Put a Ring on It!

What to do when you have so much good mail you don't know what to do with it?
Put a ring on it!

I love those Reader's Digest book covers -- perfect size for adding greeting cards and envelopes between the covers....

See?
A card goes right inside too...

My mail art pal Dori Singh sends me the best mail and I like to look at it -- so putting it in a book like this makes it easy to pick up and flip through and enjoy.

I just love how FAT this book is!

This works well with postcards too -- and oddly shaped envelopes. I've got  GOOD MAIL all over the place.

Now, I think I deserve a break -- a nice walk in the sunshine in Chinatown.

And, I definitely deserve a bowl of wonton noodle soup. Working on art projects makes you hungry.
Short, but sweet post from me to you.

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL

The Rolodex Project

My Rolodex Project
I thought it would be fun to have a Rolodex -- or two -- filled with art cards and I've been busy making cards. I invited my friends to join in too and getting the cards back in the mail has been so much fun.

When I thought of doing this I didn't know it was already "a thing". Silly me.
But what the heck, better late to the party than never.
If you are interested just google Rolodex Art Cards and you'll see what I mean.

(cards here by Karenann)
Karenann sent me a whole bunch of cards she made a while ago -- lucky me! She said she was cleaning out her stuff and getting rid of things. Oh! The horror! Imagine these beauties being lost.
They have a very good home now.

Card by Monica the Artful ReCrafter -- tiny little die cut envelopes with stamps inside. 

I bet you can guess who made these -- Mim4Art! Very cool.

Keep those cards coming in folks!

Things are starting to look pretty good here. I have this flat Rolodex and a round one....I replaced the beat up blue ABC cards with these nice plastic ones -- thanks to Scrap. If I fill up the flat file I am moving on to the round one...

Top two cards from Tofu and bottom from Christie....

Here's one I made....

Dori Singh Mail
Dori sewed two of the cards together and made a little pocket.....I am crazy about this one...

D is for Dori
And, here's the back......

I am eagerly waiting for more cards to roll in (Rolodex....get it?). My art pal Kelly P made cards as soon as she got my request and they are lost somewhere in the mail......bad USPS.
I know a certain someone in Australia is working on a couple and the rest of you know who you are......
If any of you out there in cyberspace want to join in the fun, let me know in the comments. I would certainly love more cards and you'd be in very good company.

I have more to share about the Rolodex art cards so stayed tuned for more posts about them mixed in with other posts. How many of you have already done this?
And how many are GOING to now you've seen how cool these cards are?
You notice I'm back....I couldn't stay away too long...I miss you guys....

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL!

Welcome Home!

Back home -- and lucky to be here. Lufthansa strike when we were in Madrid the day before we were scheduled to fly home -- our flights cancelled!
Luckily we got re-booked on Delta and made it home without too many problems but thousands of other people were not so lucky.
Returned to SF in time for a wonderful thunder and lightening storm and lots of good mail.
Sad the fantastic trip is over but if you have to go home San Francisco is a good place to be.

From Virgo in Russia (blue envelope) and under that, mail from Cuan in South Africa.
I love international mail.

My pal PLH sent this little pretty....

...with these inside. So lucky to get such good mail.....Spain and Morocco stamps to stick all over my travel journal.
I tried buying Moroccan stamps in the souk and they were 5 euros for three stamps.....
I don't think so.....

Several envelopes from Monica Lee (The Artful Recrafter). She sent this cool school form from Hong Kong --- I think that photo would look really good in one of my altered passports, don't you?

Welcome home stamp-heads from Monica....

And VIZMA Mail from Australia -- always a treat.

Some matchbox art inside from Viz....

Stamp Head postcard from Connie Rose

Postcard from Miss Millicent

Mail from SK -- a lovely surprise from a blog reader whom I hadn't ever heard from before -- a wonderful handmade/collaged book.
Things like this keep me going with the blog....
(thanks SK)
(And thank you to Dana who also is a blog reader who sent me mail for the first time)

Postcard from MC

Dori Singh Mail
A handmade book using vintage Spain ephemera from Dori....

(front cover)
The book is sewn into a handmade envelope with a string tie...so cool....but then everything Dori sends me is cool...

Pretty mail from Miss Olive Cinnamon

More stamps from PLH- she knows I love Chinese ephemera....

SEND GOOD MAIL
GET GOOD MAIL

Delightful and wonderful mail from so many talented mail artist/friends.
But it just dawned on me, now I have a whole lot of catching up to do in responding to all that good mail.
Uh oh....I guess you know where I'll be this week.....catching up on mail and working on my travel journals and blog posts about the trip....and ordering photos....I've got LOTS of photos -- food (and more food), Post Offices and PO boxes, the souk in Fes, flea markets, ancient ruins and modern day, the travel journal "on location".....will try to figure out what you all might want to see.

I couldn't photograph everything I received but many thanks to everyone who sent me mail while I was away. All much appreciated.

Anything you guys want to especially from the trip? ..Let me know because I will be working on blog posts.....

Feast Your Eyes -- Dori Singh Mail

I get some of the BEST MAIL EVER and some of the best of the best is
DORI SINGH MAIL

It is too good not to share with with the world -- well, at least my blog readers -- her work should be in a mail art museum if you ask me.

These are pages from an altered book Dori made me for my birthday last year....

Each and every page is delightful. And varied. And creative. 

But then, everything she sends me is the same -- beautiful and creative.
Here's a tiny book with painted and stamped pages and an airmail envelope cover.

Dori Singh Mail

Inside the envelope was a wonderful sewn little folder with ephemera tucked inside....

Lots of hand painted and stamped tags show up too...

And when Dori trades ATC"s with you, you get them tucked in a beautiful sewn folder.....

Sacred ATC's by Dori Singh

Dori went on a trip which included Prague and she found this magazine...and she brought home the cover and made it into a sweet little pouch for me....
who thinks of this?

Pouch opened up....and of course, there were treats inside as well..

See? A Magazine cover......

And then there was a menu from Cafe Louvre (also in Prague) -- I suggested she go there for breakfast -- and she sewed me another folder from the large placemat on the table...

Dori Sign Mail
An inside-out security envelope -- rubber stamped and painted

Another little booklet

And another folder....Dori knows I could have a million of these and I would still want them...

Folder opened up...

Tiny Booklet

And she still sends me more pages to add to that beautiful altered book she made me...

Page added to Altered Book....

This isn't even all of the beautiful mail from Dori....Can you see why I am so happy every time I see something from her in my mailbox?
Best. Mail. Ever.
She really inspires me. It isn't easy to think up things to send her back in return ..... but I sure do try hard.
That is one of the nice things about trading mail art -- the inspiration from looking at amazing works .....

THE MAIL BOX IS A MUSEUM

That is a rubber stamp I have -- and it's so true!
Hope you all enjoy the wonderful Dori Singh mail -- and many thanks to you, Dori, for making me and my mail box so happy.