Spring is in the Air

Our latest Artist Trading Card swap was a couple weeks ago. We chose the theme "Spring," and interpreted that a few ways. But before I show you the cards, let me make clear to you that the swap is really an excuse to get together with friends socially. We choose a restaurant, have dinner, and make a night of it. The cards are always at the end after we've eaten and all the plates are cleared. We lingered long after the swap, even talking more in the parking lot. We do this a few times a year, and it's always loads of fun. Now here are the cards:

A while back, I made some painted tissue paper, and I now have a stash that I pull out for various projects. I used card stock for the card base, then cut a square of the painted paper to glue on the front. I added a spring-like saying (I made up different sayings based on what I "saw" in the painted paper), and I attached ribbon for embellishment.

These are painted flowers that were then cut so they could pull out like springs. Very clever.



This artist took photographs of bouquets of flowers. Then she mounted them on the cards and painted beautiful borders with nice sentiments.



These are hand-pressed flowers from her garden.

And this woman made beautiful watercolor cards.

I hope you can see in these photos that the stems of these flowers are wire springs.

These beautiful colors were made by encaustic wax painting.

This artist painted on one big sheet, then cut them into cards later.

We all took one card from each group home. Our theme for the next swap is "Fashion Statement." Any ideas?