I thought the Monarchs were gone, that they had made their way to South Texas or all the way to Mexico. Then every day for the last few days, more passed through. :)
The skeleton doesn't always find a convenient place, but this year he did.
They spend most of their time sleeping.
I love letters written by old friends, blog friends, and family. I also enjoy historical letters and epistolary novels. I especially love young people who write letters. When I saw this article, my admiration for these young girls
and their correspondence provided an extra zest to my day.
This is one of the things I lost during my recent clean and organize episodes.
My original plan was to make a Halloween envelope flip book for each of the grands.
However, regardless of how quick and easy folks on YouTube make flip books seem,
it took me forever to get this far.
open to first and last page
flipped first page
middle
Choosing papers and cutting them to size to paste on the envelopes was time-consuming for me, as I am not skilled at precision measurements. When I rediscovered my flip book, I moved on to embellishing the pages...
first and last
opening to middle
with tags tucked in pockets
turn another page
last pages
If I were going to mail this, I would tuck a letter in the last pocket.
Artist Trading Coins and Tag slipped into some pockets
all folded up
front
and last
a bit of Velcro keeps the flap closed
I kept the embellishments fairly flat and only used 3 envelopes because I originally thought I was going to make three to mail. I'm not sure how much postage would actually be required, and it would need to be taken to the post office for hand cancellation, but you get the idea. The time it took me to do this, however, quickly let me know that I was not going to make two more so I could mail one each to the grands. I may try again later with just two envelopes, but not any time soon. I'll just put this out for a Halloween decoration in a few weeks.
My inspiration for the envelope flip book came from a Crafty Hodges' YouTube video--I enjoy her odd and whimsical approach. She used two envelopes and a card; I used 3 envelopes and a card, but it would have been more practical to use two. I looked at other videos for specifically Halloween envelope flip books, but they often used more envelopes and much more elaborate embellishments. I'm not really up to that level. A two-envelope flip book would be fun for any holiday or special occasion because they would be mail-able without additional packaging--just additional postage and hand cancelling. To get a better idea of the simple book that Crafty Hodges created, take a look at her video. I love her whimsical characters. :) Now, back to actually responding to current letters.
Events in the 6-8 weeks have been depressing, and like many others, I have been unsettled and feeling a combination of sadness and anxiety. Looking for things that make me laugh has become important. This funny twitter battle between staff at the Science and Natural History Museums in London was clever and funny. On a weekend trip to Natchez, Mississippi, this sign made me feel better about my meal.
And among the beautiful old buildings downtown and the lovely Victorian homes and cottages, the sight of this house... :)
What else raises my spirits?
Incoming Mail:
from Penny B. :)
from Jacque
from Connie
from Penne M.
from Suzi
with her handmade paper on the card :)
Outgoing:
first Halloween mail
Most of my Halloween Eccentrics are out. Finding a place to put them is the problem. I didn't make any more this year. I'm not sure why because I still love the whimsy of Halloween characters, but my creative energy has been way down this year.
These are some pics from last year.
I've been making some Halloween mail art though, which is fun, and I have a few letters to answer.
Books I read like some people eat chocolate or potato chips. One book right after another; it is an addiction. September only saw one book that genuinely rose above the pack: Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke. It is not a comfortable book in many ways, but it resonated with me on several levels. I loved the protagonist, recognized the location (generally), was intrigued with the plot, and loved the writing. What have you been reading lately?
