How Does Your Creative Process Work?

My Journey  Exploring the Creative Process

I have decided that I want to work on my (lack of )  watercolor skills!  I thought simple projects would fit the bill....and so the humble postcard it is.   I mainly get my ideas for watercolors from what's around me...or good ol' Pinterest!  Until I learn the techniques...I will need to study other works and then go from there.

These are my favorite from the last bunch that I did.  I did spray them with a water color sealer. Warning:  It takes a few weeks before the odor evaporates,  These were painted on Cotton Arches and credit goes to Pinterest.

I'm trying not to waste my watercolor paper and so I "practice up" first.  My first attempt at the study  is in my  mixed-media sketchbook.  After sketching the picture,  I work on painting it.

I do another run of the same painting in my Traveler's notebook.  

Haha...I make mistakes everywhere!   Seems I don't know how to spell "December"!

But, three attempts is not always a charm!  My post cards of my winter catus...turned out to be quite disappointing.  I totally forgot what perspective I was working on...haha!   I even  tried covering up my mistake with a label!  It's all good...I send them to my twin sister and ya know what?  She doesn't care!!! ;-)

I thought I would share with you some of the books that I find helpful for learning to sketch and watercolor techniques.  This book is definitely a keeper!  You won't waste a cent on this book.  It's also a great primer on plein air painting as well.  I am not in the practice of carrying around a sketchbook, or doing a "sketch-a-day" but I would love to start getting into that habit. What about you?  Do you add watercolor or other medium to your snailmail?  

A Sketch A Day

Will Keep

Mistakes

Away!

Pam 

A little Christmas Holiday Cheer!

Christmassy Outgoing Postcards....

Hi EVERYONE!!!!!  Just sharing a little bit of what I just sent out to all of my local yokel friends and family (stateside, not international!)  I normally send postcards out to my international  postcrossing community...but instead I sent locally...why not?  So, in addition to the  "real" Christmas mail...my token family picture card...I thought I'd send out some fun stuff!  YAY for me!  :-)

I thought I'd do a flat lay , so you could see the different stamps I used.  Some of them are such cute vintage ones...that I hated saying goodbye to them.   But, I do hope they bring a bit of a smile on the receiver's face! Some of the stamps are not Christmas stamps (like the West Virginia and Alabama. state stamps, and the traffic light!) , but have a prominent red and or green.   

Hoping your Holidays are

Bright and Cheery

Love to you

Always,

Pam

Pen Pal Kit

Incoming Snail Mail!!!

YEEEHAAAAAhhhhh!!!

Can y'all tell that I am getting ready to go to TEXAS?  That means working on all my TEXAS lingo. And I am ready and rarin' to go!  Hmmmm....that gets me thinking!  I should get some penpals in the general area so I can do a penpal meet up with my Texan snailmail lovin' community! I am able to wrangle out a few letters from kinfolk...,but bless their hearts, its like they get fixin to write...but lose heart.  Anyway...if any of you kind hearted Texan folk want to write me, leave a comment.  Especially if you live in the Dallas, or Sherman area....I'd like that more than you could shake a stick at!

Oh, but back to my blog post.  Above is my recent  postcrossing incoming.  Two are not shown...they got left on a counter somehow.  I love the stamps, and all the nice little notes.   It really does make a sad mailbox happy to get all of these.  So now, it is time for me to go on and get my next batch of addresses. I think I will be doing about 10 or 20 a month.  The above picture gives you a hint of where I live!  This was a  record snowfall that we received here in the "gateway to the south"!  It was great fun getting snowed in...drinking hot chocolate by the gallon, sitting by the fireplace...

And admiring my incoming mail on my nice cleaned up desk.  

Hope you are enjoying this day

where ever you may be

Go and make /send 

some good mail

today!

Pam

Pen Pal Kit

This Little Mail Man...Snail Mail Postal Theme

Who Wouldn't Like to receive this cutie in the mail? 

I absolutely LOVED receiving this super creative , vintage postal themed envelope and long, chatty letter. This was from a pal  I met at the DC Postal Meet Up, organized by Global Pen Pal!  Carrie is a great creative talent in the snail mail community.  You can follow her work on Instagram:  

Carriejojo212. She pumps out mail like no one's business, and ALL of it good mail!

Urgent!!!  I needed to get something out to Carrie...and I decided to  continue the vintage postal theme!  I grabbed one of my vintage children's readers and  was thrilled to find a picture of "Mr. Postman"!!   Then I had to get out my post office stamps, and vintage stamps...and here you have it!

And this cute photo  as a pair!  Yay!  We LOVE our post women AND men!

Happy Snail Mailing,

Pam

*Available In My Shop*

Pen Pal Kit

Pen Pal Letter Set

Pat Mail....Let The CRAZINESS Begin..

SNAIL MAIL AT ITS BEST

HELLO, RVA!

Everyone needs a crazy, wacky sister like mine.  Oh, and to top it off, she is my identical TWIN  sister.  Of course that doesn't make me crazy or wacky....ha! This summer she came for a visit, taking the Amtrak down to my neck of the woods...Richmond , VA.  When she came to town, I had already planned each and every day with something she hadn't already done in the Richmond and surrounding areas.  We had a blast...and she was so sweet to send me a thank you card(s) with her very cool graphic art and watercolor.

Are you ready?  Dare to open?  I did.

First, THANKS!!  For what?

Our first trip was downtown Richmond for an electric bike tour of historic Church Hill.  We had a great tour guide and it was absolutely fantastic,  everyone needs to check out their local e-bike tours!

One day was spent at the Jefferson for high tea!  You can read all about it here:High Tea At The Jefferson  .  You will have to google why the alligator is in the picture.  It figures into the history of the Jefferson Hotel.

And then the obligatory family time!  And that is no small feat getting 10 children, 4 spouses,  and 11 (now 12) grand kids all together! And just so you know, no babies were injured or harmed in the "baby lift" competitions.  Brandon of course, rocked it!

We had so much fun researching the type of coconut (4 layer originally) cake that my grandmother used to make --circa 1920's?.  We had narrowed it down to about 8 different recipes online, and finally think that we found THE ONE!  Here is the recipe we settled on: Grandma's Coconut Cake.   It was amazing....and so much fun to make with Pat.  Thanks, Pat, for taking over the grating of the coconut!

Ah, then the interesting trip to Petersburg Virginia.  Petersburg has a fantastic  Civil War history and the city is amazing to visit...but be warned!  Since the town has suffered almost total bankruptcy this past year , the tourism industry has been completely annihilated!  First stop to the Visitor Center?  Closed!  Museums?  Closed!  The historic area is like a ghost town!  One saving grace was our luncheon at the Dixie Restaurant!  Great small  town vibes, super friendly service, and we were told ahead of time about the heavenly "Spoon Bread" which was literally "to die for!"  Great place, I highly recommend.   Then it was on to the national battlefield to see the "Battle of the Crater"...my young uns that we took were not really impressed.  I think you have to be an adult to appreciate this interesting bit of history.  But, there too, the museum was CLOSED!  Ugh, arrrrgh!

Richmond, Virginia is home to one of the only two, URBAN  level 5 white water rafting in the country!  So off we went to try our hand at it!  Ha, ha, the pictures are ACCURATE!  We lost Pat and my son Benji on the first rapid into the water!  We had to go into rescue mode immediately! Thankfully we all made it through the rapids without loss of limb or life!  It was an experience of a lifetime.  

Hi Lydia!  We had some swim time in the river which was great on the sweltering day we happened to be on the James River.

Such fun mail!  Thank YOU Pat for keeping the memories alive, even more so than the photos that we took.  What a great week, with this mail I will  always look back with a smile.

I hope you have enjoyed this travelog , maybe you can go out and explore your own city too.

Happy Snail Mailing,

Pam

*Available In My Shop*

Pen Pal Letter Set Kit

Incoming Snail Mail, and Louvre Art

Mail Art in Progress...

I've had some lovely incoming mail lately!  It was time to get working on some return mail!

Here is some Mona Lisa mail that I sent out to Patti.  I used some collage techniques on this envelope.

Kim is getting this letter from me.  It is another piece I cut out of my Louvre book of art.  I don't remember who the artist is...but I do like this painting.   I tried to pick up on the pale pink of the bow in the stamps.  

Still a lot more outgoing to get working on!  What are you working on?  Let me know!

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam

Incoming Happy Mail from Patti!

Incoming:Vintage, Postal Themed Mail!

The envelope was only the start to a wonderful what was to come!

Just look at this gorgeous hand made, zippered pouch from the Tim Holtz postal fabric made by my new instagram friend, Patti! Super for keeping a stash of postal goodies , especially good for on the run letter writing! You can find her on instagram as:  pmarti5.  You'll want to check her out, she makes fabulous mail art!

The note card is so amazing!  Made of thick , cotton-y like paper...lovely!  And write back...I did!  You'll see my letter to Patti in a future post.

Coming soon!  A photo tour of my recent trip to the National Postal Museum  (Washington DC) with new friends that I have made on Instagram.    Stay tuned!

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam

Flipping Out With Flip Books!

This is a good way to flip out....

I guess this is my signature flip book style.  I like it because it is a nice simple project...not overly involved, and something that I can approach without  hesitation.  I usually set aside time to make the skeleton's  and then they are ready to decorate  when I am ready or when inspiration strikes!

Here is what it looks like when unfolded.  I make them all different, none of them are the same.

Ha, ha, I love this rubber stamp!  I know.  Random.   Do you have a collection of stationery, note cards?  I am a huge stationery fan, and miss the days of wandering through the Japanese stationery shops in my youth.  They were so interesting, fascinating and just a wonderland!  This summer , I plan to make a few discovery ventures to the local stationery shops in my region.  What summer plans do you have?  

One last thing!  I am having my BIG , all-store , SALE!  This starts today at 10:00 !  So head on over  to the sale!  Etsy: LostArtRevived 

Happy snail mailing!

Pam

Incoming Snail Mail: Cute Pink Flip Book

Here is a recent batch of incoming mail.  Isn't it lovely?  I love each and every letter.  I am still behind on replies, but I am working on them, steady, steady  (wins the race)!

 

This delightful letter came with some beautiful stamps, in a clear cello envelope.  Next was the pretty gold foil envelope-- it was like unwrapping a gift under the tree!

What a lovely pink flip book!

Here is the first page flipped open.  Filled with all sorts of goodness and such a pretty pastel palate.

Opening the nest flap  revealed more goodness.

Ah.  The letter.  The "cherry on top"!

Stickers, flower punches, my, my!  I'll have to double check to make sure I have not missed a thing!

 

I will make use of all these cute enclosures.  They are such fun to use or pass on!

All opened up!

Here is a look at the back of this pretty in pink flip book.  A nice assortment of tags tucked away. 

Thank you for such adorable "happy mail"!  I will definitely be working on some happy mail to send your way as well.  And I hope that everyone reading this has had a lovely day of mail as well.

Don't forget, as Pamela at cappuccinoandartjournal reminds us:  "To GET good mail, you need to SEND good mail. "

So go ahead, send out some "good mail" today!

Pam

Snail Mail Frugal Finds...

Dollar Tree Score!!!!

Ok.  I'm all about FRUGAL finds and I'm sure you are too!  I recently found these  items at the Dollar Tree, and quickly snatched them up.  I love the washitape...it is so vintage-y, right?   The calendars are nice and have a retro feel, great for envelope making.  The thing about the Dollar Tree is this:  get it when it is there, because the following week it won't be there!

Look at this spring-themed washi tape!  The labels are so cute....love!

My last great find at the Dollar Tree was this book that has been on my NTB (need to buy) list!

Don't pass up the book section at the Dollar Tree....they sell NY Times best sellers there for a dollar.  This book is a gorgeous hardback with dust jacket, 463 pages, great photos...retails for $27.50, and I got mine for $1!!!  I can't wait to read it all from cover to cover-- will do over Christmas break.

Enjoy the nice cold blast of ARTIC , Canadian (a nice gift from our friends to the North!) weather that is headed our way!  I find that letter writing is the BEST indoor activity to do when looking for ways to unplug from your devices.  It would be a great time to get a Letter Writing Social organized.  So gather your friends together , ok maybe after the holidays,  and gather supplies and have a great time pumping out letters.  

And for all you lovers of a good deal, ALL of my letter writing kits are ON SALE now through Christmas.  If you purchase a complete kit (excludes the mini kits) you will receive  a free pencil bag/pouch.  You can just message me a description of any of the pencil pouches ( I have more that are not in the picture) in my Etsy store and I will include it in your order.  This is good until the 20th.  

So keep on writing letters.  And for all of you waiting for a reply to your letter that you sent me, it is in the Que, I am working and getting through them.  I will be all caught up by the end of the year, to get my slate clean.

Send a Letter today!

Pam