A visit from the Easter Wabbit

Whipping up some last-minute Easter cards!

Earlier this week, I mentioned how eager I have been to try my hand at carving my own rubber stamps.

So I took a trip to the Blick art supply store on Market and picked up a few Speedy-Cut blocks.  

This was my first time working with this material, and it certainly feels a lot different than carving a linocut.  It cuts very easily compared to linoleum, but luckily I didn't find it too difficult to adapt. 

I also love how it's sturdy enough to cut into even the tiniest pieces.  The grass I threw in as an afterthought, just because I had some corners to spare.  I'm grateful it happened to work out this way, since the added color and texture seem to pull the scene together.

I think I'll get to work addressing some envelopes.  Of course they wont arrive in time for Easter, but hopefully they'll serve to brighten someone's day all the same.


Update: I ended up carving even more wee stamps from scraps

...and have used them to create some original stationery.

...in festive spring colors!

That's the envelope on the left and note card on the right

A little detail of the mushrooms.  They are tiny - about as big as my thumbprint. 

I love snail mail! And rubber carving! And Spring!

Snail Mail Art

Two of my friends recently welcomed their first baby into the world, and yesterday I got to sit down and create a special card to send them.  It was a great opportunity to pull out one of my favorite inventions: the watercolor postcard.

The set of watercolor cards I am currently using I have had for some time, and came all the way from Germany.  I had just finished up a semester abroad in Rome and was traveling through Europe by rail.  Poking around the city of Freiburg, I stumbled upon a cute little art supply shop where I picked up my first set of Aquarell Postkartenblock.

Back then, I never could have guessed that 8 years later I would still have a handful of these cards to spare, let alone that I would be using one to send to my friend of 12 years in honor of he and his wife's first-born!

And how exciting that this would also be my first time painting in my new home studio  :)   

So much magic and mystery in life.

Speaking of which, at the time I sat down to begin my postcard painting project, the subject matter of the piece was still entirely unknown to me.  So I did what always seems to work best in those situations when I simply haven't got a clue: I doodled.

And wouldn't you know that just the perfect thing presented itself almost immediately:

A handsome elephant with a curved trunk.

Elephants are beautiful symbols of family, so I was happy to roll with it.  After just a few minutes, with a little tweaking, I had come up with a simple, symmetrical design:

And then added, of course, a baby.

Started out by laying down some green grass and yellow-orange sky.

Then threw some color on the pachyderms, plus a little red to bring out the heart silhouetted by their trunks.

Hmm... still missing something...

Ah, perfect :)

I hope this inspires you to try sending some crafty love via snail mail.  Thanks for stopping by!