Girl Scouts

Name:     Girl Scout Twinchies
Created:  10/2016
Swap:     -

I received an email from a Girl Scout troop that attempted one of my boxes on LbNA.
I told the leader that it was probably missing and that I would place a series just for them.

As always, I made some cards before planting!

Then & Now

Name:     Gravestone (2011-2016)
Created:  2011 & 8/2016
Swap:     Carving: Then and Now

Two stamps carved 5 years apart.   I think there's a slight improvement!

Gotta Catch 'Em All!

Name:     Pokemon Masters:
Created:  8/2016
Swap:     -

A set of three cards created for my Pokemon Go friends.

Stamps were carved at two inches and stamped onto 2.5"x2.5" paper.  

Then glued onto a colored background.  

I didn't have any red paper so I made my own!

The Periodic Table of Elements

A series of three stamps carved for Honeychyck's "For Science!" event.

   Plutonium,   The Element of Surprise,   Bonus Elements: RIclimbium

Vintage Roadside Signs

Name:     Hilltop Steakhouse
Created:  3/2016
Swap:     Vintage Roadside Signs

Legendary Hilltop Steak House …

For more than half a century The Hilltop drew customers

 from far and wide and was known for its famous Hilltop cows, 

the 68-foot tall neon cactus sign seen along the roadway,

 and of course the steak.

Harry Potter Alphabet

Name:     W is for Weasleys Wizard Wheezes
Created:  3/2016
Swap:     Harry Potter Alphabet

Trees

Name:     Humble Beginnings
Created:  11/2015
Swap:     Trees

Forest Friends

Pandagram's latest series.  Forest Friends

Chipmunk, Beaver, Red Fox

Raccoon, Owl, Squirrel

Thumper, Flower, Bambi

Rascal Rabbits

Another set of cards by Pandagram.  Rascal Rabbits

Bugs Bunny,  Cadbury Bunny, The White Rabbit

Velveteen Rabbit, Rabbit in the Hat, Peter Rabbit

Uncle Wiggly,  Roger Rabbit,  Thumper  

I also created two cards for this set.  Energizer Bunny and Br'er Rabbit 

It's TIME

Name:     Clocks
Created:  12/2015
Swap:     Clocks

I planted a several time themed series for my event last year.  (Days of the week, Months of the year...)
 This spring I added another. "Hours of the Day"  It's a series of clocks.

The top two are made by Pandagram, the others are mine.

Send out the search dogs!

Yes, I'm still around.  Part of the reason that there have been few new posts is that it's summer and I don't sit at my computer when I can be outdoors.  Another part is the changes to AQ make it look horrible and hard to use on my computer, so I use my tablet whenever I can. If I'm not using my computer then I'm not typing blog posts.  I also can no longer print out a usable checklist to keep track of what cards have been shown so there might be repeats after awhile.
(As of right now, I have written and scheduled posts thru the end of September)



Anyway, here's a new card.
"Ain't Nothin' But A Hound Dog"

The stamp was a request.   Not exactly what they asked for but I liked this image better.

Planetary Quisps

Name:     Planetary Quisps
Created:  5/2016
Swap:     -

In my latest road trip I wanted to place a series all the way across the country.  I carved planet stamps and placed them along I-90 at the scale of 1AU = 100miles.  Boston, MA is "The Sun" and Neptune is near Spokane, WA!

Dr Who Inchies, and state names

Along with Many regular sized Doctor Who LTC's, I also have a few smaller cards.

 Again, these are Inchies, but I keep the worst cut ones for myself.
"Tardis Ring" and "11 Doctors" are both 1"x2" and are sometimes folded.

New England Sports

Name:     Boston Sports Teams
Created:  4/2016
Swap:     -

I needed a series of small stamps to place before my event.   The trail starts at the Town Recreation Area so I carved sports team logos.     The main card is Boston teams, and two bonus stamps of the Rhode Island minor league affiliates.

Game of Thrones

Name:    A Song of Ice and Fire:
Created:  11/2013
Swap:     Winter Is Coming (Game of Thrones)

I carved several cards for my "Game of Thrones" swap.  I also carved House Frey and Joffrey Coat of Arms, but I lost my cards.  I need to stamp more next time I check on the planted series!

House Lannister, House Tully,  House Hightower, House Arryn,

Stormborn & Silver, Khal Drogo, "House of Black and White"

Tully and Lannister both use embossing powder.

The Khal Drogo card had a small bell attached to his beard.  (I removed it to get a good scan)

Philately

Name:     Philately: Purple Heart
Created:  12/2013
Swap:      Philately

I tried something different for a Postage Stamp swap. I only got 4 signups that time, but I have listed a second one and its full.

Rules:

Pick a US 'Forever' postage stamp and buy at least one sheet of them.
Carve that image and create a LTC of the postage stamp.
Send 10 LTC's AND 10 unused Forever stamps of the design you picked.
ALSO send 5 stamps for return postage.

Heeere's Johnny!

Name:     Depp!: Willie Wonka (Closeup)
Created:  2/2013
Swap:     Depp!

The Willie Wonka card was carved for the Depp! swap. It was my first carve on the '12 Pink crap and broke on the first stamping! I glued it together and on many of the cards it's not noticeable, it got worse as the rubber crumbled.

Someone jokingly requested a shirtless Johnny Depp card.  I carved this and mailed it to them as a surprise! This is my only male "Pin-up" card so far.

Easter Bunny

Name:     Easter Bunny
Created:  Dec. 2015
Swap:     -

Random Inchies

A sample of inches.  (I keep the worst cut or off center ones for myself so that's all I can show)

Geocaching Logo's, ET the Inchie, Handicap symbol

Seasonal Inchies - Fall leaf, Winter snow, and a raindrop that unfolds to a flower. (April Showers...)

Building Blocks of the Universe, Eevil Inchie, Monroe Republic

Goodbye Winter!

Name:     Wind-chill
Created:  2/2016
Swap:     I Hate Winter

The one thing I hate about winter is wind chill!  You can add layers for extreme cold, but the wind always finds a way through!

I started with the main stamp, then cut off the corner of the card and printed out several "Old Man Winter" images.  Once I found one that I liked and would fit, I adjusted the size and carved it.
Just before finishing this card, I bought a new box of colored pencils.  Upgraded from only 12 to a total of 30+ different colors!  My favorite is this nice light skin tone.

Animals Silhouettes

Name:     Animals Silhouettes
Created:  2/2016
Swap:     -

I wanted to use up my scraps of carving rubber and release some hitchhikers.
The stamps range from .5x.75 to 1x1.5, and the cards are between 1x1 and 1x1.5
I will continue to add to this set as I get more scraps- somehow I ran out!

Mini Zodiac

Name:     Mini Zodiac
Created:  2/2015
Swap:     -

Some of my larger Zodiac cards had an "Inchie-sized" stamp. I plan on completing this set over the next year or two.

Designing a card, Continued

Last month I posted about a card that I was working on.  I've decided on a background and have started shrinking some of the images.

I started with 8-10 of each.  I'm waiting for white plastic to arrive for the lighthouse and maybe the 66 sign.

Months of the Year

Name:     Months of the Year
Created:  6/2015
Swap:     -

I wanted to create a series of small but detailed stamps for a snow-friendly series to plant over the winter.  Each card is a 1.25" circle.  This was a fun series to carve and I continued to use this format for several more images.

More Undersized Cards

 February is an undersized month, so I thought I'd show some undersized cards!
I am also going to drop down to one post each week for awhile. I want to get a buffer of posts built up for the summer.

More lighthouses, Harry Potter, Monroe Republic (Revolution TV show) 

iPod, Hiking Quisp, 90's Computer, Pope Paul, 

El Capitan (Cut from the center of my Yosemite Quarter stamp)

Comic Book Heroes

Name:     Comic Inchies
Created:  2/2016
Swap:     -

I've been using my scraps of carving rubber to create several tiny stamps for a TOR series that I want to place this spring.  I've also started to make some Inchies with the stamps.

Warning! Eye Bleach Required!

Name:    Yzma
Created:  -
Swap:     -

I really don't have anything to say about this one.   Just carved for fun.

Laughing Woman of Kathmandu

Name:     Laughing Woman of Kathmandu
Created:  10/2015
Swap:      Faces of the World


"For this swap, please carve an interesting face from somewhere else in the world. The emphasis on this card should be in the carve, not the card. Here are some faces I have used for inspiration: https://www.pinterest.com/haroldthecat/faces/"

This face looked interesting and fun to carve!

"I was walking down a street in Kathmandu, and I saw this lady just laughing like there was no tomorrow while sitting on a wood bench...I have no idea what she was laughing about, but she loved to have her photo taken...which is actually unusual in Nepal as most older people do not like to have their photo taken. What a face....and what a smile!!" —Scotty Graham/Last Flight Out Photography                                                                                                                                                

Zodiac Series (Part 3)

Name:     Zodiac Series
Created:  Started 4/2012 - Completed 1/2016
Swap:     -

My first 'series' of LTC's.  I printed the backs of the cards in April 2012. It's now almost four years later and I finally completed the series!
Pisces was one of the first that I carved, Sagittarius was the final one.

I'm thinking about redoing the older cards with the smaller, more detailed images.

Designing a card

Unlike my other posts, this one is showing a card that hasn't been completed yet!

I've been planning a card that uses a background map with "Shrinky Dinks" landmarks on it. My first thought was London, but I decided on a map of the USA.

I started by carving the background map.  This was one of the hardest stamps I've ever carved!  Everyone knows what it should look like and even the smallest mistake is obvious. I decided to carve it at 3.5x5 for the extra detail and space.

I also carved the "Landmarks" stamps.  Then I stamped up a set and shrunk them.

I added the plastic pieces onto the map.  I had to fit each one into its area that matches the theme.
Disney castle in Florida, the riverboat on the Mississippi River, Route 66 in the Southwest...

This is a folding card so I also need to watch how they fit together when the card is folded.  Each piece claims a spot mirror-image from where I place it.  Notice how the riverboat fits around the wagon and above Route 66!  If you look closely you can see dried glue from where I moved them to make room.  The bridge has some extra room and I might carve a larger lighthouse, that is the smallest stamp and there's plenty of room in the corner.

Next I need to decide on a background paper and colors for each stamp.  The wagon will be brown and the castle blue.   Finally I will need to carve something for the front of the card when it's folded. I still have four months before the tracker is due.  I will work on stamping up the plastic (all 100+ pieces of them!) while I play around with different paper choices.
This card might break the record for the most carving rubber used on a single card!!

The Trail

Name:     Covered Wagon
Created:  Jan. 2016
Swap:     -

"The Oregon Trail is a 2,200-mile historic east–west large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon."

This stamp was carved to be used in the "Shrinky Dinks" swap.   I still haven't figured exactly what I'm going to make, but I know this will be used on it, along with several other stamps.

A few months ago I unexpectedly planted a box at a rest area where the ruts from the Oregon Trail are still visible. (The Trail). I hope to plant this stamp in the same area on my next trip west.

The Cube

Name:     Rubik's Cube
Created:  Jan. 2016  
Swap:     -

 I reused my "Back to the 80's: Rubik's Cube" stamp to make a second card.  To make the card realistic, I scrambled a Rubik's Cube and copied the colors.

Pinups Continued

This is the other Princess Pinups, along with a few of my others.

50's Pinup Girl,  Catwoman,  Skinny Dipper
Rapunzel,  Ariel,  "Le Cœur de la Mer"
Cinderella,  Anastasia,  Snow White

Guitar Hero

Name:     Guitar Hero
Created:  Dec. 2014
Swap:     Just One More Level

SeerMeesh was looking for video game themed stamps for an event.  There was also a connected LTC swap hosted by badegg to use the stamps before donating them.

Foxwoods

Name:     Foxwoods
Created:  July 2013
Swap:     -