Valentines Postcards

Do you have a stash of interesting papers with colors and images you love?  Would you like to make art with them?  A collage postcard is a quick way to dip your toe into the sea of collage creativity.

Collect a small assortment of papers you like with similar colors.

On a piece of cardstock, begin laying them out, moving the pieces around.

When they start to look interesting -- not perfect!-- glue them down, remembering that you can always paint over, collage over or draw over any parts you like.

Use whatever glue you have on hand --glue sticks, Yes! paste, acrylic matte medium, even Elmer's school glue. An old credit card can help you smooth down bubbly papers after gluing. 

Step back occasionally, and let your intuition (that soft, wee voice within) offer suggestions.

I used Yes! Paste to glue my papers down, then added marks with colored pencils and Posca paint pens.  Use what you have on hand.

If you're concerned about the loose edges of papers getting damaged as they go through the mail system, you can always tuck your creation into an envelope.

Happy Creating!

Working in a Series: Valentines

I was grocery shopping the other day and spotted a display of beautiful commercial pop-up greeting cards that popped out into a box, like a diorama with layers of art and figures.  They folded shut to fit in an envelope to be mailed easily.  

Inspiration struck!  

At home, I watched YouTube videos on making your own pop up box cards, and I set to work, first sketching out ideas for designs to try.

I chose an envelope size of 5" x 7" and sized the cards so they would fold up and fit in that space.  The front and back of the box =5" x 5"

The sides = 5" x 1.75"

That leaves a tab of 5" x 0.5" to glue down to close the box.

I cut a stack of 5" x 14" pieces of watercolor paper, then measured and creased the folds.

Now I had a pile of paper blanks to try out those ideas from my sketchbook.

I also took walks to generate ideas.  I was struck by the beauty of the bare winter tree limbs against the bold blue sky, and the backdrop of white snow covering the ground.  Those walks inspired this tree & heart design.

As a lover of collage, I rifled through my basket of collage materials, and found artwork from a date calendar to make into a heart-themed diorama.

I found old music sheeting printed with hand-made heart stamps. They fit perfectly with some fluffy feathers of similar colors.

And I put together some of the leftovers to make simpler cards like this one.

Working in a series is a great way to get your creativity flowing.  You can try a variety of ideas, and if one doesn't work, you don't have to keep it. Having many iterations of a theme gives you lots of ways to succeed.

The process of trying out a variety of ideas, color schemes and materials can inspire new ideas.  You may decide to repeat some of your favorite cards.  

I liked the tree limb card so much, I made a bunch of them.

And of course, I had a few cards, not pictured here, that I threw away.

Working in a series can be freeing.  I hope you give it a try!

Happy Creating!