SWAP-BOT SATURDAY: Mail Art

Yesterday, I got a piece of mail that was so wonderful on the outside, I forgot to actually open it! Seriously, I showed it off to my DH, took photos of it, laid it where I would admire and study it from time to time, and it was evening when I realized it was still unopened!

Isn't it wonderful?

Click on the pictures to see them full-size.

You know what I'm a tad concerned about? I think I'm supposed to send my own mail art to this artist. eeek. Well, my salvation is that I can't draw like that, and I know it, so mine will be completely different as to medium. Rescued by apples and oranges, maybe?

Jack-o-Lanterns Gone Wild

Hmmm. I wonder if that title is a little misleading. Can something as inherently wild as a Jack-o-Lantern go wilder? Maybe I should have added the "er"....

Decorative Envies, another swap group I belong to (you can find it in Yahoo Groups), has a monthly swap of what I think of as "happy mail". This month's swap had a Jack-o-Lantern theme, and I wanted to show off the envies (envelopes) and notecard the group's ringleader sent me.

This is the outside front of the envelope as it came out of my mailbox:


And this is the back:


Do you see why I call it Happy Mail? Who wouldn't smile, getting something like this?! It's tough, though. I'm kind of compulsive about checking the mail, and I always check it on the way to my car, so when I got this, on my way to somewhere, I had to just put it in front seat and drive around and not open it! No opening something like this until you can do it properly, so as not to damage anything!

It was worth the wait, though. Here's the envie that was inside, ready for me to address and send along to some lucky recipient:


And here's the note card inside that:


That's a little teensy envelope glued to the front of the card, and the little paper that says "Trick or Treat!" can be taken out. I LOVE that!

I think Sarah did such a beautiful job, and I can't wait to send the card out.

Another swap was for book-themed postcards. My swap partner, Lynette, sent me this amazing postcard, with an Iris Fold window, collage, and stamping, from New Zealand. I'm am just bowled over at the work she put into it, and the lovely results.


Okay now, Sarah, if you're reading this and you haven't received the Jack-o-Lantern envies I sent you, you have to stop reading now, because I'm going to put in pictures of them!

This is the outer envelope:


And for the card, I did this on the outside:
(If you can't read what it says, it's "It was bound to happen someday. Little Cedric asked what was in the dessert.")

Inside the card, you find this:

I hope Sarah gets as big a kick out of receiving this as I did making it!

I didn't get to visit anyone's blogs today. Unexpected company derailed me, and I didn't get to my computer until after 10:30. I'm thinking of all my bloggy friends, though, and will be making the rounds tomorrow!

Sleep well, dear ones.

DECORATIVE ENVIE: MUSIC

I am so enjoying the Yahoo! group "Decorative Envies". It's a small group, with a simple aim: Make its members' mailboxes happier by sending pretty and/or interesting mail to each other. Real mail. Snail mail, if you will.

Each month a theme is announced for each of two categories, Decorated Envelopes (Envies) and Postcards. You can sign up, or not; there's no requirement to be in all the swaps, just the ones you're interested in and have time for.

This month's theme for the envelope was Music, and included not just the envelope, but a note card and tag. I had a great time creating the set I sent!

The front of the envelope

The back of the envie

The note care

The tag front

First inside tag page

Close up

Second set of pages of tag

These were made for my dear friend Miz Mollye, who has already emailed me to say she loves them! YAY!!!

Now I have to admit I haven't done the postcard yet, which has a book theme. I know what I'm going to do though, I think....

If this sounds like fun to you, too, search the Yahoo! Groups for Decorative Envies. I know they'd welcome you!

My SWAP ENVIES ARRIVED!

Some days going to the mailbox is pure pleasure. Like today. I opened the door, and riffled through the pile of junk mail, giving all of it a silent "Pffft!", until I came to this:


What is that?! I wondered, and then I remembered the Decorative Envies (envelopes) swap. Oh! Oh, goodness. Sarah's decorated envelopes for me. Do you know what self-restraint I exercised? I turned the letter over, and the back was even better than the front:


And then...and then...sigh. I couldn't open it! I was on my way to pick up Ceili from the dog groomer. Opening the envelope might damage it and I didn't want to risk that before I took pictures. Dang. I put the letter on the front passenger seat, where it sat and lured and tantalized until Ceili and I got home.

And then...more delay. Find a nice background to lay it on... Get the camera... Free up the camera card so I could take it out of the laptop and put it back in the camera...Finally!

See? I get a fabulous envie I can send to someone else, too! I love the row of old cars. Which reminds me, the theme of this swap was Parade. Didn't Sarah do a wonderful job of conveying it?


Those old cars remind me of my childhood, county fairs, drive-in movies with my family, and yes, parades.

Can you tell I spent a good deal of my childhood out in the country? The picture on the back reminded me of all those things, too! (Well, except for the drive-in. Don't think I ever saw a tractor there. Maybe a flatbed truck, though.)


So, thank you, Sarah! My envies are delightful, and my mind is asking, "Who? Who is going to get a note or letter tucked inside?"

I hope Sarah likes the ones I sent her. I can tell I have a ways to go before I reach the level she's at, though!

And on that note, I think I'll go to bed. Smiling.

SHOW ME SOMETHING SATURDAY #3

I've been working on a small project that ended up taking WAY more time that I'd expected, but it's a first try at a new thing, so maybe that's to be expected.

You see, I joined a Yahoo! group, Decorative Envies, that's for people who like to send not just real, paper, mail, but real paper mail that's pretty. Hence, the "Envies" part of the name, short for "Envelopes".

Anyway, part of what they do is swap decorative envelopes, and I've just finished up my first set, ready to pop in the mail. That's what I'm showing you!



Okay, so the deal is you send a decorated envelope your swap partner can use inside a decorated envelope. Above is the larger, outside envelope, front and back, and below is the smaller, inside envelope:



That last picture is what you see when you lift the envelope flap.

I'm eagerly watching my mailbox, 'cuz my partner says she's already sent mine. I just hope she likes what I'm sending her way!

So how about you? What are you showing the world this Saturday (or any Saturday)? Leave a comment with a link, so I can come see!