Bacon Weave Dreams
I have been spending a lot of time with succulents lately and I am not sure my thumb is always green. But I am hopeful some repotting with fresh soil, clipping, pruning and different windowsills will breathe new life into these cute little friends that I hope give me another chance. Summer is in full swing here and the little things like repotting house plants, cleaning out closets and other small, yet meaningful tasks are filling up my days. This has been time to refill my bucket, clear out my physical and mental space as best I can. For the past few summers, I approach this time cautiously trying not to squander it while also trying not to overfill it either. A balance of rest and doing personal creative projects, rejuvenation and building mental strength, time to process old ideas and time to plan new things. It is not a perfect science, but in the balancing can be the fun of it all - my creative life.
A recent card I made with watercolors and stamping letters.
June is always a fun month for me as this is my birth month. I made a second coloring page to celebrate that you can find at the bottom of this post. I drew flowers in the lovely organic way I see them and am hopeful it translates into something you can print and enjoy, as much as I did creating it.
Creatively, I have been spending lots of time designing and creating cards. Card making has been a love of mine for a really long time. As you can see, the love of succulents has crept onto my cards a few weeks ago. As I was trying to flesh out this idea, I thought it would be so difficult to find a quote to accompany, but to my surprise, there were quite a few quotes to choose from. Not all cards end up like the idea I originally had in my head. Sometimes it turns out better, other times not so much but regardless, I have a completed card that I can then mail.
A recent card showing a bacon weave design.
Take for example the above card that shows a bacon weave design. I created this card for my father-in-law’s upcoming birthday. The idea for this card came to me as I was looking through old photos of a Thanksgiving where he did a bacon weave on top of a turkey breast. It was beautiful and so fun!
The words inside the card: May all your bacon weave dreams come true!
Hopefully it translates into a laugh for him and my mother-in-law.
Another card I made this month for my Dad’s 70th birthday.
Here is another card I recently made for my dad’s 70th birthday. My dad loves fishing and all things boats and I wanted to do a fun yet full drawing where the boat is filled with a big birthday wish and the fish net is bringing up the number 70 while the fish represent my little family with the word bubbles. This did take some time to think through and design. I drew it with pencil first as I was not sure it would all work. But after I finished redrawing it in pen, I was pretty excited about how it turned out.
Cards in my mind are small works of art that I love to create again and again and then physically send off into the world. Sometimes, the challenge of what to draw or say is too big and overwhelming and I get stuck. Sometimes, I have too many ideas and no starting point of entry to begin. Sometimes, I finish a card and don’t know where to send it. Sometimes, I simply do not like a card I have made. All these “sometimes” might not go as I would like, but I learn from them all and continue to just keep drawing and creating cards.
Fresh off the presses - cards made from this month’s coloring page.
SHAPE OF THE MONTH:
HEXAGON
I was so excited about this month’s shape of the month, the hexagon! Have you ever tried drawing a hexagon or a honeycomb? It is quite a challenge! Check out the coloring page that you can print off, color and cut out to create your own cards or bookmarks or decorative elements.
June Coloring Page
Shape of the Month: Hexagon
I love bees and honeycomb!
Enjoy this page by printing, coloring and cutting out to make your own cards, bookmarks or decorative elements.
Below you will find the additional coloring page this month as a gift to you:
A birthday gift to you - an extra coloring page!
More cards are being made and more need to be mailed. There are so many thank you cards I want to send to my family and friends. Time is going quickly and I must remember that it is not about perfection of the art, but rather ensuring the thank you or the well wishes are sent. Oh and I must remember the stamps!
Stay creative and happy card making,
Hannah
PS - The June header is a card design coming soon.