This is my favorite of the postcards, probably because I did more work on this one than the others. I started with the Morgan Green tarot card, and I used a stamp of the frame for the outside, (stamping it on black paper and using white embossing powder) I had to trim it to make it look like it fit. To bring the color to the background, I already knew I wanted to cut out butterflies. I had put some ink on the background to dull it down, and the butterflies brightened it up again. Some of the butterflies are stickers, and others I cut out from some art paper. I actually drew a skull on the back of one of the butterflies. One of these days, I’ll actually get back into drawing and draw more on everything, but I have too many cool things that don’t require drawing.

To get the texture on the papers on the back, I used these scissors which make a design. They are not easy to use, and you have to line them up with each two centimeters you cut. I’d spent so much on the front that I wanted something colorful. Had to use a 44 cent stamp too, because it’s too big for the normal rate.

I’d been looking at a cool book that has information on how to make polymer clay tile mosaics, and the artist used a lot of religious icons contained within frames. My friend Jane and I were in awe of how beautiful they were, so I started looking for tiny icon images I could use to duplicate the effect. I used these from a catalog that was selling a lot of Christmas cards. They’re tiny, just the right size for this.

The stamp has the eye inside the onion-shaped arch, so I stamped it on green paper, embossed it in gold, and then cut out the inside. No reason why I shouldn’t reuse it on the backside. There’s still plenty of room for a stamp.

The inspiration for this postcard was a packet of origami paper in traditional Japanese blue-on-white designs, such as were used on textiles. They have a lovely texture to them too, soft like money or paper towels. I used a compass to draw quarter circles on them, then cut on the lines. I made the base with just plain paper and a white background. The stamp is one that I purchased, and I used clear ink (yes, there is such a thing) with opaque white embossing powder to give it a raised surface. I’m quite happy with how it turned out.

This is another piece of the calendar I rescued from the trash. The images were just too beautiful not to reuse. I’m such a sucker for the 18th and 19th century botanical and zoological illustrative style. To add something else, I used some of these butterfly stickers that I bought for way too much money at a stationary store. (Stationary stores–another weakness!)

The challenge, when using many sheets of the same paper, is to figure out ways to bring out different parts of the background. I had thought I woudl draw more with this project, but when it came around to it, there were just too many cool images already prepared, such as this pre-cut photo of a rose on cardstock. I used a rose stamp to add to the motif on the back.