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| Let the sorting begin! A fun project on a rainy day. |
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| Soaking My son walked in during the soaking phase and said "Mom, are you trying to re-use those stamps and cheat the Post Office?" Well! Mail artist don't get any respect (not from their kids anyway). |
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| Drying |
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| Having fun sorting by colors |
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| And look -- I realized I had wonderful little bits of airmail envelopes and security papers and handwriting to play with......made a bunch of postcards for the 365 mailart project with the bits and pieces. |
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Here's another one.... Now what will I do with all those stamps? I guess we'll see. Send Good Mail --- Get Good Mail |
What fun. It is too bad all these new stamps don't come off the envelopes well though. Takes the fun out of soaking them.
ReplyDeletePamela, What do you have the drying stamps laying on? I have found that sometimes if it is paper they will stick to it. Do you use wax paper by chance?
ReplyDelete@sarala. Maybe I am lucky but all the stamps came off the envelopes fine. The new self-stick stamps are trickier though but I can get them off.
ReplyDelete@Pen Thief. Yup--I dry them on wax paper, sandwiched between two sheets, with a heavy book on top to keep 'em flat. After I put them on the wax paper I blot up the excess water with a paper towel before adding the top sheet of water paper. FYI I have rolls of wax paper in my studio - it is great to work on when glueing, drying etc....
If you have a restaurant supply store nearby, you might be able to find a box of pop-up wax paper sheets. They are pre-folded, perfect size for fitting under a big book (like Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian) and are very reusable. I've been using the same box for about 2 years. Easier to grab a sheet than rip a sheet :-)
ReplyDelete@PostMuse. I do have several boxes (from Costco). And you're right. very handy and reuseable.
ReplyDeleteWow ! I like the envelope ideas a lot. :) You are really artistic. :):) And stamps. OMG !!! STAMPS ! I LOVE STAMPS !!!
ReplyDeleteI usually soak that envelope area in water and let it there be for about 1 hour ! :)
Your blog is great by the way
Love the comment from your son. Kids are so true to the mark in their comments. Marevelous. Your are so organized but I really like your color coordinated stamp box, what a great idea. Security stamp post cards turned out great. xox Corrine
ReplyDelete@Sara Did you get my email? If you send me your address I will send you a typewriter envelope.
ReplyDelete@dosfishes I thought if I sorted by color, the stamps would b fun to use in art project (but France has it's own box!).
I never thought of soaking them! Will have to do that! Glad to hear it does work on the new self-sticking ones too.
ReplyDelete@stephrudolph Soaking works great. My son says a hot hairdryer blowing on them will work too but I haven't tried that. i think that would only be good if you are removing a couple of stamps not a whole bunch......
ReplyDeleteI'm told that the self-stick postage will remove a bit easier if you put them in a small amount of water and microwave for a second or two, but I'm afraid to try that.
ReplyDeleteI love the sorting and storage idea...if you don't mind I'll borrow it. My husband works in the Election process and during Presidential elections there is postage coming from all over the world on absentee ballots, now I have a good way to store the stamps I cull off the envies!!
ReplyDelete@PostMuse - I might try that just to see if how it works.
ReplyDelete@elle.mental - go ahead and borrow my idea - we all like to share. It's strangely relaxing to sort the stamps...
Just found the link to your blog on sendsomething.net. Am really enjoying reading back through your posts and will definitely send you something soon (if that's okay). I have just moved house and as soon as I have unpacked all my letter writing bits I will post you a little letter; I'm afraid I am very new to mail art but I will try my best :)
ReplyDeletexxx
This is amazing!!! I had no idea just how to get my stamps so perfect. Now I know. I have a whole stack to do. Thank you so much for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteHope your having a wonderfully creative week :)
Much Love,
Crystal
@Rosie and Crystal - welcome! And, thanks for your comments 9which are always welcome). Yes, I am having a creative week and will post some new photos soon. Crystal - have fun with your stamps and Rosie - I'd love to hear from you.
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool - all those stamps that you've collected. How do you go about getting all those used stamps?
ReplyDelete@clara - I guess OI have saved stamps over the years and then I bought a couple of bags of them on eBay (cheap) recently.....fun to play with.
ReplyDeleteThe postcards came out cute! How long do you soak them in the bucket of water? I will have to try this.
ReplyDeleteThe joy of reusing old stamps is so satisfying. The artwork in most stamps is incredible. I am finding it fun just using old (unused) stamps for my postage. Brighten up the Mail Carrier's day too, I am thinking. The stamp collecting shop in our town has trays of older stamps that he sells just at face value so it's just like buying them at the PO but more fun. Many of these I never noticed when they first came out back in the day (like yeah 50 years ago!). Thanks for your encouragement to bring creativity to our daily lives, Pamela.
ReplyDelete@williams77 - I just leave the stamps sitting in the water till they float off the paper....I take those out and then tackle the ones that don't want to come off...leave them longer and after a while, gently try to pull them off...
ReplyDelete(you got your surprise, right?)
@CJ Ink -- thanks for the comment!
This post shows you never know what to expect in blogger land. I thought it might be too boring to post and it has ended up getting the most comments of all. Funny!
Oh yes Pamela, I got it - loved it!!! Another something is coming your way pretty soon!!!
ReplyDelete