Oh, mail art. In addition to sending lovely things in the post, you can spruce up your mail in so many different ways! I’ve been involved in mail art for, like, 10 years now at least. When I was a youngin’, I would simply try to copy the style of what was sent to me. Different shapes of paper, collages, stickers, doodles, you name it. It took a little time to find my own personal style!
I incorporate so many different things in my mail but one thing that has been consistent over the years has been collage. Even before decorating envelopes, I loved making (terrible) collages, mostly in my journals. This evolved to collaging envelopes once I found out that you could actually do that! Needless to say, I’ve figured out some essentials in collaging from my journey.
If you’re just getting started, or even just curious what supplies I use, check out the barebone list below.
► Paper bits – First and foremost! You can’t make a collage without something to paste down. Use anything and everything you can glue down.
► Adhesive – I prefer plain, school glue sticks because they are easy to store and use. Mod Podge is great for covering large areas as well as reinforcing your completed collage. Some other handy adhesives are double-sided tape and glue runners. They all have their time and place! I’ve recently found out about a thing called a glue pen and, while I haven’t tried one yet, it sounds PERFECT.
► (optional) Paint brush – If you’re applying Mod Podge or other liquid-y glues, these will come in handy!
► Scissors or X-ACTO Knife – I’ve always, always preferred scissors over and X-ACTO Knife but the knife do comes in handy on occasion. I usually end up ripping papers to bits with the knife though. Probably just me.
► Old cards – These are one of my favorite tools. They are so useful when you need to smooth down something you just glued. In general, they do all the work and keep your hands clean!
Short list, huh? Just a few of the absolute essentials. I could do a whole post on paper bits (and I probably will) but all you really need to get started is glue, scissors, and ephemera.
What do you guys use when making collages?
Dactyl Life 
I am a “newbie” to mail art and have been doing it for about a year. I’m learning and experimenting and having such fun in the process. I can relate to what you said about taking time to develop a personal style without copying others. I like to incorporate little drawings that I’ve made and colored with markers or colored pencils. Also, I like stick with recycled or found items, and not store bought stuff. I’ve recently been trying acrylic paint for the base layer, because sometimes I have a hard time covering up pretty backgrounds. I would like to read a post about your paper bits!
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Hi Michele! Welcome to mail art 😉 It really is so much fun to get started and find your own unique style. I’ll definitely be posting about my paper bits! My collection is out of control, haha.
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