I've been stashing bits and pieces for this journal since sometime last year. Last week I finally sat down and got busy and now that the volume is done, I'm very happy with it.
The pages are envelopes (flats and the folded-in-half flats) trimmed to fit a book cover that I emptied long ago for a since abandoned project.
Having the security prints and the windows as part of the design kept things interesting and fun.
(these photos were taken in the shade on a very bright, sunny afternoon - hence their slightly blue tone)
Scraps of mail art found their way into the pages along with a limited number of graphics found online.
The front of a card that my sister sent to me became a tuck-in (with happy mail stickers on the back).
The vintage envelopes and handwritten letters came from a batch purchase from an online seller which gave me a wonderfully large variety of items to consider/incorporate.
This quote really resonates with me.
Not sure about you, but I get awfully tired of finding nothing but statements, limited time offers, notices, and so much advertising junk in my mailbox.
One of younger son's all-time favorite books growing up was Postman Pig - so when I found this graphic online, it was a done deal that I would include it in this journal.
Look closely at the small type in the graphic . . .
And the vintage stamps -- again, from a large mixed batch purchase from an online seller (or two) yielded so many options.
There were three air mail envelopes addressed to "Stanford University, Stanford, California" - one from Seoul,Korea; one dated 1950 from Deutschland; and one dated 1959from Lebanon. I tucked them inside each other on this page.
Many of the vintage envelopes were glued into the journal using their flap so that I could easily tuck things inside.
In this case, the envelope contained a sheet of tissue thin pink paper so I added this vintage photo inside. This photo of an unknown girl is one I've had for close to 40 years, so you know she captured my imagination.
A corner section of this Kraft flat mailing envelope became a pocket to hold a no-longer-blank postcard.
The "image" side features Mickey as a mail carrier and a lovely quote by E. Ruder:
"The written letter is something personal, organic, unique, and spontaneous. It mirror the character and the personality of the writer, and often his mood of the moment."
The "address" side of the postcard features this graphic and an iridescent Halloween postage stamp.
Some folks send mail using multiple stamps to achieve the value needed or simply to decorate the envelope.
This air mail envelope came from Vietnam and went to Laos. Its contents were long gone so I tucked a vintage postcard inside.
Vintage space themed postage stamps . . . did your parents let you stay up late to watch the very first moon landing like mine did?
Mr. Zip is featured on the back inside page.
Did you know the "ZIP" in zip code stands for "Zone Improvement Plan" and that zip codes became a reality in 1963?
There's so much more inside this journal but you can definitely get the idea from these photos.
And I did find myself visiting quite a few"rabbit holes" while creating IN THE MAILBOX - National Card and Letter Writing Day, World Letter Writing Day, one woman's Thousand Postcard Project from 2018, learning about Write Me Back cards, and discovering all manner of past letter/card writing challenges.
As a result, I've realized it isn't enough to just think about doing a better job of sending cards and letters. To that end, I've enhanced my stash of blank cards (purchased and homemade) and I'm making their use a much higher priority. Want to join me and start sending more Happy Mail?
Quiltdivajulie
-----------------------------------------------"The letter suddenly seemed like my most important possession, and like all the real, handwritten, postally delivered letters these days, an instant relic from a previous era, before time and space collapsed and we started sending messages to each other's pockets."
Anne Gisleson
6 comments:
Love your Envelope Journal!! So many wonderful items in there;)))
Mom and I used to regularly write letters to her sister, Tante Mildred, who married and moved cross country to California when she married. It was such fun to receive a handwritten letters of her "doings" and keep in touch. It went right along with keeping a diary for me--which I still do...
I am definitely a "pen and paper" gal...hugs, Julierose
I agree -- snail mail is a treat! What fun to incorporate so many envelopes from real letters in your journal. I come from a letter-writing family. My name was published in Teen Magazine's pen pal column (January, 1966) and at one point I had two dozen regular correspondents. I have kept in touch with several of them, some all along and others through Facebook.
Sadlt, at 73 cents a letter, I think even fewer people will be mailing cards and letters. My late husband was a stamp collector and had boxes of first day cover envelopes, which I'm told have little value as no one collects them any more. Your journals are certainly labors of love.
Pat
Your In The Mail journal is a visual delight. We had some of the stamps shown in your book and others I'm sorry I missed!
Don't you hug yourself when you think about your quilts and these various journals you've made are unique on the whole planet and even the solar system!! Hope you and YM celebrate this wonderful fact.
Hugs!
In The Mailbox has me lost for words Julie! I've so enjoyed looking at each photo with such delights on each page. The quote on the 5th page is oh so true, gone are the days when with great excitement we found a letter in the mail box, I do miss that very much indeed. Emails are all very well and certainly have a place in our present world, but just as with holding a book in our hands and turning the pages rather than sitting reading on a screen, well, just can't be beat!
You have gained a 'follower' for sending Happy Mail again!! Thank you.
I enjoyed seeing all the fun and interesting post-themed bits! This past year I found an old postcard among my family photo collections from a young man who worked on the postal railroad car 100 years or more ago, sorting the mail as it went along on its route. I'll see if I can find the scan to share with you. I think you'd get a kick out of it!
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