Cards for Christmas

Every December the Houston Calligraphy Guild has members exchange up to three Christmas cards that we can actually send to others. There is a numbering system at the meeting so you never know which cards you’ll receive.

My Xyron machine added adhesive to the back of the green paper. Double-sided tape works too.

Happy to say - my carved stamps make unique cards. See my carving instructions here: https://anneritataylor.blogspot.com/2016/01/carving-images-for-prints.html - I carved the deer, ornament, PEACE, Merry Christmas, the tree and small circle. The Earth stamp was from All Night Media - out of business from my Google search.

On my visit to Hobby Lobby last week I found Christmas stamps too. Here is the Christmas Ornament card with supplies used.

And I carved a Christmas tree with open circles for tree ornaments and the planet Earth.

Do you send Christmas cards - store-bought or home-made? Are you satisfied with sending a text!?! What Christmas cards, if any, are you sending this year?

©Anne Rita Taylor 2016

Swapping Journal Pages

I had fun carving and journaling recently; it reminded me of my past participation in Art Journal swaps.

Before the current layering craze - to paint backgrounds, drop inks, fill in parts of stencils - we recorded daily personal events in our journals; sometimes adding illustrations.

Mostly I used quotes to practice calligraphy plus printed my carvings or used commercial rubber stamps.

I wrote about my travels in my handmade books. For one of the swaps: Twenty-five journalers exchanged Travel Journal pages.

One person would host and send the pages to those participating. Fun to receive photos, sketching, or just words.

I still participate in a carving swap as I mentioned last week:

https://anneritataylor.blogspot.com/2016/10/print-vibe.html

And I am wondering about what image to carve for Christmas cards this year.

I still enjoy playing with calligraphy and rubber stamps in my journals. What are your favorite art journaling techniques?

©Anne Rita Taylor 2016

Print Vibe

My Owl Carving this week - for the Rubber Amateur Press Society quarterly swap due October - mentioned in an earlier blog:  https://anneritataylor.blogspot.com/2016/07/rubber-amateur-press-society.html. 

Since it is the Season of the Witch - here is my skeleton carving. I was reminded of another Carving swap - Print Vibe 21 - that I joined for three years: 2010 through 2012. 

Heart and Print Vibe Cover Carvings by Tim Blackburn

Hosted by Tim Blackburn, an excellent carver, Professor of Radiology too. Tim looked for other carvers after 7 swaps; I carved & printed 21 prints - for the last 17 out of 24 issues. 

Another Halloween-theme: my Poe Carving. The print size: a third of an 8 1/2 by 11 inch page = 3 3/8 by 8 1/2 inches. I printed 21 original prints for each issue - 6 issues a year.

Who did not love Michael Jackson!?! I was pleased with my MJ Carving. With my Fish Carving below: I added watercolor.

Please let me know what you think about carving or printing - see my earlier blog: https://anneritataylor.blogspot.com/2016/01/carving-images-for-prints.html

I love multiples! Remember the rubber stamp craze during the 1990’s? That is another story...
©Anne Rita Taylor 2016