Trees: Holiday Mailart Sent

"cheer" series of 3
altered USPS advertising postcards

"two trees" series of 4
shaped postcards with security envelope trees

"three trees" series of 8
postcards with security envelope trees

"bright and merry" series of 2
recycled tissue box postcards

Letter to Santa

This letter wasn't sent by post, but it's a letter just the same!

View the Irish Times article here.

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Simply Merry

Sometimes simplicity is best...
especially this time of year.

May your days be merry and bright...

And may all your Christmases be white.

Old-Fashioned Christmas Cards

A lovely vintage postcard greeting from Mary Has Sound,
"Winter in the Country" by Courier and Ives

My take on an old CPS sketch (#235), with a vintage playing card image
"The Road--Winter" by Courier and Ives

Aspiration

Oh, give me an old-fashioned Christmas card,
With hostlers hostling in an old inn yard,
With church bells chiming their silver notes,
And jolly red squires in their jolly red coats,
And a good fat goose by the fire that dangles,
And a few more angels and a few less angles,
Turn backward, Time, to please this bard,
And give me an old-fashioned Christmas card.

-Ogden Nash

(From Epstein, Spare That Yule Log, copyright 1933, 1961,
found in The Gift of Christmas, copyright 1965)

USPS 2002

I believe it was also Ogden Nash who said,
"Merry Christmas, nearly everyone!"

Mojo Monday 217

Mojo Monday Sketch 217, playing with new Sizzix dies!

The swift death of letter writing

The swift death of letter writing
from Lancaster Sunday News 4 December 2011

Another Real Mail article shared with me by my parents.
My mom plans to make photo copies of the article
and mail it to everyone she knows.

Ironic for it to appear in print news and online?
Stop lamenting and start writing!

Trees Galore!

34 Trees
Die cut trees on paper
33 different security envelope patterns
and one glittered tree (lower right corner)
Donated to Lancaster Museum of Art's Trees Galore fundraiser
celebrating its 34th year (just like me)

I had the pleasure of attending the Trees Galore! opening on 3 December 2011, First Friday in Downtown Lancaster with my dad, who donated on of his photographs of a tree in winter. He snapped a photo of my piece hanging in the museum, since the photos I took at home were terribly lit. We enjoyed viewing all the other contributions, but we didn't have a chance to visit any other galleries this year like we did last year. I guess we will just have to plan another First Friday outing together! Thanks Dad!

Hooray, snail mail!

My parents saved this for me from the 24 November 2011 Lancaster PA newspaper. Shortest editorial I have ever seen and probably my favorite! (I certainly hope it was mailed to the newspaper office.) Snail mail is way cool. Let's all send some more!

CPS 246 Believe

Well, gee whiz, I missed the deadline to share this card on the Card Positioning Systems blog, but I'm going to post it anyway! This week I flipped the sketch. I was so excited to use a whole row of buttons on a card! I had seen it on some other designs, and I finally found a spot it worked for me. I do love buttons; the more, the merrier I say! The little charm is hard to read on the scanned image--it says "believe." I decided to use some of my jewelry making supplies on cards, since I have been too busy playing with paper to make bling for myself. The paper is more from the 6x6 My Mind's Eye pads, some vintage ribbons, and machine zig-zag stitching around the image, also from the paper pad.

Today I helped out with a group of 6th through 9th grade girls, my oldest daughter included, charged with making Christmas cards to include in gift bags for shut-ins. It was great fun to see what the girls designed, their different styles and tastes. I made a few cards to contribute too, and I managed to do it all without my cutting mat, metal straight edge and craft knife! Sometimes it is freeing to "rough it!"

Card Patterns Sketch 143

I decided to play along with several card sketches this week, to get a few more Christmas cards made and have fun doing it! This one comes from the Card Patterns blog. I have some fancy, but bulky, trims that I decided would be just the ticket on some of my more formal cards.

I usually wrap the ends of ribbons and trims around to the back of the design to hide the ends, but that just wasn't going to work with these stiff, thick trims. I broke out the Fray Check and the Tacky glue and cut flush to the edges with a sharp craft knife. I'm pleased the results and glad to make use of some these lovely bits and pieces, a gift from a sweet neighbor .

The paper is My Mind's Eye, the star is die cut from glittered paper and mounted over a tulle rosette. The buttons are hand-stitched to the card, my favorite way to secure buttons. A little zig-zag machine stitching finishes the bottom edge. The angel stamp is from the same series as the previously featured reindeer, from the recent half-price stamp sale.

I decided I really liked the design, so I made a series of four similar cards from a single 12x12 sheet of Basic Grey double-sided paper, changing the color of the base cardstock or the vertical trim. I also added a strand of gold thread to the tail of the tulle rosette and tried out my gold Stickles to accent the stars and snowflakes in the angel stamp. (After trying dollar-bin glitter glue, Stickles is heavenly to work with!) Enjoy!

Handmade Postcrossing Cards

Always a joy to receive such beautiful mail!

From Sweden 20 October 2011
Kram is hug in Swedish

From Netherlands 21 October 2011

From Netherlands 14 November 2011

More November Mail Art

Fausto Mail Art Add and Pass
17 November 2011

My contribution to occupywallstreet via i'm a superhero

This is the first I've created to photocopy
and send out multiples--ten color copies sent.
17 November 2011