Postcard From Germany

My postcard arrived from Germany!

It was created by Karene' Wedekind and I LOVE it. The colors, the message, the stitching. Oh so nice.

There is something magical about receiving a card created just for you that you can hold in your hands. I really liked that this came as a postcard without an envelope, the stamps and postmarks added to the final image.

The Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap is put together by Do What You Love For Life. I encourage you to sign up for next year, I know I will!

Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap

I have been waiting to post an image until my card made it to Germany. I just hated to ruin the surprise.

And here's the back, I left room for a message.

You can read more about the swap here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Paper Love Blog Hop-Why I love Paper

The PaperLove Blog Hop is a celebration of all things paper! Follow the links to discover more bloggers who love paper and use it to inspire and delight. And if you want to explore a whole world of paper, and stretch your paper passion further with a host of creative projects, why not join the innovative new online course PaperLove (starts March 31). Led by book artist Rachel Hazell, PaperLove is a five week creative adventure for paper lovers. Find out more here.

As part of this blog hop I have been asked to write about why I love working in paper. 
Hmmmm, I never thought much about why paper has almost always been my go to. Naturally, as an illustrator, I have drawn and painted on paper but what really gets me going is cutting, pasting and stitching paper. 

Pieces of paper have always been incorporated into my illustrations, usually in the form of old book pages. Over the years the paint was slowly replaced with snips of patterned paper. Typically I build a pattern in photoshop, print it on nice paper and then cut, tear and stitch it into whatever it is that I have in my head that day.

I also have a thing for scraps of paper with handwriting on them. My studio and home are located in the heart of downtown Atlanta and I walk around the city quite a bit. If I see a list or note that someone has dropped, I HAVE to pick it up. I bring it home and add it to the box of bits of paper. Eventually it will come out and make it into an illustration. 

I realize that I still haven't answered the "Why" here, but all I think we need to know, is that I love it. Making the switch from paint to paper snips has brought a joy back to my work that has been missing for some time. I can't wait to get into the studio and get to work. I really just love what I do these days and I believe it's because of my old friend paper. 

My 2015 Tres Chic calendar for The Lang Companies

An image from my set of coasters for Studio M

They are titled "Kick Up Your Heels"

 I LOVE making paper shoes, dresses and handbags. They are quite time consuming so 

I don't get to make as many as I would like to. You can see more here.

"Suzanne" paper dress made from vintage paper

You can see more dresses here.

Thanks for stopping by and make sure to visit these other paper lovers. 

Majo Bautista / Tona Bell / Louise Best / Cathy Bluteau / Jennifer Bomgardner / Giova Brusa / Lindsay Buck / Beka Buckley / Joanna Caskie / Jonathan Chapman (Mr Yen) / Halle Cisco / Sarah Clare / Cathryn Clarge / Dawn Clarkson / Rhiannon Connelly / Jenny D'Fuego / Molly Dhiman / Ian Dudley / Ayisatu Emore / Akmal Farid / Monika Forsberg / Claire Fritz-Domeney / Louise Gale / Chrissy Gaskell / Julie Hamilton / Emma Hawman / Rachel Hazell / Holly Helgeson / Claudine Hellmuth / Kim Henkel / Sarah Hoffman / Joanne Hus / Paula Joerling / Beth Kempton / Julie Kirk / Eos Koch / Katie LaClair / Kristy Lankford / Michelle Manolov / Doreen Marts / Rosie Martinez-Dekker / Tori Mears / Maria Mederios / Lise Meijer / Debbie Miller / MaryJane Mitchell / Suzy Naidoo / Grace Noel / Hannah Nunn / Camilla Olsson / Jo Packham / Rachelle Panagarry / Monette Pangan / Melanie Paul / Nicole Piar / Jen Pitta / Liz Plummer / Julie Reed / Michelle Reynolds / Lisa Rivas / Angee Robertson / Natalie Ryan / Aisling Ryan / Elisabet Sapena / Kyrrha Sevco / Jamie Sprague / Elizabeth Steele / Terri Stephens / Juniper Stokes / Mary Tanana / Maike Thoma / Linda Tieu / Gabrielle Treanor / Tammy Tutterow / Deborah Velasquez / Jordan Vinograd Kim / Cat Whipple / Brooke Witt / Katie Wood / Amelia Woodbridge