Ephemera Just Finds Me

Truly, vintage ephemera just seems to find me. Ok, I admit I am open to the possibility....I just love old paper.
Want to see some?

You can never really have too much wonderful old paper, can you?

September seems to be peak ephemera month.....There is this sale a friend puts on up in Marin and the Vintage Paper Fair (we all know how much I love that one) and the SF Public Library Big Book Sale ......

Old book parts anyone?

Tarot cards

And, let's not forget, the fabulous SFPL has an outdoor library "Steps" sale every week -- $1 for any book your heart desires. I have posted a lot of photos of these on Instagram #tornandtatteredbooks
(PamelaArtsinSF)

My favorite spot for .25-cent postcards and this year I found eight passports.
I will show you those in another post -- they are amazing. I cannot wait to alter them.

Look at these beauties! I collect them for the beautiful cursive writing, the stamps and the postmarks.

No Sharpie cancellations here.

That cursive....

This one I didn't get -- it was in a set of six called "Spy Passports" and the guy had a bunch of UK passports with all different information -- only $600.00 for you to bring home....

Peek-a-boo!
They just don't make postcards like they used to. People keep asking me where I get ephemera....
Maybe I should be a PERSONAL SHOPPER? You think?

Look around for library book sales, old foreign language dictionaries, 1950's National Geographic magazines, thrift shops, estate sales....ask your old relatives if they have any stacks of old letters in the attic......
The Big Book Sale is THIS WEEK -- Wednesday thru Sunday and everything is $1 on Sunday (always good stuff to be found). So, if you're near SF, you can go.
Anyone want to go with me?
A few more old books just might find me this week...

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My Fabulous Vintage Paper Fair

That's right -- Greetings from California.
.25-cents and how could I resist?
(You know the answer to that)

I never go into the VPF really knowing what I will find -- it's more fun that way. I just settle in with the 25-cent cards and see what pops up.
And these sure did.....what lovely sweet sentiments.....

I kinda think sending your sweetie babies in box might scare him or her away...but that's just me. I'm more like the gal on the bottom card -- mad if I don't get mail!
And, BTW, I haven't been getting any good mail and I am getting cranky.

I do always look for any cards with a postal theme...

This year I discovered BIRDS.....I wonder why I never thought of looking for bird postcards before?

And I found lots of birds delivering letters...that's what birds do, right? Deliver mail and deliver babies?

I admit I do always have my eyes peeled for flower postcards. There is just something about them....

I found three very charming and falling apart old books....cheap.....and I know I will think up a wonderful project to do with them...

My fav this year? I just happened to flip a few cards over and WOW -- those  postmarks!! And the cursive and the stamps.
Who cares what's on the front?

I mean, just look at that handwriting. So beautiful.

And those postmarks......as Miss Polly from PDX would say, "I'm swooning"....

Want to come over and sift through the cards? Such a simple pleasure...
it doesn't take much more than some .25cent postcards to make me insanely happy...

I leave you with a couple of post boxes....
SEE YOU IN THE MAIL!!!!!!

Altered Passport Project

In the fall, I am usually dusting off my own passport and getting ready to go on a trip.
This year, my trip sadly got canceled so I may have to send some others off to travel instead of going myself...
The travel journal was all prepped and ready...

I love to travel and I've always loved passports....little books filled with exotic rubber stamps? How could I not like them?
So, I started picking them up any time I got a chance....and one thing lead to another....and....
I started creating fantasy passports for imaginary people going on imaginary trips...
just my type...

When I found these small, vintage photos at the Vintage Paper Fair I knew these ladies were going to have to go on a trip.

I change the photos of the travelers. After all, who ever likes their passport photo?
We need new and glamorous photos for our fantasy trips.

I collect small photos (especially when I travel in other countries) to add -- and I add in rubber stamps and postage stamps and really, anything that seems to suit the trip...

Sometimes I give the pages a watercolor wash....or collage on them...

A trip to Morocco inspired this page....I didn't see any camels but I saw donkeys.

A France inspired page...

Those two ladies look like they would enjoy an English Tea - so I sent them to the UK.
(real immigration stamps)

I always leave any existing  stamps and visas showing and work with them. This is a real visa for a trip to Japan so the two pages are Japanese.

Japan Passport picked up at the VPF
I found a Swedish one too....
You want to see them? Let me know in the comments.

This Japanese passport had A LOT of wonderful stamps from entering and departing Japan....
I think I will just leave them as-is. So cool.
One thing that really bugs me is that many times I just breeze thru immigration and my passport doesn't even get stamped at all. I really hate that.
If I am talking to a person I ask to get it stamped, but
I took a train thru a few countries in Eastern Europe and it was oddly like there were no borders,
No stamps in my passport at all....

A Russian Passport
Don't you love that handwriting? I am going to have fun with this one. Since I've been to Russia I have some wonderful bits of old ephemera from flea markets there to add....

I find that passports are difficult to find. They are very expensive on eBay. I have gotten lucky a few times at the Vintage Paper Fair.
But -- that Japanese store - Muji - has little, inexpensive notebooks (pictured) that come in red or blue and are the exact size as many passports, rounded corners and all.
So now I think I will be making a few of my own own passports -- I wonder if I will have to invent a new country?
Himmmm......I could give a workshop in my studio on making these......that would be a lot of fun.
Would you come?

I am kinda sad because of my trip....but the best remedy for that is making a lot of art in my studio so that's where I am headed off to now...

Ciao bella.

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