Natural Dye

At a flea market in Berlin...All I could think about when I saw these was
RUST DYEING,
Sadly, I couldn't get this stuff home....but I can dream...

But I am tea dyeing. You all have probably already been doing it but I am late to game. Better late than never, right? It is super easy and nice and mindless....sometimes that's nice.
I just add a bunch of tea bags to very hot water in a old darkroom tray I have and add paper.
That's pretty much it. Leave it in till it looks nice and dyed and vintagey. Just be careful taking it out because wet paper years very easily.
I put it on top of granite counters in my laundry room and blot it with paper towel (or a cloth) and let it dry. It gets kind of bumpy, which I like but if you prefer flat, put it under very heavy books when it is dry. And, there you go.

Yep, that's right....the tea bags make nice splotches on the papers....I love the randomness of tea dyeing....

Of Course! Bien Sur!
These are my initials so it's my tea dyeing tea of choice.

That's right...FREE from ScrapSF. Boring white paper.....
UNTILL....

it comes out of the tea bath looking quite different and much cooler. And you can throw in all kinds of papers....I have tags and library pockets and index cards all happily soaking as we speak.

Yes, that's a great stack of paper but what will I do with it, you ask.
Well......

It makes a really nice substrate for collages.....

Also, a nice background to photograph things like ATCs on...or you could fold the sheets of papers in half and make signatures for a book.

(You know me, I cannot leave a postcard or a card alone....I have to customize...)

The backs of the postcards in case you were wondering...

Making a little folder for a pal...

Look at this gorgeous mail from @papertalking on Instagram.
She lives in The Netherlands and just sent me some wonderful mail. Now, I've got to get creative and think of what to send her back.

Another altered Cavallini card going out.

I've got some ATC postcards going out too. I'm busy, ok. Places to go. people to see. And, paper to play with! (and dye)
What about you? Is it summer where you are? We don't have hot weather here in San Francisco but the sun has been shining and I love our cool natural air conditioning.
We don't pools or beaches or swimming in SF.
But we have a lot of fun anyway.
Hope you do too.
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Meanwhile back at home....

What have I been up to?
Well, cleaning my studio for one thing....and it is a BIG job! A little daunting but once you start you have to keep at it, right?
I am making progress....
I will show you pictures when I'm finally done...

And, I've been whining a lot. San Francisco has been crazy hot.  And it isn't normal for us at all. My house has been so hot I haven't been able to sleep, or do much of anything.
But I see some fog rolling in now.....thank God.

I took a collage workshop with Molly Meng at SF Center for the Book. Lots of fun. She is a delightful instructor.

I went to a Typewriter Jam at SF Center for the Book too. TOO much fun. People came and brought their own typewriters and what beauties they were.
I think the biggest hot of the evening was the large type typewriter my friend Monica brought. SOOOOOOOOO cool. I sure would like one of those but it seems they are very hard to come by.

I've been making weekly trips to Scrap SF (the main reason my studio is in such dire need of cleaning and organizing). I found these old photo booklets and changed them up a little to make them Ephemera Sleeve Booklets. Pretty nifty way to organize you small bits for collage, don't you think?

OK, another reason for my overloaded studio is my trips to the SF Public Library book sales....I admit it....I don't usually buy bibles but when I opened it and found that hair inside....well, I could NOT resist. Don't you wonder about the story behind this? I sure do.

More from the library sale....I am repurposing books to make altered books and collages....I just love old, old papers.

Altered Book Show
The show closed and my piece sold.....I went up to Marin to see  the show....

Another wonderful collage workshop at Scrap SF taught by the  amazing Sally Wassink. Just look at those tables! We had such a great time and the hours just flew by.

I dragged out my old Big Shot and have been having fun with some creative die cutting....

My collages made at Sally's ScrapSF workshop

Sending out some mail art of course....

More die cutting (easy to do on a HOT day). I love using very old papers like these for the little bags...

OK, now I think I definitely deserve a gin and tonic....it's HOT and I have been SO good.
That's my story and I'n sticking to it.

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And now to France...

It is nice being in France because at least I can communicate a little....I am always happy being in la belle France and it feels very comfortable being there....let's have coffee and then go out and see what's out there, d'accord?

A few blocks out and I spy a flea market...let's have a look...

I always MUST look thru the old postcards...

Old coins, old currency, postcards, stamps, letters.....
what's not to like?

If you see this guy, follow him....trust me....he knows ALL the best places to go...

Inspiration is everywhere....even the soap looks beautiful...

La Poste has bikes all over...I was tempted to take one for a spin but I thought better of it..

It wasn't easy to keep up the travel journal with all the excitement but I did it.
Needed a pastry for energy after all that walking...

Feeding the La Poste mailbox...

This was just a brief look at Strasbourg -- a really lovely city in France -- lots to see and do and much fun to be had.  Museums, great restaurants and bakeries, beautiful old buildings, outdoor food markets, flea markets, cafes, amazing churches....You might want to put it on your list!

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