Daisy Yellow № 132
Atmospheric ambiance on index cards
Hi everyone, it’s Tammy, welcome to issue № 132. Daisy Yellow is a long-running creative project where I share what I’m making & talk about creativity. Thanks for subscribing.
Please consider becoming an annual subscriber! 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 & ICAD Guided Look-Back).
Thinking of my painting practice as a visual freeform meditation in my journal aka ❝painting evening pages.❞ Noticing certain patterns or ways of making shapes appearing… within the structure of improvisation. Or lack of structure. I’ve painted virtually every day since about September, filling several watercolor journals & pads of watercolor paper.
Your art practice is your playground 🎡 and you are the navigator and rule-maker. What inspires you today? Tilt-a-whirls or carousels? Ferris wheels or swing sets? Wooden roller coasters or funhouses?
In this issue, some of my flowery ICADs from this past month. My process is to draw or paint flowers first, then add the backdrop, if any. Garden No. 21 is “atmospheric ambiance” and honestly the hopeful mood as we look toward the horizon... is a happy accident created by the band of dark vs. light! Definitely learned something!
🌞🍃🌲🌷🌳
The gardens & flowers will continue indefinitely.1 I like testing or pushing the limits, treating an index card like a creativity lab! Working with index cards is about embracing (and leveraging) the idiosyncrasies.
The brain cannot focus on everything all at once. A conundrum. I’ve been navigating a flare of chronic pain yet while doing art, I feel better. With that in mind, I reserved Your Brain on Art from the library (thx for the recommendation Kelly Feltault BFA, CTAP, PhD).
Tempted to call ⤵️ this one “chutes & ladders” or “candyland” as it could be an aerial view of a city or a game board. In substack notes I asked what you could see? Thanks to those who responded! That means a lot to me. Let me know in the comments.
Creativity blooming in ICADlandia!!!
You are showing up with index cards, scissors, paper, ink, and glue. You are splashing sepia and opera pink watercolor with abandon. In ICADlandia 🧭 artists are inking portraits, making one-staple collages, making gelatin prints, and drawing geometric doodles. Researching words like parterre, dadaism, and biomorphic. (Long-time ICADians know I like to throw in curveballs ⚾️ each year.) You are creating with acrylics, magic markers, alphabet stamps, pencils, watercolors, washi tape, gouache, painted & found papers. It’s remarkable!!!
Another screen cap adventure; this time I did 140 screen caps to give you a visual (as of July 3rd). Instagram does not show everything under a hashtag… there’s so much more!!! You’ve conquered the hardest part (starting) and the second hardest part (sticking with it thru the mid-point) and now you’re at the final stretch!!!!
✨ look what you are creating ✨
✨ 3,360 works in these two images✨
✨ #dyicad2026 as of July 3rd ✨
We’re doing a free two-month index card art challenge 🌈🗂📇 thru July 31. You’re welcome to join any time with your own [
ICAD #01]. Start with the welcome post. It’s a make-your-own-adventure kind of thing with 100% optional daily prompts & weekly themes. Low key fun.
✂️🎨📚🗂️ Want to get into mixed media? I created my Mixed Media Amusements & Musings workshop just for you! Yup, beginners welcome! It’s built around colorful, small-scale experiments that make art feel approachable and playful. We’re working with acrylics & collage in art journals and on index cards! This is my best yet. I’m reopening registration in one week and will offer an early bird discount so add your name to the notification list to get one email when it’s available. If you are already on the list, you’re all set.
Keep going nonetheless
Today you’ll make something on an index card. There are virtually no rules to this challenge. [index card]+[daily] Everything else is self-guided. You will stretch your creative muscles. And you’ll put that finished card on top of the stack. Your stack of cards is tangible evidence of what a seemingly small daily decision accomplishes.
Monday is the start of Week Seven and our 100% optional theme is PATTERNS, SHAPES & MANDALAS. Find inspo at Mandalas Everywhere.
At Daisy Yellow
Serendipitous Paper Signatures Flip-Thru 🎥
Art Sessions: Tiny Experiments 01 & 02 🎥
Art Session: Up Ahead in the Distance 🎥
Creative Gazette 10: Creative Cross-Pollination
ICAD home base and How ICAD 2026 works
Prompts 31-61 & themes for weeks 1-9
Art Session: Afternoon Picnic (Ko-Fi) 🎥
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. If the newsletter is no longer your thing, no worries, you can unsubscribe at the link below.
Technically until the end of July when I switch to collage.
You’re welcome! And FYI there’s a ton of research on how a creative practice physically & psychologically reduces pain.
During this ICAD challenge I've been experimenting with gelatos and weaving paper art scraps on 4x6 index cards. When I have unused acrylic paint left over, I spread it over my paper plate palette or on a sheet of mixed media paper. These pieces make interesting backgrounds or strips of paper to weave together for later projects.