Sweet Saturday

How I still love to receive snail mail. I even dreamt about it last night. I was back in the flat of my wild twenties. 2nd floor of a converted house with lots of stairs to run down to check for post. A famous actress lived on the ground floor - though being as she was an actress famed to portraying old ladies, there was a distinct lack of wild parties with George Clooney in attendance going on!

The postman always arrives early here on a Saturday. He usually has a parcel and needs to knock on the door and wake us all up which can be something of a trial. Personally, I think he saves the packages up for the weekend so he gets to see me with wild hair in a dressing gown. The rest of the week he rolls up late morning. I wonder how much online retailing has changed the phyique of the postal worker. They sure have to carry a whole load more around than a few brown envelopes and birthday cards these days...

However, I digress. Today is Saturday! Life is sweet! Especially when you receive goodies in the mail (see, I knew there was a link in there somewhere!). These came last Saturday, but I have been a touch busy.

I was so excited to be a winner of Manonpopje's beautiful art from her latest giveaway. It's full of fun and quirky layers - just my kind of thing. Thank you Manon!

Visit more Sweet Saturdays here.

Mail art

Now here's a new opportunity for creation - decorating envelopes. And why not. How much more exciting after all to have a piece of art dropping through your letter box than a plain white envelope - or, even worse, a brown one with the words Inland Revenue written on.

This really set my mind thinking. Why are envelopes normally so dull? Wouldn't it be fun to create some just a little more interesting. Why should they be devoid of colour and line? Many artists are already creating mail art, but why can't we make this mainstream? What sort of envelope would a creative soul at the tax office really like to use? Something that suggests they've got their eye on you perhaps? I resolved there and then to practice my sketching on envelopes from now on and use them to brighten the mail of the unsuspecting. This week I will complete my VAT return and use this to send it off in. Perhaps it will inspire someone at the Revenue...

Coloured pencil and ink pen on envelope.