Feeling the Mail Art Love

There's really nothing quite like opening the mailbox and seeing a hand-painted envelope, an altered postcard, a foreign stamp, or a big puffy package waiting to be opened.

I've been feeling the mail art love over the past couple of weeks, and wanted to give you a peek into the postbox:

I have a new British swap partner named Sue, who sent me this fun painted and collaged postcard for our first exchange:

I received this gorgeously decorated envelope from Robin in New Zealand, filled with a letter and a stack of scrapbook/Smash book-style embellishments for my art journal and mail art:

This beautifully painted and stamped envelope came from Betsy right here in Pennsylvania.  We were supposed to meet up at the CREATE Art Retreat back in July, but never made the connection.  She sent along some fun postage stamps and air mail labels that will soon be making their appearance in all of the air mail I need to be sending out to my swap partners!

I was so happy to hear from Eli again, from Argentina.  She renewed our swapping partnership with a fun collection of ephemera:

And, finally, the ever-generous and thoughtful Mary sent me a BIG collection of Christmas goodies--old cards, tags, gift bags, rub-ons, and lots and lots of stickers.  She included several pages of these way-cool puffy stickers that took me right back down memory lane to my elementary-school sticker collection:

As always, I am so grateful for my long-distance friends, and for the way people continue to reach out in creativity and generosity to maintain our on-line, artful friendships.