Magic Mailbox: I've Got Mailart!

On my way home from picking my husband up from the ER the other day, I stopped at the post office and this beautiful envelope was waiting for me: 

                           

Isn't it gorgeous? It was full of goodies from Roben-Marie Smith! I am going to put it up on the inspiration board behind my desk so I can see it every time I sit there to work.

Roben-Marie has taken her beautiful work and turned it into collage (left) and sticker sheets (right). These are destined to find their way into my art journals. The colours and textures are so delicious!

                       

She has also made these delightful postcards! Roben-Marie has two online stores if you'd like to order some artsy goodness for yourself. There's her Etsy shop (which for right now is on vacation, but be sure to add it to your favourites so you can find it later when she resumes business) and there's her Paperbag Studios shop where she has a whole host of rubber that is perfect for art journalling.

She also has some really cool online workshops. My friend Greta has been taking You've Got Mailart and recently sent me this envelope she'd made in class. I hope to take this one in the near future-it looks like it would be really fun and inspiring. She is one exceptionally talented woman!

THANK YOU Roben-Marie for your perfectly timed gift. It arrived on a day when I most needed some mailart love. You are extremely generous and I am deeply appreciative of your kindness.

Now I want to sit down and play with paint!

Artful Envies

Hello! I am back, thanks to a brilliant friend who has managed to resurrect my computer from the dead! He is a miracle worker. You have no idea how grateful I am. It was utterly crippling to not have a working lap top!

In the meantime, I've been working on various projects. I was running out of handmade envelopes, so I made some more. I managed to whip these 23 up in about half an hour one day. Old Stampington publications are still my favourites to upcycle in this way. If you missed my tutorial on how, you'll find it here. I think I'm going to save a few to use in my ROD journals, the rest will go postal at some point.

There is lots to catch up on now that I'm back in business, so look for more posts this week. I am off to Penn's today to spend some time in her studio. She's going to show me how to use her new gelli plate. Should be fun!

Card Carrying Member

About a month ago, I finally got around to joining the Letter Writers Alliance. I'd been meaning to do it for ages. I like getting something other than bills in the mail. (Don't we all?) I paid my membership dues (a whopping $5 US) and waited patiently for my goodies to arrive in the mail. It didn't take very long! I got a welcome letter, membership card, postcard and a button. 

Not long after I became a card-carrying member, they updated the membership package with a really cool little triangle patch instead of the button, so I ordered one for myself. It came today and I love it. Now I just have to decide what I want to sew it onto.

I took a couple photos of the envelope Donovan sent my order in. She sends THE BEST envelopes! I am carefully saving them to add into my Remains of the Day journals. 

If you're into mail art, you'll want to check out Good Mail Day. It's a fantastic book. I bought it quite some time ago and I like to page it from time to time just to feast on the eyecandy inside. It even has a page with postal themed stickers in the back.

Now I'll have to get busy making some mail art to send so Donovan can match me with a pen pal. You have to send mail to get mail after all! We've got a newly minted long weekend here in BC-Monday is a new stat called "Family Day" so there will be plenty of time for mail art!

New In My Etsy Shop!

Urban Landscape

Just a super quick update to let you know that I've got some brand new handmade postcards available in my Etsy shop this morning! If you liked Legacy, which appeared in my last post, it's now available to purchase, along with a whole host of new images, including Tapping In , Urban Landscape (pictured above) and more!

Hope you're having a good weekend in your neck of the woods.

Thanks for stopping by!

Leap of Faith

So for awhile now, I've been making handmade postcards from images I've created in the photography classes I've been taking. I've always thought I would love working with a card company, but since that hasn't happened (yet) I've been content to start making them on my own. I love postcards and I've made a few sets to exchange with a few of my classmates in Getting Through the Grey.

My friend Pip got the packet I sent her in the mail this week and encouraged me to put some of my postcards for sale in my Etsy shop. I hemmed and hawed about it and then she emailed me again yesterday, giving me another gentle nudge. This morning, I took a leap of faith and went ahead and did it. Sometimes it's hard to put yourself out there, but honestly, what do I have to lose? No risk, no reward! (Thanks Pip for your vote of confidence! xo)

I have three different sets available, with plans to offer more, once I get prints made, which hopefully will happen later today.  Until then, you can find my first three sets here, here and here. You can send them to a friend or to keep for yourself. They'd also look cool sewn into your journal, or you could always frame them-it's up to you! Pip said she plans to frame hers.


**Mary Ellen & Sherry, please email me your snail mail addys so I can send you your winnings! Thanks!**

Altered File Folders

One great thing about using Google Reader is that it keeps me stocked up on eyecandy all day long. I have my browser set with the Google Reader as the dashboard, so whenever I open the browser, I have a pile of updated art blog links waiting for me.

One of those blogs belongs to Roben-Marie, whom I met via MaryAnn Moss' ROD class. Roben is always busy creating something new and lately, I've been watching as she keeps posting altered file folders to her blog. It looked like fun, so I emailed her and asked if she'd be up to swapping. She said yes.

So all these little photos are of small sections of the file folder I made yesterday. I love taking the camera and using the macro feature to zoom in on small sections of a larger piece. It gives you a different perspective of your work.

Remember that Tim Holtz tissue tape I mentioned in my last post? Well I tried it out on the file folder and as you can see, it blends seamlessly. The adhesion is excellent, even over Caren D'Arche water soluble pastels, gesso, matte medium and acrylics.


I also added a colour copy of an ATC I made some time ago and another on the front of a cone flower that I took in our garden. I like to colour copy my art so I can use the images over and over again in different ways.


I also plunked the folder down and randomly stitched all over it with my sewing machine, which was fun.

I added some white pen as well. Thing is, I am STILL on a quest for a good white pen that will WORK over top of a variety of mediums. I've tried all kinds of white gel pens and two types of Sakura pens-a gelly type one and then a permapaque. ALL of them are a dismal failure. They will write for about 2 seconds and then give up the ghost. (As evidenced by what you see above.) Either the tip gets gummed up (even when the piece I am writing on is dry) or they just refuse to work. I store them correctly and everything. They'll write on paper, but never on my work, no matter how new they are *sigh*

If anyone knows of a foolproof white pen, please let know! I would love to get my hands on a Sharpie white poster paint marker too, but so far haven't seen them for sale here in Canada.

I love the colour of this section.

Aren't the shapes of these numbers great? That was a $2 stamp from Daiso!

So here's the back of the whole thing...

And the front. (The yellow Post-it notes are covering up our addresses.)
I've filled it with all kinds of ephemera and stapled it shut so when Roben gets it, she can just remove the staples and reuse the folder. I stitched around the outside, which I think finishes it nicely.

It was alot of fun and a great exercise if you're not feeling particularly creative. You can just slap some paper down and go for it-there's really no wrong way of doing it and you can add whatever you want-paints, stamps, ephemera. It's a good way to use up scraps left from other projects.

I still have a couple more issues of Manual Dexterity Issue #1 left. I plan to list the remaining copies on my Etsy over the weekend, so if you want a copy, please email me soon! Purchasing info is here.

Faye, a Tattered Edge reader had this to say:

"I received my copy of the Manual Dexterity Zine today and it is to love! I've been on the run and just had time to look quickly at each page. I'll go back later and enjoy it all. Thanks so much for making it available and I hope you do the same with #2."

and then later emailed back with:

"I've had time now to read every word and enjoy your beautiful art and am looking forward to the next one."

Thanks Faye! I am so pleased you're enjoying it! Issue #2 is in the works and should be available for purchase in late August/early September. I'll be announcing it here, so keep your eyes peeled!