Inspiration Avenue: You've got mail!

This week Jenn, issuing her first IA challenge, asked us to send a bit of Inspiration Avenue love through snail mail. As with many pieces I first envision, I planned to dig out a few vintage images, old postcards, and cancelled postage stamps, along with the old red and blue gummed-on-the-back airmail stickers I still have. But something happened along the way, and I got derailed by my idea. I was in the process of sorting and putting a bunch of leftover scraps away, when I realized they all had a similar color palette. Much brighter than I originally planned,



this is the front I came up with, made from pieces I had thrown in a plastic bag that were waiting to be put away. The heart was made from a piece of candy wrapper, the colorful envelope sewed together from a full sheet of decorated deli paper. The birds and crown were punched from one of the same paint chips I used in last week's challenge. I found the words "peaceful mind" in a magazine.


I made similar envelopes last Christmas for my hand stamped Christmas cards. I admit, this one is a bit more brightly decorated than the ones I sent out at Christmas. Yep, that is a smaller version of the little Paper Whimsey gal I used last week. This one got tucked into a paint chip sample. I cut the petal so I could position her shoes and legs in the flower.

Some extra border punch paper I colored in a pale pink and lavender complimented the circles left over from another project.


Of special interest, there is one thing I have noted about my British friends. Unlike mail sent from the States, when the British send mail, their return addresses are always on the back of the envelope, specifically on the flap. I really like that idea and much prefer it to the upper left side of the front of our US envelopes.

Gosh! It looks like you've got mail from Bleubeard and Elizabeth! Read and enjoy it at your leisure. And thanks Jenn, for a great first challenge.

Also, I apologize for not visiting everyone last week, and those I did visit, it was not in a timely manner. It all started when a tornado hit too close to home, which led to my computer freezing on me several times, and forcing me to reboot with each "meltdown." That threw me farther and farther behind, especially as I was frantically working on my weekend AB lesson during the time I would normally have been visiting your challenge blogs. It may seem lame, but I apologize and intend to do better this week.