a Junk Mail Art Journal

I am always doodling, drawing or jotting down random thoughts in a variety of notebooks and journals. I have never completely filled a notebook or journal ... I just seem to start new ones and keep going. In that spirit, I have decided to start yet another art journal.

This one will be different, though. This art journal will be finished (I swear!). It is small - about 4-1/2" x 6" and just 11 pages (22 if your count fronts and backs). I made this little art journal from my junk mail. I gathered all the little postcards and cardstock weight ads that collected near my computer, cut the larger ones down to size, and punched and bound them into this little book.

Currently I have begun gesso-ing random pages. I will continue to work in random fashion and just start gluing, painting, drawing, and adding to it as I feel the urge. I will post updates here as I progress.

Care to start journaling along with me? Grab some of your junk mail and punch & bind, stitch or staple it into a little book and get started. It's just stuff you were going to throw away anyhow - so you can't mess it up. Send me a link or photo or comment about it (I really would love to see it.).

postcrossing

I finally took a minute to join postcrossing! I am already addicted. I love to get mail (especially from far away places), so this is another fun website for me. Postcrossing currently has people in 129 countries participating. Each time you request an address and send out a postcard, your address is put in the que to be given out to someone else. The countries are chosen randomly, so you never know from which country you will receive your next postcard. Each postcard is assigned an ID, which allows the card to be registered upon arrival. I am also a "stats" addict ... so I really love to see the travel distance & time for each postcard.

In addition to the "official" postcard mailing, the forum has a lot of wonderful themed swaps and mail games. A fun site for postcard and stamp collectors, as well as folks who just like to receive mail.

****************UPDATE****************
31 OCT 06: I am posting pics of cards and stamps I receive here: http://www.hobbyloco.com/postcards_R1.html