Enjoying mail art

I've been behind in replying to mail for a long time but I've been doing very well recently and it makes it all the much more wonderful to make mail art and write letters... No sense of guilt any more. And by behind I mean that earlier this year there were letters I hadn't replied to for maybe 9 months.

So here's a few of my outgoing, including a Mother's Day package to my sister in law. I had a lot of fun finding images of kids and mothers to decorate the box.

Wet mail

So remember when I said that my phone was ruined because I was busy saving my outgoing mail from a watery death?

Well this is what they looked like before they took a swim. I'm hoping the insides were still readable afterwards.

Selvage from stickers is something I sometimes use even before all the stickers are gone!

The Indian doctor I work with everyday saw this one when I was drying them off. She said that they are real country girls. Not sure how she can tell. Because they are barefoot?  Such beautiful clothing.

Nemo! I watch this a lot now because it's one of the best movies we have at work to play in the waiting room. "Just keep swimming!"

Again, sticker selvage. I really love this envelope.

I refound several pages of a fashion magazine that I had saved because of the gorgeous dresses and flowery prints. Finally used a couple.

Something I drew a while ago. I imagine it with a Morgan Freeman-like voice. It lives on the bottom of the ocean.

This is one of my favorite stamps from the modern art set that recently came out.

Such a fun postcard. I've been sending a few more postcards lately than normal.

May the fourth be with you postcard. :-)

And finally an envie made out of half a pretty paper bag. Still have another half to do something with!

A few incoming postcards

So I recently sent out a hugggge bundle of letters and postcards, like 15... But I put my water bottle in the same bag with them and the cap wasn't on tight enough and it leaked allll over. So I was trying to get all the letters dry, which took a while before I thought to look at what else was in my bag that might have gotten wet. My phone. Completely done. But you have to have your priorities right? :) Well it was a pretty old phone and now I have a new smart phone ( my first ) ! Which means I can take photos with it! Hopefully it'll help me get into a better blogging routine.

The Boston Marathon

The recent bombings at the Boston Massacre have really made my heart ache. I moved away from Boston last August after living there for two years. I went to Copley Square many times. I walked those streets, I know those buildings. I was in Copley Square on Marathon Monday two years ago, and last year I was watching the marathon where it passed by my apartment at Cleveland Circle. My friend and co-worker of two years was just around the corner from the bombings and her husband was running the race, half a mile away.

I know that if I had not lived there I would not feel this as keenly. I'm so glad that I lived in Boston for two years. I loved my time there and I just love moving to different places and forming attachments. Bits of my life are tied to Maryland, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Illinois. And I know I'll most probably move again.

Patriot's Day (the day of the Boston marathon) feels like Boston's version of the 4th of July. It is just so so horrible that that wonderful joyous day turned into a horrific event.

Marjorie's Scrapbook

A little while ago I posted a photo of the front cover of an old scrapbook that I bought at the I.D.E.A. store. The scrapbook belonged to a girl named Marjorie, made during when she was 17-18 years old. It is such a treasure and it was so fascinating to pore through the pages and look at the cards and odds and ends that she put in. 

Here are a few of the first cards in the scrapbook.

By the way, thanks be to libraries for free scanners!!!

She received these congratulations cards because she became the Grand Treasurer of some part of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls society... which I looked up and still exists today.   It started as a society for the daughters of Masons.

This is a corsage given to her at one of their Grand Assemblies. It all sounds so big, doesn't it?

I love the titles, "Supreme Inspector or Deputy", "Grand Worthy Advisor", "Grand Recorder"... I wish I had a Grand Worthy Advisor.  :-)

More coming soon...

Spring mail

Hello! Although I haven't blogged in a while I have been writing letters. I discovered that with a full time job I need to bring my writing with me to work to do during break and lunch times. It's a nice change from the rest of the day. I also bring my book, currently "herself surprised" by Joyce Cary. I read "the horse's mouth" by him in college and this is an interesting glimpse back at myself.
Anyway, I apologize for the cruddiness of the photos. I've been using my iPad ( a relatively new thing for me) because my computer is caput. The iPad doesn't have a USB port so I can't upload the photos from my camera and the camera on it is not at all good. I thought it would be pretty nice since the cameras on iPhones seem to be quite nice.
Does anyone know a way to do this better?
Well, these are some of my outgoing:

Black History Month

This new job is making me so exhausted and I have so much less free time, but I'm very happy to be employed. 

Here is something I sent to Limner to celebrate Black History Month:

sealed with a ...

I've been trying to use my sealing wax and seal more often.  I still don't use it on the outsides of envelopes, only for the letter inside.

Envelope made from the USPS catalogue

And a postcard from the "America Dances" postcard book

My LetterMo. plans got derailed because of the job, but I'm still happy with the progress I made in my pile and I really enjoyed writing all the letters that I did.