I thought Melbourne’s rising mercury today would form an appropriate backdrop to showcase these seriously gorgeous works from Brooklyn (NY)-based illustrator Monica Ramos. They’re part of a series that she calls “A Hot Summer,” based on summer in the Philippines. I’ve been wanting to show you Monica’s work for ages. Take a look through her…
Read More
On the spectrum from trick to treat, I’m hoping these friendly little handmade Halloween tea-spooks definitely fall on the treat side. Next year, maybe I’ll get my act together and pair them with some skeleton gingerbread men. Or gingerbread cats. Or something. This year, I packaged them up with yellow craft paper and posted them…
Read More
Has the digital age killed the post? Recently the absolutely lovely Rachel Faith Cox sent me (in the mail) Simon Garfield’s latest book, To the Letter, and I have just started reading it. In this book, Garfield likens the post to the paddle steamer. “The digitisation of communication has effected dramatic changes in our lives, but the…
Read More
I’ve been writing letters again. This is one of my favourite things to do. It only really happens on nights when both children sleep early and well, and there are no other jobs to do. After the dinner is cooked and eaten and the animals are fed and the toys are picked up off the…
Read More
When I was planning the invitations for my friend Pip’s ice-cream baby-shower last weekend, I asked her for some ideas as to what she would like me to use as a theme. One of the thoughts she had was something to do with elephants. Trying to mix elephants with ice-cream wasn’t what I’d call a…
Read More
More mail art has been going out to say thank you to people for subscribing to this blog. People have been asking me how I decide what to draw and paint on the mail. Here’s an idea of my thinking behind this batch. ∧∧ Clare wrote in her blog about finding a figurine of Krishna…
Read More
A short while ago I sat across the table from Madeleine, painting brown-paper-wrapped parcels to send to blog subscribers. I had out the water-colours and was applying some tint to the pictures I’d outlined in black pen (always with the art-liner). For her part, Madeleine was up to her elbows in craft paint and was…
Read More
As you probably know, I like to draw pictures on my mail to make them pretty. But did you know there was a whole movement called “mail art”? I only just discovered this! It’s when people take the time to decorate the envelopes, so you get a wonderful treat before you even open the letter…
Read More
And none will hear the postman’s knock Without a quickening of the heart. For who can bear to feel himself forgotten? ~W.H. Auden, “Night-Mail” Dear you, you are not forgotten. THANK YOU for reading this little blog of mine, and for your comments, and your feedback, and just being here with me. I sent five…
Read More
I saw this on SwissMiss recently and it absolutely blew me away. More than 300 years ago (in 1692), a Dutch artist created an incredible, beautiful, hand-painted book containing 800 pages of guides to colours and hues in watercolours. It was the Pantone Color Guide of the Renaissance, except that only one copy was ever…
Read More
Do you like my new shopping bag? I sure do! If the design looks familiar, that’s because it’s a picture of my old typewriter that I once drew on a napkin, which later became the logo I use on this website (and elsewhere around the traps). I got the bag at Das T-Shirt Automat on…
Read More
I have been doing little illustrations and fancy typography of cute quotes from books that I love. This was the first one, featuring (of course), that cheeky Mademoiselle Madeline (you know the one: she lives in an old house in Paris, covered in vines…) ps. Don’t forget there is one day left to enter to…
Read More
All rights reserved © naomi bulger
Theme by Blogmilk + Coded by Brandi Bernoskie