Whew! We are exactly THREE WEEKS from Liberate Your Art postcard swap day, and the mail art is rolling in! With this mega-update, I’m including many of the wonderful envelopes I’ve received over the last few weeks.

Let’s dive in, starting with Stephanie in Southwest Florida…

…and another Florida envelope, from Kelly. She decorated wallpaper to make the envelope. Great upcycle!

This envelope from Diane in Australia has some lovely colored pencil birds. Front…

…and back!

This happy, bright envelope is from Bethany in Florida. Her envelope proclaims her a member of IUOMA: International Union of Mail Artists. Check it out!

Djuna from New Jersey included this lovely quote:

Lovely lettering really makes this envelope, by Kate in Illinois…

…and this one from Crissa in New Jersey.

A fun collage from Michele in Michigan…

A beautiful tree from Sea in Canada…

This awesome envelope made it’s way across the Atlantic, from Debbie in the UK.

Lisa in North Carolina liberated this beautiful butterfly…

Jeannette in Washington sent a great message to us…

Local artist friend Jen in Oregon made this fun design…

Anne in Maine uses gel pens to dress up a manilla envelope…

Johna in Montana created this gorgeously textured piece…

…the back too!!

Lynne in Pennsylvania created this lovely, soft piece incorporating one of the staples of the swap… The butterfly stamp!

And celebrated Liberate Your Art, for those in the know, on the back.

Peggy in New York sent this fabulous envelope which just begs to be colored… Maybe that’s because she has created her own adult coloring book called Lotus Trip, and she sent me a copy. Thanks Peggy!

Finally, Janice from California asks this question…

Hopefully, your boots will take you to the mailbox, to mail your postcards if you haven’t already. Only THREE WEEKS to go!!

We are SOOOO close to the Liberate Your Art postcard swap deadline! Swap Day is just three days away. I have a crew of helpers lined up and I’m checking in the last few envelopes. You can always tell when the end is near… The envelopes start arriving expedited! 🙂

This is the last blog update of mail art from the 2017 swap. The next blog post will be about Swap Day and liberating the first of the art. Can’t wait!! Enjoy the last of this year’s mail art…

The first comes from Andrea in Austria. Her envelope was a little worse for the wear by the time it arrived here. Yikes! Close call! I have had envelopes arrive empty before, which is always very sad. Thankfully that didn’t happen here!

A little closer to home, Terry in Oregon created this lovely collage:

Tennille, another Oregonian, created this lovely envelope-scape! One of my favs this week. Thanks Tennille!

Neha in Florida collaged the envelope front and back. Here’s the back:

This one, from Cathy in Virginia, is painted and stitched. Love this color combo!

Natasha in California created a lovely design in colored pen. I think Natasha’s envelope has made it on the blog just about every year she’s participated!

Regina in Virginia caught my attention with her fun monster. Yes, life is a CIRCUS. For me right now, anyway…

Amy in Nashville created her envelope with the same art as her postcards. Very nice!

Fast in Virginia created this lovely piece and then printed it onto the envelope. Clever!

And we finish up this year’s mail art sharing with this envelope from Scott in Illinois. Rock on!

Thank you ALL for sharing your art with every person who handled your envelope. I’ve seen the smiles they bring. You’ve already liberated your art! The postcards are bonus, at this point. And they will be liberated MONDAY!!

It’s getting down to the wire in the Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap. The swap receipt deadline is two weeks from yesterday (Saturday March 18), and swap day is two weeks from today (Sunday March 19). That means art is liberated two weeks from tomorrow! Woohoo!

And of course, as we get closer, mail art keeps arriving! Here are this week’s favorites…

Val from Canada did some fun papercuts. I love the dimension! (Survival through the mail is sometimes hit or miss though…)

Another Canadian! Lynn stitched this lovely envelope…

…and added some cool ink art on the back.

Longtime participant Sheila from Arizona painted what looks to me like a field of blooming wildflowers. I don’t know if that’s what you meant Sheila, but that’s what I see!

Diane from Australia converted a kraft envelope into an explosion of bubbly color…

Deanie in Arizona shows the way to Liberate Your Art!

TWO WEEKS to go! Coming soon…

It’s that time again! More mail art has been arriving for the Liberate Your Art postcard swap, and I know you want to see it! We have just over five weeks to the swap receipt deadline of March 18. There is still time to join! Learn more and sign up here.

And while you are getting your postcards ready to mail, enjoy some of this awesome mail art! We’ll start out with an amazing alteration of a manila envelope, from Kathy in South Carolina.

Pat in Oregon created this lovely collaged envelope. Decorated front and back! A couple of letters went missing, but we can fill in the blanks, can’t we?

Tracy in Texas sketched a beautiful little scene. I’d like to visit this little town!

My longtime online friend Lynne in Pennsylvania created this collaged envelope. You’ve given me inspiration with all of that decorative tape!

I love the cats! Thanks Julie in Connecticut, for this bit of mailbox happiness!

Kate in Illinois added some lovely lettering to pre-printed paper to make a one-of-a-kind envelope.

Lots of colorful doodles brightened the day from Karen in Ohio! Thanks for all of the extras, Karen. The swap helpers will love you!!

And finally, what could be better than a decorated envelope with some awesome stamps? From Norway, no less! The lovely Linda, who has participated for many years, along with more extras for swap helpers.

Thank you all for brightening the day of everyone who has seen your mail art! The world is a better place with your art liberated in it. I can’t wait to liberate the rest!

It started with two and then it was four and this week it was more! Thursdays are the day I stop in and pick up the mail at my UPS store, bringing home some wonderful art goodness for the Liberate Your Art postcard swap. There is still lots of time to join in the swap if you haven’t already. You can get more info and sign up for the swap here.

If you are already signed up, you are probably anxiously awaiting some photos of the mail art I’m receiving! Here is the first batch…

The first two decorated envelopes to arrive were a couple of smiling ladies. Kate in Michigan sent the happy vintage beachcomber (wishing for some sun?) and Natasa in Slovenia created the cute woman with the fox hat.

This envelope is from Annie in California, a lovely valentine theme! This is Annie’s first year in the swap, so give her a great big LYA welcome. Annie, the UPS store owner was especially enthralled with yours. “This one has texture!” He pointed out to me especially. Thanks for making his day (and all of ours!) a little brighter.

Mary Jane in Canada sent this lovely envelope. It had texture too! Loved it both front and back. I was especially enthralled with those dragonfly stamps…

And wrapping up this week, it’s an irish themed envelope for Jacinta in Ireland. Made me smile!

And it’s all just starting! There are still six weeks before the swap deadline, and I look forward to sharing many more envelopes in the coming weeks!

It’s one day before the Liberate Your Art postcard swap deadline! Sunday is swap day and Monday the liberation of art begins. Yay! This will be the last mail art update of the 2016 swap, so enjoy the beautiful bounty!

Hey, no one can say “It’s not the Mona Lisa” to this envelope, from Linda in California.

PJ in Tennessee added air brush and sparkly stars to her white cardboard.

Kitty in New York added some nice layers to a manila envelope. Love the butterfly stamp!

This beauty is from Christine in Canada. Very zen! Front…

…and back. The words on the flap: She collects dazzle from dust. Lovely!

How about some graphic art! Anna in the UK is 16 years old. Anna, your art is amazing! Everyone is going to want one of your cards. You have a wonderful future in art!

Jane in North Carolina created a collage with a lovely central theme: Art is in the heart.

I couldn’t tell if Kathie in North Carolina used a pre-printed paper, until I opened the envelope and looked at her art. Yep! It’s her art on the envelope – gorgeous!!

I love the back, too…

Jen from Virginia shows the artistic nature of letters and words. Yes, I agree: Art is absolutely joy!

Susan in Texas left her mark!

I love all of the little messages on this envelope from Nancie in New Jersey. This is the back…

…and the front is equally wonderful.

Charlotte in Maryland must be dreaming of spring with this beautiful green collage…

“Let your art go… Set it free… Liberate.” Love it! From Susan in California.

This was a sneaky envelope… The postmark was California but it was from Sea, who lives in Canada but was in Panama at the time of mailing. Confusing! But gorgeous!

Chrysta in New Jersey went for full coverage. Bright and beautiful!

Flowers are a good way to go! Jill in Pennsylvania created a lovely garden…

As did Vicki in New York!

Here is some wonderful color from Lynn in Pennsylvania. Magic!

Karen in Arizona submits food as art. It looks like she printed directly on the envelope, or maybe did a transfer? It’s really different! Love it!

How about some hugs and kisses? From Teena in Virginia.

Those of you from prior years will remember Natasha from California! I always love getting her envelopes. A cheery message this year!

Suzette in Texas created this gorgeous collage of her images along with printed papers. The repetition of size works really well…

I like how she worked in the USPS stickers on the front, too. As if they are part of the collage. No end to creativity!

And one final one, not envelope art but stamps. I love it when I get to see stamps and cancellations from a new country – this one is from Edan in Israel. So glad to have you in the swap, Edan!

Almost there! Final mail call will be tomorrow afternoon. And then it’s on to the swap… What we’ve all been waiting for!