EDITED: Mail Art (Decorated Envelope) w/a Letter

Here is a Letter Swap for you lovers of the personal hand-written letter. In this swap, you will receive one partner, and you will send that partner a letter. Write your letter as if you were writing to a friend, sharing who you are and what your interests are, and whatever else you might write to a new friend.

Edited 9/2: Your letter must be the equivalent of 2 lined pages (8-1/2x11) handwritten. This doesn't mean that you have to use notebook paper to write your letter. You may use pretty stationery, and it's encouraged, but you must use as many pages as is equivalent to 2 sheets of notebook paper. For example, a 5x7 stationery sheet would probably be the equivalent of 2 sheets of lined 8-1/2x11 paper when you've written 6 sheets. This is not to get nit-picky but only to avoid the "quickly jotted down letter, hurriedly written and mailed off, just to fulfill a swap" syndrome. Take care with your letter. Find a quiet spot and write as if you were writing to a far away friend or to a loved one. Please consider another letter swap if you would prefer a quicker or shorter letter. Please sign up for this swap if you enjoy sitting down to pen a newsy letter and receiving an equally delightful letter.

This swap is also a Mail Art swap. When you finish your letter, you'll enclose it in an envelope that you decorated. There are many ways to decorate an envelope. If you enjoy drawing, you can simply draw or sketch on your envelope. You can use a regular #2 pencil or perhaps color pencils. Or you can use other mediums like rubber stamping or perhaps painting or watercolors. Many of you art enthusiasts might have ideas I haven't thought of, so feel free to include some of your ideas in the comment area of this swap for others to consider.

Embellishments can be used, but if you choose to add dimensional objects to your envelope, please be sure to request at your post office that the stamps be hand-cancelled. Otherwise your mail art might go through their automated machines and be torn and damaged and possibly made undeliverable. If you can incorporate the words "Hand Cancel Only Please" in your mail art to the left of the stamps, this would remind postal clerks to give it special attention. You can be sure your decorated envelope will get special attention anyway!

Following are some websites with some mail art depicted. Some of these sites depict very elaborately decorated envelopes, but don't let that intimidate you. You don't have to be an artist at these levels to participate. As long as you decorate your envelope and do your best with whatever medium you're using, that is all that is required. The point is to add some interest to our plain white envelopes.

Here is an interesting definition of mail art:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_art

Here are some examples of mail art:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/drawingsonused_envelopes/

http://www.dragonflydream.com/MailArt.html

http://www.geocities.com/polarpost/received.html

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977261729

http://420summit.com/article/civil-war-envelope-art

http://www.thepamperedprisoner.com/envelopeart.htm

http://www.mbellart.com/landscapes.html

http://blogs.lowriderarte.com/1008336/lowrider-artist/envelope-art/index.html

Please use your discretion when creating your mail art. No nudes or vulgar pictures or words in this swap, please.

This is an inexpensive and international swap.

Remember to take a picture of your mail art before you mail it and upload it to our swap's Gallery for everyone to enjoy. If you don't have a scanner or digital camera to do this, ask your partner if they can upload a picture to our Gallery when they receive it. You might also upload your photo to Flickr's group.

Everyone is welcome to join, but I will be looking at individual ratings. I will have to drop anyone with questionable ratings (unresolved "no-sends" or obvious lack of care in their participations as described by their partners' comments).

I believe I've addressed everything but if you have any questions, please ask in the comment area below and I'll get an answer to you.

EDITED 8/27: Title edited to include the words "(Decorated Envelope)"