Post card process

Look what I won! Cyndi over at Beading Arts had a give-away this past month. She was giving away eight Studio Series books by Lark Publishing and I won the Art Tiles book! The book is so interesting! It's a collection of ceramist's work and each page has a stunning piece of artwork. THANKS, Cyndi!!! I received my book yesterday and couldn't wait to look at it. Some of the pieces look like art quilts...you have to read the description to know they are made of terra cotta or stoneware! Amazing pieces.
Now to a process...I had an email asking if I mailed my fiber post cards and yes, I do. Over the past several years, I have only had one fiber card not make it to the person...and I believe it was due to using the wrong zip code. You would have thought wherever it ended up they would have 'changed' it or took to the post office but...
So as far as my process...my fiber cards usually have batting or felt as a backing (that's the black on my cards this year you see in the pics). After backing, I'll machine or hand stitch or bead depending on my design.
I like to use Sulky Totally Stable for my label, which I paint with some diluted Setacolor paint or I'll use oil pastel chalk (not crayons) and wipe with water to just color the Sulky. You can see the paper has been painted with purple.
In this picture you can see the black felt which I used for my backing so I could sew the heart designs and bead. Next, I cut the cards to size, which this year was 5" x 7".
I cut the Sulky Totally Stable pieces to 8 1/2" x 11" (I buy Sulky by the roll but you can buy them already cut 8 1/2"x11") then iron to a piece of printer paper. One word of caution, do not use a hot, hot iron! I put my iron around a 3 setting and press gently...just enough to adhere. If the iron is too hot when you try to remove the Sulky it will stick and tear.
I have my post card labels in a word document so the entire greeting and address can then be printed on the Sulky. I have two labels per sheet, which I cut out but I leave all the excess edges on. Next I take a label and center it on the back of my card and iron it on. Next I will trim again to size. At this point, you're only cutting the Sulky.
Here is the back of one card, yep, it's for my sis! Now all I have to do is sew some decorative stitching around the edges.
That's the process! I usually work in a production line when doing my Valentines. I finished all my cards last night and today I'll take to the post office so they can be hand stamped. Most of the time they only take up to a 50 or 60 cent stamp so it's not much more than a regular card. I do enjoy making these cards and even make some other than just Valentine's Day.
If anyone wants the label, just email me and I'll send my word doc to you. It's easy to make up.
And just so I have it documented for my own 'memory'...I rode my bike 3.01 miles yesterday! I've been riding my bike again for the last week or two and yesterday reached my 3 mile mark. That's the distance I was up to last year when we left! I should be able to do more than that this year! Let's hope!!