Tossing, Sorting and Opening Good Mail

Well, as you can see,  I still have a ways to go in cleaning up my studio....
I'm in it for the long haul.
Amazing how you can just put stuff out on the sidewalk in front of your house
and as if by magic
it just disappears.
Everyone likes something for free. (Especially me which is exactly why I have too much stuff)

I am getting to the really hard part now....at first it was easy to just toss out the junky stuff that even I agree could go....
but my Chinese tins? Nooooooo -- they are staying...

The painting stays....and the old, dried lei from a long ago trip to Hawaii....that stays too...

And -- mais oui -- the French stamps stay....

Hummmm.....but what about this? I went through a serious phrase of collecting all kinds of religious  items a while back.....should Our Lady of Guadalupe stick around?

And what about this? The 3D inside the body book? I had it in the toss box.....

....but then I took it out....what do you think? Should I keep it? It is pretty cool...It is getting really hard for me to decide about some of these things..I'm in the throwing out mode but i don't want to regret anything later on...

Consolation
The one consolation to all this cleaning is the fabulous incoming mail I have been receiving...
The very generous Mike Dickau sent me a(nother) sheet of his fabulous Snail Mail artistamps.
Don't you just love them?

INCOMING
And today -- all the way from Budapest -- a fantastic envelope with a great collage inside.
I think the Levi's collage was inspired by me living here in San Francisco.
From Torma Cauli (check out the cool mail art blog). And since I am going to visit Budapest this fall maybe we can meet up? Now that would be really fun......

INCOMING
Another amazing book made by Planet Susannia -- one of my most favorite mail artists to exchange with.

INCOMING
Another page in her handmade, collaged book.......swoon.....

INCOMING
And from  the wonderful and generous JU (right here in San Francisco). Check out the great envelopes she makes....a pleasure to receive every time....and...

...they are always filled with such lovely things. She made me a set of  envelopes from old National Geographic magazines...aren't these great???? I don't think I can bear to mail them off. I just might have to keep them for myself... 

INCOMING
And Dori Mail! Another favorite...she sends the most interesting and creative mail.
Lucky me!

INCOMING
Today I also got a bunch of shelf-lining paper from Sarah -- with vintage French postcards all over it. Sarah thought I might like to make envelopes out of it...oh yes, I certainly would like to.
Merci.

WHEW....I think I was entitled to a day off, don't you? Lunch...outdoors...one of my most favorite summer treats. Rare here in SF because summer here is chilly and windy but I took the ferry over to Marin county to meet a mail-art pal and we had a wonderful time.
Brought some show-and-tell (zines, a book I made and ATC's) and lunch outside.

I have been posting my OUTGOING mail on the Cappuccino And Art Facebook page so I won't post any here this time. I'm running out of room. And I got more great mail that also wouldn't fit here that I'll post on the blog's FB page.

Saturday is our July SF Correspondence Co-Op meeting and I have three bags of stuff to put out on the swap table!
What should I keep? What should I toss?
And who wants to come over and help me organize?

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL
(I have six huge boxes of mail art I am trying to figure out what to do with too)

They Let Me Out of the Studio

Sometimes you just need to take a break.....and go "thrifting"....
or, in this case, to SCRAP.
I wandered around for a while and didn't think it was going to be a good day for treasures at Scrap but I was so wrong.
Found these old gold foil lettersets -- I had these when I was a kid.

Rolls of stickers called out to me -- love those big, red bordered postal stickers...
and this book was on the FREE shelf.
Yes, I think I would like it. In fact, I would have paid for it -- but don't tell.

I mean, just look at these pages, can you picture handmade envelopes?

Mail art?
I think so........let the tearing begin...

And I got a pack of air mail envelopes and when I opened it at home there were LAX notecards inside too.

Letters!! Numbers!! Stick on!! Bring them on. (I should have bought more to share).

Another FREE find. I almost passed this pack by until I realized.....

.....the giant tags were not printed and they came with matching envelopes and ribbons...
Mail art purposes? Yes, I think so..

These folders were also free and since I am obsessed with making little booklets I figure these will work fine as covers (when I re-decorate them). You'll see.
Next post I will show you all the little booklets I've been making and mailing out.

The whole bag full  of stuff was $10.

OUTGOING
I've been busy making mail art too -- here is a little Show & Tell.

OUTGOING
Snail mail! (Snail Mail artistamps made by Mike Dickau.) He very generously sent me a sheet
and when I saw this foodie article on escargot I had to put two and two together. The woman working at the Post Office thought the snail mail was great and she hand-cancelled all the stamps for me. Even the artistamps. Let's hear it for cool postal workers!

OUTGOING
I still love vellum. (In fact, these vellum envelopes are from  another trip to SCRAP a while ago)

Little booklet
Sneak preview of one of the booklets. Next time I will show you a whole bunch of them.
I'm obsessed.
Cutting, pasting, tearing, folding -- can't think of anything much better to do.

What's everybody out there working on?
Oh, and I have an idea for a swap too. Next time.

Send good mail -- Get good mail