In all my years of doing mailart (about 12 or so), I've never had one go missing or arrived damaged. As they say, "All good things must come to an end."
If you've kept up with reading my blog, you may recall back in June I finished a Quaker mailart. As a result of that post, Deb H in TX offered to do a private mailart exchange with me since I hadn't receive one from TX yet and she wanted to try her hand at making one. Her end went just fine! I received a beautiful mailart envelope from her:
Did I mention all good things must come to an end?
I stitched up my mailart for Deb and sent it off. It never made it to her. It got hung up in Houston. When I sent a screen shot of the address on the mailart, Deb informed me I had the wrong zip code. I transposed to numbers which is why it ended up in Houston.... Ugh! And, this was after I told her I'd never had one go missing. Technically, it didn't go missing... LoL.
It was a lonnnggg two week journey from Houston back to me. Thank goodness for tracking info! Apparently, the Chicago area wanted to see my mailart because it went from Detroit MI to Palatine IL (Chi burb), Elk Grove Village IL (Chi burb), Chicago, back to Palatine, and back to Chicago before heading to my house.
I rushed home that day excited to fix the zip code and send it back out. I opened the mailbox to find this:
Despite being in plastic and hand canceled (non-machineable), it looks like it got stuck in a machine or caught in something. It was REALLY dirty!!
Now that it has arrived safe and sound in TX, I can show what I created.
Thankfully, the front wasn't damaged or dirty. I was able to save it and re-stitch the back. I was so pleased that you can't even tell I had to cut it apart and re-do it. Using my Crop-A-Dile Eyelet and Snap Punch and colored eyelets, I created holes through which I laced ribbon to close up the back. I will be using this method again. It's so fun!
Can't even tell I had to cut off the back and redo it. I'm pleased as punch about it since I've never had to do it before now.
Here's what the front looks like:
The button is from the Feathered Friends set by Dress It Up. The stamps are from when I originally mailed it last September. I'm ashamed to admit it has taken me this long to repair it and get it back out in the mail. Thankfully, Deb has been very patient.
I also tried a new method of closing up the sides of the envelope. Normally, I whip stitch the sides closed. This time, I used a decorative stitch on my sewing machine. I really like how it turned out.
This mailart was created by combining several charts and changing colors to coordinate. For the front, I used Sing for the USA by Brittercup Designs. The fence was widened the fence so it would span the width of the envelope and added an additional clump of flowers. The back is a combination of Land That I Love and God Bless America -- both by Lizzie Kate. I stitched it on 28ct hand-dyed linen with DMC floss. To add a little sparkle, I used Kreinik Blending Filament #091 on the stars.
Until next time....
19 comments:
Thank you so much Meari! Love everything. And you did such a beautiful job of putting it back together. In looking, one would never know that mailart was ever damaged. Those bird buttons are adorable!
Beautiful mail art .
I love both , but so sorry about yours , but you have made a wonderful repair.
Enjoy the rest of your week.
What an adventure for your mailart piece! It's very cute, though. Glad it finally made it safely.
It's beautiful, Meari! Way to persevere!
Pretty lucky it was completely mangled. good salvaging
Oh my. I am so impressed with your repair work Meari.
I had that happen and Houston was where my
package went around and around before it came back to me in Indiana! Luck for you it only took two weeks mine was a month!!
Oh no I'm so sorry one was damaged. I'm glad it wasn't damaged too beyond repair though. Sure looks perfect now. The one you received is beautiful too. Another great exchange in the end I guess.
Sad it happened, but so happy you got it back in order to resend. Beautiful and I’d love to try it myself.
Wow, Meari - that mailart had quite the trip. Did it get frequent flyer miles? LOL Love that you were able to repair it. It looks awesome!
Dorrie
What a beautiful piece you received and also you created! I am sorry the one to Deb was damaged, but your repair work is incredible.
I bet your heart just sunk when you saw the condition your mail art was in, Meari! But, what a great save--love the way you did the edging with your sewing machine, too... Hope your next mail art exchange runs a bit smoother!
This is the first time I've looked at your blog in a while. Glad you were able to correct your mail art project and get it
to your partner even if it took a while. It was lovely and I'm sure she was pleased.
Dee in TN
Wow, what a journey that lovely mailart went through! So glad you were able to fix it.
Meari,
What a journey your mailart project took! Thankfully, it made its way back to you and you were able to fix it nicely. I’m amazed at the whole mailart concept, but still find it rather daunting to actually give it a try. Kudos to you and your mailart buddies for creating this awesome art. And, thanks for sharing it with us. Can’t wait to see more!
Marina
It is still gorgeous even though it has been through the wringer and back! Love the sides and the lacing, very cool ideas.
I am surprised that the PO didn't just correct the zip code and send it on it's way!
Thankfully it got to Deb in the end.
Your Mail Art is Always Lovely.. So clever the way you did the closing..
Wow, what a journey it took! And got scuffed up in the process! Your salvaging was amazing and the decorative sewing machine stitches look great too. Glad it got to her in the end. Mail art looks so neat and the one you received is lovely!
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