Another Mail Art

I am way way behind in getting packages ready to mail. I have several things I need to be packing up and sending on their way. For one thing, it's so expensive to mail packages now that I put it off. I mean to say that a lot of the time the postage or shipping costs more than the item in the package. That's just not right. I love sending cards and trinkets but it's pretty much nearly halted thanks to a tiny fixed retirement income for 2!
Then, too, I love doing the mail art on these packages or envelopes but they get held up until I finally get a brain storm on what art to do! Why can't I just sit down and dash off some great looking, pleasing art that also pertains to the receiving person in some fashion? Yet, other times, I find a certain scrap or image while sorting through and then can't wait for the right package or envelope to do the mail art on! Have I said I worry too much or I'm weird? Oh! What? I don't need to tell you this fact?

So today I'm happy to show another picture of a package with some mail art on it. It's awful how long this sat just because I really wanted to do art on this one. Had to find the right size box and then I had a theme in my head which didn't work at all. But, in the mail I got last week from Emelie, was the perfect napkin that gave me another idea and it fits the person perfectly, too! So here's today's Mail Art photo. I even remembered to scan before the address went on!

I used white freezer paper to wrap the box. Then I used Twinkling H2O's to paint a background. The rest of the picture was done entirely by tearing up one small napkin and rearranging it all and adding a butterfly. Then went back and did the ink work and such. It was a little too big for the scanner so it's not really cut off as it shows in the photo.

Tin Roof & allergies

I wanted to show the results of using alcohol inks on a tin birdhouse roof. It's a tin tile roof with a raised design. It was very easy to do but messy because you can't get into the corners or some low spots with the applicator, so as I said earlier, I took the cotton swab off the applicator and used my fingers to dab. It would probably be a good idea to use rubber gloves! However, I hate wearing gloves for anything, I have to be able to 'feel' what I'm doing. Besides that, until I find new latex free rubber gloves, guess I won't be touching what I have on hand.
I guess after the house is painted and it's put out in the weather for the birds, we'll see how the inks last. I'll probably use outdoor varnish or a spray to protect the whole house and roof when I'm done.

I mentioned in the allergy post that I removed all the erasers from my work areas. However, until getting latex free erasers, one must erase. So I very carefully used the tiny eraser on the end of a mechanical pencil; sheesh.....still got the tingles in my mouth! Night before last I was in the art room and using the computer in there. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard and don't really need a mouse pad BUT I have a darling pad made and sent by a Fairy friend and so I keep it there beside me. After removing the erasers so I wouldn't be touching them, I was still noticing a reaction when I was on that computer or sitting at that table. Not as bad as to the erasers but still a definite reaction. So I went back to the list of latex items to watch for. Sure enough, mouse pads have latex! I took it away and now I feel much better when at that table. Who knew? I've been using that pad for a year!! So sorry, VAL, your pretty birthday fairy mouse pad now resides in the Starock office!!
Do you know that even remote controls have latex? Golly! Do you know how many remotes we have in this house; our coffee table overflows with them!

So here's a few pics of the tin roof. Not sure they really show how pretty it is but you get the idea, if you haven't tried the inks on tin.

More Mail Art

I just sent a small package with some mail art on it. We were exchanging napkins for mixed media art (http://emeliesartandsuch.blogspot.com/ ) so I had a quick idea for her package. This is the gal I just showed in the previous post. I decided she needed to go on a trip so I ripped her away from her confines and made her into mail art. I think she was happy to go on to Emelie. I like how the background changed her into a sassy Tattoo lady.
This was just done using the face done on tracing paper covering my work table, as I had already described and then the added elements are all things I printed,  cut out and collaged together.
Now I need to do another piece of mail art but the graphics I want are bigger than the package! Guess I need to re-size. LOL!
Haven't really done much of anything else. Worked on a idea for a painting or maybe journal page and I've been refurbishing a bird house that got crashed and needs to get back outside. It has a tin roof and I decided to see how alcohol inks worked on it. Turned out really pretty but my finger nails may never be clean again! I couldn't get into the sides and pattern good with the applicator so I pulled the pad off and used it with my fingers. I can say those inks do stain well! Now I have to decide what to paint on the house before nesting time gets here and passes me by. I see some of our birds already looking into houses and Robins and Blackbirds gathering nesting debris. Mr. Buddy Wren hasn't appeared yet and this is his house.....one of his many houses. He's so greedy to show off to his Females that he builds in every house I have out. He did allow Bluebirds to nest last year but there was a heck of a fight, first. Before that chick-a-dee's nested not far from the wrens but not last year.
Here's the Mail art:

Art?

I'm going to come on here one day and just surprise the heck out of everyone and show something really nice......maybe not good but nice.

I did have intentions of starting a mixed media painting 2 days ago! I still haven't because I can't seem to find the right size board. I mean to tell you that there just has to be something laying around here that I can use....really!
So I got 'in a mood' because I couldn't find a suitable surface to get started and retreated to the art room to work on a greeting card. Nothing too daunting or hard about that hey? But, nope, I have a start but for some reason an idea for continuing just isn't jumping out at me. Maybe I'm just trying to do too many different things at once and so accomplishing none? Here's what I have to start the card layout. This is another face (1/2 face) done on tracing paper that covers my work tables. I really have to stop doing that!! I cut her away to use because I really kinda like her even if she's not all there! This is as far as I got so far. I like her on the dots and I wish I had done a whole face. But maybe then she wouldn't have turned out:

Then I sort of gave up doing anything for the rest of the night so watching Idol last night here is what appeared next to my keyboard....on the darn tracing paper once again. This really is just unmindful play and testing of colors and a new pen. Notice one eye so much bigger than the other? Because that's how this started, with a playful folk art eye and as I played, it evolved into this gal who will now keep me company in front of the art room computer!

That's it for today! I think bigger pics show up if you click as per usual. For some reason sometimes they don't and sometimes they're too big. I haven't mastered this photo thing yet.

Discovery

I love spending time browsing my fav blogs and looking at all the wonderful whimsical, beautiful and imaginative art by these artists. Sometimes I learn a thing or 2 or 3 art-wise and every now and then I discover something that just blows me over.
Such was the case today when I was visiting and ogling the art here:
mariapacewynters.wordpress.com . Maria paints with such admirable whimsy and wonder! On one of her posts she was talking about her LATEX allergy and how it changes your life to a degree and how as with other things, people just don't understand it. Maria mentioned a few items containing latex that perked my ears up! Last year I discovered quite by accident that among a list of other things I had a allergy to latex. I never really gave it much more thought; just stayed away from regular band-aids and I know not to be around rubber gloves. But, not even giving it a thought I bought 2 different kinds of masking to use in water colours and for altered books/found words. I found out real quick that I can't even hold the bottle of masking without having a major attack....never mind that the label clearly states it may cause a reaction if allergic to latex. I put those bottles to the side and there they sit until I find someone who wants them. They are evil to me! But since then I've been having regular reactions almost daily, some bad and some just minor. I figured it was Winter, the house is closed up and the allergies to dust, mold, scents etc. are just acting up and no, I'm not going to spend every day dusting! I'll just suffer. Now,  after signing up for several on-line art classes I needed to buy some of the right  needful supplies. Some of the items were simply some different erasers! It was time to learn what eraser to use for the right types of  pencil or charcoal etc. And I've enjoyed using those little rascals and seeing how they work and don't tear my papers or leave smears! What I learned today after being with Maria is that they are making me sick! After reading her mention of erasers, I went and finally did some research and then decided to test myself. I know, dumb thing to do but I needed to know. So I got ahold of that neat little kneaded eraser and molded it a bit and then made pencil lines and erased with it. Before I even got to the erasing part, my lips and mouth were tingling, then around my teeth and I took a massive headache. That pretty much ended my day but told me what I needed to know. Tonight I went around gathering erasers and in just picking them up and placing them in a bag, I was back to tingling and the headache came back. GEEZ!
 Now here's another problem and I can see this one is going to cost some $$. I've  been having a 'underwear' problem with rashes and itching. Turns out that 'undies' and bras also have that nasty latex in the elastic and even cloth covered, it gets you! So that explains the rashes and the itching, making me long to just rip the under garments off! I did some research tonight and you can get latex free undies and bras at a nice price. You can also get latex free erasers!! We won't even mention shoes and a whole list of other items! So, I love Maria's art and I owe her a huge thank you for opening my eyes and causing me to discover why I've had these attacks nearly every day.
I've had allergies for a long time but just in the last year or so, new ones, such as the latex and sulfa, are starting up. It's just weird and rather irritating!

So tomorrow is another day and I'll be wiser. I definitely won't be erasing anything and doubt I'll run any tests on myself either. Didn't accomplish any meaningful art over the week end; I just played and fooled around. I do have a project that I had put to the side and tomorrow I hope to find the right size board and get it started!

Too Funny

Nothing major to say again today but I did just find something that I found funny so thought I'd share. I was talking on the phone, sitting right here at the computer and as usual doodling away....making doodles over my notes and doodles on doodles. You know how it goes and I've shown what happens to my desk pad. It never lasts long. So there I was doodling with the ink pen and pencil, can't stop doing any faces now thanks to Sharon; and trust me, she teaches better faces than this. LOL!
But I went to walk away from the computer and this face caught my eye again and I thought, hey, that's not a girly that's a guy and who does he look like? Tell me if I'm wrong.....Stephen Tyler with maybe a hint of Mick Jagger (love of my life) thrown in. Too funny but thought I'd give everyone a chuckle. I have his 'groupies' down below. They were there waiting for him to appear!
I know, I better go find something to do......

Sometimes

Sometimes a piece of art meant to be just practice and learning turns out surprisingly well and you dare to show it! Such was the scrap art on the waxed paper. Today I'll show a page from a little sketch book. I did it while watching the Nascar race and then the Award show last night. This started out a few nights ago just sketching some small faces but then I started to add color and play.....ended up playing a bit too much and I just never could pull the whole page together. But staying with showing the Good, the Bad and the Ugly....I'm showing it.
The faces were done in pencil and started out not too bad, then used derwent watercolour pencils to lay down some color. It wasn't going too bad until I got the paper too wet (remember it's a sketchbook; not meant for wet work) and it started to rip apart layers. Then, too, as I continued to lay on color and blend the facial features kept growing. Sheesh! I finally added some ink lines; only of course I didn't pay attention and grabbed the wrong size pen so the first lines were too thick. Switched pens and gave them some hair. Then I was just going to do another line of faces but decided the page needed some background color even if it wasn't meant to be seen, just drawing faces. I got the Twinkling H20 paint and added color to the page. Thought then it looked like sky and clouds.....forgot I was just going to practice faces and added some strips of script.....didn't like the strips but too late because they were glued in place....still forgetting I was going to do more faces, I grabbed a new bird stamp and put birds above the faces and started to give them some color with derwents and markers, added some leaves and then had this thought.....those pretty little birds are going to be pooping on the little heads below! Too late now! I added the napkin border top and bottom, added dots and then the words because it needed something up there and finished with butterfly. I never did get to practice another line of faces. So it goes......next time!!