Postage stamp Athon Jan 21-24

[CynthiaSillitoe]

Well, my athon got off to an inauspicious start when I literally slipped on a stamp and fell head over heels. Total, absolute wipeout. Luckily, only my pride is wounded, but I just wanted to warn you all, those postage stamps aren't as harmless as they look.

[Donnacr]

I am glad that you are well and that pesky stamp needs to be used on your first card to show it who's boss!

4 HOURS TILL WE CAN START. . .

[jo.on.the.go]

Just a thought before we get going. Somebody at AFA called me “the queen of extended scenes”. I didn’t let this go to my head. But yesterday I was thinking about demonstrating how I construct an extended scene card. Would that be helpful?

[somnia]

Just a thought before we get going. Somebody at AFA called me “the queen of extended scenes”. I didn’t let this go to my head. But yesterday I was thinking about demonstrating how I construct an extended scene card. Would that be helpful?

Yes! That would be awesome!!

[jo.on.the.go]

Here's how I make extended scenes.

Attachment 228631 Attachment 228632 Attachment 228633 Attachment 228634 Attachment 228635

1. Cut blanks to 3" x 4"
2. Lightly tape stamp to card, off-center. If there is an interesting sky, position the stamp low on the blank. If the foreground is more interesting, position the stamp higher on the card. This will make for a more interesting finished card with a better composition. One won't want the stamp to end up smack-dab in the center.
3. Extend the scene with a few lines. I use archival ink because it won't run when I paint over it. Include the horizon line and some major features of the landscape above and below and to the sides of the stamp. The idea is not to make a finished picture at this step. See first picture above.
4. Remove the stamp and extend the lines a little more into the area where the stamp was. Then draw in details for your card. You may want to eliminate this step and just jump right in to color or paint your card. Try to match the colors added to those of the stamp. I don't like to paint with the stamp attached because I don't want to get paint on the stamp. See second and third pictures above.
5. Reattach the stamp, taking care to match the horizon lines. See fourth picture above.
6. Crop the card to ATC size taking care to achieve a pleasing balance. Again, you don't want the stamp to be in the center of the ATC.

[Donnacr]

Thank you so much for that Jo - you make it look so easy.

​40 MINUTES TILL WE START. . .

[Donnacr]

AND ​GO!!

[jo.on.the.go]

I will offer up my demo.

Attachment 228636 PSAthon 1 - Frederic Edwin Church painting "Sunset", painted in 1856. The scene is of the Hudson River. TRADED

[Donnacr]

Here is my version of extending the scene - there is no real stamp on this card. I scan the real stamp (in this case a set of 4 showing the Southern Lights) and resize them, before printing them and then layering them on foam.
Attachment 228637#1

It is now nearly 1am so I am off to bed - see you all in the morning. Happy creating!

[sniisk]

Just a thought before we get going. Somebody at AFA called me “the queen of extended scenes”. I didn’t let this go to my head. But yesterday I was thinking about demonstrating how I construct an extended scene card. Would that be helpful?

Yes please!

[somnia]

Thank you for the explanation, jo.on.the.go! Those first couple of steps are so critical. I need to pay more attention to the horizon line. Deciding on the composition isn't easy.

I like to temporarily put the stamp I'll be using in a penny sleeve while I'm working on the card so I can move it around on the card without fear of getting anything on it. I seem to always have either ink or glue on my fingers...

[jo.on.the.go]

a few more extended...

Attachment 228639 PSAthon 2 - Distant View of Niagara Falls by Thomas Cole; 2014 stamp based on 1830 painting TRADED

Attachment 228640 PSAthon 3 - Skagit River, southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington, USA TRADED

Attachment 228641 PSAthon 4 - Castle of Rocca Calascio is a mountain fortress or rocca in Calascio in the Proince of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy TRADED

[Cardamom Moon]

Jo, thank you for that tutorial!
I never tried to paint an extended scene and I feel a little intimidated by that challange.
I hope to find the time to try it.

[jo.on.the.go]

Am I the only one doing this? Here are some more extended scenes:

Attachment 228652 PSAthon 5 - Blue Lake Wetland, NSW TRADED

Attachment 228653 PSAthon 6 - Portland Head Maine, lighthouse TRADED

Attachment 228654 PSAthon 7 - Water Pollution, RSA 1992 Conservation Series

Attachment 228655 PSAthon 8 - Pigeon Point, California, with oxalis TRADED

[mrubyjean]

Those are so beautiful, Jo!

[somnia]

I still have a bit of a craft area mess to clean up. I've started selecting stamps, but won't likely have anything to show until tomorrow. Oh and there's my day job, too

[letterdiva]

Great extended scene cards, and tutorial.

[mrubyjean]

Okay, I tried an extend-a-scene...way out of my comfort zone. No where near perfect but I like a lot of the way it turned out. I had to do a little research first as I didn't even really know where San Marino is or that the stamp commemorates the French motor car. (TRADED)

[mrubyjean]

I also made a couple of collage cards "Chinese New Year" and "Lotus Maiden"
For the Lotus Maiden card (TRADED), I used an 1899 black & white book page image - which I colored lightly with watercolor markers.

[CynthiaSillitoe]

A couple for me.