Mail Art

Six by Nine inch envelopes ready to go

Someone asked me the other day, how I have time to make all of the envelopes and mail art that I send. The short answer is that it really doesn't take me that long to do. The longer answer is a bit more detailed.

I don't like to have a lot of idle time on my hands because I would just waste it. So when I am in  between projects, I either organize future projects/supplies or I doodle and prepare envelopes. I take my binder full of stencils and a stack of envelopes and just start doodling/outlining different designs. I don't have a goal in mind; I simply want to get designs on white envelopes. Depending on how much time I have, I will either decorate 9 by 12 inch envelops, 6 by 9 inch envelopes or business size 10 envelopes. I only decorate the reverse (or flap side).

When it comes time to decorate an envelope for use, I hand letter the front of the envelope. If I am using the envelope for a swap, I read my partner's profile to pick a color palette. I will then letter the front and decorate it with alcohol inks to apply a background to the lettering.

After the front is dry, I then color the back of the envelope with markers and then I have a completed envelope. I usually have a stash of 10 to 15 envelopes shelved in the studio just waiting to be used. If I in a bind or don't feel motivated to color, I will use one of my recycled paper envelopes. I have these lying about in dozens just waiting to be used.

Business envelopes ready to color

More business envelopes

Studio and Craft Hacks--Day 5

This is probably one of the hacks that I am most proud. I am forever shopping at Target and I will buy many items not knowing exactly what I am going to do with them. This was the case with these plastic trays that were available prior to this new school year. I was attracted to them because I thought they would provide a pop of happy color in my studio.  They were on sale for $3 each so I thought they were a bargain. They came in five colors (the four above and a nice blue). I bought the four colors shown and called it a day.

I didn't know exactly how I was going to use them. I got frustrated digging through my shoe box of washi tape every time that I wanted to use it. Unfortunately, if I don't see something, I won't use it. It was simply taking too much time to sort through my washi tape that I would just use something else.

I was searching online for a different product and I came across this image:

and I thought I can do that. I had the dowels and I was going to make my own box/case when I remembered that I these Target trays.

I decided to use my heavy duty bookbinder's awl to make the holes. I widened the holes to accept the size of the dowels that I already had. I then cut the dowels to size using my Exacto mini-saw and I was in business.

As you can see in the original photo above. The green tray was the first to design and I didn't realize how much space I needed between the dowels. Once I figured it out, the second and third trays were easy to assemble.

Tray one

Tray two

Tray three

Tray four

As you can see in the last tray, I left one without dowels so I could store my oversized rolls of tape. I really like how these worked out. I can see all of my tape at a simple glance. I don't worry about the size of the rolls or widths of the rolls as they are easy to access. There is also room for extra rolls that I have been too lazy to put back on the dowels. More importantly, this limits the amount of tape that I can get. I have started to follow my "new book" rule--before I can add a new roll of washi to my collection, I must get rid of one roll.

Studio and Craft Hacks--Day 4

Postage Envelope

OK. So this might not be an earth shattering hack like an IKEA hack or something. But it is an organizational tool that is really helpful if you do a lot of mailing like I do. This is my postage envelope. They are really called check accordion envelopes in that they are supposed to be used for storing and sorting cancelled checks--but really, do people still write checks?

Some people use them for coupon sorting which is where I got the idea. Not only do I collect used postage stamps, I also collect current US postage--mainly because I mail lots of stuff. I have always needed to find the correct postage quickly and I came up with this idea.

Each of the folds holds an envelope with different postage. I keep the forever stamps nearer the front. After that, the stamps/envelopes are put in ascending order according to price.

Forever stamps up front

Stamps in ascending order

Marked stamps

On the outside of the envelope, I also label the special needs for certain type of stamp so it is easier to calculate postage. Additional ounce (Forever stamp plus additional ounce stamp).

Square cards cost more (and even more if they are overweight)

The big denominations are in the back ($1 and $2) plus all of the oversize stamps.

Also in the back are extra envelopes should I need to mail something out in a hurry (like bills, etc.). I have regular envelopes, decorated envelopes and handmade envelopes depending on the need and situation.

Special Envelopes

So, I always travel with my postage envelope. I just throw it in my bag or backpack and away I go.

Studio and Craft Hacks--Day 3

My stencil album

This is another craft room hack that is a little too easy but it is a great and useful way to organize my massive collection of stencils. Originally, I was storing my stencils in a 12 by 12 inch paper bin. The problem is that I would have to untangle and go through all of the stencils to find the one that I wanted.

As I was wandering through Michaels, I came across a photo album that  held scrapbook pages. Also, I came across plastic top loading sleeves to hold individual scrapbook pages. I went home and researched the products and found some nice scrapbook albums and storage sheets at Amazon. Each sleeve has a piece of 12 by 12 card stock and there is a stencil on both sides of the card stock. This makes it easy to quickly view and choose the stencils that I want.

Plastic Sleeve with card stock and stencil

I have two books (although the 12 by 12 book is almost filled). One book is for full sized stencils and the second book is for stencils smaller than 12 by 12. In the second book, I put several stencils on a page and use washi tape to keep them in place.

Studio and Craft Hacks--Day 2

This is a continuation of the craft room hacks. This one is so easy that I am a little embarrassed to share it. I have several stations in my studio that are in need of paper towels. One is the wet station where I do painting and pasting. The other is the spray station where I do splatter painting, spray gluing and alcohol ink spraying. It is a major hassle to go and get paper towels from the kitchen when I need them since I tend to forget until I am in the middle of doing something.

I have some extra dowels in my stash and when I was at Target, I came across these 3M adhesive hooks. I bought them not know how I was going to use them. I noticed that the poles for my storage unit was just about the same width as the the 3M hook backing. Following the instructions, I placed a hook on each pole of the storage unit. I cut the dowel using my Exacto mini-saw and now I have a paper towel holder. I placed one at each of the stations where they were needed.

3M Hook and dowel

The beautiful part of this is that it can easily be taken down. The dowel is easy to remove so that the paper towel roll can be replaced. More importantly, the dowel and paper towels can be removed if access to the shelf is needed.

Easy access to the shelf

Studio and Craft Hacks--Day 1

My stamp box(es)

This week's theme on the blog will be everyday hacks that you can use in your studio or craft room. These are out-of-the-box uses for everyday day items or repurposing items for uses they weren't necessarily intended.

If you have been following along, you know that I collect stamps. I have a wide variety of them and I always had difficulty in deciding how to organize them for when I need to use them for craft purposes. I don't collect stamps for monetary purposes. Because I use them for crafting, I decided to organize primarily by color and some themes which I have purposefully purchased from curators. Themes include: Christmas, Love, Birds, NYC, etc.

In order to find the stamps that I want quickly, I purchases a photo box organizer. The box holds 16 individual 5" by 7" boxes in slots. For me, individual boxes hold a separate color. Some of the themes have their own box.

Brown stamps

I usually buy stamps in bulk and it makes it so much easier to sort when you know where they are going and how they are going to be organized. The first step is to sort out the stamps based on color. As I am sorting, if I notice that a stamp will fit in one of the theme categories and set it aside.

Beginning Sorting

Sorted by color

Once the color sorting is finished, I then move to sorting by theme.

Many times, there are still stamps that have no place to go. All of these stamps go into stamp holding pages that fit in a three ring binder. I sort them into three categories: animals, people and general. These stamp sheets are divided into rows and each row has a sheet of acetate to cover the stamps. The bottom of the acetate is affixed to the page and the top of the sheet is open so it is easy to place, and remove, the stamps. These sheets are an easy way to see the stamps quickly.

When I need a stamp for crafting purposes, I usually go to the binder at first so see if there is something I can use. If not, then I will go to the stamp storage boxes depending on theme or color.

Sometimes, I buy storage items because they are on sale, I have an expiring coupon, or I need some retail therapy. I don't always know how I am going to use the item. The photo case is a perfect example of this. I am always looking to organize my craft room. I didn't know exactly how I was going to use it and initially thought that I might use it for paper ephemera but this worked out perfectly for me. I might go back for another one or two to have on hand.

Saying Hello

Washi Tape TV

I am sorry that I haven't been blogging lately--it hasn't been due to a lack of projects. I started a new schedule at the theater in order to help out since my co-worker quit with very little notice. I have been working days at the theater (normally, I work nights) and it has thrown a wrench into my blogging schedule.

On top of this change, all of the weather changes in NYC have caused me to feel a little under the weather with sniffles, colds, sneezes, etc.

One of the organizational projects that I wanted to share with you is how to use washi tape to better organize all of those cables and cords. I am constantly annoyed when I can't figure which cord belongs to which device. You pull out one cord and the cable box goes out and then you have to wait 20 minutes for it to re-boot by which time you have missed finding out who the killer was during the latest rerun of Murder She Wrote.

Since I have all of this extra time at my day job, I decided to color code the wires/cables/cords at work. I use a piece of washi tape at the plug end of the cord that connects to the outlet or power strip. I then take a matching piece of tape and place it on the device belonging to that cord.

Since I have so many colors/patterns of washi tape, I never needed to duplicate tape on a single device/power strip.

Washi Tape Cord

It was an easy project and one that I will repeat at home.