Rejoicing With Cards

First let me say that I am thoroughly frustrated with the photos of this group. It's been a week of rain so there is no 'real' light and, obviously, the mixed lighting inside was difficult to correct - at best.

These cards are really a bit of Kismet. As some of you may already have read - I am a very small, very beginning calligraphy student. A calligrapher wanna be - with little skill & an awful lot to learn. & hours & hours of practicing ahead of me. Last week I got a lovely email from a very talented, very professional, calligrapher who had occasion to look at my web site (which has been woefully untended of late) - because of a calligraphy list I have joined - as a lurker for the most part! This wonderful person said that she loved my work and wanted to buy some cards - loved my bags etc etc. I was blushing and, after looking at Julie's work on her blog, Wildman Designs, I thought that perhaps she needed to have her eyes checked! Her's is the work that is wow wow wow! Go have a look and you will see what I mean!

We settled on trade - a felted, quilted bag for a calligraphy piece - plus Julie wanted some cards - count 'em 8 of them! These four are 'Rejoice' cards - the next four will be printed on vintage kimono silks & I can send them off to her the beginning of December. With friends across the pond she asked if  I could get one card off to her now. I decided to just get the after burners going and make four cards to send now so that she would have a choice. Now let me tell you how intimidating it is to letter anything to send to a professional calligrapher! I asked Julie if she would perhaps prefer to add the lettering herself?  Like - p-l-e-a-s-e  would like to letter your cards?!! 'No",  says she, 'my family has enough of my work - I want you to do it'. Uh huh! Okay - so here goes nothing ! Remember what I said about these photos? Well the colors in all of them are actually much more vibrant - the dupioni silk really shimmers & the faces are not nearly this dark and shiny - the only one that comes even close to 'real' color is the top one. That one was one of my least favorite as I worked on it - but it has become my favorite of the bunch I think...well maybe I like the orange with purple dupioni a lot too! Maybe I should not have posted these photos at all - but it's what I have been doing for a few days. I was amazed at how time consuming one card could be. Julie picked a card from the web site that I never had anticipated anyone wanting (it had been a gift to a friend)- so I had to develop a bit of  a pattern for the card - which in the long run is a good thing to have. I have lots of fun making these cards really and could easily spend hours playing around with possibilities, colors, shapes, threads, beads...it could be endless!

I added an ATC to the package for Julie- although it is not the 'official 'swap that we agreed on. Oh! that darn highlight! Ugh! The orange-y global card on the bottom still lacks lettering - that's for the day after Thanksgiving - which I should really get started on I suppose! I should be cutting up the bread to makes cubes - so that the bread dries and can be made into stuffing. Ah! That's for tomorrow - after work and, I might add, a lovely massage in the afternoon by my favorite masseuse in the whole world.

Life is good! Full of unexpected, small, joys, moment of sheer kismet & unexpected friendships.

Peace & joy to you all !

If I don't get back here before then - have a very happy day of giving thanks!