Things I Made

It is a cold, dark and rainy day in the new year now (which I love) and Santa has delivered all his presents -- and mine too -- so I can show you some things I made for  some pals (other than those altered Altoid tins).
I got some great Cavallini paper at the sale and I especially loved the typewriter keys paper.
(You know how I love typewriters)
So, I folded some of my large origami six pocket folders and then I "lined" the unprinted parts of the folder with pages from the Gregg Typing book.

A whole lot of my special mail art pals also like typewriters so I decided to whip out a few....they are so handy to have with six pockets for stashing papers and ephemera.

In the same theme, a little Gregg shorthand/typing HS class collage  went in to one of those pockets of one of the folders.

Pages for Dori's Altered Book
I got busy and made some more pages for my pal Dori to add to the altered book I made her last  year....and I had to put them in something so they slipped perfectly into the pockets of an origami folder...

I used a vintage envelope to make a pocket on this page and put in a stamp collaged postcard.

I also scored sheets of postage stamp papers at Cavallini and made a few stamp folders too.
You KNOW my friends like stamps.
And, I used pages from an old stamp album as liners over the plain paper sections....
You can never have too many postage stamps!

Here's an open folder -- what treasures did I tuck inside? Vintage stationery? Vintage cards?

A typewriter origami folder with a sheet of vintage Photography stamps tucked inside for Monica the Artful Recrafter (who, in another life, was and still is a professional photographer).

A Mail Art Pouch for my pal The Artful Recrafter! An oversize, heavy canvas one  -- pretty cool.
Before you ask, I found it on Amazon....it is larger than it looks in this photo...

These six pocket folders are so fun to make -- and so useful.If you don't have access to the wonderful Cavallini sale to get the papers cheap, you can use large maps or maybe brown, heavy Kraft paper that you rubber stamp....
Where there's a will there's a way.
I sure hope my friends liked the presents.

So, there you have it -- Altoid Altoid tins (previous post), large origami folders, mail art pouches, vintage postage....I love a handmade Christmas....
and my friends do too. I received some of the most wonderful and amazing handmade Holiday gifts from my incredibly talented friends. I'll show you some in a post soon.
I love a Handmade Holiday.
What did you make this year? I could use some more ideas of things to make for next year so do tell.

I am starting off the New Year in my studio -- I started the 2017 Rolodex Card a Day project and I've been working on my planners and having a good time tearing and pasting...
Hope you are able to do some of the same.
Happy 2017!!!! SEND GOOD MAIL -- GET GOOD MAIL!!!!

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?

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A Little of This and Some of That....

Incoming
Some lovely incoming mail with Valentine themes and Typewriter themes.....

Fabulous Valentine mail from Dori Singh, mail artist and pal extraordinaire!

Bet you didn't know there is another mail artist in my family -- my sweetie! He hand lettered this envelope and made the heart out of torn chopstick wrappers -- what a guy!

From Tough City Writer I got a fabulous tri-old card with tattooed and half dressed guys inside!

More Valentines.......love that bikini gal on the card from Garci and the heart made of cancelled stamps she tucked inside.
Maybe next year I should make some Valentine cards....since everyone was so creative in the ones they made for me. 

A-mazing mail from Liz in New Zealand. I know some of you don't like FaceBook but I really have fun with it. Liz posted on her FB page that she was sending out 49 pieces of mail art -- no strings attached -- to the first 49 folks who asked for it. Well, of course, I asked -- and got this fabulous piece of sewn, painted, stamped, collaged mail art a couple of weeks later.
And inside were two little sewn pouches with tiny books inside with watercolored pages.
Now that is the true spirit of mail art -- just send it out and make someone really happy.

Here's the back of the envelope -- i would sure like to know how she did it -- it seems like she gessoed paper ??? Liz -- feel free to leave a comment and tell all.
Check out
Book Art Studios
to see some of Liz's work. And if you happen to live in New Zealand you can go see the art exhibit Project 49.
She is on Facebook too --
facebook.com/BookArtStudios
VERY cool -- many thanks, Liz and I will be putting something in the mail to you very soon.

Another surprise in the mail -- from Sharon. Sharon reads the blog and saw the post about the Vintage Paper Fair where I was drooling over the Japanese First Day Covers I couldn't afford to buy..she emailed me and asked if I would like her to send me a little packet and of course I said yes!
She sent a whole set of wonderful First day Covers postcard from Japan with drawing, a stamp and beautiful red cancellations of them.
And this one is of Japanese postal workers.
How cool is that? What a fun surprise to get in the mail -- just because someone was being nice and generous. Many thanks, Sharon.

A creative Valentine mailing from Niko who does bad things in the name of art --
see for yourself
Philatelic Atrocities
He started the PDX Mail Art Group too, just so you know. He set three different sheets of artistamps he made.....

OK, now this is what I'm doing......
Vintage Book
Have you seen those little secretive nooks for "Free Books" tucked away in your neighborhood?
There seems to be a movement going on of sharing books -- and I like it! I found this old book tucked into a little nook today and figured it is just what I needed to make an altered book like the one my pal Barb showed at the last co-op meeting. I loved that cover of the woman cooking. I kind of like to cook myself. When I'm in the mood. And, when I'm not busy with art projects. I think it is Swedish.....(anybody?).

I buy those cheapo sets of ABC stamps at Michaels and store them in a box. They aren't the greatest stamps. The rubber falls off sometimes. But hey -- they are cheap and fun to mix and match and sometimes sort......

I finished up some little RAM booklets and a NYC book....just puttering at the work table...

And I've been making some nice origami folders for friends.....you remember, I did a tutorial on how to make them a while back. The tutorial on how to make the origami folders is right here on "Most Popular Posts". I actually saw an online class on how to do it and you had a PAY. Mine is free! 

I made four....and one for me too....

I love the way the look all stacked up and filled with little surprises. They are six pockets in each one that you can fill....

Put a Bird on it!

OK, kids, that's it for now. We are having crazy warm weather in SF right now. It feels like summer and I am not liking it at all.
So I have to go in my studio and make stuff to cheer up.
I know...I know...those of you in the snow (Hello Boston) probably think I'm crazy but I just don't like 75 degrees in February. I don't like snow either.
But I do like mail art!

Many thanks to all of you who have sent me great mail lately. If you don't see yours here you might see it on the blog's FaceBook page.
I enjoy and appreciate every piece of mail I get.

And if you want to see Cappuccino & Art on FB look HERE

Hope you all are having a good day and making some good mail.
No Mail Monday = No Fun

But at least it gives me a chance to catch up. What are you all making? Sending? Doing?

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