Embroidery on Vintage Postcards

I follow #handembroidery on instagram and it's at once inspiring AND daunting (everyone else is SO GOOD and creative and what am I even DOING thinking I can make things?!). It's the tale of every maker/crafter admiring the art of others, no?

Two things happened.
1. I stumbled upon the incredible work of Frances Cramer.
2. I had a TON of old vintage postcards from my grandmother's hoarder house.

I've used my grandma's vintage stashes before (the vintage collage buttons, for instance).  So I thought I'd take a crack at embroidering on vintage paper.

I learned:
Planning is MUCH more my friend on paper than on fabric/felt.
Paper--especially old paper--is much less forgiving of mistakes and pilot poke-throughs.

With trial and error I started embroidering on vintage postcards. Here are some of my current results. It's a little bit kitch, a little bit sci-fi, a little bit supernatural, and a little bit gay. All things I love:

Bob Ross "painting" the postcard.

This is going to be featured on a friend's album cover! (Holy crap!)

We follow the Yellow Brick Road. Even though the "Surrender Dorothy" is a direct copy from the movie, it looks super messy (as it did in the movie!). 

My FIRST attempt. Little Nessie. :)

French knots are WAY fun to do on paper, for real. 

The Enterprise, my Star Trek loves.

Just a little tentacle.

I LOVE this one; the gay pride Oakland Bay Bridge.

The drag horse of Wyoming. My friend actually knows the name of the horse and rider, but alas. 

TARDIS.

The Telltale heart of the Edgar Allen Poe shrine.

The rainbowed-up hospital.

More to come for sure. It's addicting to figure out how to add onto the postcards and I maaaay have ordered an assorted vintage pack on ebay. Whoops.