Recycle Bin Index Card Collages

I am continuing to challenge myself to create all of my index cards for Tammy's Index-Card-a-Day (ICAD) project using ONLY materials from the recycle bin--junk mail, discarded magazines, and lots and lots of business envelopes.  (For an introduction to my "take" on the project, you can check out my first post here.)

ICAD 2014 #6 Thirst For Life

I'm especially enjoying the cards with images tucked behind security envelope windows, though they are certainly the toughest to photograph!

ICAD 2014 #8 Awakening

ICAD 2014 #9 Next Step

Some are very simple, with maybe a security envelope liner pattern, an image, and a phrase.

ICAD 2014 #7 Ludwig

This is one of the simplest ever, but it makes me laugh every time I look at it:

ICAD 2014 #14 Hello Kitty!

From a couple of the cards, you can tell that I'm getting into the spirit of summertime:

ICAD 2014 #10 Paradise Excursion

ICAD 2014 #13 Jimmy Buffett

 And to round-out the ICAD collection as it currently stands, here are two more:

ICAD 2014 #11 By The Numbers

ICAD 2014 #12 Love Your Love

You can visit Tammy's site to learn more about ICAD, and also visit some of the participants by checking out the link-up. 

ICAD 2014: Recycle Bin Challenge

I wasn't going to participate in Tammy's Index Card a Day Challenge this year, simply because I missed the kick-off, and figured I would never be able to catch up. 

The stars of inspiration aligned to draw me in, however, and yesterday was my own personal kick-off day.  I read Karen's post about using bits from her desk and recycling bin to make one of her cards, and in a flash of insight, I realized it would be a fun challenge to use ONLY items from the recycling bin for the ENTIRE project. 

And then as I sat down at the table with my recycle bin next to me, I saw a clothing catalog and an article about dogs in quick succession, and I remembered my friend Becky's latest interest--pairing animals' heads with models' bodies.  How could I resist?

With no further ado, I share with you my first index cards of 2014:

ICAD 2014 #1:  No Room for Boring

ICAD 2014 #2:  Poised to Become Responsible

ICAD 2014 #3:  Grand Illusions in the Air

ICAD 2014 #4:  Technological Advancements

And my final card in this first set went in a new direction, though still relying on all recycling bin materials:

ICAD 2014 #5:  Assignment:  Care About the Planet Today

Stay tuned for more recycling bin finds for the Index Card a Day Challenge! 

To see how other artists jump-started the challenge, visit Tammy's first Link Love here.

Tying Up Loose Ends

Things are a little quiet in Blogland these days.  I hope that you will share a quick comment if you come by, just to let me know that you've been here!

I have some loose ends to tie up--a couple projects that I've finished up but have yet to share the results with you.

When I came home from the CREATE Mixed Media Art Retreat, I had an unfinished page from my drawing and watercolor with Jane LaFazio, and I didn't want to just leave it in its half-completed state.

We used our pages as learning tools, rather than with the intention of becoming finished pieces, and since we didn't know exactly where we were headed during the class, we didn't have the option to plan out the balance of color or design on our pages.  I tried to improve those two aspects of the piece with the addition of some colored borders, decorative tape, and small colored circles.  It's not perfect, but let me know what you think!

I also participated in Tammy's Index-Card-a-Day (ICAD) challenge, but was't very diligent about sharing my final cards on the blog.  You can see cards from the first weeks of the challenge here:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4
• Week 5

And here are some additional cards from this year's collection:

My daughter participated in ICAD with me, and donated one of her cards to my group:

I like using index cards to practice tangle patterns, old and new:

I also love stitching paper for my cards.  I found a discounted bag of scraps at the craft store, some of which I used for these two cards:

And these two cards were truly scraps I just pulled from my art table, left over from other projects, and then indulged in some crazy stitching just for the fun of it:

I played around with paints and markers for these four cards:

I commemorated a dinner out with girlfriends on this card:

I used paints to create a little "On the Road Again" card (whose background is an orange that contrasts strongly with the sun's yellow, but you would never know it from my camera!):

And, finally, I "had at it" with paints and brushes and stencils for my final week's worth of cards:

I only missed maybe a week in the middle of the challenge, but I still have quite a satisfying stack of index card art to enjoy, and to add to my work from last year.

This year's stack of ICADs

Last year's stack of ICADs

I hope you are having a relaxed and happy August!

Around Here

No one will ever accuse me of traveling lightly!

I am about to set off for Somerset, New Jersey, and the 2013 CREATE Mixed-Media Art Retreat.  I have a bag of clothing, a bag of art supplies for my workshops, a bag of art supplies for my personal use, and a bag of bathroom items.  That doesn't even include the mammoth purse that I'll grab on the way out the door!  Thank goodness I'm not going by airplane, so I can avoid all those tough decisions about what to take and what to leave at home.

I am putting all of my supplies for the workshops into this organizer tote from Michaels.  I figure it is easy to carry and easy to access the tools and supplies during the workshops.

Among the other items, I have a container of wipes, some latex gloves, and a couple of cloth diapers that I always use for dabbing my brushes when using watercolors.  Looking at my bag, it's a little tough to determine if I'm making art or diapering a baby!

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For the first time in a long time, I bought a bouquet of flowers at a local co-op, and used a few little clippings to brighten the windowsill over the kitchen window.  I am definitely going to have to bring flowers into my home more often!
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It's been a long time since I've posted about my progress in Index Card a Day (ICAD).  Here's a sneak peek, but I'll try to show the gallery sometime next week!

Have a happy art-making weekend!

Index Card Art: Week Five

Wow, one day it is Sunday, and the next thing I know it's almost Sunday again!  The weeks of summer are melting away...somewhat literally, I might add.

Here are my index cards for week five of ICAD, up through July 4th:

ICAD3:  #30

Zentangle

I just got the book Zentangle 7:  Inspiring Circles, Zendalas, and Shapes, by Suzanne McNeill, and decided to try out a few of the new designs on an index card.  I really like the new tangles in this book!

ICAD3:  #31

Sampler:  B

I did a sampler of A in the my last batch of index cards.  This time I focused on the letter B, and used various font ideas from Jenny Doh's book, Creative Lettering.  Still loving it!

ICAD3:  #32

Circles

Instead of trying to make perfect circles to try a Zendala, I just started sketching out freehand circles of different sizes, and then filled them in with markers, just for fun.

ICAD3:  #33

Free As the Road

This image comes from the booklet I got at Collection Cafe in Seattle, highlighting Dale Chihuly's various collections on display there.  The quotation comes from George Herbert 

(1593-1633) in The Collar.

ICAD3:  #34

God Bless America

My ICAD celebrating the 4th of July!

Soon I hope to share with you some of the amazing mail art that has been coming my way, along with studio photos showing you how I've been displaying some of the mail art love.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Index Card Art: Week Four

And the Index-Card-A-Day challenge continues!

ICAD3:  #22 "Fresh Start"

Collage with magazine/catalog images and decorative tape

ICAD3:  #23  "Crawl Through Life"

Collage with magazine/catalog images and decorative tape

ICAD3: #24  "Care"

Lettering and doodling with markers on watercolored background

ICAD3:  #25 "Today is a good day"

Lettering and doodling with markers on watercolored background

ICAD3:  #26  "Sampler:  A"

Lettering with black pen, using ideas from Jenny Doh's Creative Lettering

ICAD3:  #27  "Dutch Wonderland"

Collage of Dutch Wonderland map and brochure with green Dymo tape

ICAD3:  #28  "Chihuly Collection:  Bottle Openers"

Collage using images from booklet from Collections Café in Seattle,

with clear Dymo tape

ICAD3:  #29  "Chihuly Collection:  Radios"

Collage using images from booklet from Collections Café in Seattle,

with red Dymo tape; quotation from Edward R. Morrow

 

Visit Tammy's blog to see the rest of the ICAD fun!

 

Index Card Art: Week Three

Another week of the Index-Card-a-Day (ICAD) challenge has passed, and I'm on time this week to show my latest creations.

ICAD3:  #15
Raw Art Journaling:  Getting Edgy

My cards continue to run the gamut of markering, collage, and doodling.

ICAD3:  #16
Stuff on My Desk 2

ICAD3:  #17
Cheater, Cheater Sketchbook Series I

I certainly have never claimed to have a "signature style," and my index card collection continues to attest to that fact!

Card #15 resulted from an exercise called "Getting Edgy" from Quinn MacDonald's Raw Art Journaling book.  Her exercises have been fueling several of my index cards!

Card #16 is another result of simply rummaging around the scraps on my art table when index-card-making time rolled around.

And Card #17 is a bit of a "cheat" because I simply photocopied a page in my sketchbook that I had been working on, and glued it to an index card.  Because I don't have too many hours to work on my art each day, sometimes a project has to do double-duty.  If I manage to work in my sketchbook, then it will have to serve as my index card that day as well!

ICAD3:  #18
Cheater, Cheater Sketchbook Series II

I did the same thing for Card #18:  photocopied a page of doodles from my sketchbook and glued it to an index card.  I recently purchased Creative Lettering:  Techniques & Tips from Top Artists, by Jenny Doh, and fell in love with Flora Chang's doodles in the very first section.  Trust me, you will be seeing plenty more blog posts inspired by the work in this fun book!

ICAD3:  #19
Cheater, Cheater Sketchbook Series III

After getting into the doodling mode from the lettering book, I visited Michael's and saw a series of stamp sets with little doodle images.  (Perhaps they were the Recollections brand?  I'm not sure.)  I took photos with my phone, and then came home to add the doodles to my sketchbook.  One more photocopy and glue stick adhesion and Card #19 was born!

ICAD3:  #20
Raw Art Journaling:  Free Floating Bubbles

Card #20 is another exercise from Quinn MacDonald's book.  They are fun to draw, and fun to color in with my Sharpie markers.  Nothing too involved...just some free-form doodling fun!

ICAD3:  #21
Raw Art Journaling:  Over & Under

My final card for the week is another exercise from Quinn's book, and one that I did on a card last week.  Once you start doing these Over & Under cards, you really don't want to stop!  They are basically the Zentangle pattern called Hollibaugh, which is one of my favorites.  Crazy thing about this card:  it is actually purple and blue!  But I couldn't manage to capture the correct colors with my camera, no matter how much I messed with the lighting.

As wonderful as ICAD is, I have no intention of turning my blog into a show-and-tell of my ICAD cards.  Please come back this weekend and next week for some posts that will show you art journal pages, some new additions to the walls of my studio, and MORE!

Visit here for my cards from week one.
Visit here for my cards from week two.