in my mailbox

3 - In My Mailbox - Incoming Friday

I have received some really lovely mail recently. A pen pal friend of mine, Steph, added me to her cool mail art Swap-Bot group not too long ago. Against my better judgement, I signed up for some swaps through her group. The only reason it wasn’t a good idea is because I still have a ton of letters to reply to that aren’t swap related. Oops.

The first swap I signed up for was an anything goes mail art swap. It was basically a free-for-all for this swap. You could send whatever your heart desired. My partner’s heart desired to send an altered peanut container. I’m sure happy they did that! I had a huge smile on my face when I opened my mailbox and saw this little container sitting in it. I really love how they decorated it as well! My partner also sent some goodies for me inside of the container. Hooray!

In regular pen pal news, I received a beautiful envelope from Mermeg and a nice postcard from Stephanie. I really, really, really love the envelope Mermeg sent me. Like, love love love. The purple and gold is so pretty!! She is just so creative. I also enjoyed the nice surprise postcard from Stephanie. It’s always lovely to be thought of!

mail artist spotlight: billie jo

Mail, Mail Artist Spotlight

I love receiving mail from Billie Jo. We met through Instagram and I had never seen a picture of her mail art before so I had no idea what kind of postal treat she would send my way. She does incredible stitching on her envelopes and it’s just so beautiful!

She does the stitching on the sides, around the address, everywhere. This type of mail art is not something that I receive often so I’m always really impressed by it. I feel like it must take so much time! And paper is so delicate so you have to be careful. I always have to run my fingers over the string.

In addition to sending really beautiful mail, Billie Jo also sends amazing things in her envelopes. She made the journal pictured below as well as the super cute shaker card.

in my mailbox

Incoming, Mail

3 - In My Mailbox - Incoming Friday

Do you have that one pen pal where you know, no matter what, it’s going to be a good mail day when a letter from them is sitting in your mailbox? The envelope doesn’t even have to have any extras; the letter alone is the treasure.

That’s how it is when I receive mail from Megan, or Mermeg. Although she always includes something extra for me, her letters are all I care about. We’ve know each other for so long and we’ve met on multiple occasions. She is truly a friend and I’m so happy that I can call her my friend.

It’s great to get updates on her life and find out what she is up to. She always has something cool going on so her letters are incredibly entertaining. I love her mail art style as well. Nothing can be topped!

mail artist spotlight: marrisa f

Mail, Mail Artist Spotlight

I recently sent mail to a lady named Marissa. I met her through Twitter when she was looking for someone in Portland to go on a top secret postal mission. I quickly volunteered and sent her a little package with my findings. I never heard from her whether she got the package and assumed it got lost in the mail. Well, I recently found out she did get my package because she sent the most lovely mail in return.

Look at that package! I mean, it has everything you could want to receive in the mail. A beautiful words, zines, something handmade, and something unique. If there was such a thing as mail art bingo, I would’ve definitely called bingo with this package. I was really excited to receive something back from Marissa and super, duper excited to receive something so wonderful.

in my mailbox

Incoming, Mail

I have so much incoming mail to catch up on! The summertime is really the worst time for me, productivity-wise (and, well, everything-else-wise because I hate summer). Although I became a super hermit during the sunny months, I also did not get anything done while at home. I hung out in my living room with 3 fans pointed at me at all times.

I don’t really send a lot of postcards these days. I’m not active on Postcrossing anymore and I never think to pop a quick postcard in the mail to say hey. Sending mail is somewhat of a complicated process for me, though, so I think I like to reserve it for actual letters.

People still send me postcards though. How nice of them! I really enjoy all of the little things you can do to spruce up a postcard. A stamp, sticker, or even some fun handwriting can go a long way. I am also really impressed by folks that can fit a lot of text on their postcards. I feel like I can write like 3 sentences and then it’s full. I probably need to write small but how do you even do that? Hah.

mermegs in my mailbox

Incoming, Mail, Mail Art, Personal

Here is a really great incoming missive from one of my best pals, Mermeg. She really knows how to pack an envelope and collage one! I think Megan is my longest-running pal at the moment; we’ve been exchanging mail since 2008. We have kept in touch over several moves (for both of us), different relationships, and other life happenings. It’s really amazing to think about. We’ve also had the pleasure of hanging out at least three times. It could be four but my memory is hazy. Most recently she came to Portland at the beginning of this year and we watched mail art videos on youtube. I’ll make it out to Wisconsin one day to hang out on her turf!

Megan always seems to pick the most perfect items to send my way. I’m not sure if she just knows me really well or that we just have the same style. I don’t care either way because it just means I end up with loads of ephemera. Yes! Also, recognize some of those stamps? They were featured in Monday’s post!

stacks of mail

Incoming, Mail

Stacks of mail are my favorite thing to photograph, I think. There is just nothing more beautiful than a pile of mail and stamps to surround it! Feast your eyes on some lovely mail that I have received over the last few months.

Mail Artist Spotlight: Kate I

Mail, Mail Artist Spotlight

I receive a lot of amazing things in my mailbox almost daily. I thought it would be nice to feature some beautiful mail art here and there.

I received this amazing piece from Kate, my first piece of mail art from her! She actually ordered some goods through my shop and that is how we ended up exchanging mail. One of my favorite things about the internet! I’m never surprised at the creativity of folks but I’m always amazed that I’m the recipient of these missives.

I absolutely love everything she included in her letter. Her handwriting is fab and lettering on the Tara stickers is spot on. I wish I could be that talented! I can’t wait to start incorporating the bits she sent me into collages. I love it all!

Kate has an Instagram dedicated to her art. I suggest you give it a peek!

incoming: postcards

Incoming, Mail

You guys, Portland is getting hot and I can’t stand it. I long for an A/C and wait for the sun to go down each day. I lose what little motivation I had when it’s warm. Go away, summer!

In other news, here are some fun postcards I’ve received lately. I don’t send, or receive, postcards that often anymore. I used to be pretty active on Postcrossing, Swap-bot and Sendsomething, sending postcards to randos across the world. They are easy and don’t require much effort. Why do I stop?

The below postcard is from a super talented mail artist, Allison Anne. I love everything about the postcard she sent, her handwriting, the drawing, the collage, the postage placement. It’s so lovely!

One of my favorite things about the mail I receive is that almost everyone addresses their mail to me as “TARAdactyl”. It’s so great. I love seeing my nickname written in all different handwriting and colors.

Postcards can be challenging for me because I love to include a variety of postage, stickers, doodles, and whatever I can fit on the card. That usually isn’t a lot. I need space! In addition to decorating the card, I love to include a long message as well. Usually I have to sacrifice one for the other! Do you like decorating the postcards you send?

mail artist spotlight: rhiannon s

Mail, Mail Artist Spotlight

I receive a lot of amazing things in my mailbox almost daily. I thought it would be nice to feature some beautiful mail art here and there.

Although I don’t want to play favorites, Rhiannon is definitely high on the list of people I love to receive letters from and people I love to write to. I thought we had met during my time in the League of Extraordinary Penpals but it turns out she actually wrote to me after reading my blog all the way back in 2012 (this is why I keep spreadsheets of incoming/outgoing mail, btw). I honestly can’t believe it’s been that long!

Rhiannon is seriously cool. She shares her book/music/movie recommendations with me and doodles in her letters. She once sent me a mix cd that I listened to straight for months; her taste is exceptional! Lately she is doing the school thing so I don’t get to hear from her too often but it’s always a treat when I do!

I suggest you check out her tumblr and see how cool she is!