Not your Grandmother's Button Box

I never showed the progress on my button box.  I had a real hard time finding the right colors and type of button.  So one day I decided to seperate my buttons and put them in plastic bags.  It is so much neater and easier to find what I need. 

When it came to the red and white buttons, I just couldn't resist on making this jar.  All it took was a scrap of fabric, a little batting, ric-rac, buttons, a string of craft pearls, and craft glue. 

The next thing I want to share with you is my first postcard in my challenge.  It took me about 6 hours to complete it, only because I was interrupted 3 times by the phone.  I finally hid the d@#n phone in the couch!

Maybe I'll conveniently forget where I hid it, mahhahhahaaaa! 

I used a scrap piece of black velvet, did some random smocking all around and bleached out some areas.  Then I added some seed stitches with rayon threads.  I really like the result even though the size of this one is a bit off.  That's OK, I'm the only one that will see it or care anyway.   To me, this looks like oooey gooey chocolate smothered over ice cream and fudge cake with sprinkles.  Gotta have sprinkles.  

The snowflakes are still rambling around in my mind, maybe I will still do something with that later.  I am always changing my mind about something and to me, this is why......excellent results!  

Postcards

I have always loved postcards.  Whenever we go anywhere, I head straight for the postcard racks.  We take hundreds of pictures per subject, thanks to digital technology and DH using the button that snaps 3 frames at a time, but I somehow feel compelled to purchase handfuls of postcards.  Sending some off to friends or family, but mostly to keep as a reminder of where we've been. 
Last month I read about the FiberArts Valentine Postcard Challenge in the Nov/Dec 2009 issue.  You make a postcard to be mailed through the postal system, pre-stamp and pre-address it, mail it to Interweave Press where they will judge them and photograph some of them for their magazine.  After all that, they will deliver them to the Loveland, CO post office where they will add a special cancellation and poem to your postcard and send it back to you.  Apparently, FiberArts has been doing this for the last 3 years.  
Here are my entries:

This blue one is my favorite, of course, blue is my favorite color anyway.

This one is a variation on a technique from the Quilting Arts TV series 400.   The DVD was a gift to myself.

When DH was in the USAF, I used to write love letters to him and draw the mouse at the end of my letter holding a bunch of flowers because DH always gave me flowers (he still does on occassion). 

This one is my least favorite only because it is so shiny.  Pictures don't do it justice anyway, but I did try some different techniques on this one with some surprisingly good results.  The shiny stuff is Textiva fusible film that's been heated on stamps, then sewen to the background.  The gold around the heart is not paint, but gold chocolate wrapper.  I was amazed at how easy gold foil was to sew through and not rip to pieces.  The red background "fabric" is a used colorfast sheet from a wash load of red towels over the holidays. 

These little works of art were so much fun that I am continuing the challenge, only it is a personal challenge to do at least one a week for the entire year.  Trying new techniques and ideas as I go.  Years ago I started a series of postcards with the theme of places we've been, but that grew old for me and I only finished 5.  So, this being a bit different and no theme attached gives me some freedom to create as I go which is what I love to do.  No rules, no restrictions, no instructions or patterns.  

Today, I will be working on this weeks postcard.  Since we've had sooo much snow, I am thinking about snowflakes....... Happy creating!  ;o)