Saturday, July 19, 2008

Altered Postcard Swap

The Bad Babies Yahoo group is having another swap. Well, we pretty much have swaps going on at all times but you just can't do them all!

This one is an altered postcard swap. There are 15 players. You alter a postcard for each player. The postcard has to be from where you are living right now.

I live in Oregon. But not some touristy part, just a run of the mill, small town with nothing going on. But for some reason this swap really called to me.

The swap was announced on July 16. As soon as I got done working I ran to the grocery store (the only place in town that sell postcards), browsed through the 3 or 4 designs they had and was totally taken with this one. I knew as soon as I saw it what I wanted to do. I knew what stamp I was going to use. Now I just had to ignore the weird look from the check out clerk (who knows I just live around the corner) as I bought 15 of the same card.

That night I sanded all the cards diagonally both from the right and the left so it made a cross-hatch design on the surface. I then rubbed Tim Holtz Distress Inks over the surface. First Scattered Straw, then Tea Dye and finally Walnut Stain. I then let them rest over night.

The next day I stamped the woman. She is from All Night Media. I made her look a bit more haggard than she really is by darkening her cheeks and adding a stroke of gray under each eye. Traveling across the country was no picnic!

Then off to the internet for the covered wagon and postage stamp. And finally I printed the supply list, which I found at http://www.oregontrailcenter.org/HistoricalTrails/Supplies.htm , onto transparency film.

I wanted to depict a "historical" postcard. I am facinated by the trek those pioneers made across the country to settle here. My husband's family made that journey. So hard to believe people could endure so much!

On July 18 I glued them all together, finished up the backs and had them packaged for mailing. I don't think I have EVER completed a swap so fast!


1 comment:

Lisa South said...

Love your postcard, Cheryl!