Tag Archives: mail art

Sep 07 2012
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little red toolbox

my little red toolbox | kai scissors

It wasn’t hard to choose the first tool to feature from my little red toolbox. My love for my Kai Detail Scissors is unmatched. I cut a lot of tiny things for mail art and other projects and my old kitchen scissors weren’t cutting it (pun intended…couldn’t resist). My hand would get all cramped, my cutting lines were all jagged and quite frankly, I dreaded having to cut anything. Then, I was exposed to Kai Scissors by an old manager at our local paper store. These scissors are absolutely dreamy! They cut really smoothly and easily and they are tiny and pointy, which makes them great for cutting little detailed objects (like forks and flying men from a Trader Joe’s bag and washi tape banners) and they are comfortable to hold (which is completely necessary when you are doing a lot of cutting). Kai Scissors are made in Japan and the blades are hand balanced and hand polished. And, in case Naoto decides to use my precious paper scissors to cut open a potato chip bag (he knows better…now…), the blades can be sharpened if they get dull. I ordered my Kai Scissors at KaiScissors.com. They offer free shipping and a very good price. Mine are the N5135 model, and though they say they are for embroidery, they’ve worked like a dream for me in paper crafts for over a year now. Yay for tiny cutting with ease!

*This and all posts about my little red toolbox are not sponsored posts. I just thought it would be fun to share my favorite tools for paper crafting! Don’t know about my little red toolbox? Go here!

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Aug 31 2012
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crafty adventures, little red toolbox

my little red toolbox

My dad gave me this toolbox awhile ago after I bombarded him with links to several expensive ones from Etsy. I knew he had one or a dozen to spare and when he offered up the red one, I was thrilled. I love it’s scratchy paint and well-placed rust. I love that it has a tiny tray inside for little bits and a large compartment on the bottom (for big bits?) Until now, this toolbox was holding my giant pen collection, some frequently used erasers and some infrequently used watercolors. Now that my toolbox is going to move into the new (ok, halfway-finished) office area, I’ve decided that it should hold something else.

You see, I am a total disaster. I am completely unorganized and messy. I take after my dad in this sense. My mom is completely organized and tidy…and she–like Naoto with me–fights a losing battle with trying to keep my dad organized. And I often find myself searching for my most frequently used tools–the tools I need to paper craft or make mail art. Instead of putting them away where they belong, these tools often get shoved on the guest bed or in a drawer in the frenzy of tidying up for guests. I’m hoping that having a dedicated crafting space (instead of the kitchen island or the dining table) helps with this problem…but in case it doesn’t, I’ve come up with a fool-proof system just in case my disastrous ways don’t change.

I’m going to use the little red toolbox to hold all of my most frequently-used paper crafting tools. It’s big enough to hold all of my favorites, and small enough that I can leave it on my desk (or take it on crafting adventures). I will always put my tools away. And, in another irregularly regular blog feature (like this one and this one) I am planning to share all of my favorite paper crafting tools.*

In the meantime, a place for everything and everything in its place…

*Hopefully each Friday starting next week can be dedicated to the little red toolbox…and hopefully I can get back on track with posting about the apartment on Thursdays…I’m going to try to make it happen!

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Aug 28 2012
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crafty adventures, snail mail

mail art with a trader joe’s bag

We have a LOT of Trader Joe’s bags around here. I know, I know…we SHOULD be taking our many reusable bags to the store, but somehow, we always forget. Or they are in the car and we are walking… We always reuse our bags. Some hold donations ready for Goodwill, some hold recycling, some go back to the store for another round. We still have a lot though. Then one day I was noticing the fun, foodie graphics on the bag and I thought hmmmm….mail art!

All I needed were my tiny scissors and a glue stick, but I added some gold stars, rubber stamping and washi tape (of course!)

Donovan’s letter is ready to go, because I had a fun stamp for it (silverware with silverware). I have a ton of the Pioneers of American Industrial Design stamps, and I find that they work on almost any letter.

My mom is a tea drinker, so I thought she might enjoy the tea envelope. I wanted to use the 5 cent teapot stamp on it (you know, to beat the theme to death), so I just used a mishmash of stamps that added up to forty-five cents (although, I bet she enjoyed the Foxglove stamp!)

I haven’t decided who will be the recipient of the “man” envelope yet…but I do know he won’t be going in the mail until this stamp is in my hands. I’m loving that ship!

Not bad for a humble grocery bag.

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Jul 24 2012
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Honor Flight Chicago, snail mail

Under a pile of mail

I had some other posts planned for this week, but my volunteer stuff is kicking my butt again. I wish I wasn’t such a procrastinator on the weeks that are empty…it would make these weeks that are full of work and volunteering a little less “full”. Oh, and our apartment is a mess! Mail everywhere, craft projects everywhere, newspapers, laundry and new furniture…YES! I said new furniture! We are moving full speed ahead on finishing the messy side of the living room! It’s so exciting, and scary at the same time. (Will everything look okay together? Will it fill up the space, or crowd the space? Do I need a rug there? What about art? These questions paralyze me…)

So, I thought I would share the Honor Flight Chicago Mail Call letters above. Most of the mail the veterans receive is pretty standard–a plain white letter, a plain card, maybe a few patriotic stickers. But when a letter has vintage postage, I take a moment and enjoy it. That 1942 “Win the War” stamp (top letter, left side, purple with a V and an eagle) is one of my favorites and I love that early stamps were very monochromatic…so lovely. I have a few old stamps, and this makes me want to break them out and use them on a special letter. Do you use vintage postage on your letters?

 

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Jul 19 2012
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snail mail

washi mail

I’ve been behind in my correspondence lately. To remedy that, I spent a day writing letters and making mail for some new and old pen pals. It felt so good to drop these in the mailbox this week! Now, as the mail for the next Honor Flight rolls in, maybe some mail will roll in for me, too!

To get a letter, write a letter!

Pigeon stamp from the LWA, You Are Here stamp from Elise Blaha Cripe’s (now closed) pop-up shop, Hello stamp from Michaels, washi tape from various sources

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May 01 2012
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snail mail

Letter Writing Social

This weekend, I went to another letter writing social hosted by the Letter Writers Alliance. I try to go as often as possible…because I like writing letters and seeing other people who do too, and because seeing other people creating mail art inspires me to do create some myself. I cranked out four letters during the social, and another one yesterday morning and plopped them all into the mail box this morning. Two letters, just because, to my sister-in-law and my dear friend, one pen pal letter, one overdue thank you and one letter to include with some recipes that I could have emailed (but it was way more fun writing them out on old fashioned recipe cards!)

Other than letter writing, it’s been pretty quiet around here. I’m trying to reclaim the guest room and dining room from the Honor Flight mail call mess. Oh, and my own mess.

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