The daily card, week 19

I realize this blog has turned into the daily card show - I am looking forward to getting back and mixing it up a bit more. I have actually started a few drafts here and there, and I have started blogging in my head (which I guess is the modern-day equivalent of thinking thoughts that you might write in your diary later?) Feeling the itch to blog even when I've signed off from an "editorial calendar" has been a good self-check that this is something I want to be doing - it feels enjoyable and organic.

This was a weird week - I had just about eight days in DC between Mauritania/Texas and Guatemala/Belize/Mexico. So I felt a bit discombobulated and "in between." I had the full use of my crafting supplies but almost preferred to stick with the limited stash in my travel kit since I still felt very much in travel mode.

Favorites this week are the cards for May 15 and May 16 when, in the middle of my short week at home, I headed out to Maryland's Eastern Shore to run my first 10k with my friends. In keeping with the location, the background images are from a calendar put out by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum. I love how they capture the before-the-race feeling of taking a big leap and the peace and satisfaction that followed.

The daily card, week 18

When this goes live, thanks to the wonders of technology, I will be fifteen minutes into the plane ride to Guatemala City. Woohoo! I had a good desk to spread out on when I was staying in Mauritania, but the next couple weeks of cards will be coming from the assorted hostels of Central America so I am expecting things to stay pretty basic around here.

This week's cards capture a couple of my favorite Mauritanian patterns - the red and blue plus-sign pattern is one that pops up on tents, clothing, and gift bags, and the green and yellow is from the curtains in the guest apartment at the office. 

I also love the little trio of cards I made while visiting my family in Galveston, Texas. On May 3, I was running out of new ways to say "beach day!" so I went for an abstract rendition of the beach. Laughably simple but really cool-looking - I could mix watercolors all day. The last card is inspired by my (awesome) aunt's favorite hibiscus flowers and by a sentiment from my uncle (who is equally awesome, but not a blog reader and therefore not eligible for flattery. :) )

The daily card, week 17

I'm back in DC after an exciting, productive, HOT trip to Mauritania and a wonderful weekend in Texas with my family (especially my amazing aunt :). And the time has come to share the cards I made during my travels.

I pre-decorated two weeks of cards with map gift bags from Paper Source,  and they made a great jumping-off point after long workdays with limited materials. I pretty much just used those and some watercolors and stamps for everything this week. Eventually the maps got a bit boring - and I'll be leaning on them again when I leave for Central America next week - so I branched out a bit and tried to recreate some Mauritanian fabric patterns with watercolor. (May 3 was inspired by this one and there are more to share in the next batch). I loved that idea and will definitely incorporate that into my card-making and art-journaling during future travels - I think it's a great way to capture the look and feel of a place.

The daily card, week 16

Anyone who has embarked on a year-long project will probably not be surprised to hear that I fall in and out of love with this one on the regular. There was an initial honeymoon period for sure, but some weeks have felt like a drag. This was not one of them. On the best days, it's fun to start daydreaming in the evenings about what I can put on a card that will capture a thought or experience from the day and be at least a little interesting technique-wise. I think the key towards having fun with something like this is not overthinking it - not everything has to be hugely innovative because that would just get exhausting. This week I really enjoyed playing with scraps of watercolor and riffing on Rifle Paper Co designs.  Next week I'll post the first batch of bringing-the-show-to-Mauritania cards!