cut out letters

card no 4

to Maria

reason thanks for sending the photos I asked for for my album

materials
card double sided patterned paper from Crate Paper + a photo of Maria & Andreas from their wedding
envelope from a roll of wrapping paper

Summer work, hiking and then first week of the new semester kept me from crafty projects, but now I decided to jump back in.

This was my first attempt in a long while to cut out letters with my knife. It turned out to be a lot easier than I expected/ remembered! Something I'll be sure to return to. I accidentally cut the letter A while the card was folded, so I had an A shape in the back of the card too. That gave me the idea to glue a photo to the backside of the card, to fill the hole. And I like how it looks. I love mistakes that make the finished result better than it would have if I hadn't made the mistake!

More info on the 40 cards project here.

cliffs and butterflies

card no 3

to my aunt Ninna

reason It's her birthday

materials
card folded cardstock, stamps, white ink
envelope made from a page in a thrifted book called "Vårt vackra Europa" ("Our beautiful Europe")

Since the envelope was so colorful I decided to keep the card simple, just a few stamps and a white "grattis". I just love making envelopes from books and magazine pages and there will be many more like this. I think it's kind of a shame that cards are often so pretty, while envelopes tend to be white and boring - it's the first thing you see after all!

More info on the 40 cards project here.

wedding squares

card no 2

to Anton & Linnea

reason They're getting married

materials
card Elle Erre 260g/m2 paper in a cream color, photos, scraps
envelope Made from a plastic pocket and decorated with some rub-ons

For Anton and Linneas wedding I came up with the idea of squares and from there it wasn't difficult to fill the squares. I printed some photos of them, of the lindy hop dance floor (which is where they met) and of the woods in Dalsland (where Anton is from) and punched some other squares from scraps in pretty colors. The one with the "married" text is from an old English - Swedish dictionary I found. And then I wrote "grattis" on the last square and called it done.

More info on the 40 cards project here.

bunting flags birthday card

card no 1

to Johanna

reason It's her birthday

materials
card My usual matte photo paper, ink
envelope Folded from a roll of wrapping paper that I bought years ago, don't remember where now

I found this great tutorial at Pugly Pixel on how to make bunting flags in Photoshop and had to try it. It quickly turned addicting, it's so easy and pretty! These are actually the first color combinations I tried and I'm really happy with the card. ("Grattis" means "congratulations" which is what we Swedes use for "happy birthday" as well as other congratulations.) I originally intended to use an address label for the envelope, but when I had glued it together I saw that there was a perfect space left for the address on the front. Awesome when that happens.

More info on the 40 cards project here.

40 cards: the beginning

What's this?
I'll be making and sending 40 cards in a year. Starting now, July 18th 2012. I'm excited! I must admit, I actually created this blog partly for this project (although I hope the blog will contain loads of other paper projects and art journals as well).

Where did this idea come from?
The inspiration came from Elise Blaha's fabulous 40 loaves and 40 pizzas projects. I've been feeling inspired to do something similar - basically, 40 things on a theme in a year. So I asked myself what I would really like to do more of but rarely get around to. The answer came quickly: sending cards.

Why cards?
Sending cards is awesome because it combines my love of crafting with my love for my friends. I like real mail; real, tactile, surprise art in the mailbox. I've been writing a lot of letters in my days but have found recently that I like the creating/ decorating part just as much as writing the actual letter. On a card, there's room for artwork, but there's still room to say what you want to say, too. Most of the cards will probably be sent in an envelope so they wont fall apart if they are collaged and/ or fragile. And also because I love to make envelopes.

Who am I going to send them to?
Anyone I can think of. Anyone to whom I need, want or should say something. Anyone who needs some cheering up. Anyone who would appreciate it or has seen too little art lately. My friends and family. My old penpals. My old classmates. Strangers?

"Rules":
1. They have to be made, designed or altered by me in some way.
2. They have to be sent (or given away). (Why? Because I'm a hoarder and sometimes I make things and have a difficult time letting go of them, so they end up in a box somewhere which doesn't make anyone happy.)
3. They have to be documented in the blog. (Why? Because things tend to get done more easily if I've publicly promised to do them ...)
4. They don't have to be all fancy or brilliant and above all, they don't all have to be original and different. I may repeat themes, ideas and elements, I may follow tutorials or gather inspiration from my cards and paper board on Pinterest, or anything else that crosses my mind. (Why? Because forcing myself to make something brilliant and original is the kind of thought that would make me anxious and procrastinating and want to stop. Forcing myself to just make something anything whatever, and then send it out into the world, that is the kind of thought that inspires me.)

So, wish me luck! :)

now book from week 26

Working in a large, thick journal hasn't been working for me these past few years, which is why you haven't seen anything from me lately. I just feel trapped by the commitment of something that seems neverending and unfinishable, and I hate not finishing things. So I decided to keep it light and just make one of these now books whenever I felt like creating.

This one is from two weeks ago, made almost entirely from scraps and stuff thrown in the paper recycling bin, and captures a lot of restlessness and anxiety. Those feelings have gone away now, but this little colorful thing is still here with me. Just the way I like it.