My first card was special (to me) for two reasons:

It made me think of the word "pattern" in a way that draws from my younger days: the days when one purchased a pattern from a fabric store and sewed clothing from it.

Since I haven't had that kind of pattern on hand in years, I made a little pattern from a finger puppet that has been in my toy drawer for over thirty years. 

Both cards made on November 3 were made quickly. I was trying to capture the idea of how FAST the little lizards that live in my yard are.

According to local legend, Italian Wall lizards arrived at a Topeka pet store years ago. Since they go dormant when it it cold, the pet store owner thought they were dead and disposed of the box. Things warmed up. Lizards escaped. We moved into our current house in 2014. A lizard sighting was rare, but fun. By 2025 it is easy to see five to ten lizards at a time if you step out of the door at the right time.

I tried to capture the concept of SPEED by painting fast and loose: watercolor on Yupo. I tried four times. This is the only decent card from those attempts. Since a sheet of ATC-sized Yupo costs about a quarter, I stopped trying.

More watercolor on Yupo. I like the concept. Some day I will try again and maybe get a better teardrop....            Traded to Rachel M.

Well... I thought the word of the day was drop....

And I also bent the card. But I do love white Prismacolor pencil on Legion Stonehenge Black paper. I buy mine in little 2.5 x 3.75 tablets from Jerrysartarama.

(Yes, I am trying to include hints to any ATC artist who may eventually discover my site...(

This card definitely tells a story... but one that only works for someone of my (Boomer) generation.

Note the old-fashioned phone.

And the old-fashioned alarm clock.

Back in the nineties, the scariest thing that could happen was to get a 2:00 AM phone call when you have three teenagers at home.

Happily, it only happened once. The car accident was minor. No one was hurt. The police told the six parents that showed up that most 2:00 AM calls to parents had more tragic results.

I attempted to make one of the "Secret Stencils" that were offered in Kellogg's cereal packages in the 1970s. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. The first one was smaller, using thinner plastic. Then I used some of my precious Yupo to try again.

I DO love the concept of these. I just need to find a better method for making them. It would be a good project for kids.

I am not sure how I managed to have one of these 1970s Secret Stencils in my possession. I was a "kid" from roughly 1960 to 1973. I was a parent of gradeschool-highschool children from 1984 to 1999. I must have picked up one of those stencils at a garage sale.

They were pretty cool. I made a few ATCs in 2021, using the donkey stencil. Then, unfortunately, I lost the stencil. 

Quick and easy sketch from a vacation photo.

Although I bought my first set of metalllic watercolors in 2020, I seldom make ATCs with shiny elements. They are hard to photograph and I'm not really into shiny or glittery or bling-y art. So I made this one quick and simple.

But I must report that for my seventy-first birthday I received a gift certificate to Jerrysartarama and I bought a 48-color metallic watercolor set. (Thank you, Mike, Elisa, Julia and Sylviar)

Of course I couldn't do this one seriously.

This one was fun.

This one was not....

I tried copying an image from the Etsy website. It was a lovely old antique hand mirror with lots of detail. Happily, I do not think this drawing needs a credit line, because my image looks absolutely nothing like that original photo. I just could not pull it off!

This one took several tries, to get the placement and the proportions right. I do not sketch with pencil first. I don't like erasing the lines, and I prefer the fluid movement of an  ink line that is not trying to follow a guide. I do. think I captured the feeling of sadness, even though this image is quite flawed. (It would not be very comfortable to how  one's arms above the leg, instead of resting on it...)

Not for trade. This one is an AKC.

When a word prompt makes an old jingle from a commercial pop into my head... I just go with it.

I have now drawn this  pair of parrots, using alcohol markers on Yupo, three times. It is a very "trade-able" card. The first two were named "Tom and Jerry,"  the second pair was "Fred and George." This pair is not nearly as good as the other two, so I think I will name them "Bezos and Musk....."

Any chance I get to draw my thumb....

Here's another image that has a story behind it.

My husband and I recently took two of our grandsons to Branson for a mini vacation. It was October, but the days were warm and dry. But NONE of the fun water rides worked. NONE. 

We were very disappointed.

But the thrown rolls at a local restaurant helped end the disastrous day well.

Hurray for the silliness!

I spent a CRAZY amount of time trying to capture, with pen strokes, the various melodies in Holst's Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity.

I listen to this piece of music almost every day, as I take my walk. It has brought me so much joy. I did not discover this glorious piece of music until I was seventy. I hope to hear it played live some day.

Drive.

As in computer drive.

I wasn't the only group member to come up with this concept, but artists may also be geeks.

This is the first time I have drawn a "Doodle Card" featuring leaves. It was fun!

Today I learned the meaning of "Capsicum."

Today I drew with Prismacolor Pencil on Legion Stonehenge Black watercolor paper. This is the one media combination that actually photographs to look better than the original. I guess the wax in the colored pencil reflects light just perfectly and the watercolor paper does not reflect at all?

I like the concept of this card, so I will probably try it again some time in the future, and spend a little more time on it.

This is the first time I have used "dot paper" for an ATC.

At this point, I was not very interested in drawing every day. So some days I did several cards at a time.

The proportions are off. The teacups do not match. The base of the tea pot is far too big.... but somehow I still think is is a charming little card.

I always enjoy sketching any collection of good things in my studio.

Initially, I thought I would be able to fill this little grid with two dozen different pets. I thought I could do a CUTE little drawing in each little square. (Keep in mind that ATCs are 2.5 x 3.5 inches.) I was wrong on both counts.

The prompt was "Window...." but the title of this ATC is:

Window(s), Abstracted

Sometimes I just love a great title.

I SHOULD have been able to draw something with some drama and a dark mood... but I failed.

View. Scene. 

I was lazy today.

Whenever I have a bit of leftover acrylic paint, I do a little ATC what I label as SmSsS.

That stands for "Six Minute, Six Step Scene."

By November 30, I was no longer trading online. So when I saw the word prompt Rarity, I quickly drew this sillly little ATC.

It's sort of the end of an era for me.