Outgoing: Chinese Take-Out

Inspiration for mail art can come from almost anything. For example, my niece and I recently ordered Chinese take-out from my favorite local restaurant. I don't think the restaurant has changed anything in 50 years, including their packaging. I love the retro feel of their menu, containers and glassine bags. So I decided to use them for mail art.

The menu was torn in half and used for collaging. The glassine bags which originally held pre-packaged sauces are now being used to package snail mail goodies. When I put this particular parcel together, I had a pen pal from California in mind. There's something about my local Chinese restaurant and it's traditions that remind me of San Francisco. 

I hope this inspires you to look differently at items you would normally toss. Maybe they can be repurposed into something special to send a friend. What has inspired your mail art recently? 

Journal Prompt: How Are You Working Toward Your Goals?

Each week I try to take an hour and create a weekly layout in my personal journal. Many people find it hard to believe it only takes me an hour to make these weekly entries. My secret to tackling the blank page is having a process.  

On the right side of the layout, I do something creative like sketch, collage or practice calligraphy. There is power in doing something creative on a regular basis and I consider my weekly journal to be a great outlet. 

The left side of the page is for journaling. My journaling prompts are simple. They are tied to my goals. I look back on each day of the week and ask myself "How did spend my free time working toward my personal goals?"

Do I do something productive everyday? No. I'm human. So on the days when nothing happened or I have blanks, I try to find an inspirational quote and remind myself to keep moving forward. My journal helps me to check in each week. I can see areas where I'm succeeding and areas where I'm falling behind. 

When setting goals, it's important to make them measurable. For example, I know my spirit is made happy when I seek out and support the art of others. So I try to take advantage of at least one arts and cultural event each month. This can be anything from attending a book reading, going to a performance or visiting an art museum. 

 If you are interested in how I worked toward my goals this past week, I've included a video below. How have you worked toward your goals lately?

Make Your Journals and Notebooks Unique With a Cover

I've had several people comment on my Midori Traveler's Notebook inserts. I enjoy covering them with paper and ephemera sent to me from pen pals and friends. Using what I have makes the creative process more fun for me. I like to see if I can use items the universe sends and create a common look and feel. 

This past week, some beautiful new paper came to me from Christina at Girl About Downtown. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to share my simple notebook covering process. If you'd like to learn more about my covers, check out this video below: