Random Postal Happiness

INCOMING MAIL

I thought I would share a little of the wonderful mail I've been getting lately. I certainly have noticed how thoughtful and generous mail artists are.
I often find treasures in my mailbox. And, I like everything!

INCOMING VINTAGE ENVELOPES

I absolutely cannot find any vintage envelopes around SF so my pal
Kelly P send me a shipment from her travels....these are going to be so much fun to work with.

AND as if that wasn't enough, the very same Kelly P made me the cool folder on the right -- something cool to put mail art supplies in...just my type..
And on the left is another folder made from paper, fabric and sewn that I found for free out on the street....my lucky day.

INCOMING

Leigh from the big state of Texas sent me a very cool vintage book of  San Francisco printers and typographers. Another thing that will be great for collage and mail art.

INCOMING

From SA in Pasadena -- another wonderful collage.

INCOMING

Kelly P has done it again -- she made an origami type booklet with a letter sewn inside.
Too wonderful.

INCOMING

From Laura Dunkin-Hubby -- a letter and collage arrived sealed up in clear plastic.
The photo doesn't do it justice. 

INCOMING French Book

Vintage French phrase book (God knows I need it!) from Millicent that was really fun to cut up and collage with....

Cutting up cereal boxes to use as postcard backs -- love re-cycling!

Chinatown Joss Paper

My pal Sally and I both liked this joss paper on a Chinatown shopping trip. We thought those round symbols looked like postmarks. You think?

Chinatown

I have been using the pages from these Chinatown booklets for letter writing and using the envelopes to mail them. Quite a nice combination, don't you think?
I might wear mostly black but I do love those oranges, red and pinks.

I'm picking up paper ephemera all over SF in my travels around town. I have some new booklet-making in mind. You'll see.....

Got out the stamp collection and all my postal stickers and....

Postal ATC's

......I'm working on a series of Postal ATC's to trade with some mail art pals....
Dori, Connie, Andria are all in....
I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

So, you see I have a lot of mail to catch up with and answer....and this is only some of it..
Booklet making, ATC's....and I'm packin up my mail art travel kit too.

So, what are you all up to these days?
I've got a lot going on and I'll show you more next time......

Send Good Mail -- Get Good Mail

The Weekend That Was

Ok, here's my excuse for not really making any mail art over the past weekend -- I was working on the trip album of photos from Turkey and Italy.
Trust  me, there were a whole lot of photos to edit and organize and stick into the
album I made.
The good news? I am 99% finished with it!

I did manage to send off a few things last week -- like this collaged card to K.Y.
I like to collage both sides of the cards I make -- sometimes the insides too.

This one, for PLH, was collaged from vintage paper dolls...well, because she likes paper dolls.
The old paper was too brittle to make an envelope out of so I improvised.

OUTGOING
I do like a pretty envelope!

Booklets
You saw the booklets on the last post -- I am still  very taken with them.
Here are a couple more pages...

BOOKLET

I have quite a few new ideas for them so you will see some more as I make them.
Any of you trying to make them too?
Come on, it's fun and easy -- don't be shy.

TINY LETTER & ENVELOPE OUTGOING

I had some tiny little vintage envelopes sitting around and realized it would be fun to type a
tiny little letter to go inside...don't you think?
I put that larger airmail envelope in there for scale....these are small!

OUTGOING Artist Book

This one was for Planet Sussannia

By the way, I ordered her collage book and it already arrived from Germany.
Beautiful.
I suggest you check it out -- and her blog.

OUTGOING BOOK

Vintage Chinese school book with captions by me, joss paper, collage, water color...

Chinatown Shop in San Francisco

After all that work I think it was time to go out and explore a little. Saturday was a
beautiful day in SF and off I went with SW and KC to Chinatown.
We agree the dumpiest shops sometime have the best stuff. I got some fancy paper shoes here as well as vintage papers and postcards.

Why yes, that actually is a big stack of paper. How could we resist?

Chinese Calligraphy

We did have to stop and have some lunch......(of course)

Cappuccino and Cake

And since this blog is Cappuccino and Art.......

Now, the photo albums is nearly done so I am back to mail art projects this week....

What are you all making and sending out?
Thanks to all of you who comment. Really helps keep me going. It is no fun "talking" to myself and it 's nice to know you're out there!

SEND GOOD MAIL --- GET GOOD MAIL

Mad About Making Booklets

Doesn't this just look delicious?
Airmail? Postal colors?Airmail washi clips? a lovely jumble of colors?
I'm mad about making little booklets.....

Here they are all spread out...which ones should I keep and which ones should I give away?
Hard to decide.
I usually want to keep everything I make but my higher self manages to rise above that and I do share.

Some inside pages -- I used security papers, mailing envelopes, postal forms,
red vellum, colored paper from Scrap .....

...and some pages from a postal history catalog I had sitting around...It is really fun to put these booklets together using ephemera you have sitting around.

I'm just an open book....

I have already popped a bunch of booklets into various envelopes and sent them on their way...

PIE booklet
This one is for Karen who just loves to make (and eat) pie.

Inside the pie booklet....(I wish Karen would mail me a pie).

A vintage Vancouver, BC postcard became a little booklet for someone who lives there...

National Postal Museum postcards are folded in half to make some postally themed booklets..

Here's another...

I re-used some postal forms that had been left for me...missed delivery, etc

These two lovely (?) Senoritas went to KSP and MW...the covers are postcard from a vintage Mexican Postcards show here in SF. Couldn't let those ladies go to waste, could I?

Inside pages...

To make the booklets: Pick up interesting postcards of various sizes in your travels around your town.
Fold them in half, measure and cut pages  to fit inside. Staple together on the spine.
Decorate with labels and rubber stamps. And there you are!

I like making them in themes, as you can see -- postal, pie making, etc
I think it would be wonderful to make them using ephemera about where you live. I'm going to make a San Francisco booklet.
And I'd love to get booklets from wherever you live so if anyone wants to send me any feel free to do it!

OUTGOING MAIL
I had a lot of outgoing mail this week as always....but I am running out of room today so I'll just show you these.

If you follow Cappuccino And Art using Google reader, remember it is shutting down very soon.
I switched my blog reading to Feedly.

So, are you inspired to cut and staple? I hope so -- it is a lot of fun.
I have been working on lots more projects -- and I'll show you some of them next post.

Making Postal ATC's too -- anyone want to trade?

They Let Me Out of the Studio

Sometimes you just need to take a break.....and go "thrifting"....
or, in this case, to SCRAP.
I wandered around for a while and didn't think it was going to be a good day for treasures at Scrap but I was so wrong.
Found these old gold foil lettersets -- I had these when I was a kid.

Rolls of stickers called out to me -- love those big, red bordered postal stickers...
and this book was on the FREE shelf.
Yes, I think I would like it. In fact, I would have paid for it -- but don't tell.

I mean, just look at these pages, can you picture handmade envelopes?

Mail art?
I think so........let the tearing begin...

And I got a pack of air mail envelopes and when I opened it at home there were LAX notecards inside too.

Letters!! Numbers!! Stick on!! Bring them on. (I should have bought more to share).

Another FREE find. I almost passed this pack by until I realized.....

.....the giant tags were not printed and they came with matching envelopes and ribbons...
Mail art purposes? Yes, I think so..

These folders were also free and since I am obsessed with making little booklets I figure these will work fine as covers (when I re-decorate them). You'll see.
Next post I will show you all the little booklets I've been making and mailing out.

The whole bag full  of stuff was $10.

OUTGOING
I've been busy making mail art too -- here is a little Show & Tell.

OUTGOING
Snail mail! (Snail Mail artistamps made by Mike Dickau.) He very generously sent me a sheet
and when I saw this foodie article on escargot I had to put two and two together. The woman working at the Post Office thought the snail mail was great and she hand-cancelled all the stamps for me. Even the artistamps. Let's hear it for cool postal workers!

OUTGOING
I still love vellum. (In fact, these vellum envelopes are from  another trip to SCRAP a while ago)

Little booklet
Sneak preview of one of the booklets. Next time I will show you a whole bunch of them.
I'm obsessed.
Cutting, pasting, tearing, folding -- can't think of anything much better to do.

What's everybody out there working on?
Oh, and I have an idea for a swap too. Next time.

Send good mail -- Get good mail