Down By the Sea Postcard quilt

Postcard size thread painted quilt swap.  The theme for this is "Down by the Sea."   At first, I had no ideas.  After some brainstorming and sketching, I came up with seashells.  Using a white background, I painted it all over with inktense sticks.   They are water soluble which blends and makes a watercolor effect.  I used pigma permanent pen for the seashells tongue twister on the right side.  The first element was the scallop shell in the center.  I used a photograph and printed it onto canvas.  The next elements were the words I tore from a magazine.  I added them to my background with diluted white glue.  Let it dry, then laid all the elements out.   I cut the top and wadding to size  and layered them for the thread painting.  Thread painting really brings the elements to life and makes everything stand out.    The beads were added after all the other elements and before it was backed and zigzag finished.

The backing looks goofy here because I erased all the info printed to protect privacy.   Just to show that this is how I drew out the back.  The backing is a tan colored cotton fused to the quilt top and wadding.

This postcard is going overseas to its recipient, so I will put it in a bubble wrap envelope to protect it.  DH really liked this one, he didn't want me to send it off.  I will make him one so he doesn't feel left out.