In the Outbox

This may be my favorite envelope in this batch of outgoing mail. I made it from the store directory map I picked up at Target. To be truthful, I actually picked up another three or four. They were just too cute. I couldn't help it.


This one features a retro fan in the shape of a cat. It is such an odd item that I find myself wishing I had one.


This one is an introductory letter going out to someone new.


This one is made from an Arby's bag and also contains an introduction.


Yet another Arby's bag envie with yet another intro.


This one too.


This one of the Mad Hatter comes from a poster advertising Barter Theatre's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.

Veel Liefs

Well, my mailbox did get a bit of Valentine's Day Love. The first card comes from Monique in the Netherlands. Monique says "Veel liefs!" means "Much love!" in Dutch.


This cute handmade envelope comes from JLR reader Sue from Illinois. She also made a matching card with the same paper. Thanks for writing, Sue. And good luck with your mail art adventures. Isn't it fun!




Finally, the last 3 photos are of outgoing envelopes. They are made from the front covers of the USPS Philatelic catalog, February 2010 Nordstrom catalog, and American Balanced Fund annual report.

My Very First Mini-Zine

It doesn't show up very well in this scan, but I made a little pocket to hold the zine from 3/4 of a sealed envelope. Many sites show you how to fold an 8-page mini-zine from a single sheet of paper. Here is the link to one of them. The background page I used for my zine is from The Scribble Project.

Covers--Back and Front (Pages 8 and 1)
Pages 2 and 3
Pages 4 and 5
Pages 6 and 7
This little zine was so much fun to make. Oh no, I think I feel another addiction setting in.

Solar Mosaic Cats Agree

Snail Mail Rulz!




These are some of the collage and mail art elements on today's outgoing mail.

Snip & Scooch

About once a month or so, a local AUCTION company mails a flyer advertising an upcoming auction. Snip out the letter "C", move it to the front of the line, then scooch the "AU" over and the anagram now reads "CAUTION." Attach it to an envelope flap. Break out the markers and a new envelope is born. TA DA!

Tag Heart Tutorial

Here's a little tutorial I featured on my art blog a couple of years ago. I'm running it again in case anyone wants to include one in a Valentine.

Step 1
For this project you will need two tags and scissors. A pencil and ruler are optional, necessary only if you want perfect measurements. I cut these two tags from magazine pages using my Sizzix, but you could trace your tags and cut them by hand if you like.Notice I have chosen one patterned paper and one that is mostly solid in color.


Step 2
Overlap the tags as shown. Use a pencil to place a mark as shown.

Or, if you don't like marking and measuring, you can skip this step.





Step 3
Use the ruler to lightly draw a line marking how deep your cuts need to be.
Or not. If you skipped the last step, you can skip this one too.



Step 4
Draw lines from the bottom edge of the tag up to the line you drew in Step 3. You need to do this on only one of the tags. First, draw the center line of the tag. Then, draw the center lines of those two halves. (You will draw three lines which divide the tag into four parts.)

Align the two tags, one atop the other. Cut on the three lines just drawn.
Or, if you didn't draw the lines, just cut freehand.



Step 5
Weave the strips of the two tags together using a simple over-under-over-under technique.



Step 6

TA DA!

Your woven tag heart is now ready to glue into your next project.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Please leave your comments below. And, be sure to send me a link to your own woven hearts!

Today's Found Stationery Is Brought To You By...

Last night's supper! Chili beans make a tasty, hearty main dish for a cold winter's eve. And the labels from the cans are a nice change of pace from the magazine pages I usually find. One of the envelopes from today's blog posts contains these labels. Wonder whether it's yours?

Outgoing February 5th

Perhaps I should retitle this as Outgoing February 5th - MAYBE. It's only 8 AM and we already have about 5 inches of new snow. It's really putting it down out there. I'm not sure the mail carrier will make his rounds today, and even if he does....I'm not sure I'll walk to the mailbox!