I'm doing double...

...time to get another mini snail mail book done.  This one has a floral theme - I think the giveaway on that may be the front of the book.

Garden Snail Mail mini book 

The book is 2 3/4" square by 1/4" deep, 

and sports a series of Canadian postage stamps in the floral theme.

The jury is still out on whether there will be any text added to the visual story.

What's your take on that?

Created from cutoffs of old file folders,

salvaged postage stamps

and dryer sheets, it's definitely Trash to Treasure.

And if you're in Creston, BC this coming week, check out the Trash to Treasure show starting Monday, and the Trashion Show on Monday evening.  Both are going to be outstanding!

How do YOU turn trash into treasure - would love to hear about it in the comments below!

Nothing big...

...happened in the studio this week.  In fact, it has been quite the contrary.  Teeny, tiny, mini has been the fun, as I created a small book from fragments of mono-printed paper, salvaged stamps, a whack of double-sided tape and a scrap of ribbon.

Disclaimer:  As always, I've no idea what I'm doing, so any information and/or technique you gain here is totally concocted from my addled brain.  This, of course, means that it has nothing to do with the proper way of creating a book, or any kind of reality whatsoever.  In addition, you should know that no mono-prints, stamps or ribbon were harmed in the process (well, apart from the one I put upside down and had to tear out).

The book style is accordion, and all scraps were 3" x 5", folded in half.  Since the prints had been created as demos in mono-print classes, there was no telling what might show up, front or back.

I used double-sided tape to affix half of one scrap to half of the other, creating a looooooooooooooong accordion line.

When assembled it's not even as long as a tube of paint.  The cover, a tri-fold so that the last page could be affixed to the centre back, is a painted dryer sheet spray glued to bond paper - more scraps. Delicious, no?

'Homage to Snail Mail' © Win Dinn

Fitting comfortably in the palm, at 2.75" x 3" x .5", it  holds thirty-three pages, thirty-nine stamps, and so much print and stamp loveliness I was drooling a little as I put it together.

The stamps themselves are truly beautiful, and remind me what a pleasure it is to receive these tiny bits of art in the mail.

I'm especially enamoured of the wildlife series.

This coffee pot stamp on a background of coffee- flavoured  coloured paper made me smile.

The day lily, centre, reminds me of a painting that Alice Saltiel gifted me some time ago - luscious!

Who can resist red and white?

 The pansy on the left reminds me of my mom - it was her favourite flower.

Doesn't the queen look regal in pink?

There seems to be a royal theme going on here.

The snake stamps below are amazing - embossed, they are slick, slippery and definitely back-crawling.

I was intrigued by the orange stamp in the centre.  Anybody know what it's all about?

The stamp from the Netherlands came to me from my friend Gerda in an art swap - love it!

I still have a bag full of stamps and scraps  realms of  demo prints. . . I wonder how they'll get used. Perhaps there will be another tiny book in my future?

Rarely...

...do I get a chance to play with other artists, so when I do, it's a treat.  A recent visitor to the studio was Lynne Mizera, who brought me this lovely ATC as a gift:

Thank you Lynne!

I'm a huge fan of Artist Trading Cards, and of course putting Lynne's gift in my book led me to looking, 

 and looking,

 and looking

at other cards in the book.

 What a feast for the eyes

are these miniature works of art.

 Like baseball cards,

 the 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" format is delightfully tiny,

yet can range from whimsical,

 to abstract

to profround.

Because I no longer live in a large centre where I can attend trading sessions, I'm looking to do so online.  Are you a fan?  Would you like to trade with me?  If so, please email me to let me know your snail mail address.  I'd be so happy to trade with you; I just love getting artwork in the mail (and mailing it out, too!).

I love receiving castoffs...

...and one of my recent scores was a host of coloured file folder ends that had been chopped to about 13" x 2 3/4".  They're perfect to turn into accordion style booklets (or like this one, tied with ribbons), so a new project was born.  Never mind that I have fully a score of unfinished projects waiting in the wings...

It's so much fun to play with miniature ArtFoamies geometric shapes that I found myself stamping up a storm.  By the time I'd finished with pens and cancelled postage stamps, there was hardly room for a word or two.  That's MY kind of book.  :D

And because I was looking for specific cancelled postage stamps for this little book, I now have several piles of separated stamps - flowers, animals, sports, people and the ever-present miscellaneous, so you know there will be more of these coming.  I'd count myself brilliant if I actually managed to create a technique video rather than a look-and-see one!  Maybe one of them will actually be an accordion style like my first Homage to Snail Mail.

Tell me, what do you do with the stamps that come to your mail box?  I'd love to hear about it, so comment below, and include a link if you like!  

It's been three weeks...

...since I last did a post, and I can't figure out where the time went.  I definitely got lost in the studio as I was prepping for an upcoming show.

I do want you to see some Artist Trading Cards that have been dancing into my snail mail box, though.  They are so unique, so delightful, and such a pleasure to receive that I must share them.

This first one is from Lynne Pfeffer, an artist from Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Don't you love the colour combination and stitchery?

Shirley Deatcher from Ontario, Canada sent this next one.  You might check her blog for some gorgeous cards, tags and all things paper - so fabulous!

Tracy Woodsford sent these next three, all the way from Australia.  I so much enjoy her thoughtful posts and fabulous artwork.  Her blog is always a delight.

The next five cards are from Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith in the UK. Her blog is a fascinating read always, and I know she did a post about creating those cards so do take a peak into her archives to find it.

All of these stunning ATCs were accompanied by cards, found and created papers and other wonderful ephemera.  I so much enjoy sending and receiving these miniature works of art; they are a fabulous visual record of art friends from around the world, and a constant source of inspiration.

Many thanks to those of you who responded to my request for a trade.  I am so grateful that you did.