Trading Cards Delight

More than 5 years ago we started doing trading cards as a way of sharing and caring for and about each other during Covid – a little 2.5 x 3.5″ card of caring, a recognition that a piece of original art was one way of exercising our creativw brains and then showing we care by giving it away in exchange for another piece of art. We never know what we are going to get, only what we choose to give that month.

So this is the process that we use….. Eleven months of the year we trade cards by mail and this is how we do it: Work on a card 2.5″ x 3.5″ that is no heavier than card stock or 140# watercolor paper. Put your name and then a message or the date on the back. Put them into the post with a SASE envelope. Do this by the 11th of the month. I then do a trade here around 10 days later and put your cards into your SASE and they are posted back to you. Make sure to have at least 2 stamps on the SASE envelope. And make your cards on card and not anything thick like foam core. Contact me for my postal address.

Once I receive the cards, I then sort them trying to make sure you get a swop from another artist. If you send 6 cards, I send you back 6 cards from other artists. I pop them into your stamped (2 stamps are good for 8 or 9 cards and 1 stamp for few cards) and self-addressed envelope that you sent me with your art cards and ta-da! you get art happiness in the mail!

Trading cards are a great way to keep your pens and brushes wet every month. I set aside one evening a month to do my cards and some months, sad to say, that is the only art that I do for others and so this gives me great joy! Join us!

Upcoming Suggested Themes:

February 2026: Never wear red and pink together
March 2026: The Colleagues of Calligraphy 50th Celebration – your cards with letters and words – this will be a bumper event
April 2026: Falling Snow or rising flowers
May 2026: You pick your theme
June 2026: How green is your garden? (and we will have an in person gathering here, a picnic and trade cards as well)
July 2026: You pick what you want to do this month
August 2026: The lazy days of summer

My box of cards is getting quite full now and I often look at them, studying details or just enjoying the feeling of sharing and caring that radiates off the art. Most months I make 9 cards and I keep one. Sometimes I pick a hand or topic or style of art that I want to work on and these become a practice exercise. I will do them and pick the nicest, enjoying seeing how my art improved with the process.

I love seeing the selection in my bowl as I toss them all together and do the random drawing of the mailed in magic!

Twice a year we meet in person to trade and eat and enjoy each other’s company. Most Wednesday nights we gather on Zoom for chatting. Join us anytime. Contact me for the Zoom link. We enjoy artists who enjoy creating and supporting others with bite-sized pieces of art…..

The variety is endless – calligraphy, watercolor, fabric, eco prints, markers, collage, and more!

It is fun to see the mixed media, paper arts, calligraphy, sewist art and watercolors all in one place – if it fits on a card and can be mailed flat and thin, it all works! Thick card or gator board is not welcome. I post some of the images on Facebook so we can all enjoy the art!

The joy of in-person trading is the opportunity to pick and share and get what really tickles you fancy! We do this twice a year but the posted cards are all included as well.

We are having fun creating small works of art and seeing what others did too. We are going to continue with this project and hope others will join in too. You can make as few cards as you like – some people make 4 every month and others make 8 or 9 – and a few people send more when the theme gets them in the groove. The good news is that you can pick your level of involvement and keep making art of all sorts and kinds each month.