Dirty Laundry

For more on the Elevated Envelope project, please start with the post below.

We sent out a malicious clothes dryer with some laundry.  See?  They're peeking through the door.  The heat setting dial is a photo of a chicken's eye.

We put our elevated envelope in another envelope to protect it since that acetate and silver paper might not have held up through international mail.  The "protective wrapper" was printed with images of a dryer's internal workings and an owner's manual.

Our surprises included three bookmarks featuring the occupants of the dryer.

Tofu made the Lint Monster who is quite pleased with itself.

Mischief made the Shrunken Sweater who seems quite distressed and embarrassed.

I made the very Lonely Sock who has lost its mate in the drying cycle...but seems to have moved on.

We had so much fun with this project.  The kids enjoyed making the first fuzzball and first shirt, but it took a bit of urging to complete four of the same thing, especially with the bustle of the school year.  It was all worthwhile to see our random scribbles become...laundry with personalities.  Plus, we received a message from an artist in Australia who said that the wicked dryer gave her family the giggles.

Elevated Envelope Surprises

In October we participated in the Elevated Envelope swap hosted by Ephemera.  Several times during the year, Tara at Ephemera hosts an international art envelope swap.  We thought about this for a long time since so many of the entries were astoundingly fabulous.  Some people painted original art; one person embroidered the skyline for each recipient's town; others made letterpress creations.  We were in awe and nervous since the guidelines said that participants should bring their A game.  The theme for the October swap was "Malicious Surprise."  We talked it over, Tofu, Mischief, and I, and talked it over some more.  I tend to obsess.  We decided that we could do this, and it would be a collaborative project.  You can sign up for around ten exchanges, but we signed for four, which meant that we found four spectacular surprises in the mail

Our first envelope came from an artist in Australia.  She generously sent each of us a treat: spider and cobwebs for the boy, a hairband for the girl, and chocolate and tea for me.  So thoughtful!

The second envelope came from a graphic artist and teacher in Canada.  We actually squealed out by the mailbox when we found this petite enveloped.  Hand-drawn robots and rockets...awesome!  Our treat was a  print of an original linocut.  Mischief Maker particularly liked the pumpkin.

Three monsters brought this itty bitty envelope to us.  Hand-painted paper and hand-drawn creepies.  Even the Australian stamp was fun!  This artist said that participating in the swap encouraged him to pick up his pens again, and we delighted that he did.

This envelope took so much planning and thought and work.  We admired everything from the paper textures to the various lettering styles.  What was inside?  Was it enough that three creepies greeted us on the outside?

Meet three more creepies!  Fabulous!  We loved it all.

Tara sent every participant an envelope too.  Look at those eyes!  Plus, the glossy, drippy-feeling ink was creepy too.

Aha!  The treat was a postcard from a cat named Henry.  We had great fun with all the creepy cuteness and spent a lot of time ooh and aahing over the artworks from our talented exchange partners.  What did we send out?  Alas, we were late by a couple of weeks.  Onto the next post.