Here’s a freebie! …a printable calendar for April.

You can download it here at:
Etsy Digital Designers

…for my mother

Sweet April showers do spring May flowers. ~Thomas Tusser

:heart:

And it turns out that tribes, not money, not factories,
that can change our world, that can change politics, that can align large numbers of people.
Not because you force them to do something against their will. But because they wanted to connect.
~ Seth Godin

We’re hardwired for connection. There’s no arguing with the bioscience. 
But we want it so badly, we’re trying to hot-wire it. 
~ Brene Brown

I actually always wanted to make something of this sort!

… and this “postcard swap” was a good occasion to try out a few twists on some fiber methods and repurposing some materials. The postcard was made with a couple of different teabags, some scraps of beautiful paper, a few tiny beads and wonderful thread that glimmers…  +  …all stitched together!

 The blue patterned paper was created using the Itajime Shibori technique on a opened teabag…
… I rendered a couple of imaginary flowers in pencil on another teabag,
and then stitched both teabags together with a “Trapunto technique” using a few antique silver seed-beads.

The final assembly was done by using a Blanket Stitch around the edges with silk / iridescent thread.

The drawings used in this Postcard Swap come from my source of: 
A Collection of + 100 + Drawings of Imaginary Flowers by Lisa Rivas 

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I did challenged myself to do something innovative with paper for my post-card design and also created it in conjunction with the ‘PaperLove’ blog hop. Click HERE to see that post, and there is more info on how this postcard was created.

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“The world before us is a postcard, and I imagine the story we are writing on it.”
― Mary E. Pearson, The Miles Between

 

Hello! and welcome to my post about wonderful paper for the blog hop PAPER LOVE.
You have probably just visited Shells in the Bush, the amazing mixed media artist Michelle Reynolds,
  who lives on several acres of the Australian bush and loves paper! 

:heart:

Upon participating in on this blog-hop I knew it had propelled me into a bit of unknown hop, hop, hop territory.

Most of my artwork already involves lots of papers of all kinds.
I love amazing, beautifully stained, sewn, manipulated paper!
Plus, I had been saving teabags for about 2 years now,
for some special steeping of a creative idea…
…so I decided to give them a hop!

I started by using some of my drawing and fiber skills with those teabags.

I concocted a miniature tie-dye,
by using a Itajime Shibori technique with paper clips instead of clamps…

… and then with much care I rendered with pencil some imaginary flowers and creatures! 

All this fun will lead to the creation of a stitched postcard for the international postcard swap;
which takes place later this week. I will be posting the final result then.

A glimpse of the preparatory layering of papers for the assembly of this stitched postcard.
Please come back Thursday, March 13 – 2014,  to see it!
 Thank you for visiting my blog! I hope you have enjoyed your visit.  

Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~William Wordsworth

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Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it.

~Vincent Van Gogh
:heart:

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The PaperLove Blog Hop is a celebration of all things paper!
Follow the links to discover more bloggers who love paper and use it to inspire and delight.

 Majo Bautista / Tona Bell / Louise Best / Cathy Bluteau / Jennifer Bomgardner / Giova Brusa / Lindsay Buck / Beka Buckley / Joanna Caskie / Jonathan Chapman (Mr Yen) / Halle Cisco / Sarah Clare / Cathryn Clarge / Dawn Clarkson / Rhiannon Connelly / Jenny D’Fuego / Molly Dhiman / Ian Dudley / Ayisatu Emore / Akmal Farid / Monika Forsberg / Claire Fritz-Domeney / Louise Gale / Chrissy Gaskell / Julie Hamilton / Emma Hawman / Rachel Hazell / Holly Helgeson / Claudine Hellmuth / Kim Henkel / Sarah Hoffman / Joanne Hus / Paula Joerling / Beth Kempton / Julie Kirk / Eos Koch / Katie LaClair / Kristy Lankford / Michelle Manolov / Doreen Marts / Rosie Martinez-Dekker / Tori Mears / Maria Mederios / Lise Meijer / Debbie Miller / MaryJane Mitchell / Suzy Naidoo / Grace Noel / Hannah Nunn / Camilla Olsson / Jo Packham / Rachelle Panagarry / Monette Pangan / Melanie Paul / Nicole Piar / Jen Pitta / Liz Plummer / Julie Reed / Michelle Reynolds / Lisa Rivas / Angee Robertson / Natalie Ryan / Aisling Ryan / Elisabet Sapena / Kyrrha Sevco / Jamie Sprague / Elizabeth Steele / Terri Stephens / Juniper Stokes / Mary Tanana / Maike Thoma / Linda Tieu / Gabrielle Treanor / Tammy Tutterow / Deborah Velasquez / Jordan Vinograd Kim / Cat Whipple / Brooke Witt / Katie Wood / Amelia Woodbridge

And if you want to explore a whole world of paper, and stretch your paper passion further with a host of creative projects, why not join the innovative new online course PaperLove (starts March 31). 
Led by book artist Rachel Hazell, PaperLove is a five week creative adventure for paper lovers. 
Find out more here.

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A mandala depicting a layout of an “English Garden” and a Pear Tree! (-fruits are just  flying colors-)

“El Jardin” (The Garden) • digital collage – limited edition – 10.5″H x 10.5″ W • Lisa Rivas ©