June's Postcard of the Month

POPPIES!!  Right on time!

Just as I am writing this, my front-of-the-house poppies are doing their glorious, sinewy, tissue-y thing!

Poppies; pool;

and Bike Week.

That's pretty much what's June's been to me for the past 20 years.  Last year's June postcard hit on all these June themes - poppies, wheels and gears, and a pool-blue sky!

I don't go to Bike Week anymore.  BUT!!  It's still one of my favorite parts of June, because: MY HUSBAND STILL GOES!!  

So I hang around the homestead, tending. (made these tomato cages for soon-to-be-off husband)

Especially Lucy-tending these days!  

So... I'm pondering hosting my annual While-Mule's-Away Party* again this year - 

(If You Don't Leave Me Alone, I'll Find Someone Who Will: http://www.musictory.com/music/Delbert+McClinton/If+You+Don%27t+Leave+Me+Alone+%28I%27ll+Find+Somebody+That+Will%29)  Best song title EVER?)

Pat, Sharon and Susannah - last year:

And perhaps a Pool Party too?! 

But old Lu is SO feeble, and has this uncanny propensity for CONSTANTLY challenging one to NOT TRIP THE EFF OVER HER!!  Major socializing hazard...  

Here she is, wearing this apron (that I made for my mother, years ago) as a RAINCOAT!  She was pretty unimpressed - it took me until the week-long deluge ended to come up with this GREAT IDEA.

In the meantime...  Back to the Poppy Postcards.  

I pretty much followed my one and only prototype:

with just a few minor changes/additions:

The fixins (I never did end up using those tissue paper #6s - as poppy stems):

TWENTY-EIGHT Steps this time!   Here goes:

Step 1

 Step 2

 Step 3

 Step 4

 Step 5

 Step 6

 Step 7 - I rather like this as is.

 And then I make it look AWFUL!!  Honestly, for quite a few steps here, 

before I start to redeem things again!

Step 8 

 Step 9

Step 10

 Step 11

 Step 12

 Step 13

 Step 14

 Step 15

 Step 16

 Step 17 - One of my favorite little bits: this little piece of hole-punched red.

 Step 18 - I have 3 scrumptious red papers: this red rice paper:

 Step 19 - Red 'lace' paper:

Step 20 - Some of the poppies are red rice paper:

 Step 21 - one orange poppy:

 Step 22

 Step 23 - And a (very bleeding) red parchment-type paper for the last 3 poppies:

 Step 24

 Step 25

 Step 26 - The little white wisp (white 'lace' paper') was added as mitigation - 

some of the sky/horizon had bled in an unattractive way on a few of the cards.

 Step 27

 Step TWENTY-EIGHT!!

 Here's a panel of 21**:

Last year's set of 21 June postcards:

That's about it!  EXCEPT > > > I finally made myself a collage website!  http://bbarncat.wix.com/beth-barndt-


*If you're reading this and want an invite to the possible W-M-A Party - get in touch!!  
**I carry out each step with each of the 21 cards before moving on to the next step.