I know it's been a long time since I posted. I've actually been doing a lot of mailart this month... A LOT. It's just been colleagues for their birthday cards, or I've been writing my honey bunny every other day with 'color me in' postcard fronts with forest animals. Just wasn't up for sharing them, I guess.

Anyway, hope you croaked with giggles. ;)

I did not make up "Humps Haven!" That picture of the ladies holding the sign is from an old Life magazine. I initially thought the place really existed, but maybe not. A Google search turned up zilch. Anyhoo, it was all I needed to set off on collage madness...but, man, was it fun!

Patty has received this, so can finally post it. This is the crazy envelope for the large piece. I am using it again (the full picture - posted a detail prior) to fill my quota, since I worked on it over several days. (Any complaints, speak with Geezer Museum curator, Mr. Andy T.)

This is going to a lovely lady on IOUMA who sent me the most beautiful hand-made envelope, with a tropical theme, from Hawaii, and inspired me to try making my own envelopes. It was much easier than I had anticipated, and so much fun to make! It's a page from an old calendar, with Santa added, of course.

July 25, 2011. Summer Sandpo Greek Island with tall Greek blue
grass...and a MERMAID. This is sent to Carlos Botana for his "Mermaid"
mail art project. There are lots of mermaids in the Greek sea..here is
one (hiding in the tall grass ;-)

Once upon a time I would be worried about titling a series "Dead Friends," because it might offend people. I think one of the best things about MailArt365 is that I don't worry so much about things like that anymore. Not that I want to offend people, but I'm not as afraid to go with my original thoughts when I start putting stuff together for a postcard.

The people at the hardware stores don't even give me a passing glance when I stand at the paint chip display and gather 100 chips at a time. I just love reading the names and would love the job of coming up with new names. I have one file of paint chips that is dedicated to the most unusual names. Can't quite figure out why this particular green is called "Repurposed."

Since the featured fish are fossils, I'm calling this series Dead Friends. The "fish are friends, not food" quote is from the movie Finding Nemo. I didn't remember that line (the shark says it), but when I got the fish fossil list from Juli, I commented that I could repurpose it into mailart and still keep within my food theme because fish is food. Greg (my significant other) and a co-worker said, together, "fish are friends, not food." I thought it rather odd because neither of them are vegetarians. Greg was surprised I didn't remember the line from the movie ... it was one of the first movies we saw together. 

I have a couple more "Green Apple" paint chips that have the apple stamped on them. They are not the exact same color green, but in the same family. Want one? Leave a comment and I'll send one to you.

I'm going to try making digital prints of my favorite postcards using Moo.com, or maybe VistaPrint.com. This will be one of the cards I'll use and if this works, I'm going to use more of my own artwork for digital prints. I've never done this before, but I've received mailart from others that is digitally reproduced. I wonder if it rankles people to receive art that is not the original?

I think I could stamp paint chips forever and ever. I like the way the fruit stamps I have look when stamped with India Ink. This card is now Postcrossing ID US-1226575 and heading to Latvia.

an add and pass to C. Mehrl Bennett

Digital collage of a postcard (flower) and an envelope (uman) sent to C. Merhl Bennett

Lately, I go to bed at night thinking about my first cup of coffee in the morning. I don't think this is a good thing.

I've been drinking way too much coffee this summer. I've tried to just limit myself to one cup in the morning, but it isn't working. The stuff I do at work in the morning is typically stuff that is easily done while enjoying a cup of coffee, and I can't seem to separate the task from the enjoyable beverage.

A very long time ago, FarStarr sent me a sample bit of artwork created by something called "liquid nails." It seems to be a construction grade glue, and FarStarr colored and layered it on cardstock. I cut the sample into three bits for this series of postcards. It is the very colorful bit in the upper right corner of each piece.

I don't have a huge amount of faith that the adhesive I used is going to keep the bit of liquid nails art in place for the postal journey, but I've got fingers and toes crossed.

I know I've done butterfly fish before but you can't get too much of a good thing so here I am again with a slightly different take on the same theme - enjoy!

 # 95 elephant card to my grandparents

#96 happy father's day package

#97 altered playing cards for a swapbot swap

 # 98 front and back of envelope

#99 Giving Tree envelope for a swapbot swap
 contents of envelope

 #93 airplane sketch on envelope

#94 painted teapot & flowers for my mom

I do have a big, fancy kitchen at my new workplace, complete with a real stove/oven and dishwasher, and I really should bring my own lunch fixings everyday so I don't have to rely on what is available downtown. However, I rather like going out at lunch, and if I have to take the time to make my own lunch, I tend not to go outside.

There are wonderful lunch options downtown if I had time to sit down and eat in a restaurant, but that really isn't an option yet. Perhaps after I've been at this job for a year or so ... then I can take a longer lunch. For now, I just pine for what I once had at Eat Unique.

My lunch options at my new job downtown are quite limited. There are only a couple choices for vegetarian options, and they are mostly simple salads. And the salads downtown are very expensive. I've paid $10 for a salad that is nothing more than greens and some tasteless non-local vegetables. I really miss Eat Unique's delicious sandwiches. Unusual ingredients make for a much more interesting lunch.

At my previous job, I had quite a number of choices for lunch, but my favorite place was a place called Eat Unique. The menu, which I've used in this series of postcards, changed with the season and there were lots of vegetarian options. However, it is a bit pricey, especially given that the area is a college area and college kids aren't likely to spend $6 on a sandwich.

When I start my new job, downtown, the "proper" business section of town, I thought I'd have it made for lunch. I figured vegetarian options would be numerous, and prices would be better. I was very wrong.

"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got 'til it's gone."

Minimal

Hannah handed me this piece of mailart she made entirely herself from the free newspaper (The Metro)off her own back. That monkey don't half look familiar....... I'd already made a piece for today so putting this one down for today too which will help slightly towards getting to that 365 mark!

I cut this little story out of the paper a week or two ago intending to render it into mailart and so here it is! The story reads as follows:

"Lovestruck Liu Peiwen has taken his Proclaimers-mad fiancée at her word and is walking 1,000 miles just to fall down at her door. When the 29-year old proposed to Ling Hsueh, 23, she accepted but joked it was on condition he followed the Scottish band's hit 500 Miles. She was shocked when Mr Liuset off on a walk from Henan province to her hometown in Guagndong province in south-east China, 1,600km (1,000 miles) away. "He is such a fruitcake," she said.

Apart from the fruitcake reference I think I got it all in and I've even added some Scottish and Chinese themed stamps to finish it off postally!

Oh and for those who don't know the song here it is - http://youtu.be/Gy4UP_dCjAk

July 23-24, 2011. Two cards being sent to Canada and the USA with
sandpo, of course! Amazing the many different combination of color and
shapes that can be done with collage and sandpaper ;-) Fun!

"Ah...I remember well The Bennington Museum. Those were the days of culture...before I moved to this @#%%$&#$ succulent farm, in the middle of nowhere...."

It is a very nice museum, in Vermont, not far from here. Lots of folk art.

With all due respect to Erastus Salisbury Field, and his subject, Luman Preston Norton. I never noticed the opening in the front of the dress before; now, I seem to have highlighted it! I'm going to have to research this painting.

Cold watermelon, a picnic for sure!

Yummy cake for the picnic!