Artist Trading Cards: My Blue Period

Last week I wrote about my interest in Artist Trading Cards.  You can read that post here to get the background story.  This week I’m going to share with you the cards I call my “Blue Period” cards.

As I explained last week, one purpose of these cards was to serve as a memento of some of my sewing projects.  I participated in a card swap entitled “The Art Doll Swap”.  I chose to make my art dolls in the style of paper dolls.  I made four cards for this series; each one is wearing a dress made from a scrap of material from an actual dress I sewed for myself (I wear a lot of blue).

This was a fun, mixed-media project for me.  I started by stipple stitching the background fabric that would be the card base with a variegated thread.  Next, I fused a neck shaped piece of fabric onto the card.  I used Evy Hawkins’ (A Bit of Stitch) embroidery designs, Applique Fashion Dresses, for the dresses.  I appliquéd these onto the card bases over top of the neck shapes.  The rest of the body parts (arms, legs, face) were created from cardstock that I fused fabric to.  I attached these parts to the torso with paper fasteners to make them working paper dolls.

I cut the hair from metallic scrapbook paper and embossed it using a rubbing plate (to mimic my crazy, wavy hair).  I drew the facial features on with fine tipped markers.

I made two complete sets of these “dolls”, one set to swap and one to keep.  I love that I have a little reminder of the dresses I sewed that will last long after I outgrow those dresses.

Next week:  the “Let Them Eat Cake” swap!