So, did you say you wanted to come over?

I am having a little trouble getting myself to work since the weather is so lovely....
Just sitting around my studio with all the doors open and hanging out.
Want to come on over?

I planted myself on my couch and I'm just looking at the walls...ok, and all the stuff sitting around here....

It is rare to have a lovely summery SF day of somewhere around 70 degrees. Temps are supposed to drop 20 degrees tomorrow so I am just being lazy and enjoying today...

I carted these posters home from Deyrolle in Paris.

The nesting dolls I bought in Russia. I do like souvenirs of my travels.

Uh Oh. This is the OTHER room. The messy one. But hey.....I work in there. And, when I'm not being lazy I've been really busy doing all kinds of things.

See? I have been making some teeny, tiny books. And some zines. And mail art. And a birthday surprise for a friend. And collages. And adding things to my glue book. I've got a lot going on.

And, I went to the SF Correspondence Co-Op Birthday Party on Saturday -- SEVEN years of mail art with my peeps.

But, some days, it is really nice to do almost nothing....sit around....and just enjoy the day.
Don't you agree?

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(maybe tomorrow)

Anybody miss me?

It's been a while, hasn't it? Funny how things get busy. And I seem to enjoy posting to Instagram these days.
But I thought I'd pop in to the blog and say hello and tell you some of the things I've been up to.
Grab a nice cappuccino and have a visit.

Since my last post of our mail art meeting, there's been another mail art meeting. We had some new visitors and all the usual fun of stamping artistamp passports and making things and finding treasures on the swap table.

There has been A LOT of hanging out and making things in my studio. I have been making lots of little origami folders and decorating them and filling them and mailing them off. It is really fun to make them. I even cleaned up and for a few days you could actually see the top of my work table. See?
Maybe not now though....

Of course I have been playing with stamps....

And, playing with rubber stamps too...

I stamped twenty pages for a FeMail rubber stamp art call and my ink pad ran dry..
By the way, anyone have a recommendation for the best stamp pads? I seem to buy cheap ones or even (gasp) pick them up at Scrap, and they really aren't any good...but no way am I paying $10 for a stamp pad...
What do you all use?

I have been sending out a lot of mail, if I do say so myself...

I made a pal an altered book a while back..(here are some pages). And, I have started a couple for myself. So many ideas...

Driving around San Francisco exploring all my favorite neighborhoods. Or walking. Or taking public transit.
Places to go and people to see.

One place I went was SFmoma - a favorite hang out of mine. If you are ever visiting San Francisco, don't miss it. Always something good to see there.
I loved the Walker Evans show and it made me wonder about the state of fine art photography these days. I went to the SF Art Institute and got a degree in Fine Art Photography but I wonder if people are still doing that....and if there are people like Walker Evans who spent his entire life following his muse and making wonderful photographs.

Lunar New Year is BIG in SF and I love it. I mean, who can resist all those lucky red envelopes and the outdoor flower market and the lion dancers....not to mention Chinese food? Not I.

There was Valentine's Day -- and a week later, our wedding anniversary. I still am crazy over my guy.  I was a child bride. Ok, maybe not....but I was very young...

Lots of flowers all around our house. Those plum blossoms are from our own tree in the backyard.

You all know me, of course there have been lots (and lots) of lunches,. I can't help myself. And a mail art pal from the east coast flew into town and we met up for lunch -- how fun.
And next week another mail art pal is coming and a group of her correspondents are meeting up for lunch at the The Slanted Door. I love when mail artists meet up.

You know it.

So, art and mail and romance and SF and food and fun ..... watching the figure skating at the Olympics too. Did you know I am married to a former figure skater?
I didn't think so. There are many mysteries still to be revealed (or not).

So, that's the news that's fit to print. Yes, there is bad stuff and average stuff too but no need to write about that. We all know about some of it and we all have some of it.

What have you guys been up to? I hope you are all well out there in cyberspace -- and making mail art -- and having good lunches.

XOXOXO
See you in the mail? Or in the comments.

No Actual Mail Was Harmed in Making This Post

What do you do when you get a bunch of pretty boring vintage envelopes and a box of vintage stamps from the post office?
Well, you PLAY, of course!

See those plain white envelopes on the bottom of this shot? No fancy cursive, no beautiful stamps.....

You have to admit these mono printed envelopes look a lot better than those plain white ones.....
don't you?

I just printed over the whole darn thing, stamps and all....I am happy with them.

Some I just went to town with my Post Office vintage rubber stamps. Too much fun. I just love playing post office...got everything out, including my favorite faux cancellation stamps..

I think the eclipse inspired that envelope up top. I just settle on some kind of vague theme and add postage stamps and rubber stamps and just have fun.

I think the theme on these two was green and brown....

I left the original postmarks (of course) and added my SF faux postmark..I love BLOOMER Wis. and had to add a flower rubber stamp to go with that cool postmark..

And Krakow, Wis.???? Who knew? I have been to Krakow, Poland but not Krakow, Wis. And, look at that shaky handwriting....

What would Melba think of her mail?

Thanks to my friend Margarete for sharing the post office stamps with me. So much fun to play with....

Next I may have to play office. Who wants to come on over and play with me?

When I am finished playing around I fill the altered envelopes with ephemera and a letter and slip it into a vellum envelope and send it out into the world....(that one in the back is in vellum...)
I have been pretty useless now for the last few days. San Francisco has had a record-breaking heat wave with temperatures of 103" and 106" and it has been miserable here. This is a City that is cool and gray. We wear leather jackets and boots all "summer". We don't actually have summer. And then BOOM a horrible heat wave.
I hid out in my studio and stamped things. And waited it out.
The fog always returns...

So, the Vintage Paper Fair is next weekend. I'm just sayin', in case you are looking for me. I will be there for sure....
maybe I will find some more old envelopes to alter.
What would YOU do with those envelopes?

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Why My Suitcase Weighed 51 Pounds

My first stop in Portland (after lunch and before even checking in to my hotel) was SCRAP PDX. I went with my pal Karen (Sewmanyinterests on IG) and we were so entranced we forgot all about the parking meter -- for two hours! Luck being with us, no ticket.

The PDX Scrap was three blocks from my hotel, did I mention that?
And -- I went back the NEXT day with Miss Polly & JJAlltheWay.....

I could have taken this guy home for $85.....he may have been handy for the Fast Trac carpool lanes but I passed. I would have had to buy another plane ticket for him.

Karen knew exactly where the boxes -- and boxes -- of rubber stamps were......

It kills me to say this but they had way more stamps I've ever seen here in Scrap SF.
These are only some of the bins...

And more stamps here....you can see why it took us so long to go through all of these...we didn't want to miss anything good.

My basket didn't look too bad -- at first. I forgot to take a photo of it at the check-out but it was considerably fuller.
Rubber stamps, two sizes of Rolo cards, blueprints of PDX, vintage magazines, some old photos, red letter stickers, large vintage index cards with tabs, a cigar box.....

I found the little WISH YOU WERE HERE stamp-- perfect for my PDX postcards (which I barely had time to write).

Postal themed stamps...

I wanted that file cabinet but it would have been a bit tricky to get home on the plane...

I loved the vintage office supply section....

They had loads of Rolodex files in need of some altered rolodex card love......I wanted to buy them all and give them good homes...but....the plane....

Maybe I should...

My SCRAP PDX cigar box with some of my rubber stamps....I was a very happy re-purposer.....
And I went back the next day with JJ and Polly and got in some more trouble.
All I can say is, paper weighs A LOT.

Google "center for creative re-use" and you might find a Scrap near you!

AND THE POUCH WINNERS ARE ---
Michele C (airmail pouch)
&
Bleubeard....I mean Elizabeth for the KITTY pouch....

LEAVE YOUR ADDRESS in a comment (I will NOT publish it) OR send me a message using the Blogger Contact Form on the top right of the blog and I will mail those off asap.
And, everybody else, thanks for reading and commenting and stay tuned...
there may be more giveaways...

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