They are in the mail.....

so it took me long enough - despite my best efforts to create my postcards for iHanna's swap quickly - life got in the way this past week and it took me a lot longer to mail the cards off to Sweden, Australia, South Africa, and the USA.

I had a ton of fun making these!!  Big thanks to Hanna for organizing this swap - now the fun of waiting to see what's in the mail!

Here's how I made them....using Jodi Ohl's faux encaustic techniques....

I started with Arches 300lb cold pressed watercolour paper covered with 2 coats of Gesso. 

I did a bit of collage with vintage book pages, atlas pages, music sheets etc. and then applied some glazing medium and some acrylic paint.  Adding spatters and drips with acrylic paint - then some stencil work. More glazing medium with different colours of paint.

At this point I cut the watercolour paper into the individual cards.  I applied a gel transfer photo and hand painted a flower on each card.  I used rubber stamps and Staz On ink to apply the title and used a permanent marker to embellish the painted flower.  I also added  a scrap of gauze and then applied a couple of layers of pouring medium tinted with Titan Buff paint. 

as many times as I try - and as many different ways I have tried saving this file - it does not want to orient properly.  I am tired of trying so I am just going to post it the way it wants to post - sideways.  sigh. you have NO idea how much this bugs me....

I drew some Mandalas on the envelopes - because I wanted to spread my love of them. 

I chose a special stamp from Canada Post - an art stamp by Joe Fafard an incredible sculptor!! I love his quote from the stamp pack -

"When one makes sculptures of horses, one remembers all of that great relationship that humans had with them, with the horse. Even today one raises horses only for dressage, the races, for the pleasure of horseback riding. It has become an animal of romance, an animal of pleasure which has lost it's utility in the West..."

-Joe Fafard

I hope the recipients enjoy the floral cards....I am looking forward to seeing what's in my mailbox in the coming weeks!!!

have a great weekend!