2019 #3 Mail Art: Efilumps with ZA {by Helen Chilton}

2019 Topic 3: Mail Art

Helen has shown tonight how many products you can put onto an envelope and it still remain intact. Her beautiful layering of stencils and stamps is the perfect foil for those ebullient efilumps!

Hi everyone, it's Helen with you today with some Efilump Art. Who couldn't fall in love with these Zinski stamps? They're just so much fun and so versatile.

I've never really tried mail art before but I think I'm hooked. I worked on a standard 6x6 white envelope, both front and back. The paper is quite thin so you need to be careful when using wet media - I inserted a piece of card to stop it going through to the back. I was going to stamp and cut out the efilumps from a different piece of card and stick them on but figured that mail art meant on the envelope only so used masking instead - also you don't want bits dropping off in the post. 

I wanted lots of colour so started by stencilling with Distress Oxides - in Broken China. I used the Emma Godfrey PS017 stencil

and Twisted Citron.

PS026

Then, changing stencil - Spiced marmalade.

and Picked Raspberry. I like these abstract patterns, they work really well one over the other.

Then I stamped my efilumps. I painted them white so they'd stand out more and I could add colour on top. I liked the fact that the paint picked up some of the Oxides underneath - you can also see the stencilling showing through. If I'd been thinking ahead I'd have left the stamp on the Stamp Positioner and then re-stamped the outline but I didn't, so went over the blurred bits with a black pen.

I've used Distress Crayons which smudge nicely and aren't wet - didn't think the paper could take any more liquid!

Then I added more stamping ...

and a die cut label.

Here's the back.

I just had to make a card to go inside!

So as you can see, you can fit a lot onto one envelope. Mail art would work with any stamps from the PaperArtsy range. Try working on different colour envelopes (kraft, red/green for Christmas etc) or even make your own. 12 x 12 single sided scrapbook paper is good for that as you could then use the white reverse on the outside, yet have a pattern on the inside. The paper would also be slightly thicker thus could take more stuff. Perhaps everyone ought to address their mail to PA headquarters and see if they get there!

Helen

Blog: A Splash of Colour