It's the most wonderful time of the year! The time of the year when I re-post and try to encourage everyone to throw a mail art party. And ain't no better mail art party than a Halloween mail art party. It is easy and fun. Simply set a date and time, invite some lovely people, gather supplies and set it all up and then had a blast. I understand that you might want a little more information than that; so I'll expound.
STEP ONE: Set a Date and Time. This is the hardest part. You should see my schedule. My schedule is bonkers. Instead of trying to coordinate with others, I just pick a day and time that is far enough in front of actually Halloween in order to send out my mail in a timely fashion. Alternatively, I've had good luck with Doodle and finding a date that works for everyone. Have everyone R.S.V.P. so you know how many pairs of scissors to put out, etc.
STEP TWO: Invite Lovely People. I invited friends, co-workers and pen pals and most of those people are two out of the three. My house was small and the three people who could make the time that was free on my schedule were just enough. Make sure there's room enough for people to cut things or maneuver large sheets of paper without constantly apologizing to each other.
STEP THREE: Gather Supplies & Set Up. I decided to theme my party around Halloween. It is my most favorite of holidays and one of my favorite motifs. You could pick any theme- a color, an animal, a presidential election..., but it's easier if you pick something familiar. Halloween has a fair amount of craft supplies available for it, making it easy to amass a great number of supplies with very little effort. I went through my collection and pulled out anything spooky, anything weird, anything black, grey, silver, purple, or orange. I also picked up a pack of six glue sticks and three pairs of scissors at the trusty office supply store. From my basics I added ink pads, stencils, and blank labels.
For me, my kitchen was the best place to set up. I pulled in another table from my porch and put an artboard over the top of it so there was a smooth place to work. I put down a craft paper runner so that no one would have to worry about messing up my tables. (Not that they could have, but it's nice to feel free to get glue on things.) I put papers on one side and embellishments and rubber stamps on the other. Everything was going to get mixed up anyway, but it was nice to start out in an orderly manner.
BONUS STEP: Make Goodie Bags. What's a party without a goodie bag? I put together some of the best pieces of Halloween ephemera I had, plus a new Halloween card from Rifle Co., and gave them to my friends when they came in. I gave them out first instead of at the end because I wanted them to be able to use the supplies in the bag.
STEP FOUR: Have a Blast. Mail art is relaxing, fun and all together a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. Plus, you end up with a pretty pile of envelopes that will encourage you to send more mail. Everybody wins!
Recent Comments