CappuccinoandArtJournal

Mostly postal but art and other things of interest too.
Come and visit.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Clap Your Hands

Remember that kid's song that went like this --
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands
??
Well, I'm happy and I know it and I'm lucky and I know it and I have the most amazing mail artist pals who really know how to put a party on through the mail.

I just had a week of lovely and amazing mail from my most generous and incredibly talented friends.
I just have to show you....

(envelope from my pal Kelly P)

From the amazing  Dori S. -- a beautiful handsewn zippered pouch to store mail art treasures in, along with a sewn tri-fold card.
I am going to love using this --  and think of Dori every time I do.

Just look at how the card opens up -- so cool. I would have been happy just to get the card. But nooooooooo
I am not giving the zippered pouch back.

Just wanted to be sure you saw the stamp on the zipper pull. Dori doesn't miss a detail.

And then......The lovely Connie Rose.....made me this incredible book.......I have been drooling over the photos she has posted of her books for months....

Take a peek at the inside pages....they are all different...

....and all are beautiful. I think I will just have to put this beauty inside that other beauty (Dori's pouch) and carry them both around with me all the time....


I'm lucky because my pals know we well.....and they still like me. I wouldn't say I'm always early but I am definitely always on-time and I hate it when people are late....
sometimes when I'm meeting a friend who I know is always late I try to arrive late and I never manage to do it...

My co-op pal, S Wurlitzer knows how much I love typewriters and look what she gave me -- so cool. And that wrapping paper was very cool too. I am betting it will find it's way into some mail art.

I don't know why but I keep think of Alfred Hitchcock when I see this photo.....
Miss Millicent -- mom of THREE LITTLE KIDS -- somehow managed to find the time to sew and create this fabulous little book for me...I do not know how she does it....
she is another Aries and has that Aries energy but still...

Look inside -- peek-a-boo windows and a stamp head!


Soooooo cool.....I think this will have to travel with me in that pouch too.....

I am just so amazed at how talented and creative -- and generous - my friends are.
Thank you so very much to each and every one of you who made my birthday very happy and very special.
I am so grateful.

If all that isn't enough....we had a SF Correspondence Co-Op meeting last Saturday and we have another one coming up on April 6th.
It is so wonderful to spend an afternoon with so many friends and lovers of mail.
Our leader, Jennie Hinchcliff, was busy stamping co-op passports and spreading the love for good mail.

SWAP and Collage Table
We had our swap table and everyone left with some treasure. And a bunch of folks got busy and started making collaged postcards.

And....there was food....and wine....SF Center for the Book hosted this meeting so we could all take another look at the XPF Mail Art Show too.

Show & Tell
I brought some things for Show and Tell.....a good time was had by all. And we we talking about how lucky we are in be in San Francisco and have this wonderful mail art community and so many art events to go to.

Next time I will show you what I've been working on --- besides thank you mail -- including collages, origami folders and putting my studio back together.
It has been a very busy and happy week.
Thanks again to all of you for the good wishes.
Thanks to everyone who texted me, send me snail mail, posted good wishes on FB, made me beautiful things and brightened my entire week.

SEE YOU IN THE MAIL!!!!!!!

Friday, March 21, 2014

Friday Night and the Week That Was

OUTGOING TYPEWRITER ENVELOPES
It's been a pretty good week around here and I made it to Friday night....I  was on another typewriter envelope binge for a few days.
I love those typewriters.

OUTGOING TYPEWRITER ENVELOPES
Here are a couple more -- told you I was on a binge. And my old Royal  Deluxe typewriter has frozen up on me. The carriage won't move. I know I flipped a switch or did something when I was
carrying it around from room to room...I'm going to have to Google to figure out how to get it back in action.
Unless one of you might know how to fix it?

OUTGOING SF COLLAGED POSTCARDS
When I travel I always buy local postcards and collage over them. Why not do it when I'm not traveling?
My grandmother is one of those people on the Lombard Street postcard -- she never traveled at all, much less to san Francisco, so this is my way of having her visit!
I think she'd like that.

COLLAGED BIRTHDAY POSTCARDS
I have soooooo many Aries friends that I have been busy making birthday cards and wrapping up gifts like crazy. And I'm an Aries too! This is party month around here.....
STAMP HEADS
By now you all realize that I just cannot stop with these Stamp Heads. And I don't even want to stop.
Now I am collaging the Stamp Heads on vintage photos and vintage postcards.....
Here's James Dean with his grandmother ---- or maybe with a Cougar girlfriend? 

Here I go again.........a vintage French postcard...

INCOMING STAMP HEAD ENVELOPE
And it seems to be catching! Tallie sent me an envelope she made with the stamps being Stamp Heads. How cool is that?
I love how everyone takes the idea and runs with with it and does something different.

Stamps Heads from Karen's MMSA trade -- I loved the ones I got.
INCOMING STAMP HEAD
S Wurlitzer sent her Stamp Heads on a postcard she made.....Hemingway and Dorothy Parker....now that is an interesting combination...

My collection is growing! And Tallie's envelope is great to put the ATC's in and tote around with me for "Show & Tell".
There is a SF Correspondence meeting tomorrow and I will bring them to show the gang.

The Studio is coming along....look at that pretty floor and those white walls....I can't wait to get in there and hang up some art! My work table top got refinished too and there it is waiting to get put back together....

INCOMING MAIL

The week before last was a crummy mail week. Not crummy mail but almost no mail. That's not a good thing. But this week!! Oh lala.
Here is a tiny little handmade book that is a letter from Annejo in The Netherlands.
So cool.....

And this -- from Christie J -- is absolutely amazing. She made me a small accordion book with pockets using gelli printed papers and washi tape AND she inserted stamp head ATC's inside many of the pockets.
I wish you could see it in person with all the beautiful papers, stamps and Stamp Heads.
Thanks so much, Christie.

Here's Christie's terrific little book sitting on top of two early birthday presents.
Not a bad mail week this week, that's for sure!


Scott (from Positively Postal on faceBook -- check it out) sent me a sheet of Royal Mail stamps from London. Why doesn't the USPS have fabulous stamps like this?
The sheet includes the Royal Red Post Boxes and some vintage postal pictures.
Swoon.

The full sheet -- I really think I should frame it and hang it on that white wall -- don't you agree?
Thanks Scott!

The rug arrived and the work table is set up again....things are progressing around here and the weekend has arrived....
What's in store? Well, the mail art meeting is at SF Center for the Book tomorrow afternoon.
You know that is going to be a lot of fun.
I'll report back on that.
 And I'll show you what's inside some of those intriguing birthday parcels.
AFTER my birthday, of course. I wouldn't think of opening them early. Or shaking them.
Or trying to peel the tape off.....

or would I?

I couldn't post all the great mail I received this week but I loved everything. What a wonderful thing it is to get such terrific mail.
Pass it on -- SEND GOOD MAIL!

Thanks for stopping by and reading the blog.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

What I Put Where










Just some photos of my studio right before I moved everything OUT! Now I am starting to re-arrange and move stuff back IN.
And sort and toss.....the sidewalk in front of my house has been seeing a whole lot of action. Amazingly, absolutely every single thing I put out there gets taken away....
and some of it really isn't great.
Re-cycling at it's best!
I am working on a bunch of stuff and taking some photos to show you all but I hope you enjoy these (pretty?) photos in the meantime.
I always like to see art supplies.
75 degrees and sunshine here in San Francisco.
Boy, do I have spring fever!

So, what's new with you?

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL


Thursday, March 6, 2014

Another Kind of Desktop

Budapest

I can work almost anywhere -- which is good since my studio is still all torn up. I have a plan for setting up my Gelli block in my kitchen in Saturday and letting those paints fly...or drip..or whatever.
Here are some desktops where I've worked during the last year or so....
I like the way they look.

Portland, OR

A cappuccino or coffee is always nice to have on hand. And paper ephemera. Lots of ephemera.

Prague

I actually don't pack up much to bring with me on my travels about town (or far away). I like to tear paper rather than cut and mostly I bring glue sticks and double stick tape....and madly pick up stuff as I move through the day....

Santa Barbara

St Petersburg, Russia

There wasn't as much paper around to pick up in Russia...but what I did find was super cool since I loved the way the Cyrillic writing looked.

Portland

Istanbul, Turkey

The Turkish writing is very cool too. And so was writing while listening to the Call to Prayer coming in through the open windows.....

Washington, DC

Los Angeles, CA

Palma, Italy
Sitting and writing by the fireplace in Parma was wonderful until the bug bit me!

Boston, MA

New York City

Seattle, WA


Pasadena, CA

Milan, Italy

You can always get coffee in Italy --  Grazia Dio!


Budapest, Hungary

I like taking it on the road. Packing my mail art kit is a lot more fun than packing clothes. And I love picking up every scrap of ephemera I find and tearing it up and pasting it in to my travel journals, collages and postcards.
I love the look of a happily messy desktop while on the road.

Am I alone on this?
How many of you cut and paste while traveling?
Keep a travel journal?
Make mail art?
Set up a work table in every hotel room?

Anybody taking a trip?

Tell me what your desktops look like!

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

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