Regular Mail

Two colorful birthday cards, a sympathy card and a thank you note.

My 2nd Wooden Postcard

Sent out my second wooden postcard on January 28th to a friend in the Fall River area. He's not expecting any mail, which always makes it more fun. He had moved, so I didn't have his new address but then he sent me a Christmas card.

I only have one wooden postcard left, who will be the lucky recipient?!

Vanessa: Incoming & Outgoing

My friend Vanessa is a non-mail friend, but she sent me this card because she knows I love mail. It's very appropriate, we both love profanity :-)  We've been friend since high school.

I wrote her back with this card I had received as a birthday gift.  You may have seen this at Hallmark.  You buy the cards, then you pick a letter and you stick it on using a white foam square.  The result is a slightly raised letter in the center of the beautiful pattern.

Laura DH: Incoming & Outgoing

This is my second received and replied from Ms. Laura over at The Suburban Pen Pal.

I wrote her back with this awesome black square envelope I had picked up at a Staples a few years ago.  Inside is a silver card stock circle.

I used a set of metallic sharpie-type markers to draw a little winter scene on the back.  That pink one basically vomited on the paper when I opened it, I think that one is dead :-/  But that was the best I could do with the splotches.

Laura is doing amazing things with transparent bags-as-envelopes.  She blogged about my envelope post here.  I love the wax seal with her monogram.

And that is a stamp she made!

Saturday Special: Blizzard Post Card Party

Saturday, February 9th, 2013, after spending the majority of the day shoveling out my house, I collapsed into bed and felt guilty.  I could do more laundry, I could clean my room, or I could work on some more mail.  I decided to get to the post cards I had been meaning to mail and put everything else off, since the mail didn't require me to be vertical.

This card went to my virtual friend Sara, of Box of Joy fame.  I bought all of the wolf post cards at the Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center during my visit to Auntie Pat in September.

This awesome card is going to my cousin Sam, who lives in Hawaii.  I got this at the Letter Writing Social I went to and I have been saving it specifically for her.  This is from HI: 30 Postcards from Chronicle Books.

This post card is going to Hailey and is one of two Grand Canyon cars that Boyfriend brought back from his trip to California.

Two of these went out, one for Hailey and one for Preston.  I bought this on my trip to Acadia National Park.  Saw those Porcupine Islands myself.

Sent Hailey and Preston each one of these as well.

This one went to Hailey.

Preston got the second Grand Canyon card.

This is another post card I scored at the Letter Writing Social.  I sent this to my Auntie Pat, who lives there.  I thought she would be amused.

This one went to Kathy.

This went to Preston.

Another card from the Social, I sent this to my Aunt Michelle.

I sent this to my friend Nick.

And below are some photos of the postage I used for the cards.

Caddi: Incoming & Outgoing

I am finally replying to Caddi, who had responded to a first letter from me back in August.  Caddi is located in Germany and has a mail blog here.

She blogged about my introductory letter here.

I love how she used Washi Tap to block off the addresses.

I wrote her back using the Letter Writers Alliance stationery that I got with my membership.  My intro letter to her was all sorts of scribbly, so I tried really hard to write neater this time!

Tara: Incoming & Outgoing

A few weeks back I sent out the bottle I had picked up on my trip to Colorado Springs.  I sent it to Tara because I couldn't remember if I owed her a letter or not.  I figured that mailing her a bottle would make up for any pen pal faux pas I had committed.  She blogged about receiving it here.

I ended up decorating the back with a few random stickers.

These bottles are really cool, it's unfortunate that you can't just order them online.

As it turns out, I did owe Tara a letter, I just didn't know because I hadn't gotten to her letter in the "pile of mail to be replied to" yet.

She sent me this great transparent envelope and wrote to me using the stationery she made for the Letter Writing Social that she hosted.

So I wrote back to her, using the very same paper she had given me!  That's Mr. Zip, aka Zippy, who was created to encourage people to put zip codes on their outgoing mail.  Really interesting wiki on the origin of the zip code here.  I had no idea that zip code didn't exist until the 60's!

Outgoing: Celebration Cards

This is a shameful example of how far behind on my mail I am was!  All of these cards are Papyrus cards.  They are my go-to dealer for "glam" cards {though Hallmark is making progress, as you can see here}.  Fortunately, you can pick up Papyrus cards at Target {and Bed, Bath & Beyond, as I noticed yesterday}.  I say fortunately because the Papyrus store in Garden City closed and is not re-opening.  I am super annoyed about it because I love their cards but I really adore their swanky, bling-y gift bags and tissue paper.  I know the bags are $10, but I like to have the best looking present on the table.  Snotty, but true.  

Now, the only other Papyrus around is in the Providence Place Mall.  If you live in RI, you know why that stinks.  Fifteen minute drive {for me}, pay to park in a garage, tri-level pain in the butt.  No more "just run over to Garden City and be right home."

I sent this card to a bride who was married in July {August?}.  I made her wedding cake, and I purchased this card before her wedding.  It finally got mailed on 02/04/2013.  But the upside is that it will be a nice surprise, right?

This card is significantly less late.  Charlene's birthday was 01/31.  This card also got mailed on 02/04.

This card will be early.  For my 2nd cousin Beth, whom I adore and has a great sense of humor.

The inside of the card says something about having your cake and eating it, too.  I love that David is censored with a fig leaf underneath.

All of the envelopes on these indicated extra postage needed, so they all got their 66 cents with a 64 cent butterfly and the Navajo necklace for the extra 2 cents.

Post Muse Mail: Incoming & Outgoing

I have received a few items from the prolific Post Muse since signing up for her amazing Orphaned Postcard Project.

These two post cards came in just the other day.

This came in back in August or September.  Shame on me.  Anyway, I love it.  I decided I love pretty much anything that arrives in a red envelope.  My photo does not do it justice, but the colors and texture on this is beautifully crisp.

I sent her back this super cute fold-n-mail that I had scored at the Letter Writing Social I went to.

Naturally, I ran out of room, so I folded up these extra pieces and put them inside.

I used my very first dinosaur stamp on this envelope.  Fortunately, when I was editing this photo I realized I was short postage, so I added some more.

Don't you just love these colors?

And the footprints?

Plates: Outgoing

So you all know that I am a huge fan of the Plate Mail.  I had two plates left and I was saving them for special people, and until I could get my hands on a $2 Waves of Color stamp.  I got my hands on a Wave stamp, but I had to go to Boston to get it.  None of my local Post Offices were carrying it, and I was told flat out that they would not be getting it at all.

I learned this past weekend that unless I remember to go to the Post Office in Boston when I am there on Tuesdays, the North Kingstown Post Office on Post Road seems to have a variety.  I was able to score two $5 stamps {that they were holding for me because I called earlier in the week} on Saturday.  While they were hunting for my reserved two it was clear they had a few sheets of them.

I sent this plate to my friend Ryan.  Ryan is in basic training in North Carolina.  I met Ryan through my night job, where he and his family are some of my VIP's.  They all know that I am a snail mail fanatic, so when he left he made his parents promise that they would give me his address.  I regret that this is the only thing I found the time to send him, but at least it was interesting.  I am hoping that it both got delivered and that he was not humiliated for it.  The goal was fun and humor, not humiliation.

I sent this pink plate to my friend Kathy.  She has a few dogs who would probably enjoy this as a frisbee.  She got this the day after I sent it, which is one of the few awesome things about living in a tiny state.

Wave! Finally!

These things are really great in person.