ephemera from across the pond

The beautiful Holly Trill was doing a clean-out and was asking on twitter if anyone was interested in a collection of vintage cigarette cards. She was happy to give them away for free to any loving and excited home, and as someone who constantly collects little pieces of paper ephemera (either as wall art inspiration, as collage material or as mail art goodies), I was all over the offer. Inside the fat envelope, all the way from the UK, was over 140 cards in collectible sleeves, and about 30 other unsorted ones. It was such a bonny pile, that I only had room to share some of my absolute favorites. A few will find a place on my inspiration walls in the studio, and the others will most likely find suitable places in future outgoing mail art parcels. Thanks again for your generosity Holly!

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

While visiting my family cabin recently, I scored this absolute little beauty at one of the best antique stores in Invermere. This gorgeous bird is actually made of bronze; it is a lock from Ancient China that can be used on any hasp & staple closure, which can be commonly found on big wooden chests. The key pushes through the back of the bird to release the head, which opens the lock; isn’t it just fascinating?! One day I imagine it will lock a large wooden memory chest that my parents gifted me years ago (which is full of my baby & childhood keepsakes)… Until that day comes, this antique winged creature will be happily sitting in my bookshelf aviary, on top of my Robert Bateman’s Birds book, amongst other feathered friends.

salvaging precious paper

When I was studying in post secondary for my printmaking degree, I quickly learned how expensive paper can be… trust me,  it is a rather valuable commodity. Because of this education in print media, I naturally developed a deep love and respect for paper. It’s easy to spot this passion in other interests of mine, such as thrift shopping: I often gravitate towards gorgeous bound books, unique paper ephemera or stationery.During my last trip to a salvation army thrift shop I scoured the stationery bin and found a pack of 5 notebooks for only $1. One was perfect for mail art pen pal, another good for note jotting and 3 that were needing a little TLC. I searched through some of my patterned paper scraps, coloured hemp threads and washi tape to pretty them up. I love how each one turned out so uniquely different. They look so much nicer than before! Can’t decide if I should list these little cuties in my etsy shop, since I sold my last mini OOAK journal a couple weeks ago, or if I should keep them for tucking into some special mail art reply packages?