Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap


Well, after a summer of slumber in blogland I am back!

I have just taken part in the sixth Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap, run by Do What You Love - a very cute art swap which this year featured over 300 participants from around the world. I find it wonderful to sign up to projects with a deadline, as it forces me to be creative, even when I claim to be too busy to make anything! The theme for this swap was CELEBRATE - a lovely theme which has very joyous connotations.

I tried not to see that much of my swap partner before I began, but a quick look at her inspiring and well-tended blog Emy's Crafty Blog showed that she is a fiery-haired lady, so I made a red-headed paper dolly as the central image in the postcard, continuing a theme I like working with. 



To include the 'celebration' idea, I stitched a miniature book, incorporating celebration-themed quotes such as: 
"Singing is like a celebration of oxygen. - Bjork"
"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. - Oprah Winfrey"
"Celebrate what you want to see more of. - Thomas J. Peters"
I made the book from vintage and craft papers, and the cover is recycled leather from the cover of an old American Indian box.



I worked this into a mixed-media collage, incorporating vintage papers and material (including some fabric from my Mum's dress when I was little), and other elements, such as decoupage scraps, paper flowers, and I sewed sequins and beads onto little acrylic-painted discs.

I sent the postcard on Monday, so hopefully it will arrive soon. I've had a sneak peak of Emy's postcard on her blog, and am really looking forward to receiving it. It's a gorgeous felted image of Chinese lanterns, and really evokes the theme 'celebration'.

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