4.22.2009

Wherever You GO, There You Are...

Be the Change...




A Fitting Earth Day Project

Here's another recycling solution story.
Two challenges. $1.25 and some ingenuity.
Our tale begins where we always leave off ...
with my hypersensitivity to my environment
and my little brain in overdrive.



It's just not me.

Imagine, if you will, one older mailbox.
Serviceable. Intact. A Little Small for Magazines.
No excuse to replace it.
But I'd rather be greeted back home
to MY home.

On Christmas day, courtesy of our Bear,
we received 3 wonderful magazine subscriptions.
{pretty exciting. It's been years.}
They just started arriving last month.
I did not like that they were folded in half
and crammed into this box.
Now I had another challenge.
So, I asked Evan to help me imagine a simple, thrifty solution.

Inspired by Zuda's handmade boxes,
I was going to construct a cardboard holder.
Easier said than done.
Not being as gifted as her,
this plan remained in the
mulling stages for a few weeks.




Destiny is a Happy Mystery

Then I misplaced my sunglasses.
When I went back to a thrift store to see if I'd left them
on their counter, I came away empty handed.
But as I was walking out
I spied this wire basket for .99.
I was thrilled.
A plan was forming.




Life is like a box of chocolates

A few days later, we walked to the new Walgreens
to buy one of Evan's birthday presents.

On the way home, we stopped by another thrift store
where I spied
this discarded & unlikely to find a home
{it was filled with crayon art}
perfect~for~my~recycled~art
vintage Little Golden Book for 25 cents.

I love cars, tucks, trains, planes & the 1950s era illustrations.

I did not connect the serendipity of
finding this book with
its use for my simmering project.



The trimmed piece

A few days later, I was de-cluttering my growing stash.
I flipped through this book and found this fabulous page.
Just the right size, too.

And can you believe the text?






My stamp collection

I decided to dress up the Magazine Rack Label Space
with a stamp ~ mail collage on
a coordinating piece of the same
safety envelope I used to frame the
mailbox illustration.


A True Mail Collage

Here it is before I laminated it.
It is setting on the reverse of the
mailbox piece.

I had only one TeXaS stamp.

Love it.







My Personalized Mail Center

I laminated both pieces and attached them
using simple rolled scotch tape.
Both the mailbox art and the
magazine rack can follow us
wherever we go
leaving no damage behind.
What will I do with them next?
We shall see.

ox joon

ps. My mailman told me this just gave him the biggest smile.
Putting a little bit of yourself out into the world
can make more of a difference
than you might think.

15 comments:

Dena said...

What a clever idea Joon!!! I LOVE it. You never cease to amaze me with your wonderful creations! Am sure the mailman loves stopping at your house.

Zuda Gay Pease said...

Absolutely adorable!!!

Judy Nolan said...

What a fun, creative and clever project this turned out to be!

Stacy's Designs 88 said...

OMG, I sooooo LoVe this Joon! The serendipity factor and everything...wow! You just made my day. Thanks! Love the way your mind works and the crafty terrific looking solution you created. Take Care! ♥♥

Diane Margaret said...

that is awesome Joon! thanks!

jstinson said...

Joon, you are just too clever! This is a wonderful testament to your never ceasing creativity!

Pamela Baker said...

What a great idea! My first thought when I saw the postman was that it reminded me of lunchboxes from back in the day - when lunchboxes were just that.
You may just have something there - perhaps something a little marketable!

Kary said...

What an AWESome idea joonie!!
I LOVE - it is the most stunning mail box I have EVER seen!

Beth said...

I want your brain. LOL its filled with brilliance and creativity. awesome.

Anonymous said...

The world is a better place because of you Joonie :)

Linda Everett said...

Hi Joon. Thanks so much for your comment on my blog. Yes, we do have a lot in common. You lived in Wayne? I grew up in Mahwah and I can tell you what I recall about Wayne - Willowbrook Mall and a club called Mother's and that you could shop on Sunday (Bergen County had/has blue laws, do you remember?). My cat is called Tuna and she's one of four. You called your daughter Scout? That's too cool! I named my computer Atticus (I preferred that to the Windows default of 634923). Rock on tour creative self!

Linda Everett said...

P.S. - Yeah, Scout and Athena would definitely get on. I had a look at Scout's Etsy and DevArt. WOW! Have a look at Athena's DevArt.

Jane Pierce aka zJayne said...

You know what...this sharing and pictures of each step...it's enjoyable. It is my thinking that the misplaced glasses was the universe's way of getting you back to that thrift to SEE the wire basket.

That your mailman remarked...priceless.

Awesomeness!
Jane aka zJayne

Kitty said...

I love them! What great and thrifty ideas! It's amazing how big of a smile (and how many smiles) simple crafting can create!

Scout said...

I love this thing, mom. It's really quite an amazing little creation!

And I know our mailman likes seeing it every day.

(Okay, lets see where this takes you when you click on my name...I myself am curious...)