We got your invitation!

This was the third set of cards for me, and my second swap. The swap was for Picnics & Parties. People unintentionally invite bears to their campsites, and I thought it would be funny to see the bears enjoying a picnic of their own. It was then given the title "Dig In!"

For this one I used water based dye ink pads as watercolors. Meaning I blotted the ink pads on a palette and added water to them, and then painted with them after stamping my image. I don’t know if it adds to it or not, but I cut out all of the bears (mom and baby included) and the tree trunks out of separate papers and glued them to the card. I guess it’s interesting to be able to touch the slightly raised surface.

This set actually wasn't my favorite and I was pretty worried that it wouldn't be well received. I was wrong about that. :) Letterboxers are a very loving and supportive group. It doesn't matter if you try something new and it doesn't work the way you planned. Keep at it!

The first swap

My second LTC set, titled “Her Wild Heart”. I took a leap of faith and joined my first swap. The theme here was Recycled Art Revisited. You couldn't carve any new stamps, buy any new embellishments, paper, etc. I used old scrap cardstock in various colors, a 2012-2013 calendar, two recycled hand carved stamps of my Border Collie, Aarka, some homemade embossing “ink”, and some magazine pieces for the slobbery tennis ball on the back. I don’t have any punches, so I used the edges of things I thought looked interesting and cut them once I traced them. The tennis ball shape was made using a traced button.

And so it began...

My first LTC attempt, I named “Springfoot”. The Kangaroo was one I took photos of at Tanganyika Wildlife Park. I was really nervous about asking people for personal trades, but everyone was kind and warm. Sunia and HousepitalityHostess had me hooked in no time. I was also overwhelmed by how awesome everyone was with their card creations. My first attempt looked pretty shabby in comparison.