Face that was large and sweet. I pictured big eyes and a pouty mouth and got to work creating this little one with watercolor paper, Caran d'Ache watercolor crayons, acrylic and ink. Once she was done, I adhered her to a piece of 6 x 4 decorative cardstock that was doodled with a silver metallic pen and dotted with Stickles glitter. Tiny freckles served as the final touch.

Thank you for looking! I look forward to seeing all of your Faces this week . . .

Kristin xo

SPA: Hearts

"Take It"

6 x 4 

"Take It" was created on a piece of decorative cardstock that was washed with white acrylic (applied with a brayer) and enhanced with ink to create a B & W border. The little girl was made separately on cold press watercolor paper using acrylics, gel pens, a wash of silver Stickles glitter and Caran d'Ache crayons before being cut out and added to the background. Once adhered, she was further highlighted with a border of black ink and iridescent glitter paint. Finally, a single Swarovski crystal was added to the top of her crown. 

"Take It" is my Valentine's contribution and entry for this week's Heart theme at Sunday Postcard Art.

Kristin xo