I Love Hotel Room Art (making)

NYC
Nothing beats settling into a good hotel room with your art supplies and  starting every morning with making some mail art and working in a travel journal and drinking your morning coffee (or, in this photo, an afternoon tea).

Roam around all day and night collecting paper ephemera and then getting to play with it.....that's my idea of a good time.

When I found a NYC pretzel in a bread basket at dinner I just knew it would make a good prop.
You might even be seeing it again.
And when I'm done with it, I could actually mail it.

And, my sweetie went downstairs every morning and braved the hoards in the breakfast room to bring my breakfast up to me.
What a guy!

Of course, I had to photograph it all all before eating anything....but he's used to that.

The (Fabulous) Ink Pad
Click the link! You won't be sorry. The Ink Pad has about a million rubber stamps, including Jennie Hinchcliff's fabulous Red Handed Rubber stamps (and yes, I did buy another of her stamps), stencils, books, washi tape, cards and more -- plus very lovely and friendly people working there!
If you are in NYC -- get yourself over there.
(They have classes too, if you get your timing right, maybe you can go to one.)

Be still my heart -- two shelves of MAIL stamps?
Now where else do you see that?

I rest my case.

Get your New York City stamps here!
(I bought a Yellow Cab stamp)

I took a bunch more photos of the Ink Pad so let me know in the comments if you want to see them.
or, maybe I'll post them on the blog's FB page.
Just to torture you. It is almost Halloween, you know.
Trick or treat?

The subway walls and poles are interesting too....I liked this sticker...

In fact, I liked it so much it seems to have found the way into my travel journal.......see it?

Altered NYC postcards
I just cannot send them plain.
Why send 'em plain if you can send 'em fancy?

These are my two favorites -- fuhgettaboudit!

OUTGOING FROM NYC

Another altered postcard -- bring on the tourist brochures! Lots to cut & paste.

Another morning -- another coffee and more mail art

Outgoing NYC postcards

Junior's
Of course, a person cannot live on mail art alone -- and I always make a visit  to Junior's!
Wouldn't miss it.
SF cannot hold a candle to the NYC deli!

There's that NYC taxi stamp now......

Just a little loot from The Ink Pad....(Red Handed Rubber stamp on lower left -- love that one!)

Brought along a little eye candy from Dori Singh (envelope by Dori).

What can I say? I like to take pictures of breakfast/mail/art tabletops?

Hummmm......a mailbox that had a hard night?

This looks like a nice little spot to sit down and write some postcards.

Loved this sign!

PM
In the city that never sleeps,  I have to sleep -- at least a little -- but before bedtime, there is time for some Junior's cheesecake and a glass of wine.
So (sadly) now I'm home. I miss NYC but san Francisco isn't such a bad place to be either.
I owe everybody mail and I am a teeny bit stressed.
But, letter by letter, I will get the mail out.
And--I am working on finishing up the travel collage journal. Will be showing those to you soon.
Never a dull moment around here. Thank God.

Now, what about you guys?
What's everyone working on? I have a Thanksgiving mail art card in the works. Planning some gelli printing. 
Anybody out here planning a trip to NYC?
Should I do a post of NYC photos?

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

New York, New York

New York, New York....
.....it's a beautiful town. I have always loved NYC. OK, maybe not so much in the 80's when things were kinda nuts there -- but before that and after.
And now.
NYC here I am!
The Ink Pad? Junior's?Some plays?MOMA?
You bet!

Every time I visit I make collages and keep a little travel journal. I found this one from the last time....

....and got inspired to make a little booklet to collage in this time...

Here's the start of it -- doesn't look like too much now so I will show you when it's filled up with ephemera from The Big Apple. I prepped the pages (inspired by my pal Dori who showed me all her prepped pages for her Japan journal). Nothing too fancy -- just some watercolor washes and some rubber stamps....

Ok, so then I decided to make a separate travel notebook too -- here's the cover! I am going to cover it with some paper ephemera/map I pick up in NYC.
I always take a pencil and stick it notes so I can mark the journal with notes about what photos I want to add in later on and leave room for them....

This time I prepped the journal pages a la my mail art pal Dori Singh.....and of course I just happened to have quite a number of NYC postcards at the ready...

...another prepped page.....

When I think of NYC I think of Yellow Cabs!

Need to tuck a few things into the mail art travel kit.....colored pencils? black Micron markers?
Glue stuck?

These cool little ABC stamps (thank you, Miss Polly!) fit snugly inside an Altoids tin.

After my last NYC I made a large origami folder and tucked in ephemera that might come in handy this time, like subway maps. and take-out menus...

It's fun to make an origami folded for each trip -- maps are good for this since they are large.
I like to fill the folder with ephemera that didn't fit in my travel journal. All of this stuff is a handy reference for the next trip or for a friend who is traveling to the same spot.

All prepped and ready to go....

Only I will be home by the time this post is published and you are reading it! Maybe you'll get a postcard from me.
Next up -- I'll show you some NYC sights and scenes.
The Ink Pad? I think so.
Some deli sandwiches? You bet?
Tearing and pasting in a hotel room -- now that you know will definitely be happening.

What has everybody been doing while I've been gone?
Do tell.
Happy Mail to you all.

SEND GOOD MAIL ---  GET GOOD MAIL

LA Story

Always happy to be on-the-road....even if I have driven up and down Highway 5 about three million times.
Hello LA!

The road trip might be getting a little old by now but I still love hanging out in a hotel room with my art supplies and a bunch of tourist brochures to tear up and play  with....it never gets old....

Breakfast of Champions
Hotel buffet (delivered to my room by the cool guy I travel with and happen to be married to).
I can collage and eat breakfast and drink coffee all at the same time.
I even get up early just to have time to work on mail art.
I'm dedicated.

What's Your LA Story?
I can't really tell mine here because the trip didn't go as planned but this is a mail art blog,
not my life story. 
Let's just say being in an LA ER on a Saturday night isn't for the faint of heart.

A few art supplies traveled with me -- very few -- mostly I need a glue stick.
There is a whole set of ABC rubber stamps in that Curious George Altoid tin -- pretty cool, huh?
It is nice when it's a road trip because you can bring along MORE STUFF.

OUT GOING MAIL
No hotel stationery but there was a fun place to stick my outgoing mail art.
The desk clerk did look at me funny while I was photographing this. But, by now, I'm used to getting looked at funny.
I kinda wanted that sign....

Off to explore Olvera Street in LA. -- right across from the cool Union Station.
It is a tourist place for sure but you can really have fun there if you like mail art and postcards.
Trust me.

Postcards -- and lots of them. They have tons of them including lots of vintagey ones for 25-cents.
I get really fed up when I go to places with no postcards.

This one stall always has these cool embroidered postcards -- my favorites! And this time they gave me an idea for some mail art.......

Need a giant Mexico pencil?
Lots of the Lotteria games/cards which are always great for mail art. they even had a day of the Dead set this year (for 3x more $$) (yes, I got it)

More postcards....I am too cheap to pay $1 though...

Day of the Dead stickers?
Yes, I think they will work for Halloween mail...

Philippe's (Home of the French Dipped Sandwich)
Philippe's is right there too -- a block away from Olvera Street & Union Station.
A fun spot with sawdust on the floor.

A good place to finish up writing your postcards while waiting for food.....and I just happened to have made a Philippe's postcard to send to a pal....

There it is now -- the French Dip!

Philippe's gives you FREE postcards too. Always a plus in my book. And you can buy tee shirts and Philippe's mustard too.

Should I wear this for Halloween or Day of the Dead?
What do you think?

One last breakfast and collage-making session and I was back on that  darn Highway 5 for the drive back.
SF to LA
LA to SF
SIX HOURS

So, if you are heading to LA, I suggest a stop at Olvera Street for some fun supplies, lunch at Philippe's and check out the cool Union Station.
It's all good and once you get there, there is no more driving. We parked for $4 all day.
No driving is LA is a good thing.
And mail is a very good thing.
What are you been making and sending?
Halloween mail?
I am working on bunches of things, as always, including Thanksgiving mail-art and prepping a small travel journal...

Say hello!