Just in Case!

I really enjoy gift giving. I like birthdays and surprising my friends for no reason.
I'm not a fan of Christmas these days. It starts too early and I think it is too commercial.
I usually get in the holiday spirit a week before December 25th and by then it is too late to make things for my friends.
If you like to make things and get started early -- here are a few ideas for you.

Mail Art Address Book
My pal Miss Polly recently had a birthday and I figured she likes paper about as much as  I do.
I mean, we COULD have all our addresses on our iPhones but really, what fun is that?
My address book has everyone I have ever traded with ..... some folks there was only one trade and others have gone on for years. It is a nice record to have. I put little notes by each name like the date I started mailing to them, their birthday, things they collect...

Just buy an address book -- at a Dollar Store or a place like Scrap or anywhere you can find one -- and cover it with cool paper. You can add some washi tape....

....and rubber stamps on some of the pages....

I punched a hole in the back cover and added that pretty ribbon to tie a bow around the address book...

And, I added a library pocket to keep some postage stamps in. If you can't find an address book, you could make one from a plain notebook by adding tabs and rubber stamping the ABC's on them...

Another nice little gift is a six pocket origami folder. They are easy to whip up but you need a BIG piece of paper to make a nice size one. I use those Cavallini posters to make mine. Or use a nice big map.

After you fold it up (in about five minutes) the fun part is filling all the pockets with little paper treasures..
You can see how to make the origami pocket
RIGHT HERE

Little booklets are fun to make and fun to give...

I love to re-cover everything -- these are some of my datebooks from the dollar store. I cover one every year with pretty papers and save them since they are like little diaries. I buy plain notebooks and cover them with maps to places I'm traveling too....I always have a notebook in my bag.
I bet your friends would like things like this too.

Remember my coin booklet tutorial?
I love making them. This little series is a holiday one and the the little pockets are filled with vintage Christmas seals. Who wouldn't like that? You could put vintage postage inside too.
Or, make a little booklet for a friend with some small $5 gift cards in the sleeves for coffee at different coffee shops....

See? Vintage seals in tiny glassine envelopes.....

After making the booklets the fun part is filling them up..
Coin Booklet tutorial is
RIGHT HERE
Well, look at the post -- you will have to click the link within the post to find the tutorial -- but you can do it.

So, don't say I didn't give you a head's up -- if you're into the whole holiday thing you better get busy. But the nice thing is, if you aren't, these little ideas can work for birthdays or random acts of mail art kindness.
I did make one other cool thing but shhhhhhhh I can't show you till AFTER December 25.
That project will be for the new year.
Celebrating the new year is always fun too.

So, what do you think? Are you going to make things?

SEND GOOD MAIL
GET GOOD MAIL

Travel Journal Prep

Part of the fun of travel is the anticipation...don't you think? I certainly do!
I go crazy getting ready to travel and then I fling myself on a plane and collapse.

I like to work on my travel journals  in stages--the pre-boarding stage (prepping the travel journal), the in-flight (in the country) stage and the after-party (when I'm back at home).
I start off by collecting ephemera before a trip as soon as I know where I'm going...
I filled up this plastic box with all kinds of good stuff -- vintage postcards, maps, language books, stamps....

Let the playing begin!

I hunt and gather stuff on my own but I also have good friends who give me things too. JU found a stash of old currency for me to play with. They are on the euro now...

$1 at the library book sale -- a great book of etchings -- including several of places where I'll be off too....

Vintage postcards from eBay and a cool stamp.

I found a few dictionaries and language books at the book sale to cut up and glue in...

Travel journal taking shape....arranging things on the inside front cover....

I covered both my big journal and a mini in a vintage map....this little one gets tucked into my bag for notes on the go and the big journal stays in the hotel rooms.

Found at the paper ephemera sale I went to in September...$1 also. This is definitely going into the travel journal.

Vintage postcards and stamps.

What cool writing! I am sure not going to be able to read any of that tho....

And I was very, very good and I prepped all the pages with watercolor wash. That took quite a bit of time but it will be nice not to face all white paper.

On the road I will write in it, paste as much stuff in there as possible, leave room to add some photos when I get home and I plan on hinging some pages into the journal because I just know I'm going to run out of room.
My travel journal and photos are always my most favorite souvenirs from every trip. I am thinking of various little arty projects on the go -- like bring a large size coin envelope booklet and collaging the pages and filling the sleeves with ephemera right while I'm away....and how about writing a vintage(or new) postcard every day and then punching holes and putting them on a ring when I get home?
What do you think?
When I travel I am out and on the go a lot but I love working on my journal with a coffee in the morning to start the day or maybe a bit in the evening before dinner. 
And, since dinner starts at 10PM in one of the spots I am going to I think I will have some time to create before going out.

Now where am I going?

Cut, Paste & Play

So, what do you do when it is really hot and you have a list of things to do that you don't really want to be doing?

Well, you make things, of course!
I stayed in my studio all day today and had a blast tearing and pasting and collaging and playing.

Are you sensing a theme here? Yup -- travel it is!

I don't always go by plane......I made three cross country trips in a VW camper  with a good friend, her two small girls and a 150 pound German Shepard named Hegal.
And I slept in the pop-up just like that!

Our VW camper looked just like this one -- same color and small dog. TransCanada once and USA twice....but I digress...

After making lots of cards I decided to make a travel inspired coin envelope booklet....

I don't think people go to an "Exchange" much any more...or travel with travelers checks...I know I don't...

A collage for Cuan in South Africa....

And a big bag of mail all ready to send out -- how about that? Not a bad way to spend a hot day in SF.
But what about my to-do list?
Tomorrow is another day.....

YOU GOTTA SEND GOOD MAIL TO GET GOOD MAIL
(and God knows I try!)

So, I have something to show for being too hot to go out....what do you like to do when it's hot?
If it is pouring rain, I like to do exactly the same thing.....

More Coin Envelope Booklets

Warning:
Making these coin booklets is addictive. I can't stop.
And now I've run out of the
coin envelopes.

I have started three more using similar envelopes that are
a lot bigger -- with a book/library theme...

Do you like these?