Month: December 2018

12 Days of Christmas Postcards | Day 7

4 Comments

The abstract Christmas card above came from my pen friend, Beckra. She always surprises me with her unique approach to photography, and I find this card intriguing. It carries the light of Christmas and the fireworks with which we welcome the coming year, so it is apropos for today, the seventh day of Christmas, and New Year’s Eve.

Ten days ago I read the poem “kindness” by Emina Gaspar-Vrana and I’ve been looking forward to sharing it with you as we say farewell to a year filled with frustrations and victories, love and loss, joy and sorrow. Whatever fell in your path in 2018, I hope that “life was kind to you.”

kindness by Emina Gaspar-Vrana

I hope that this year, life was kind to you;

not in the sense of not challenging you,
not making you question it, or
not causing you pain,

but that it made you discover your strength,
brought you new perspectives and
taught you that healing brings peace

that is kindness,
that is growth,
that is preparing you for greatness and
a better version of yourself–
the person you are becoming and
that you were always meant to be

I wish life is even kinder to you next year

Farewell, 2018.

12 Days of Christmas Postcards | Day 6

11 Comments

My Love Notes friend Christine B sent two Christmas postcards featuring her photography, but since I have a thing for doors, this postcard wins the post. 😀

I’m pretty sure the rustic door was made more appealing to Christine because of the vintage elements. The mail slot, in particular, adds a certain charm–especially for snail mail revolutionaries. 😉

One of the things I enjoy about Christmas decor is the countless ways individuals express their creativity through wreaths. Wreaths can be traditional, fun, quirky, modern, “characterized,” spare, or glam and can be made from any material imaginable. Despite the diversity, we know wherever we see a Christmas wreath hanging on a door, therein dwells the spirit of Christmas.

If you want more Christmas Doors and Wreaths eye candy, this Pinterest board will fill you with Christmas glee.

12 Days of Christmas Postcards | Day 5

1 Comment

The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and become more interested in people than in things. –Thomas S. Monson

I’m back today with another crafted Christmas tree postcard. This one is from Diane W (midteacher on swap-bot), whose 2017 postcard is featured in my Christmas Day post. Diane is my inspiration for mixed media photo creations, and now she’s given me a technique to try with card-making without photos.

Here’s her creation process:

  • Adhere scrapbook paper to 5×7 Watercolor paper
  • Spray a piece of brown craft paper with water; wad up into a ball
  • Carefully unwad and mist with Perfect Pearls Mist spray in Perfect Pearl
  • Allow to dry; iron flat
  • Cut to size and glue over scrapbook paper
  • Emboss the edges of the postcard
  • Create the tree by cutting a copy of Christmas music.
  • Adhere ribbon
  • Glue tree onto postcard
  • Add a piece of burlap ribbon for the trunk
  • Add Tim Holtz Christmas phrases

I love this card, especially the crinkled craft paper and the embossed edges. Since there are so few elements, I can make this project with leftovers from other projects. I have a drawer full of scraps that are too beautiful to toss!

I won’t put you through the agony of my imitation of Diane’s tree, like I did yesterday with Martha’s, but I think I’ll attempt this technique to make cards for some birthdays that are coming up in January.

Thanks, Diane for the quote, the card, and the lesson. Thanks, too, for showering me with beauty all year long and for sharing your techniques with me.

12 Days of Christmas Postcards | Day 4

11 Comments

It never ceases to amaze me how artists can make a complex project seem so simple. Such is the case with this elegant holiday postcard made by my Love Notes friend, Martha S. At first glance, it seems she “just” glued varying lengths of washi tape to the pretty red, glittery twine and adhered it to a piece of [really nice] art board.

“I can do that!”–so we think.

However, when we look closely, we’ll see the strips were made from tears of origami paper. This gave the tree texture and dimension–especially since it was adhered to really nice (and thick) piece of art board. [The card is far more impressive “in person”].

This look is not so easily achieved!

Just for fun–or to make my point–I attempted to make a tree with “plain ol’ washi tape.”  As expected…fail.

Tree fail!

I did this in less than five minutes–that includes looking for materials, which I didn’t take too seriously. 😀 It looks like a sailboat gone awry.

Part of the challenge of making art is accepting that it takes time and knowing how to work the materials you’re using. Magnificence is rarely achieved in under five minutes.

Thank you, Martha, for taking the time to craft many beautiful works of Christmas tree art and sending them out into the world.

For more of Martha’s art and thoughts, take a click over to her blog: Postcards in the Air.

12 Days of Christmas Postcards | Day 3

12 Comments

I like dressing in all seasons.
Every season has its own character and charm.
-Pierce Brosnan-

Since today is #ThursdayTreeLove, I’m sharing a tree-filled holiday postcard from Grass Valley, California. For this postcard, Love Notes pal, Kelly C. collaged four photos of the same scene from each of the seasons. While the evergreens hold their color, the grass, pond, snow, and other trees signify the changing seasons.

Don’t you just love the pun? Apropos for a “season’s greetings” postcard!

Seasons’ Greetings!

I am joining Parul Thakur for #ThursdayTreeLove every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to her latest #treelove post.

12 Days of Christmas Postcards | Day 2

8 Comments

It’s not what’s under the tree that matters; it’s who’s gathered around it.
-A Charlie Brown Christmas-

Today’s Christmas postcards were designed by Liberate Your Art and Love Notes friend, Suzette R. I couldn’t resist sharing her 2017 postcard (bottom) along with her 2018 postcard (top).

The Charlie Brown quote above was hand-stamped on the back of the 2018 card:

The dreamy photos take me back to childhood Christmases with all my sisters and brothers gathered around the tree wondering which packages contain our gifts. Many of us have our own stories of childhood and Christmas, so they’re perfect for a [not-so] #WordlessWednesday.

You can find more of Suzette’s gorgeous photography and other creative work on her blog, Notes from the Road.

For more lessons on Christmas from Charlie Brown, check out: That’s What Christmas Is All About.

12 Days of Christmas Postcards | Day 1

1 Comment

The happiest moments my heart knows are those in which it is pouring forth its affections to a few esteemed characters.
Thomas Jefferson

My pen friends make such gorgeous holiday postcards that I’ve decided to share one postcard per day for the 12 days of Christmas. From now to January 5, look for a daily post featuring a card from one of my many talented friends.

Today’s postcard was crafted by Diane (midteacher on swap-bot). This card has been “on hold” since last Christmas, and with its traditional holiday colors, it’s the perfect place to start.

I hope that you take time today to “pour forth affections” to the loved ones in your life.

Wishing you and yours a warm and beautiful Christmas!

A Prayer for Wrapping Presents

1 Comment

Tangled in tape, lists, and holiday wrappings, we are all thumbs of excitement!
Bless the surprises we’ve selected, wrapped, and hidden.
Restore to us the joy of anticipation. We want to be surprised too.
Our wish lists include the gift of peace possibilities,
of ears to hear a summons
and eyes to spot another’s need or triumph,
of being able to make a difference.

As we cut the tape, God of surprises, remind us to keep in touch
with the gift’s recipient after the wrapping papers are long gone
and the ornaments packed.

from Simple Prayers and Blessings, Margaret Anne Huffman and Gary Wilde

Winter Is Good!

13 Comments

“Happy Winter.” Handmade card by Lori K.

Winter is good – his Hoar Delights
Italic flavor yield –
To Intellects inebriate
With Summer, or the World –

Generic as a Quarry
And hearty – as a Rose –
Invited with asperity
But welcome when he goes.

Emily Dickinson, Poem 1316

It’s no secret–I do not like winter. The cold, dreary days do little for my mood and force me to spend far too many days and nights indoors. It doesn’t help at all that winter immediately follows autumn, my favorite season.

It’s odd, I know, to begin a “Happy Winter” post with reasons I don’t like the season, but there are some things I love about winter–the nakedness of trees, a warm cup of cocoa, cozy nights in front of the fireplace, hope for “snow days,” and winter photo walks [when the temperatures ease a bit]. Besides, there’s poetry in winter’s dormancy as the earth is repairing and preparing for spring.

In short, my feelings about winter are much like the attitude toward winter described in Dickinson’s poem–I’m capable of extolling it’s virtues, but I’ll be happier when it’s gone.

Happy Winter? 😉

Love Noter Lori K made and sent the card above to me last winter. I’ve been looking forward to sharing it since I happily received it. Its glittery wintriness is much prettier “in person.”

Seriously though–Happy Winter!