Sunday 22 September 2013

Mail (He)Art

I thought I would do a little mail art, not that these will get posted, they are demo samples. But they 'could' be posted.

I started by making some paint sprays using Fresco paints and a little water.


Then I needed some sturdy envelopes. Board backed envelopes are perfect for this as they can take a lot of wet media, but really any envelope will do, some are just stronger than others. 

I used plain old white envelopes, but to make them stronger I slipped a piece of scrap white card inside before I sealed them up.

the point of mail art is to decorate the envelope and post it.. it has to go through the postal system to be considered mail art. You do not put stuff inside. I know it is tempting to send a little something along with it, but it's not necessary. Also to add bits inside means that the envelope has to be opened, and thus the decoration is ruined. 

So just seal it up and decorate it then post it. 


I sprayed, stamped and stencilled..


I added white gesso, then more stencilling, then I used the bubble heart from EDY01 and the text heart to create a flower. The cog heart from EDY02 became the leaves. 


Finally I used gesso to white out an area for the address and the postage stamp. Adding in some dotted lines for the address. 



close up of the flower..with a little treasure gold added. 



also treasure gold added to the edges..



this is the back..


and here are some more..

FRONT..

BACK..

FRONT..

BACK..

DETAILS..

FRONT..


BACK..


FRONT..


BACK..




How much fun is it to receive your mail like this, why don't you give it a try. Surprise a friend by sending them some mail art. 

Darcy.x


P.S. My stamps are now available in 4 shops, see all their LINKS HERE...



17 comments:

  1. Oooh love the bumping on, looks fab.

    Great experimenting!!

    Sam xxx

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  2. I love it Darcy! I've seen mail art but never sent any... I might just have to now! xxx

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  3. I love these Darcy they are brilliant..perhaps we should start up something where the patwits can send mail art to eachother kinda like a secret santa....

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  4. Darcy brilliant project. I have never seen these before. Well I am new to this world of creation lol.

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  5. Why don't we do some mail art using your stamp sets and post to other Darcy stamp owners, too twee an idea? Would enjoy taking part in something like this :-)

    Stunning mail art Darcy & a clear explanation of what it is about. Learnt something new today:-)

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  6. Wonderful mail art, Darcy... not sure I knew you were meant to just send an empty envelope, lol! These look gorgeous.

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  7. These are brilliant Darcy and thanks for the explanation of what mail art is. I've always wondered. As for your stamps ..... at least one set is on my list for The Dome!

    Hugs
    Lesley Xx

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  8. Fabby dooo! Can't wait to get my hands on mine and try some of this!!

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  9. Love the stamps and I love these envelopes, such a good idea to make somebody's day.xx

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  10. Love these, think I will have have a got at this. Would be good to have a PATwits challenge

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  11. great mail art! just love the designs and colors. so glad I found you because I visit PA all the time and would love to order all your stamps. The prices of the stamps are worth it, but the shipping takes the price way way up there. You have inspired me and I will have to visit on a daily basis. thanks.

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  12. They are gorgeous!!

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  13. Fabulous - I can see that this can be definitely addictive

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  14. Thank you so much for your wonderful inspiration. Your blog is a real treat to read and really inspires my creativity. I hadn't heard of mail art before - it's such a lovely idea, and your mail art is just incredible! The only question is - can we UK girlies let go of our creations into the hands of Royal Mail?!!

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  15. Hi Darcy,
    I found your lovely blog thanks to Sara @ Cardmaking Paradise,(thank you Sara) and although I have heard and seen some examples in magazines of Mail Art before, I have never tried it. So am delighted to be joining in with Sara's swap this month. You blog is a delight to have found and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your gorgeous creations. I can see not only Mail Art becoming an addiction but popping into visit you here on your blog will be too. Thank you for this inspiring post.
    Warmest best wishes from across the miles in France.
    Susanne

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