Tag! You're it.

At Postcard Cottage, I signed up for the "Tag! You're it" swap.  I love the swaps.  You make three and you get three.  Working with themes on a time limit is such a fantastic way to spur your creativity.  I spent a half hour in the laundry room with scissors, removing tags from my family's clothing.  It became more and more interesting as I found tags I had never seen before.  There's always the ones that say "keep away from fire" (!?) and there's the ones that have the strangest synthetic names in the materials.  lol

a bucket of tags

My first idea was to make a patchwork quilt card.  I love all the interesting text.  It reminds me of graffiti.

recycled tags become art to mail!

I like the lime green stitching in this one.  I even stuck a tag on the back of it.  : )

I made a third card and decided to free motion quilt it.  The thickness of the tag layers made it a huge disaster.  So... it's garbage.  (Note to self not to try that again!)  I had a cool idea to make a card that would be one giant tag.  I planned that it would be white, and that I would embroider the washing care symbols onto it like in the top right corner of card #1.

That certainly would have been a great card!  Four cleaning symbols on one white card?  But I didn't.  I fused white fabric onto the next surface and got a totally different idea, and I think it's so funny!  It's like the hem of a big white nightgown, but with the teeniest tag on the bottom.  lol

Hehehe.  I love this one best.  : )  It makes me smile.  Unfortunately, it seems that the swap didn't fill, so I have an extra card with no home.  Tag! You're it!  If you would like to swap directly with me 1 for 1, shoot me an email and we'll arrange to swap addresses.  : )

April Showers Bring...

Postcards!  : )  Here are my 'May Flowers' postcards for an upcoming swap I'm in.  I decorated some denim I was given with some free motion stitching.  I like 'em!  They were very fun to make.

Don't you dig that swooshy photo?  : )  Hope it doesn't cause motion sickness.  lol  Have a great weekend everyone.

My Happy Place

We had a rainy day with my husband home, and I got so much done!  It really makes me look forward to winter.  Yeah, I said it.  Truly though, this has been one of the best summers ever.  Each day has been around 25C for weeks now.  It's been terrific.  So here's what I did!

three postcards

I joined the "My Happy Place" swap at PostcardCottage.  You make three, you get three.  So here are mine!  Two will be sent elsewhere in Canada, and one goes to the States.  I'm not sure who will get what, but I really love what I made.

summer lush, My Happy Place swap / postcard #1

I love that one so much!!  It will become a larger piece for an upcoming show & sale.  In fact, I was so excited about it that I've already began to put it together on canvas.  This little one for now is a 4x6 postcard for swapping.  I love the light green thread painted in the distance, and the pretty knots in the foreground were achieved by using variegate hand painted thread.

Here's a simple version of the canola.  I chose not to stitch into the sky of this one. 

Canola Postcard (detail) My Happy Place swap / postcard #2

And look at this!  Ooooooh it's my favorite.  I made it the day after I spent an afternoon lying in the backyard with the kids just watching the clouds as they move & change.

Cloud Watching Postcard, My Happy Place swap / postcard #3

Isn't that cool!?  I get such a kick out of it every time I look at it.  I can't stop giggling!  It's my happy place all right!  For me, there's nothing more fulfilling than feeling completely unrestricted.  I love to see far, feel the air, and be able to breathe deep.    Here's a little close up.  It may look like 'nothing', but there are some pretty details.

detail of My Happy Place #3

I've done the thread painting and hand embroidery with different threads - shiny rayons, variegated cottons, metallic polyester.  The effect I can achieve is more important to me than the brand name.  Mixing them up like that really does a good job I think.

There you go!  More tomorrow!

~Monika

Post Card Swaps Go Up Tomorrow!

You are invited to try your hand at making little mini-fibre-art!  Please come to PostCardCottage at Yahoo groups dot com.  Once you join as a member, you have the option to sign up for swaps.  So hang out there and wait until you see something you like.  I'll be putting up fun topics tomorrow to spur your imagination!!!

the backside of a card I got from Miriam G. in Ireland

If you sign up for a swap you only have to make 3 pieces, 4 x 6`` each, using ANY technique you want.  Basic instruction are in a file there.  You also GET 3 postcards back from fabulous people around the world via REAL MAIL!  Want to see a few in my collection?  Click on the following:

WOW LOOK AT ALL THESE!!

It`s very fun and practically free.  Please do join if you have a sewing machine and some scraps.  I would love to swap with you!  : )

funny little cards i made for an easter swap, 2010

Monika
sewing in Saskatoon