Mary's duct tape journal

Another stunning journal for the swap.

This one is from Mary at Joyful Ploys

 Loving that paper cut out on the left.

 Lots more deliciousness inside:

Christine's duct tape journal

Christine's journal has a wonderful hand painted cover.

and I love having a translucent page or two in a journal.

(and the page on the left is a paper towel- great idea!)

See the details here:

It's a great size to slip in your purse, or even your back pocket.

Liz's duct tape journals

Yes, that's right.  Journals.  plural.

You people say that I have a lot of energy, but seriously, I don't think Liz sleeps.

Her blog is a non-stop party of color and energy.

She's been on a journal making spree for months now, so it shouldn't have surprised me when she sent me THREE duct tape journals.

Just look at these painted covers!

and here's a sampling of inside pages from each book:

I captured all three journals in a single video.

Lots of loveliness!

A Giveaway!

The response to Mail Me Some Art has been so wonderful, it's time for a little giveaway to thank all you swappers!

I've loved these books for a long time:

 The first book in the series, Griffin & Sabine, was published in 1991.  It tells a haunting love story through illustrated correspondence.  Nick Bantock's art is extraordinary, and the story telling is clever and engaging.  The pages feature the fronts and backs of the postcards sent between the title characters.

  Some of the pages even have envelopes with letters that you pull out and read.

 

Bantock went on to write five more books in this style, each continuing Griffin and Sabine's adventures.

When I found five of the six books at the library book sale for a pittance, I knew I had to buy them, even though I already own them. I knew I'd find the right person to give them to.

That's where you come in.

I can't think of anyone who would appreciate these books more than this group of art and mail lovers.  Sadly, there will only be one winner.

So what do you need to do to win these fabulous books?

1.  Participate in any of the swaps I hosted in 2012 (past, present, or future)

2.  leave your name here in the comment section of this post.

What's that you say?  You've been lurking and haven't joined a swap yet?

It's not too late!

There are three more open swaps this year:  bookmarks, postcard and gift tags.

No time like the present - jump right in.

And spread the word.  Anyone who swaps in 2012 and leaves a comment on this post is eligible to win.

I will draw the winner December 1st. 

edit:  if you are having trouble commenting, send me an email to iamrushmore@gmail.com.  Blogger can be really weird about comments from non-bloggers.  some people can post anonymously, some can't.  I'm never sure why that is.  If you're unable to comment but have participated in swaps and want to be in the drawing, let me know. 

Spooky ATCs - part 2

Here are three totally wonderful and creepy ATCs from Katie

I think this is the last of the ATCs.

If you've sent some and haven't seen them posted, let me know.

Bookmarks - part one

Let's take a quick time out from all those wonderful duct tape journals to look at the beautiful bookmarks that have been coming in.

Andria made these two bookmarks:

 

and since both sides of Andria's are so beautiful, I'll show you the other side too:

These two are from Barbara S, who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time yesterday.  Such a pleasure to meet art friends in person and create together.  She was as lovely as her bookmarks.

 

These three are from Carroll.  They are transparent. With stitching. And butterflies.  very cool.

 Next are Janet's bookmarks  (both fronts and backs)

 

 

 These three beauties are from Jo:

 

 These two are from Lynn, and she included a list of some of her favorite books. (great idea!)

 

Ungala loved this swap so much she made four.

 

You've got until Saturday November 3rd to make and mail some bookmarks. Wouldn't one of these look great sticking out of your favorite art book?

April's duct tape journal

The talented April Cole sent this journal.

The cover appears to be layered and painted masking tape.

It's got great texture.

 Don't you love those little heart tabs?

The video shows off all the cool stencils on the pages
 

April has great pictures of these pages on her blog.

Cal's duct tape journal

 You know how excited I get when new people find the blog and join the swaps...

Here's a journal from first time MMSA swapper, Cal.

 Cal's pages are sprinkled with great rubber stamps and tapes.

take a peek:

Cal's been doing mail art since the pre-internet days.

(remember those?)

She didn't give me a link to a blog or flickr or anything, but lucky me, I have her address.

Watch your mailbox, Cal!

I'm always happy to make new mail-art friends.

Dori's duct tape journal

Look at Dori's journal with that wonderful closure:

 The painted pages inside are heavenly, and many of the edges have cool cut-outs.

 take a closer look:

Fantastic work!

Caitlyn's duct tape journal

Caitlyn's sweet little journal is packed with goodness.

 There's a nice mix of hand painted papers and interesting book pages and little embellishments.

 In the video, watch for the painting of the woman with the purple hair.  It's awesome.

Check out Caitlyn's blog: My Brain and Other Curiosities

Terrie's duct tape journal

Our next featured journal comes from Terrie at Creative Explorer

Look at those little flaps hanging out.

This book just begs to be opened.

 Inside there are pockets and tags and paint and tape:

 In this video, you not only get to see Terrie's amazing book, but I think you get to hear my husband walking around the house talking, ostensibly to me, but actually to himself, as he never requires, or even expects, a response.

Gorgeous journal, Terrie.

Update on incoming and outgoing

I hadn't been to the Post Office in several days and so there was a ton of mail waiting for me this morning.

My postal friend, Ike, said "you're going to have to start bringing a wagon."

I spent some time getting organized today, taking pictures, updating lists and sorting envelopes into different baskets according to the swap.

Outgoing:

 I sent out the painted papers today, and boy-oh-boy I think you swappers are going to be really happy with your packages.  It was so much fun seeing them spread all over my dining room table while I was sorting them into envelopes.

And speaking of fun,

here are a whole bunch of duct tape journals.

Want to come over for a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and browse through them all?

I've been uploading videos all afternoon and they will all eventually be posted.

Incoming:

If you're concerned that I haven't received your swap item, let me give you the list of what's come in so far:

ATCs

Katie

Chris

Barbara D.

Ellen

Lee

Jean

Jo

Duct Tape Journals

April

Christine

Mary

Cal

Dori

Terrie

Caitlyn

Cynthia

Sherry

Carlene

Tammy

Leslie

Andria

Lynn

Pamela

Malinda

Bookmarks

Andria

Lynn

Janet

Carroll

Ungala

Jo

Barbara S.

Tags

Andria

Robin

With so many fabulous items, it's taking me a while to get all the pictures posted.  I didn't want you worrying that your art was lost in the mail.

Keep those goodies coming!

There's still plenty of time to join the Bookmark, Gift Tag and "Thankful" Postcard swaps.