Art Therapy

Dinking around with pretty papers and scraps, ribbon, lace, rubber stamps, buttons, crystal stones, and a haphazard deck of playing cards is calming. Dare I say it? Therapeutic. I joined an online ATC community where members can sign up for organized swaps. The swaps have varying criteria for each which helps stir some inspiration and creativity. The first one I signed up for was for ATCs that included stickers in the design. I thought that should be pretty safe...I mean, I can stick a sticker on a playing card and work around it and come up with something interesting. The second one is for whimsical, colorful, un-realistic portraits. That one has been a challenge for me...for someone who likes to follow the rules it's hard to break away from an idea of what something is supposed to look like and just play with it.

It's been nice just to play and create. Calming. Peaceful. Geeze... this sounds like an ad for bubble bath or something! Well, it has been relaxing for me. I've posted pictures of the Artist Trading Cards I've made on the side bar. Enjoy.