Decorated Letter and Some Evies

Here are some more papers that I have decorated to write a letter on....well letter/ journaling  page. I think they work for both. I will send this to my partner in Our Friendship Journal Facebook group. I might try to iron the pages after I get done next time. they are wrinkly, but not sooo much it messes with my writing, but still I might see if I like that. I hope that it does not melt anything I add, I don't think it will, but will just have to be a "trial and error" thing for me;)

These last ones are some envelopes I decorated. One more then the others...obviously. I am not sure I like this first one. The back is totally white, and that bothers me a bit, but I am not sure how I will do it on the back. Maybe just point it black with a card, then do some random stenciling. It's a little too busy I think.

I tried to go simple on this next one. I think it turned out cute and simple. So, over all I like. 

This one was a pleasant surprise. I enjoyed it. I love horses, what girl doesn't?? I wanted to add some words on here, and since it's a swap...I just stated the obvious;) It worked out well, I am happy. 

That's it for now. I have tons more to share, and talk about. I have about six drafts going, and about 2 or 3 more posts that I need to start just from my pictures on my phone. I might start thinking about how to attract some followers. I am just not sure. No one really reads these, but I enjoy writing here, it's like my diary...craft one anyways...I might have tons of people if I really laid my thoughts on here!!LOL! Not in it for that, but would like to have some friends to read and discuss crafts with me. I don't know maybe blogs are a thing of the past now?? I have Instagram and everyone seems much more active. I will just have to think about this. I can say more here. Well bye!!

Journal Pages and Envelopes

I thought I had already published like 3 pending posts...I guess not. So, here are a couple letters that I wrote to my swap partners in a Facebook group called Our Friendship Journal. These pages were the first time that I had ever decorated my letter pages like this. I usually have always wrote in some Kawaii letter set papers. I like letter sets, but I have definably moved away from cute type stuff to more vintage, mixed media- like stuff. Not all the stuff I do is vintage, but I do like to have the grungy look, not too much, but enough to not expect perfection. I am not very neat styled at all. If I had to make my works perfectly straight, colored in, layered, etc...I would nit pick it to death...more then I do now;) I like more of a, "let see what this looks like...yep it looks good"...until there are enough layers to say, "its done";)

The very fist page I did...though I did work on all of the at the same time....I started and finished with this one. 

This one got cropped a bit too much for Instagram.

Ok, now these below are the envelopes that I sent my letters in. One I got from another swapper that sent me her letter, and just covered it in gesso and redecorated it. Then I found a large flat rate envelope that I had....did the same thing. It was fun. I usually would want to put more decoration things on there besides just the llama head, but really these are envelopes! hahah....probably gonna be thrown away or hopefully cut up and used for art projects...or even reused like what I did;)

The end.....bye!!!

Last Swaps Out Before Surgery!!

So, this is the last stack of mail that will be sent out until after I have my surgery tomorrow. I have other crafting pictures to share later, but this will be my last post until after it too. I am having a radical hysterectomy on the 22nd of Feb. Tomorrow. Today I will get a call between 2 and 6 to let me know when I need to arrive at UVA tomorrow. It will be a 6 week no pushing, pulling, lifting 10 lbs or more recovery. One week after the surgery we will get the news if the cancer has spread outside of the cervix or not. If it has then I will have radiation treatments. So, yea...that is what is happening now for me. I have been crafting like crazy the past couple of days. My mom is here from NC to stay with the kids while my hubby, Matt, takes me to the hospital tomorrow....she will stay for several weeks helping....COOK....she's mainly gonna cook....she is the cooker of the family.....I did NOT inherit any of those genes! LOL! Wish I had though. ;)

Well, there I am...I hope I remember to post them off today!!! LOL!!

Thanks or stopping by!!

FBs n Deco entries

This post is a few different things. It starts out with a swap I received from Australia, from a new swapper friend that I recently made....and she is currently my only fb swapper friend. And that is enough for now;) Then I also got a homer with this swap!! YAY! It's one I made. Then there are some Art Deco entries I decorated so I can get these girls decos moving on. Then just the envelopes of two swaps that are for a Facebook group. And that is all;)

There is about 30 fbs in all from this swap. I am not sure that I will be able to send that many back. I am pretty sure I said that I can send only a small amount. If I had to guess to send this same weight back to Aussi land would be like $15 dollars to me. I do remember reading in a group if you break it up in 2 smaller envelopes you can send more. So, I may try that depending on how time consuming and just really the effort will be a deal breaker for me. I will just send around 3 ounces back...unless its like 10 bucks, and I will have figure something out then:/

Here is Olof I made this fb a long time ago. I was just starting to get into mixed media....like JUST STARTING to get into it...I didn't even know about mixed media, but you can see the stamped shading on the edges....that is how it all started!!! LOL...ahhahahahahahhaha!!!

Here is a "colorful" frog Art Deco. Well, I didn't have colorful frogs, but I did happen to find some stickers. They are foil stickers with mirror-like reflection....so hopefully that counts. I'm hoping one of these days i will be able to decently draw whatever I need to for these deco and other art projects. This is not my favorite theme, but I do like decorating non interesting themes just to see how it comes out and even learn from it. 

This was very cute. I had these cutouts from a swap on Swap-bot. I usually do not remember I have these little things to use, and they just sit somewhere. But this worked out very well. I cut the background from a gelli print I made a few months ago. I need to have another gelli printing session. It's just so much fun;) and you make a stack of papers that last for ever.

This was another theme I was not thrilled with, but had a great time making this page. BUUUUTT...the theme is beach...not under the sea....which is what it seems like I was thinking....hope that is okay though!!!LOL!

Here are two envelopes that were gelli printed a long time ago. I swear...I make something....try to find it and can't...then find it weeks later and use it;)

That is it for this post. Thanks for looking!!

Backgrounds, Decos, n Messy Desk

These are some backgrounds that I have been working on. I think they will be cut up and made for some ATCs. I am in an ATC group where we can post pictures of our ATCs, then other members of the group can comment if they want to trade some of theirs for mine. I have not posted any of mine yet, but I have several that I have made and plan to post as soon as I am a bit better after my surgery I will have tomorrow.

Just painted circles with my fingers in various colors, then used a fine liner to  mark around them....that's it.

This one turned out better then I thought. I use the make up wedges to stamp little rectangles....I didn't plan, just added them to fill the page. Then I used the fine liner around the border of each rectangle.

This was fun, a lot of these pages are done on  cereal boxes that have been gesso'd, and they start out as a scrap page.....where I use up all the ink that is left over from the "main" project. Then when it starts to get some character, I will give it more attention and care more about making it look good/usable for some projects. I am still practicing and basically using "trial and error" with my fine liner....since these will be cut up and layered several times more, it will hide "mistakes";)

This started out as inspired by a "mood board" in one of my  Facebook groups....but I am not quite sure it will fit that mood. Maybe once I cut it down to ATCs, some I can continue with the mood board inspiration. I really like this one though, it turned out pretty cool looking. I have also been practicing with a calligraphy dip pen I have recently purchased. Yea, there is gonna be a huge learning curve with that thing;) I was listening my my preachers sermon on my computer and just writing some things down that he was saying. 

And of course, I cannot go a crafting day without taking lovely picture of my mess;) It is pretty much  always looking like this. I do go through and try to clean and organize....not to clean really, but to see what I have forgotten about and try to use it! LOL!

These are Art Decos I made for swaps with new private swappers, and swap-bot.  I REALLY love the way these turned out. I just started to cover the cardstock, laying a background and add some texture with stencils. Add some other paper for more textures. Then more stencils and did some fine liner drawing and framing in with that. I drew a few back ground things in, added the focal point, then wanted to do light shades over the focal point to blend in with the background. Then added a sentiment and some texture paste with the cursive stencil. If I really wanted to finish it off, I would go through and do some time consuming shading around the focal points to really get them to pop....but I thought these looked pretty good as is. 

That was it for that day/days. I did these things a few weeks ago. I posted them on my new crafting instagram page...its marlowesmakingsnmail. Thanks for looking!!!

SPOILERS!!! BUTT load of Art Decos

Yea, I am pretty much sure that I spent ALL DAY LONG making these decos today. It was so much fun!! I started out greeting card style...ended up with mixed media style. I am very pleased with all of them. Not sure what got into me, but I signed up for some swaps on Swap-bot, then a couple on Facebook...I pretty much got all of them done today!! Which is great cause I was not planning on signing up for any swaps until after my surgery on Feb. 22. 

Vintage Valentine Deco for Swap on Facebook

Heart Deco for swap on Facebook

"Food" Deco for swap on Swap-bot

Houses Deco for swap on Swap-bot

"Cat" Deco for swap on Swap-bot

Swap on swap-bot "Stamped Image" Deco

Swap on swap-bot...not sure of title for this one yet

Just cause...I might make this for a new friend who is gonna be designing me some labels. 

Just for fun Deco

Just for fun Deco

Just for fun Deco

More unfinished decos. 

Well, that is all or today. Thanks for looking!!

3 ATCs and 2 Decos

These three ATCs will probably be traded in a new group I am in on Facebook. I have not posted them there yet. Sometimes  I am hesitant to post things about trading on there, because so many people just start messaging you and replying, it really over whelms me! lol! Maybe I am just weird. I think that is why I like swap-bot so much...it's just easier...you are assigned you partner.

Was not impressed wth this for a while, then it came together nicely.

One I made a while back, and am ready to trade.

An ATC...I like it.

Below is a Deco I started weeks ago, then lost it, then found it and finished it. I am not too impressed with the way it turned out, but its cute I guess.

My okay-ish Deco, I lost then finished recently.

This is a page that I decorated for a swap partner via SB. I like her style and have thought about contacting her to be regular deco swappers. I have just been procrastinating. I am looking  -ish for quality Art Deco swappers in the USA. Also, for HQ/N+N fbs too, but have not really gotten back into that yet;)

My page, in the deco below.

Deco received via Swap-bot swap

Thanks for checking it out!!

Mixed Media Lg Envie & Face

On Facebook, I am in a group called Our Friendship Journal. We are making a journal page about every month. The pages are 8x10, and I just make mine on regular copy paper, that will thicken up after many layers of paint and sealer. I do not have a picture of it, I may try to take some pictures of the other pages I started, and have not journaled on. These are the large flat envelopes that I mail my journal pages in. I love to alter envelopes, they are primarily my "scrap" papers for excess paints when I am gelli printing. I just roll the extra paint on them to get a start on the background. I have a hard time waiting for paints and gel mediums to dry, so instead of taking a heat tool or blow dryer to it, I will just start another project....usually having 5 to 10 going on at the same time;) 1 to 3 projects will be the main focus, with several others just starting a base coat for them. 

This is probably my favorite between the two. 

You can still see some of the manila color in the back ground....not sure if I like that or not.

This picture below, I drew of my daughter, Ella. I honestly did NOT expect it to turn out so well. I do not draw faces that often, can probably count on one hand the times that I have actually sat down to draw a face. I would love to get more into it, with art journaling. I feel like I would ruin it if I tried to color it in though....this is why I am going to scan and make a copy to color, versus winging it with the original. She was not in a good mood when I was doing this, and I tried to capture her droopy eyes without it looking all wonky. Love the shape of the face though, its the same as mine too. 

Thanks for looking!

Science, Decos, and US!

I guess this is the first post of the New Year. We started back school a week before the schools around here did. I took it slow for the first week....always after a longish break the kids are harder to motivate to do their school work. Now we are back on track...no electronics until work is done, and their rooms are clean;) and they have to keep good attitudes, and treat each other decently.  So below is our the first part of my daughters digestive system study. I did the drawing, and I am most proud of the hair;)

So, this post will be all over the place;) This is a deco that I made for a swap on Swap-bot. I used some materials that I received in a wish swap on SnailmailersRus on Facebook.  This group is very popular, it has many members and there are like 200 people doing wishes every week. The moderator organizes and checks to make sure every one sends their stuff....it's neat...but boy, I bet she stays so busy....it's like a job. 

Below is us. Me and my three;)

Below is a picture of how I store some of my Art Decos. I also have a few handmade cards, fbs, and ATCs that I have kept in there too. I have a separate box for all the ATCs, but I could not find it to take picture. I have a box for all my used stamps, and homer fbs too. 

So, that is it for now. Have a great day!!