Licking and sticking

Stamps are little scraps of social history, and they're miniature works of art, too. I recently visited Stanley Gibbons HQ in the Strand, ahead of Stampex, the annual stamp-collecting show, in its 60th year.
I used to collect stamps as a child, and this event was a real memory-jogger, surfacing recollections of stamp hinges, and soaking squares of envelope in little bowls of water to get the stamps off.
On display was the original artwork for some Royal Mail stamps including the butterflies collection from 2013.

But stamps aren't just for sticking on letters or collecting in albums. Suzanne, of Art Stamped, is a craft artist who creates contemporary artworks using postage stamps. She was on hand to help me create a card design with stamps. She'd brought along a selection of stamps, themed by colours and subjects, such as hearts and animals. And she'll be showing a jungle-themed piece at Stampex.

With an anniversary coming up, I went for a green colour theme with the occasional love stamp. Suzanne took a shot of me as I planned and pondered my design.

And here's the finished card: not too shabby considering I spent about five minutes on it...