Warning: Naked Woman Ahead:)

Voila! My one French nude postcard. Isn't she a beauty? The pose, the curves -- all quite lovely and in good taste. I have seen many French nudes but I've never come across another postcard of my pretty lady. The tack mark to the right of her armpit testifies to her pin-up girl status. With the teasing French words scribbled on her body, she is definitely one of a kind. When I received the card, I was so eager to translate the French text. I just knew I was getting in on some steamy love affair during the Roaring 1920s! A good kiss from my mouth ... For me, love that I am a fool ... souvenir of a woman ...And then, I turned the card over and what a surprise!

I didn't have to read any farther than the first line before I started laughing and laughing. The joke was on me. No torrid romance here. Just a few lines to "cher beau frere" -- dear beautiful brother (step brother?)... She's not the only thing I'm unveiling today. I've started something new in my shops that I think you'll like. It's "Today's Freebie" with some choices! Both in my Zibbet and my Etsy shops, I now have a "Freebies" section.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/FrenchKissed?section_id=7975014

There are different cards in each shop and they will be changing up.

http://www.zibbet.com/FrenchKissed/section/freebies-w-purchase

While some of the choices are seasonal items, don't think your choices are all second rate. Take a look and you'll see:) The rule is: one freebie with any purchase -- LIMIT one per day. APRIL IN PARIS Mail Art Swap There's still plenty of time, for international participants, too, to commit to this swap. The scoop is this: I mail you 3 antique Paris postcards. [Email me your snail-mail address] One will be a recognizable Paris landmark. The other two will have something to do with Paris but not an obvious connection. You use these cards as your canvas. Alter as you wish. I'm not big on rules. I prefer to give you free reign. If you want to mail each individual card back to me, to insure each one gets a 2011 postmark to create a unique "Anachronistic" piece of art (a 1900s postcard with a 21st century date), that's fine. If you want to send all three cards inside a single envelope, that's fine, too. The only thing you need to be sure to do is include YOUR NAME on each card somewhere, so I know who it's from. I'd hate to send you back your own work of art:) The theme is "April in Paris" or "Paris in April" -- you pick. The deadline is April 22.

In return, you will receive 2 altered postcards and a petite batch of French mail ephemera (stamps, registered mail, air mail, etc.) from moi.

To get your creative wheels spinning, here are some more examples of entries in the March swap. You will see some gessoed or papered the card for a blank slate. Others incorporated the card image into their design. When I received this postcard from Antonella DeFalco of New Jersey, I couldn't believe my eyes. This beauty was sent through the US Postal system and arrived in tact, unharmed, all in one piece. Incredible, isn't it??! A button with ribbon, a slide frame and string -- all these lovely embellishments came through unscathed. Now, as is the case in many things I do, I don't think far enough ahead:) I wish I had saved scans of the cards before I mailed them, so you could see before and after, to fully appreciate what the artist did. Here is another favorite of mine that Paul Meck of Texas did. The original card was a portrait, from the waist up, of a girl wearing a blue dress. Paula got creative and did double duty (and this was way before I unveiled my Queen of Hearts:). And as you can see here, she was just as creative on the back side. More mail art swap samples to come ....

FYI: If you haven't visited lately, the FrenchKissed Flickr group is growing. More than 40 beautiful creations to inspire you. http://www.flickr.com/groups/frenchkissed

IF you would like to get acquainted with the new Artist-in-Residence for April, click on the artist's palette at the top corner under the poll. One click and you'll be instantly transported to The Netherlands! Enjoy perusing Ira Huberts' blog. I've already seen her Friday tutorial and I can assure you, you'll be head over heels in love with it!

To all of you who have responded and left comments in regard to my situation with my dad's delayed memorial service, Thank You So Much.