Daisy Yellow № 130

Life in ICADlandia and a series involving flowers

Hi everyone, it’s Tammy, welcome to issue № 130. Thank you for being a subscriber. Daisy Yellow is a long-running project started 18 years ago at the beginning of my art journey as a place to share what I’m making & write about creativity.

So much art happening in ICADlandia!

You are playing along… at the breakfast table, in zoom calls, at lunch break, in late night caffeinated sprees, at instagram, and in trans-oceanic text chats! You are drawing, painting, experimenting, illustrating, documenting, doodling, writing, typing, gelatin printing, and collaging up a storm! Yay, you!

Enjoy 30 screen caps of #dyicad2026 ~720 ICADs in this grid~

Whether you’re finally returning to your art after time away or have been creating for years, be sure to celebrate two weeks of creativity. Put on your comfy jeans, some blink-182, make tea, ☕️ light a candle, grab your favorite pen & notebook, and draw something! ⚛️ Award yourself 17 supersonic sparkly 🌈✨🏋🏻‍♀️ bonus points for using more than 5 colors.

Each day of the challenge you will do something creative on an index card. The first two weeks we are fueled by adrenalin 🔋 and energized by community camaraderie. The hardest part is starting and now you are on your way. Week three is smooth sailing in the world of index cards (although I cannot speak for any other world). A sweet email I got this week: ❝I am LOVING the ICAD challenge!!! It’s re-engaged me, re-invigorated my creative process!❞ 🎉

Source, starting point, spark, seeds, and inklings.

How does an idea begin? You might call creativity a <magical influx portal> or the <alignment of distant constellations> but what if it is simply the brain connecting ideas? Yup, creative cross-pollination. Materials, concepts, tools, environments, subjects, experiences. Once again, synergy.

Aren’t these botanical drawings gorgeous? Heck, Johann Georg, -1857

A series involving flowers and the simple pleasure of painting.

Yup, I play along with you every single year! My ICADs № 1-8 for the 16th annual challenge. Shaking things up after collaging my way thru challenges 2023, 2024, and 2025. After a month of gouache gardens I’ll pivot to collage. The 2nd pic includes the prototypes, the prequels!

I’m tempted to think it all started with this weird tangent into a zillion leaves at the end of the 2024 100 Day Project. Here I was trying to figure out this thing where you press the brush and twist and make a leaf. I decided filbert brushes are not my thing. Gouache on watercolor paper, spring 2024.

Warm-ups, prototypes, tests, beta versions

Many mediums work differently on index cards. The utilitarian nature of the card is part of the charm! With gouache/watercolor I’m not trying to emulate good paper… I’m trying to leverage the idiosyncrasies of simple paper. 🩵 This year I did prototypes to helpe me get a feel for spacing and layering. But also to switch from watercolor paper (because I’ve been painting since last fall non-stop) and translate the botanical ideas to smaller & simpler paper. The plants & leaves are smaller! The compositions are more compressed. And there are fewer plants per page. 😆 There will be no plant-based metrics. I love that the lines on the index cards bleed and absorb into the paint.

Gouache and ink on 3x5” index card, one of the prototypes, 2026

What to create on index cards

What are you curious about? Look at the articles you’ve bookmarked, the art books & craft books on your bookshelves, your latest library stack, and think about what kind of art resonates at this moment of your life. Keep in mind that the kind of art you enjoy looking at might be different than the kind of art you want to create.

We are perpetually optimistic regarding office supplies

Let this daily project nurture and rejuvenate you. Try not to be hard on yourself. If you skip a day, keep going nonetheless. Factoid: In ICAD the cup is always half full (not half empty)! That means that we count the cards we make, not the cards we don’t make. 🧭 Looking for ideas? I’ve made digital zines to give you a feel for the possibilities. The most popular? 52+ Ideas for Small Format Art: Sparking Creativity with Index Cards.

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Creative Assignment1 № 15: Make something inspired by Pennsylvania Dutch hex patterns/barn stars.

image: https://www.glencairnmuseum.org/newsletter/2019/3/19/hex-signs-sacred-and-celestial-symbolism-in-pennsylvania-dutch-barn-stars

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At Daisy Yellow

Creative Gazette 01: Portal
ICAD home base and How ICAD 2026 works
Prompts 1-30 & themes for weeks 1-9 🆕
Aerial view in gouache
Neocolor love (part two)

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For almost two decades I’ve intentionally kept Daisy Yellow an independent project free of ads or sponsorships. That means I rely on reader support to keep moving forward. If you find value in my year-round writings, the newsletters, the free resources, and our community ICAD challenge, please consider becoming an annual subscriber! 🥰 Thank you to those who have already done so; I appreciate your encouragement.

As a thank you for keeping this creative ecosystem 🪸 going, your support instantly unlocks 🔓 extra goodies like the 10-part Creative Gazette series, the upcoming Curious Tangents series, and whatever else I dream up (hint: printable ICAD 2026 Tracker).

💬 In the comments, tell us what you are making, your discoveries, your aha moments, how you’re dealing with creative blocks, what colors & shapes & motifs are showing up, whether you’ve conquered any hurdles, and whether your plan is working (or not)!

Sending hugs out to you over the invisible internet airwaves 🌀📻 because these are difficult times and nothing makes sense. I will continue to share words & art in the hopes of brightening your day. ❌⭕️❌⭕️

Cheers,
Tammy

PS. At instagram find ICAD at indexcardaday and Tammy at gypsy999
PS. If the newsletter is no longer your thing, no worries, you can unsubscribe at the link below.

1. A Creative Assignment is a simple prompt to spark ideas.