#Cre8time play and a Collage-a-Palooza of Mail Art with Unruly Paper Arts

Hello everyone! Today I have my first "Thoughtful Abstractions" column published today over at the Unruly Paper Arts Blogozine. I am sharing a review of Altered Pages collage images and this Mail Art for this month's theme "Mail Art and Moos". I have to say that for me creating mail art and ATCs are a bit of an addiction and I love to get all of my supplies out and play. Please CLICK HERE to read my first column at Unruly Paper Arts.

With my column, I've created some mail art to coincide with the April theme, "Mail Art and Moo's". I've selected some Altered Pages collage sheets and created this whimsical mail art using envelopes that were headed for the recycling bin. Don't you just love the free art goodies that come via junkmail - I do! My base is a recycled 6" x 9" kraft envelope that has some ink picked up on it from some other project I had painted. I use papers and envelopes to mop up leftover ink or mists - I don't want to let any of that goodness go to waste.

I have this fantastic mask that is brickwork from UmWowStudio. I traced the brick shapes onto my leftover sections of the background from fussy cutting my Police Man.

I had a return address that I wanted to camouflage. Using butterscotch, earl grey and chocolate Faber-Castell Gelatos, I applied color into the brick shapes and smudged around with my finger to fill in. This fills in the background quickly and makes a nice base to collage upon.

Using a glue pen, I filled in the bricks that were stencil traced and cut from my collage sheet and arranged to make a nice pattern.

I distressed an ATC border with Ranger Distress Stains and Gelatos to use for the address block. I stamped a London Skyline scene using Ranger Vintage Photo distress ink above the address block. I had a small section of address label from previous use to cover - an easy fix! Add another collage image. On the Black and White ATC collage sheet, there is a London skyline image. I fussy cut the bridge section of the skyline and adhered in place over the stamped scene. I glued the address block in place and bordered with postal stripe washi tape, then layered in my policeman and pasted him in place.

I fussy cut a few fun birds with hats to perch around my scene. Using pencil and also grey EK Success Brushables markers, I added some shading and shadows around my fussy cut birds and figure to add depth.

I used a little sky blue gelato smudged at the top of the envelope to add a little color for the sky.

Now my envelope is ready to mail some crafty goodness! It's so wonderful to have so many artist friends all over the map to correspond and swap art with. I know my sister is going to call me up asking for this - London is one of her favorite places to visit.

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Supplies: Collage sheets from Altered Pages - Police Man enlarged from AP-2600 Dad's Day, London Scene from AP-778 Black and White ATC, border from AP-1828 ATC Decorative Borders, and birds from AP-1561 Birds with Hats; recycled 6"x9" craft envelope; Ranger Vintage Photo Distress Ink; Ranger Antique Linen and Old Paper Distress Stains; various EK Success Brushables Markers; pencil, postal stripe washi tape; Elmer's Craft Glue Pen; various colors of Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Gelatos; EK Success Cutterbee Scissors; London Skyline stamp from Viva Las VegaStamps!; and Brick Mask from UmWowStudio.

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Thanks so much for visiting! I'd love to see the mail art you've created. Please leave a link in the comments where I can view or you can share on the Unruly Paper Arts Facebook Group HERE. :) Sb