Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Chinatown is abustle with CNY preparations. After a walk along Jackson Street, I was inspired to make a batch of bright cards.

Unicorn

I received a card from a Postcrosser in Germany. She asked for a card in return. When I looked at her profile I learned that she loves unicorns. So this afternoon I made her a unicorn card. I colored a unicorn on my computer and printed it on transparency. I used glitter glue and confetti on the body of the card, then trapped them under the transparency. I adhered some shiny borders, used a rubber stamp, doodled with a colored pencil and fixed all under gloss tape.

Milkbox Card

This fabulous card is from Postcrosser Henna Syrjala of Luohua, Finland. She made it from a milk carton and paperboard - all recycled! She affixed two lovely stamps in the back too - one of a sailboat moored near stone walls and a reddish cow, reflecting the milk theme. I love it!

"Gods of Our Time"

I've become penpals w/ Postcrosser Anu Vatto of Finland. Off and on we exchange handmade postcards. This one arrived yesterday. Anu called this card "Gods of Our Time" and she used many kinds of pens, watercolors, stamps, stickers and the registered tradmark of Fruit of the Loom from her teeshirt. Her favorite "God" is Ms. Kitty in the corner. I rather love Ganesh, the Elephant God myself! The postcard arrived with 2 pretty stamps - one of small blue flowers and the other of a Finnish food table.

Mailart Call for Entry in Caillouel, France!

I received this call for entry in my other mailart blogsite, http://wcaartwavesinternational.blogspot.com/. Since that site is for another organization, I will post this call here. I checked out their site: http://projetartpostalrecyclage2008.blogspot.com/. They already have a large number of interesting entries.

Hello,We have a new mailart project for 2007/2008, can you translate and put this project in your blog ?Thanks a lot.

Theme: You have two possibilities: In the first, your mail art may be on the topic of recycling.

Secondly, your mail art may be on the topic of your choice but created only with materials which have been reused, in order to create a "recycled" work.

Format et technique: free.Documentation: catalog to all participants and online with weekly updates at PROJET D'ART POSTAL 2007/2008 - LE RECYCLAGE http://projetartpostalrecyclage2008.blogspot.com/

Deadline to be received: June 15, 2008.PROJET RECYCLAGE 2007/2008ECOLE PRIMAIRE MIXTE02300 CAILLOUEL-CREPIGNYFrance

2008 Year of the Rat!

New Year collage postcards from two friends.

Lubeck Postcrosser

Received this sweet collage card from Grt in Lubeck, an "old Hanseatic town." It's a collage with impressions of her hometown and includes pictures of her rabbits Phoebe and Merlin.

Calendar from Janet

Received this lovely desktop calendar from Janet Heritage of Denver, CO. The month of August is Janet's collage!

Year of the Rat

Three New Year cards I picked up in Japan in December. I like simple graphic design cards but there were many types, ranging from Mickey Mouse to sumie. Traditionally greetings & messages are written on the front of the card rather than on the back. There is ample white space allocated to the cardface for this purpose. The back is reserved for the recipient's address.

Snowflake

I received this lovely snowflake Christmas card from Jacqueline. She also added a rat stamp in the back signifying the Year of the Rat, which starts tomorrow!

Red Mail Boxes in Australia

These 2 photos of Australian mail boxes were sent by Yvonne Frindle. She took them on her way back from visiting her parents during Boxing Day. The bottom one is a lovely old-fashioned mail box, rare now except in certain places like Sydney. She sent the photo of a modern box above it as a comparison. Thank you Yvonne for these wonderful pictures!

Christmas Collage

I received this lovely Christmas collage from Anu Vatto of Finland. I love the piece of cinnamon she adhered next to Santa and all the kitties. She's a Postcrosser and she and I have exchanged a number of cards - handmade and otherwise.

Mail from Ryosuke Cohen

On Christmas Eve, I received an envelope from Ryosuke Cohen of Osaka, Japan, who has an ongoing mailart project called Brain Cell Fractal. I'm not a participant in this mailart exchange and so was surprised and delighted when I unfolded the large sheet of stamps and stickers. It was the best kind of Christmas surprise. I will send him stickers in 2008. Those interested in the Brain Cell Fractal project can visit Ryosuke Cohen's website at: http://www.h5.dion.ne.jp/~cohen/info/ryosukec.htm.

Little Multicolored Sock

Received this fabulous handknit sock card from Postcrosser "Hella" in Germany. Her hobby, like mine, is knitting socks!

Minimalist

Quite a minimalist mail box in Fukugawa.

Red Stars, Red Threads

A fabulous eco-card from Postcrosser Thomasina of Australia. The card is made of rice paper, crochet cotton, Australian film, TV & radio school compliments slip.

Little Red in Iki

Found this little red mail box just outside the ferry building on Iki Island, Kyushu. Iki is infamous for the slaughter of dolphins but for Japanese tourists, it's known for ancient burial mounds, WW2 bomb shelters, a rock outcropping shaped like an ape, sea urchins and some stone children facing the sea.

Fukugawa Mailbox

Fukugawa is a small town in Kyushu that offers boatrides along the river. The oarsman steers the boat along narrow canals and sings folk songs. It's the Japanese version of the Venetian gondoliers. The boat has a table running through the center and people sit on either side. I saw schoolgirls writing poems on board. Fukugawa is also famous for its grilled eel. The whole town smells of sweet soy and grilled fish. This mailbox was on a house by the the river.

Recycled Collaged Postcards

Collaged from Easter Seals and Boystown Stamps
Vintage Gameboard Piece
Recycled children's books
Found in free bin of garage sale

Four interesting cards made of recycled materials from J. Heritage.

Gorgeous ATC

Another lovely surprise from J Heritage. This one is a metallic, collaged ATC.