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.