I'm Good at Wasting Time

There are no great revelations to share, only my continued frustration with Etsy and trying to upload things.  It really feels like such a chore that today, when I resolved that I was going to finish uploading the last of the note cards I have, I instead decided to spend my $11.03 in Ebay bucks.  It's surprising what you can get for $11 on Ebay, especially if you make sure you only do Buy It Now on lots with free shipping.

And what I ended up with is a lot of 25 pre-1920 greetings postcards.  I actually paid just over $11.03 but since I had a $1.99 credit in my Paypal account, I still ended up spending nothing.  Zilch.  I can definitely live with that kind of wasting time.

To be truthful, though, I really didn't want more cards but since I had no intention of spending much more than the Ebay Bucks and I wanted a lot of bang for my Bucks, my options were limited.  Economically, the cards made the most sense.

So what will I use the postcards for?  Cards, probably, if they're geared to specific holidays.  Since it's a lot, I don't know what I'll get.  If they're generic cards, then I have more options.  For example, in this piece I used a vintage 'generic' postcard

You can just see it in the upper left corner--it's the gold card next to the oval framed photo.  It's a friendship postcard.

I've also used reproductions of postcards on the greeting cards that I make, as in

The image is next to the woman and is a 1900's Christmas postcard. 

What I tend to do, since I really, really hate to use originals, is make good quality color copies at Kinkos.  In the past I used ordinary copy paper.  However, I have come to realize that better copies can be made using heavier linen or rag paper--and I had a box of this hanging around that's never been used.  Kinkos allows you to use your paper if you desire (of course you still have to pay the full price of the copy so in a sense Kinkos is really making money on you).  It's worth it to me--the copy looks and feels better.

Depending on the piece, though, I will use an original piece of ephemera.

Creatively, though, I haven't done a hell of a lot.  I've been working on prepping blank cards for making new cards (with the help of my feline assistant). 

I'd reported before that I was attempting some abstract pieces to use as part of two swaps for a Yahoogroup I'd joined.  After looking at the pieces, though, I was totally dissatisfied.  Furthermore, I realized that the group was much more interested in painting and drawing than collage (I discovered this when I uploaded photos of my work to the group site and people asked what kind of paintings they were).  As such, I decided to part ways with the group.

So much for that grand experiment.  The pieces themselves have been set aside until I decide what, if anything to do with them. 

As for collages, I decided to do another background in green.  I want to make more pins and pendant pieces--I think.  I am undecided about making themed collages.  In other words, I'm kind of drifting and not really sure what I want to do at the moment.  Only that I want to do something.  I suppose I'll go back to the cards.

And in the midst of this I'm trying to fulfill one of my goals, that of being more active in the world.  Sort of succeeding at it, in spite of myself.

Anyway, that's the report on a sunny but windy Tuesday in Rhode Island.  Stay tuned for the next installment.