And They Said It Couldn't Be Done.....

I wondered if I'd ever see the top of my work table again......

Things have been pretty messy here in my studio. Trips to the $1 library book sales and to Scrap have left me with stacks of books piled up on the floor and boxes of rubber stamps...
but really, enough was enough...
This is where the books were stacked up on the floor...

And look at them now! I sorted and tossed,  put boxes of books out front on the sidewalk where they were scooped by by passers-by. And I still have all these beauties -- loads of French dictionaries, lots of Atlases, typing manuals, Chinese and Japanese dictionaries and books, medical books, books in Russian and all kinds of other languages....
I think I still have plenty to play with -- and now they are all lovely and organized.

Finally got a nice spot to put my beautiful Japanese boxes. They are filled with paper treasures.

Vintage Japanese calligraphy

I am really enjoying being in my studio more now that I've picked it up and organized things.
And, my friends can come over now too.
You know who you are.
You're all invited to come and play. Type on the typewriters, stamp with rubber stamps....
I love company.

I even found things I forgot I had - like this old, blue metal box - perfect for my collection of vintage daters and some paints.

I still have some stacks of things...

The Rolodex Files

Two of the (Five) Typewriters

I even tackled the big closet! It is looking pretty good, don't you think?
I have been thinking of opening my own Esty shop but I see a lot of folks sell directly on Instagram and I am thinking that might be a lot easier..

My foreign language flasg card collection from all those library book sales...

Come on over and I'll make you a cappuccino and you can read....

The other room....yup...my studio is big! This is the room in the back and I cleaned that one up too.
How good am I?

Cappuccino Break
I think I deserved a cappuccino break after all that cleaning. I'm not even finished but I have the worst of it over with. Unfortunately I did fill up a cardboard box with STUFF I didn't know what to do with and now I have to figure that out. And I have two giant shopping bags filled up with free stuff for the SF Correspondence Co-Op swap table this coming Sunday.

Now I can get back to the art business -- I have so many projects going on -- altered books, travel journal prep, altered passports...on and on....and mail art....
is it any wonder things can get messy?

The Vintage Paper Fair is coming right up. Need I say more? You KNOW there will be vintage paper showing up here in the studio.....the only question is how much?

So, I'm back to work and I'd love to hear from all of you out there. Hope you enjoyed the cyber-visit and I also hope some of you will come over for a real visit soon.
We can make things and have show-and-tell and drink cappuccino. It's only 61' in SF and if you want to cool off, come over!

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL
&
MAKE THINGS!

Save The Earth

Every city and town should have a center for creative reuse. It makes so much sense. Let's keep things out of the landfill.
It is just such a great idea. We have SCRAP here in San Francisco and I took a little field trip over to the East Bay to visit The Depot for Creative Reuse.

I'm all for creative reuse (as you already know).

The fun starts right out on the sidewalk....books anyone?

Nicely organized store with lots of things to ponder a use for....

Lots of books inside too.....

It is just amazing to me all the STUFF that exists on our planet Earth...and I am happy to see some folks are really trying to limit what goes in to the landfill.

My favorite color is green! Did they know?

Definitely better to use all these pens than toss them away....

I don't actually sew....but I love old wooden spools of thread....and a pal is going to help me learn how to thread my sewing machine so I can sew some mail-art envelopes.
(Right, Dorothy?) 

Check and see if there is a Center for Creative Re-use in your town -- or in a spot you are traveling to. I guarantee you will have fun poking around -- and you'll actually be doing something good for our earth at the same time.

We also went to the dump...er....recycle center on that same field trip and we got FREE books.
My idea of a good time.

Any of you have these creative re-use centers? Let me -- and my blog readers know -- because people keep asking me about them.
San Francisco, Berkeley, Portland all have them but there have got to be more out there...
so, let us all in on the secret if you know about any others.
I finished a little zine, worked on envelopes, painted some stuff -- I'll show you next time.
Right now, the sun is shining here in SF and I'm going for a walk (to the mail box!).

SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL&
Make things from re-purposed materials -- you'll be glad you did!

Takin' It On The Road

Don't you just love to see other people's art supplies and travel kits?
I know I do.
So when a blog reader messaged me and said she is going on an extended trip and wondered what art supplies I like to bring along when  travel...well, I couldn't resist doing a blog post about it...even though I have posted about mail art kits in other posts.
I figured you guys wouldn't mind another one.

I do try to keep things pretty simple on the road. But you've got to bring along the most necessary supplies. For me, that includes glue sticks and double stick tape.
I know you can buy supplies while traveling but I don't want to waste time searching for the stuff I need -- and often things can be more expensive.
So I am always sure to bring as many glue sticks and (Diaso) double stick tape as I think I will use.
I also bring along an old gift card or something like that little yellow thing in the top photo to really rub on what I've glued so it is flat. (what DO you call those things?)

I like to bring my favorite pens too -- an ultra-fine tip fountain pen (with refill cartridges) for writing in my travel journal and some fine tip Micron pens for postcards and lists.
And I always bring a pencil.
I like to bring labels too -- use them in my journal and on cards. They always seem to come in handy.
And a little tip -- address some labels at home so all you have to do is stick 'em on postcards or letters you want to send. It saves time  and time is usually at a premium when on the road.

I bring along a very small address book I made -- and I like to wind washi tape on gift cards I pick up....a fun and easy way to bring a variety of tape without a lot of bulk in your travel bag.

Address Book
with labels, stamps, washi on cards tucked inside...

Bring some wax paper -- in a roll or or sheets of it. Very useful  to protect the hotel desk when work/glueing/painting. For sticking between your journal pages so they won't stick together.
I like to bring an inexpensive water color tin (that I can leave at the end of the trip) and sponges so I can do watercolor washes on postcards/collages/journal pages and the wax paper is good to have when you are doing that...

This is a tiny plastic case I picked up in Chinatown and on a road trip I will tuck some tiny rolls of washi inside....
I generally don't bring rubber stamps -- but I did get a small, cheap set of ABC stamps that I am going to bring next time....

You've gotta have a great travel journal, right? And these are my favorites....

I like the paper in these books -- the fountain pens writes beautifully on them and I like the way you can tie them closed....and you can paste stuff on the covers too.
You can order them in various sizes from Dick Blick. I like the 9x11 size best.

Travel Snacks!
I recommend tucking in a few little snacks or treats inside your bag too. You never know when you might need one, especially on a plane. They don't give you much at 30,000 feet anymore!

After gathering everything up you've got to have something to put it in!
(Travel bag made by Dori Singh)
I am so incredibly lucky to have a couple of very special mail art pals who have made the the BEST zippered pouches for art supplies.
i love them so much that i don't even bring them on big trips for fear they will somehow get lost or stolen -- they are irreplaceable!
But I use them like crazy here in SF or on my road trips....

Travel pouches by C.S. in NYC

This is my "local" travel bag (the black/white one). Nice and roomy and perfect to take to collage class or the library or my favorite cafe when I want to make some art on-the-go. Holds the red bag and the water bottle and the black apron and the art supplies.....

For plane trips, I usually pack this Blue Q pouch since I know I can buy another one if the need arises. And zip-lock bags are the BEST. You can see what you've got in them and they seal and are very lightweight. But I bet you already knew that.

Travel Journals
I think the best souvenir of a trip is a fully loaded travel journal. And photos. And collages made from ephemera I pick up on the trip.
You can prepare pages in the journal ahead by giving them a watercolor wash and sticking some stamps inside from the country you are visiting. I always pick up vintage postcards at the Vintage Paper Fair of places I am hoping to visit and use those inside my travel journals too.
On the road, I write and collage in the journal every day. I leave spaces inside for adding photographs when I get home and use a pencil or stick-it note to remind me what I want to put in the empty space.
When I am back in SF, I put all the finishing touches on the travel journal, adding photos washi tape, rubber stamps, etc etc -- a very fun way to extend the trip.

Travel collages

I pick up as much local ephemera as I possible can and often make little books from the city I visited too.
Local post offices often have free postal forms that make great pages for little books.
My basic supple list:
1. Journal & pens
2. Glue sticks, double stick tape and card to firmly attach ephemera to paper
3. small scissors
4. stick-it notes, labels, washi wound on old gift cards
5. cheap watercolors & sponge for color wash

An Open Book

Here's an empty travel journal just waiting to go on a trip. Just writing this post has made me really want to pack a suitcase and an art kit and go somewhere.
But I don't have a plane ticket!
Anybody want to invite me for a visit?????? Or, meet me someplace fun?  I've really got the travel bug now.
I'm a nice guest!

Hope you all enjoyed this post and please let me know what YOU like to bring when you travel. Am I missing any good ideas?