Be Creative Swaps

Postcard I made for the Be Creative swap

The Be Creative group that I belong to on Facebook is not just active during the periodic Be Creative weekends. Oh, no! With such a creative collection of people it won’t be a surprise to learn that work continues from one dedicated weekend to the next. Quite a bit of effort goes into the postcards and Artist’s Trading Cards (ATCs) which are made for the swaps – both formal and informal – that are organised.

Prior to joining Be Creative I had only ever made three textile ATCs which were for the VeryBerryHandmade ATC swaps, and I had never made any postcards. Indeed, I didn’t even know that people swapped postcards! I didn’t allow my inexperience and ignorance stop me, though, and signed up for both swaps when they were proposed. That’s me, jump in with both feet – preferably without thinking!

The postcard at the start of this post is the one I made for the May swap. The theme we were given was ‘rainbows’. I had been gathering various papers during the period from the previous Be Creative weekend and used several of those for my card. I also used a scrap of fabric that I had spray-dyed using Glimmer Mist sprays. I’m afraid I cannot remember which shades I used, partly because I just kept spraying the various colours when I first played with them. I was having too much fun to think about making a note of which colour was made using which sprays!

Swap Postcard sent by Claire

We were not doing partnered swaps for the postcards so, although I sent to Juliet, the card I received was from Claire. It’s a lovely card, don’t you agree? I like the way Claire used lots of items of the appropriate colour in each section. It didn’t occur to me to do something like that! Doesn’t it work well?

As for the ATC swap, my offering was very poor. I had planned to make the ATC last weekend but, between planning and doing, life got in the way draining me of just about every ounce [or should that be ‘gram’?] of creativity. I had pictured an idea in my head using the background fabric you can see in the photograph below, but when it came to putting it into practice I simply went blank. I am embarrassed at how bad an effort it was. However, in the spirit of this blog, I am showing it as one of my ‘failures’. It’s a good job that most of you don’t know me, otherwise I’d be too ashamed to show my face!

The dreadful ATC I produced

When I posted the ATC to Jacques I sent apologies for my dismal effort. I also contacted Myfanwy, the Be Creative organiser, to ask if there were any members who might be happy to provide another [better] ATC to Jacques. I have to say, in my defence, that my state of mind when making the ATC was as bad as the card is.

My ATC received from Jacques

The ATC swap was a partnered swap and the card above was the lovely card I received from Jacques. It is so delicate and pretty. Jacques is very talented and produces lovely work. If you are interested in seeing more of her work have a peep at her blog where she is attempting a different craft activity every day for a year.

By coincidence, today on the Facebook page for Be Creative, there was a discussion about how much talent and skill there is within the group and how it can feel intimidating until one accepts how we can all learn something from others.

I hope you enjoy these glimpses into the world of Be Creative. I can’t explain how much I enjoy it and how much I have gained from it. My belief in my own abilities is firming up and allowing me to stretch myself in all sorts of ways that I would never have believed possible. I am so pleased that I took the leap of faith to join.