Merry Christmas!!

Okay...a bit late... I know, but I am back!! I cant believe it has been so long since my last blog! The Higher School Certificate (aka my end of year exams) meant that blogging had to be put on hold, collecting postcards of course was not and I have heaps of new ones in my collection.

After a recount 2 weeks ago I discovered I had 1999 - since Christmas however I have surpassed that thanks to two presents. The first - which was my "santa present" (aka the best, usually most exciting present), was something I've been wanting for a while:

100 postcards!!!

I was so excited when I saw it!! I will post some of my absolute favorites in the next week or so.

Also to come are the best of these:

OMG HARRY POTTER!!

So yes, lots of exciting things to come - well in my opinion anyway, thanks for being patient!

Also a special thanks to deb who has pestered me continuously since the end of the HSC to blog!

♥ grace

holiday joys

Just two postcards this time round.

This first one is from my sister, Emma, who is obsessed with the Australian jewellery company 'Dinosaur Designs' who do have some amazing peices.

This postcard is for a sale, but the mash of all the photos just shows what amazing work they do.

1. Dinosaur Designs: Check it out here.

This next one my mum picked up for me at an artists market. I love the tree! It so detailed and looks so delicate despite a sturdy looking trunk.

2. Planet Boab - an australian company that designs and makes t-shirts. Check them out here. There are some really cute designs

Back to studying I go!

♥ grace

postcard count: 1715

out and about

Well honestly, the title of this post is a bit of a lie, as I have been confined mostly to my house (voluntarily) for the past week and a bit. A week ago, I graduated from highschool and now have had to concentrate all my efforts on studying for my HSC exams - basically end of year 12 exams in all the subjects you take.

But enough about how boring my life is at the moment! Even though I havent been out much, my mum brought home these postcards the other day which got me very excited of course.

 1. This is a really cool postcard, I love the photo! Its of the Sydney Dust Storm by Dean Sewell.

Its actually to do with an public art exhibition all around Sydney, my mum did a post about it, check it out here. There is some really awesome art - especially the bike made from recycled bikes!

 2.  a double postcard illustration of the harbour = a really cool way to advertise

Advertising for a bicycle story just for women called Clarence St Cyclery

3. such a majestic animal!

A pop-up postcard for the melbourne cup carnival 2010 - which is celebrating its 150th!!

4. A beautiful classic piece of art. This is titled Psyche carried off by the zephyrs (detail) by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon c1804

An advertisement for the Art Gallery of NSW who are presenting an exhibition called 'David to Cezanne: Master drawings from the Prat Collection, Paris'

"A major exhibiton of the finest private collection of French drawings in the world. Featuriong over 100 works by the greatest artists of the 19th century including David, Ingres, Delacroix, Manet, Degas, Seurat and Cezanne"

I know I will be going after the HSC!!

♥ grace

postcard count: 1700

new new new

Over the past few weeks I have gotten so many new postcards and as a consequence have decided to save some more dated adds to my collects for a rainy day.

Here are some that I've gotten in the last week from going to various outtings and from my friends. A special thanks to Angela and Deborah! :D

These first ones are from the Australian Film and Radio School Open day that my friend angela went to.

These first two are just beautiful I think, playful and classy all at the same time. Love them. And the third one is so cute and cool, the robot is simply awesome!

This one was picked up just yesterday at the macquarie uni open day. Its an advertisment for the faculty of the arts: music.

I love going to all these events and conveniantly finding postcards!

Designed by Jefferton James Gordon

These next couple are just advant card postcards that I'm pretty sure Deb gave me.

These are everywhere, bright and colourful, promoting reading - what could be more eye-catching? Well for me the fact that they've used postcards as an advertising medium is a bonus! :D

These kinds of postcards are always nice and touch my heart.

1. Make poverty history ad       2. ActionAid Australia: Education for all ad

PLUS! I have designed a new blog header! Any thoughts?

Also: you will probably see a large jump in the number of postcards sadly due to my lack of regular posting and for that I'm sorry.

♥ grace

postcard count: 1624

Never did I imagine...

Never did I imagine went I went to a careers exhibition did I think there would be postcards... I dont know why... I guess it was because the careers expo was at a very nice school for boys in Sydney... I was just thinking about boys really - as my friends would say, of course. But one of the stalls was for the Academby of Information technology and there was a whole rack of student designed postcards (who's names I have put next to the title). I was ecstatic as I'm sure you can imagine! Here are my top 5: 

While I don't particularly like the composition of this one - with the large petal looking things behind the figure, I just love the colours which, while well balanced. provides what I think is some great contrast.

5. By Qing Xu

And here is the kookiest little character of the bunch:

4. By Cina Park

This one is just pretty. It reminds me of a crystal formation or the like, just glowing as that beam of light hits it.

 3. By Kelly Bogdaska

This particular one just makes me laugh. What seems to be a repetitious image is in fact a character of many faces and expressions. I love it!

2. By Xu Ying

 And my favourite is this one because it is so beautiful. The delicacy of the roses all around her and how they are draped around the wire umbrella. And the girl is so pretty, it makes me wonder what she is looking at....

1. By Qing Xu

♥ grace

postcard count: 1548

its a bird... its a plane... no! its SUPERMAN!

Ok, well not quite superman... but this little boy is pretty close - how cute is he!!

1. Actually about what goods are safe and which are unsafe under Australia's laws

You know what else is super cute?? These trucks! How awesome are they?! I didn't notice until now, but each represents one of the 3 emergency services - the police, fire brigade and ambulances - all with the licence 000. I think its rather clever.

 2. In regards to teaching kids about what to do in an emergency

This next one is about Sydney Roller Derby Leauge, but how cool is the postcard, its so tough looking - I certainly wouldnt want to take on that woman, then again, sport really isn't my thing. But it's a great postcard all the same.

3. For more info about the Sydney Roller Derby check out the website here.

And last, but certainly not least for this evening is the super cute postcard from The Finders Keepers - some awesome 'indie design and art markets' held at CarriageWorks. How awesome is the little birdie?? I love it! It was by Madeleine Stamer who has a blog on blogger (here) and a website too (here) with comments on life and some awesome illustrations.

4. I have been to these markets and there are some of the coolest trinkets and bits and pieces. Check out the website here!

Thats it for now, I must be off to study for exams.

♥ grace

postcard count: 1535

a new resolution

Hey all, to start I'd like to say another apology, quite like the ones made in the posts in May (eek). I am dreadfully sorry for not blogging more regularly, school has taken over my life, but I'm making a pre-HSC (aka big end of year exams coming up in October) resolution to blog during my breaks in attempt to be slightly productive while not studying. Thank you to my friend Deb who persisted in asking "when are you going to blog?" and I thank her dearly for being such an avid reader... when I post that is. So here it goes. Before I blog any of the postcards I have received this month, over the next few posts I'm going to show you some of the postcards I have received in the past 2 months when my blogging was lacking...

Here are some funny and awesome ones:

Some of my friends and family will find it ironic that I'm posting this, considering I have quite a bad phobia of dogs... but this one is very cute - as an image anyway... if it was really... well lets just say I would be very far away,

1.Shiva - Pet Portrait Series, 2009 by Toby Dutton - who actually has a blogger too, check it out here. There are some really cool sketches and the like.

The next is another furry creature, the composition and colour choice - despite appearing to have eaten a bird - I rather like, it reminds me of a child opening its mouth as if to say "I'm done, look!"

2. Little Devil by Carla Fletcher, 2009 - who too has a blog, check it out here! There is some really cool stuff :D

I love this postcard, all the boxes and squares and little images mixed in with the information. It is an advertisement for the 17th Biennale of Sydney, a rather cool exhibition of contemporary art all over Sydney in spaces like The Museum of Contemporary Art, The Royal Botanic Gardens, Cockatoo Island and others. I went to cockatoo island last time the event was on and there were some really cool - along with some rather strange - examples of contemporary art. However due to my delayed blogging the event is over, otherwise I would have recommended going to check it out.

I think I'll leave it here for now, but do watch this space for some more soon :D The count will go up slowly because I want to keep secret the number of postcards I have obtained since my blog in May... I will let you know when I hit that number... :D

♥ grace

postcard count: 1523

18

I finally have gotten around to posting about my 18th birthday! One of my best friends, Angela, had been hinting for weeks about the present she got me. She finally handed me an oval tin, upon opening it there were 18 postcards - oversized I might add, but postcards all the same. There were 6 designs in total, all delicate and pretty and very romanticism and very much encompassing everything that I love. Thankyou so much Angela!

Here they are:

And another thankyou for helping me pass the 1500 mark!!

♥ grace

postcard count: 1510

Gotta Love Australia!

I am dreadfully sorry to all those who have been faithfully awaiting a post, got a few hints at school... thanks deb :P but in procrastinating from my legal homework, I thought I may as well do something productive, and here we are!

As you know, I am ultra-backlogged in my posting, I have so many exciting postcards that I get to post about in the near future, like some awesome ones that I got for my birthday! But that will come in a couple posts time. First I have to start with these which I picked up at Rhodes, very slyly I might add - grapping one of every card in the advant card stands can look very weird/sus but i am definitely proud to do it!

Clever campaign and so true. I personally really dont like cigarettes and am so glad that they are using postcards to put out the message

1. Our city is not an ashtray

The next is another postcard design by an artist, isnt it cute? Well I thought so... And the other is an advert for the Archibald Prize which finishes up at the Art Gallery of NSW on the 30th of May, my mum decided to go without Em and I and came back feeling guilty cause it was so good. I hope I can go before it ends, we shall see what the bust life of a year 12 allows me time to do.

2. 'Lotus. Child. Culture." By Judy Liu            3. Archibald Prize @ Art Gallery of NSW

I love the next 2 simply because they are so pretty, or as my friends may say, very "me". I don't know if I have ever expressed my love for clouds on here just yet.... but I love clouds! There you go, I said it, I am obsessive, its not good... The photograph of Point Peron in WA is beautiful and I love the colours of it and how it looks almost like the sky could be in water.
The other is of course for Coppelia, "It all begins at the Harvest Festival, where the appearance of Dr Coppelius and his mysterious 'doll' Coppélia upset the celebrations. Village boy Franz falls for Coppélia but when his feisty fiancée exacts her revenge, he learns the hard way not to romance living dolls." (from the Australian Ballet website)
I would love to see this ballet, but its next to sold out and I'm rather afraid I will miss it this season, but hopefully the Australian Ballet will put it on again in a few years. I love the ballet, the costumes, the dancers, everything about it and love this postcard, Leanne Stojmenov (the ballerina on the front) is beautiful!

4.  'Peron Pool' By Laurette Ruys

@ Point Peron, Western Australia

 5. Coppelia

performed by the Australian Ballet     

These next two were given to me at the beginning of the term by my friend Frances, who when up to the Gold Coast during the holidays, I was so excited that she remembered that I loved postcards, and that she had gotten me more than one!

          Both from WB Movie World on the Gold Coast.
5. Scooby Doo Spooky Coaster                6. Lethal Weapon

♥ grace

postcard count: 1491

Two of a kind

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, it was my birthday in the school holidays (2 weeks ago), I turned 18!  This was the awesome postcard I recieved from my family in America, thankyou so much! I love it!

1. I love my cupcakes, so this was icing on the cake :P (pun intended)

In the middle holidays, I went with my friends Angela, Emma, Elizabeth, Hannah and Matt to film for Angela's drama major work for the HSC. She chose to film some of it at Elizabeth Bay House, this beautiful house from the 1800s in Sydney City. It was so cool. I saw that they had postcards and Angela's mum bought one for me! I was pretty excited, and very greatful of course. Here it is - its a sketch of the house by some guy named Conrad Martens. Its so detailed and fragile, i love it.

2. Elizabeth Bay House

Thats it from me

♥ grace

postcard count: 1478

one little word...

WOW!

Okay... so a few more words now... but I was so amazed and inspired and in love with Steven Sandner, one of the artists of the a postcard in the post below, that I had to do a completely seperate post on some of  the amazing work he does

This one:

Upon checking out his website myself I discovered some of the amazing work that he does, that being photography and manipulating images. It is amazing! Here are some of his pieces:

1. Forfeit

2. Itinerary

3. The Lion

3. Ocean of Memories 

5. S O L I T A I R E

6. Silent Scream

 8. Descend

7. Contemplation

9. Fields of Gold

10. Affirmation

Aren't they beautiful?? Officially in love!

♥ grace

postcard count: 1476