say it in a card

It's been a long while since I have posted anything.  My sister and I have had several life changes, including closing the doors of our business because family obligations required more time and we could not devote enough to our clients and "artists".  I say we, but my sister has been the heart and hands of this endeavor, with some minor creative input from me.

Although we have moved on, one thing hasn't changed.  Our love of art.  Vix has continued to paint, and joined a local group of friends who meet regularly to share the joy of painting.  The one thing Vix carried away from our business was a new love of and confidence in her ability to paint, to create something using her eyes and hands (and her heart) that she could enjoy and get satisfaction from.

As for me, I am still my eclectic self.  I have been putting paint on just about every surface imaginable since I was a small child.  Everywhere I look, I see potential art.  Nothing is more fun for me than to start with an idea and see it through to fruition.  My post today is no exception.

The card you see here started out as a gag gift for a friend at work.  She had a birthday right after Christmas, and like so many post Christmas babies, she got lost in the shuffle.  She reminded us all forlornly that we had forgotten her birthday two years in a row.

So I started brainstorming and came up with this manic little version of a birthday card.  The card is made of watercolor paper heavy enough to be suitable for mixed media.  I used a light watercolor wash, then added pink polka dots, and an origami elephant.  The saying that an elephant never forgets was going through my head when I folded him, and so with a little more thought it wasn't much of a stretch to come up with a sign for him to carry, which I glued to his trunk using a dab of hot glue.  I completed the inside of the card, then decided to add an origami heart made out of a $10 bill, and never one to under-do anything, added a photo of the birthday girl taped just inside the heart.

On the inside of the card, in order to include everyone, I took some photos I had used for my Christmas card at work and put them behind a bunch of balloons, and painted and cut out a cupcake and hot glued it to the bottom of the inside page of the card.  I had also done a water color wash on the background.  I added lettering with a Pitt Pen I love, got everyone to sign it and voila!  the birthday girl had her card.  Or rather, she will, when I give it to her today. :)

My best advice to anyone who loves to create is Just Do It!  And have fun doing it, because that is what it is all about!

...life is good. ~cath 

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