One a Day in May - Day 26 - Calendula card set

I made the paper for these cards last summer but first I dyed the corn husks and the recycled paper with dye that I made from Goldenrod blossoms.  I love experimenting with wild flower dyes.  Most of them dye some shade of yellow, but a wide range from orangey yellows to greenish yellows.  And you can get even more variety by using different modifiers.  I'll do a tutorial about dyeing with plants later this summer.

My lighting washed the yellow out a bit in this photo but the Goldenrod gives the paper a light mustard yellow colour.  The flowers on these cards are Calendula (Pot Marigold).

One a Day in May - Day 22 - Deer and cat card set

My studio is almost reorganized but it's taking way longer than I planned.  Rethinking how much I can reasonably fit into a limited space is always a challenge.  It's a generous space and I love it but I simply have too much stuff that I'm not willing to let go of.

I squeezed in this set of block printed note cards.  The texture of the handmade paper adds rustic charm but it's almost impossible to get a perfect print.

I used two photos and my imagination to create this block print.  One of the photos was of my daughter's cat sitting on a dresser looking out the window,



 
and the other was a photo of a deer in our yard.  Not a great photo but I only needed the silhouette anyway.

For Christmas cards I added a dab of red sparkly paint where the deer's nose would be.

One a Day in May - Day 21 - Flower basket card

I can't believe I've made it this far into my personal challenge to produce at least one piece a day in May.  There have been days, like today, that I feel too tired to do anything but have a bath and go to bed; but I made myself a promise (and then foolishly announced it to the world!) so here is today's challenge piece. 

Pressed flower assortment in birch bark 'basket' on gladiola leaf paper card.

As soon as I finish a few more cards for my space at the Artisan Centre, I'm going to start working on replenishing my Etsy shop.  One listing a day?  Maybe.

One a Day in May - Day 20 - Poppy photo card

I've spent the past 5 hours organizing in my studio and if I had completed the job I would have considered that my creative bit for the day.  But there are still hours to go in there, so I did a pretty low stress photo card instead.

The poppy photo is printed on paper made from recycled paper and mixed plant fibres and then coated with digital medium.  It's mounted on hand made iris leaf paper.

One a Day in May - Day 19 - Heart card

The heart on this card is made from alder twigs.   They have to be bent into shape and pinned to dry for about a week before they are dry enough to hold their shape when glued to the card.  I use fine wire at the joins.  The closed dried blossom is birch leaf spirea.  

This card is made from pure swamp grass paper.  I like the rough texture.  I processed the plant fibres for a shorter time so they didn't break down as much. Sometimes I want a smoother surface for my cards, especially for printing photos onto, so I'll cook the plant material for a longer time. 

Announcing the Winner!

The winner of my One World One Heart draw prize, a set of block printed handmade paper cards, chosen by random number generator, is Deci from Gem Trails.

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

22 

Timestamp: 2011-02-18 04:00:31 UTC

Congratulations, Deci!  Thank you to everyone who visited my blog.  This One World One Heart may be over but I'll continue working my way through the list of blogs in the upcoming weeks.  I look forward to spending some more time revisiting blogs that I only had time to skim through first time around.

Welcome to my new followers!