Rolodex Cards Collage

Participating in a current swap, I found these cards easy to decorate and fun to work with.

Fronts

Backs

Bug Strips

Since I have no bug Washi tape, I decided to use some clip-art images to make my own clear-back label strips:

 That ought to make the postal clerks smile!

Magic Mesh, Sequin Waste, Stickers - Collage

Sometimes art supplies fade into the background until I "re-discover" them.  The first two post cards have a layer of Magic Mesh behind the collage, the last one has Magic Mesh and a strip of painted Sequin Waste over a "drop cloth" painted piece.

Remembering One September, Mourning...

I remember exactly where I was fifteen years ago this morning:  sitting on a couch watching the live-stream TV news as horrific details unfolded.  Someone from an area military base had phoned me and insisted, "Turn on the TV!"   The images were surreal, beyond belief.

As denial faded and the numbness began to wear off, I went over to my electronic piano.  This song came to me:

The heart of the Father
grieves today.
So many of His children
were blown away.
So much death,
needless pain and fear.
But we are not alone,
He is here....

Knowing without a shadow of a doubt that God saw the suffering and the loss, and that it touched His heart, made it possible not to give up all hope.

Some quilters in a local group I belonged to at the time were working on pieces for a Men's Choice Challenge, where a husband or male friend was supposed to pick out the fabric for the quilter's project.  My "buyer" selected red, white, blue, black.

The design was inspired by an iconic photograph of the first tower being hit and the second plane approaching.  I attached a silver airplane charm that opened up, and a charm of the Iwo Jima flag raising, an image which was duplicated so many years later by firefighters on the scene that fateful day.

(Left click on each image to enlarge)

The irony did not escape me, that it was "men's choice" to carry out this destructive act which challenged our national and personal safety, our freedom, our illusions of invincibility.

On the back of my wall hanging is a copy of two poems a nearby friend wrote expressing her feelings about what happened on September 01, 2001.

 My thoughts go out to the families who lost loved ones on that infamous day.  May we never forget.

Late Summer Garden Views

 I didn't realize that the lowly hostas produced such gorgeous, large, lily-like blossoms.

This bristly caterpillar reminded me of a specialized bottle brush.  Or an automated car wash?

White Echinacea, one of few remaining flowers with no bug-riddled petals.

Late-Morning Walk

Sometimes all it takes is a shift in focus, looking down at the ground or into the woods, to see what I might ordinarily miss.  This large, brightly marked grasshopper was vigorously jumping ahead of me, avoiding my steps.  As I leaned in for a close-up, I said "You're not going to hold still for me, are you?"  Of course he wouldn't stay put.

When I looked up while picking blackberries, the color red stood out in bright contrast to the dark pine bark. Autumn is on its way!  Ah, crisp cool days spiced with the scent of mouldering leaves. Mellow sunlight filtering through a canopy of firey orange, scarlet and burnished gold.   Restless winds swirling among the branches.

Oncoming winter?  I will not think about that.  Not right now.

Collage Play on Labor Day

Some of these post cards are for up-coming group swaps, one is just for fun.  Four of the collages have Gelli Plate printed backgrounds.  The last post card is made from pieces of a map.