Postal Art by Shiela

My friend, Shiela (yes, that's how her mom spelled it), is my inspiration.   She's been making beautiful art for a long time and encouraged me to give it a try.   She can do it all - paint, draw and make perfectly executed cards and scrapbook layouts.

Here we are a few years ago after a seriously messy art project on her lawn. Miraculously, I didn't get any paint on that white shirt!

She is also the queen of mail art, so it's always a treat to get packages from her,   This is her signature postage method:

She has a notebook full of stamps of all denominations and a postal scale so she can calculate the amount due. (She doesn't always use a flat rate box!).    Once she knows how much the package will cost to mail, she starts selecting and pasting on stamps.  She calculates  so accurately that her post office staff hardly ever checks her math .   Because she has a small fortune invested in postage stamps, she rarely uses the same stamp more than once on a package.  

I love the mix of stamps - the artsy ones  next to Calvin and Hobbes, the  Hawaiian  shirt next to the fancy wedding cake.   And instead of competing, all those bright colors somehow work.   I think the only part that Shiela plans is that she always makes an L -shaped layout, because that allows room for all the stamps and still enough for the address.

I think it's a hoot that the Post Office has to put the bar code sticker on, even though there is no postage due - notice the price on the bar-code: $0.00.  I also love that my post office staff is very careful not to cover up any of my mail art with that silly sticker - like the one above put carefully over to the left and not covering the stamps.

Like any art supply hoarder, I think all this postal goodness is too good to throw away!   I've been  carefully cutting out the  lay-outs in one piece to use in my projects, like in this this DIY  travel mug that  I got it in the sale bin at Starbucks.

I glued on the stamp assemblage to some background paper and  added a few stamped images to make this happy mug.  Word of advice about these mugs - pretty sure the seal isn't waterproof, so I brushed some rubber cement on the inside where the pieces screw together, top and bottom, before screwing it on to make a better seal.  Just to be on the safe side, I don't let the cup soak in any water - just a quick swish to clean it and done.

I used the stamp arrangement above in this calendar page as an homage to Shiela's talent.  She is way more adventurous with color than I am, and this page celebrates not only her prowess at calculating postage, but her love of color and pattern.

I wanted the stamps to be center stage here, so I kept it simple.  I used an order form from an old fiber arts catalog I snagged at an estate sale as a background to keep the mail theme going and then added some mailing directions  stamps.  (If I use these on actual packages, I always add "please" so the postal workers don't think I'm being too darn bossy).    I glued a piece of under paper - scrap paper with leftover brayer paint  -  to a chipboard butterfly.   There is a butterfly postage stamp to the right' otherwise no real connection to postage, but I love the colors and the blank space needed something.  I needed one more stamp to fill out the top right, so added one from an old envelope.   Plus I love the circle stamp and cancellation marks.

Love, love all these postage stamps.  Next time I go to DC, I am spending more time at the Postal Museum - pretty sure I'll have to go there alone.  DC son and The Captain were not all that enthusiastic when I dragged them in - go figure!

2015 Calendars - Only One Month Late

I've been making calendars for family and friends for several years.  For some odd reason, January comes as a complete surprise and finds me in a state of panic about the calendars.  A normal person would plan ahead, and maybe even do something crazy like make pages throughout the year to avoid the last minute frenzy.   What fun would that be?  So much better to be down to the wire, hoping for twelve brilliant ideas, perfectly executed.  What could go wrong?

It's pitiful to admit this, but for the past couple of years I've had the calendars start with February, rather than do what everyone else does and start the year in January.   Sneaky, huh ?   This gives me another month to get my act together .  To be fair, I do end the calendar with January, so everyone gets a twelve month calendar, but a bit off.   Honestly, it would be so much easier if Christmas didn't come in December.  Maybe I could get the calendars done on time if it weren't for the Christmas frenzy in November and December,  just when  I should be doing calendar pages.

I have a  New Year's Resolutions that doesn't rise to the level of "Please let me be perfect this year", but that will mean I may not need to put on an addition to the house .   I'm going to attempt to only shop my stash - no new supplies unless I've run out of something or need something for a specific project.   No hoarding stuff , no buying stuff because I saw something new that everyone else thinks is the best thing ever.    I do know that this means I'll most likely only be buying ink, ink pads and adhesives.  Pretty sure I won't run out of much else.  (Fortunately I have an artistic granddaughter who loves new art supplies, so it's not like I won't be buying some fun stuff).

So the calendar pages had to be made with stuff I have .  In addition to having too much stuff, I also have this notion that I need to "save" things for some future, yet undetermined, perfect project.  No more - now if it works in a current project, it gets used in a current project .  

The calendars are out to the printers and I don't want to take away all the surprise, but here is one of my favorite pages:

The image was from an advertisement for a magazine.  I love the man's expression as he watches the woman laughing.   I've been using some artist papers from some of the Somerset magazines as backgrounds. There's nothing more intimidating than a blank  piece of white paper, so the ready made background makes a good place to start.    I swiped some gesso over this one to tone down the color a bit.   Seems like most of the artist papers are too bright or busy for my taste, but a bit of gesso works magic.     Then I added  a wide piece of ribbon and a narrower piece of vintage linen tape.    A big Seven Gypsy's tag and a tea tag pick up the red and green in the wide ribbon.   I've started edging pieces with some color to frame the piece - this one with a red Gelato crayon.

Now, if I had any sense, I'd be starting on next year's calendars.   

Calendars Done- Better Late Than Never?

Holy guacamole!  It has taken me so long to get my 2014 calendars done.  As usual, even though the new year comes at the same time every year,  it sneaks up on me - totally shocked to find that it's early December and not one page done.   Then there was the house upgrade - new counter tops in the kitchen and new floors through the whole first floor.   Furniture moved, counters cleared - repeated several times.  Add in a Christmas trip to Austin - the  list of reasons excuses  seems pretty reasonable right? 

Then the procrastination paralysis moves in ; instead of attacking the project, I obsess about not getting it done,  find all kinds of other things to do instead, wake up at 4 in the morning feeling crummy because I haven't finished - all the stuff that keeps therapists' schedules full.  The calendars are at the printers and I can move one to obsessing about something else.

My first calendars were pretty simple stamped affairs.  Each year the pages got a bit more complicated as I used the opportunity to focus on some technique or process that captured my attention.  This year I've been working more on adding in painted backgrounds, more collage elements and sticking Washi tape on anything that doesn't move.

This page reminds me of my far-flung family.   Since our kids are scattered all over the country, we can all be "home" whenever we visit each other.   This page was done on map, with the houses cut from text pages.  The red road is, of course, Washi tape.

This page was inspired by the wonderful work done by Mon Scrap par Liliema.  She makes gorgeous pages with layers made of little bits of scraps.  It was fun looking through my stash to find spring-y things to add to this.    I started with swipe of gesso on watercolor paper, then a light watercolor wash for the background.   There is a mix of old and new stuff for the collage - vintage calling cards, old sheet music, Washi tape and tinted dryer sheet flower petals. 

I like a grid pattern, but with some outside the lines elements.  And the bird obsession continues.

Since the calendars haven't yet made it to their homes, I'll save the rest of the pages for later.  Now I should really attack the chaos that is my studio.