My mistake on the Literary Postcard swap

I have to send a last-minute apology for a mistake I made in setting up my Literary postcard swap! I had noted in the swap description that newbies (unrated swappers) were welcome to join as long as they had a filled-out profile, but I neglected to check the box in the swap setup that allows unrated swappers to join the swap.

Mea culpa!

It's fixed now. If you just joined swap-bot, or are an unrated swapper who is interested in joining, you can now do so. Hop on over to the Literary postcard swap on swap-bot to sign up. I will assign partners by noon tomorrow (oops, Tuesday) EST.

Moose braille stamp from Finland

I got a Postcrossing postcard yesterday from Finland, with this wonderful stamp. The moose in the forest is pretty awesome, but it also has raised dots on it that I assume are braille. It's hard to see them in this scan, but can you see the circle dot on the moose's snout and head, and the one at the edge of the tan circle to the left of its nose? Those are the dots. Very, very cool.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Finland has the coolest stamps.

Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight Gel ink pen on black envelope

Remember my recent post about the Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight gel ink pen from JetPens? Here's another example, except I think this is the red one. They look awfully similar and it's hard to tell them apart unless they're next to each other.

But zowie, doesn't this look grand on a black envelope? This is the first time I've found a pen that wasn't metallic, or white, that looked great on such a dark color. I'm smitten, and I do believe I'll have to get more colors.

Oh yes, and I am a huge fan of the Jazz stamp. I bought lots. LOTS.

Summertime Mix CD swap

I missed round one, but I participated in Goodnight Little Spoon's Mix Share Swap Vol. 2.



It was great fun making mix CDs, and of course great fun making the packaging. The theme, of course, was summertime and heat. Most of the songs fit it, but not all. Maybe it was just a "feel."



I cheated a bit, I suppose, and used a CD packaging kit: Chronicle Books' vintage vinyl, which is of course long since out of stock.



The mix, as in the music, is the same on both CDs. I always jam-pack mix CDs with as many minutes as will possibly fit on them. It's like a weird compulsion to get as much mileage as possible out of a disc.



I got my names later than I was supposed to, but I managed to get my mixes out right on time nonetheless, despite houseguests and an upcoming vacation.



Which makes me all the more piffled that I haven't received either one of the two CDs that I was supposed to get in return... the send deadline was theoretically July 9, so even things sent from faraway countries should theoretically have arrived by now, if they had been sent on time. *sigh*



Oh well. I know, when I do a swap, that there is a significant chance I won't receive anything in return, and I do it for the fun of it. And now, if a CD arrives (I won't even delude myself into thinking I'll actually receive BOTH of them), it will be like a little surprise gift.

Swap reminders: last chance to sign up!

Observant readers may recall my recent blog posts about the Monster postcard swap and Literary postcard swap I'm hosting on swap-bot. The signup deadline for the Monster postcard swap is today, and the signup deadline for the Literary postcard swap is on Monday. If you're thinking of singing up, pull that trigger now!

Monster postcard swap
Literary postcard swap

And since this is tangentially related to the concept of a Literary postcard swap... did you know that Saturday, August 6 is Do Nothing But Read Day?

Bright birthday card + Gelly roll moonlight pen

I sent a birthday card to a friend at camp. I wanted to make sure the envelope was nice and bright and cheery. It was fun to decorate. I save these Beaker muppet stamps for special occasions, of course.

Are you wondering about that BRIGHT pink ink? I would be. I am loving it - it comes from my new Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight gel ink pen from JetPens. They call this color "fluorescent vermilion orange" but it looks more pink to me. I guess it depends on the light. Anyway, it POPS off of both dark and light colors, and I believe it's waterproof. Apparently it glows under a black light, too, and best of all, it dries pretty quickly. I bought this pen in red, too, and now I'm considering getting a lot more colors. They write really well on postcards, and always look really bright. I realize I didn't take any photos of the pen itself, but let's consider this a mini-review: I love this pen and highly recommend it.

Unicorn postcard swap update

Remember my Unicorn postcard swap? This is what I sent. I jazzed up the back because I know the recipient, and she really likes rainbows, too - so I tried to incorporate those on the stamps. And of course, glitter and stickers. The silver borders were made using silver washi tape.



I did indeed use this fabulous rainbow unicorn postcards by Pagey on etsy for the swap.

Hope everyone else who participated loved their unicorns! I got a really perfect unicorn postcard for the swap, myself, but of course forgot to scan or photograph it.

Sparkle zebra on orange Crane envelope

I just love the look of this excellent die-cut sparkle zebra sticker on an orange Crane envelope!



Here's a closer look: smashing! This came from Rusty in Oklahoma... thanks, Rusty!

She is too fond of Books and it has turned her Brain

I am so, so, so very much in love with this postcard, made by the fabulous Stella Marrs. I've held on to it for ages, but just sent it out for a Swap-bot swap. I hope the recipient loves it as much as I do!

Estonia and Oregon: same travel time

I got some fun stamps on a couple of postcards today. I love the Estonian stamp on the right - what a sweet hug.



Of course I always love a good cat stamp, this time from the good old USA - this series is one of my favorites. I don't think I've seen the Colonial American Craftsmen stamp before, a great vintage one.

But here is the thing that jumped out to me as I read my mail and wrote these items down in my mail log (one of my beloved daily rituals, as I read my mail): check out the postmarks. Both are postmarked July 19. I was kind of fascinated to note that it takes the same time to travel from Estonia as it does from Oregon.

Mail art from Egypt

Remember my post about my first postcard from Egypt? I wrote her back, of course, and she has sent me some fantastic mail art!



I am totally enamored of the skull theme, which she carried on to both sides. I am so taken with envelopes that people draw on so much like this... I decorate envelopes with stamps and stickers and washi tape, but I don't do so much with my own hand drawing. I have said many times I wish I drew more, and I think I need to let envelopes like this inspire me! It is really a gift to know that someone took the time to illustrate something like this all by hand.



Here's a closer look at those excellent stamps, too - she even enclosed a couple of new, uncanceled ones. So cool! I know it's almost cliche for Americans to have Egyptology crushes, but I admit to having a fascination that stems back to childhood... so these stamps were an extra treat.

Surely all this is not without meaning

This amazing envelope came to me from Liz, a very talented mail artist. I forgot to take a photo of the back or the contents - she included some weird and wonderful postcards, and vintage NKOTB trading cards with gum. Wow.

I love how she uses a variety of stamps, both legal U.S. stamps and artistamps and stamps from foreign countries. How awesome are those sleepy cat stamps from Japan?? And I can't quite tell where it's from, but is that a cat writing below the flag stamps?

All 6 postcard designs in my etsy shop: Sandbook article

I'm honored to have been asked by Sandbook.net magazine for pen pals and swappers to be featured in an upcoming issue of their magazine. I've been in touch with the very accommodating Raia, and she suggested a lot of great possibilities. Since I'm so excited about all my new postcard designs that I'm selling in my etsy shop, I jumped on that option. I'm writing this blog post to double as a magazine article, featuring all 6 of my postcard designs. A lot of my blog readers have asked if I designed these postcards myself, and it seems I haven't been as clear as I could have been, so let me proclaim it here: these postcards are all of my own designs, using either vintage graphics or my own photographs that I manipulated using GIMP graphics software. The genesis of these postcards stems from me searching etsy for snail-mail related postcards... and when I didn't find what I was looking for, I decided I'd just go ahead and design them myself! The six postcard designs, all printed professionally by Vistaprint, are as follows.




1. "Solitude and good company: Lord Byron letter-writing quote postcard"

I have always adored this quote by Lord Byron -- in fact, it's the very first item I put on this website when I was designing it a few years ago! -- and decided it was high time to design a postcard that featured it. The quote is at the bottom in white script on black, below a photo I took of three wonderful vintage stamps from the 1974 "Letters Mingle Souls" issue.

The text reads:
Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company.
-Lord Byron



2. "I jump for joy over snail mail!"

When I found this graphic of a girl dancing on a snail, I knew I had to put it to postal use.

Does a good letter bring you joy? Do you jump up and down with excitement when you pull promising snail mail out of your mail box? Okay, maybe there aren't too many of us who are THAT geeky over mail, but you can show your love of good old fashioned snail mail with this vintage graphic of a girl dancing on a snail. What's not to love?



3. "Vintage Postman postcard"

Reproduction of a beautiful vintage postman illustration. Meta mail, anyone? Check out his snappy uniform. Look at his bountiful bundle of packages and letters - and he's offering a letter to you!



4. "Snail Mail: Not Dead Yet"

Don't you hate it when someone says "snail mail is dead" or "no one writes letters anymore" or something like that? I do! I put those sentiments to work in my slightly creepy, goth-inspired, Monty-Python-quoting design. The postcard reads "Snail Mail: Not Dead Yet" alongside a black-and-white graphic of a skull holding a letter, accented with a red seal on the envelope.



5. "To Get a Letter... Write a letter"

The phrase "to get a letter, send a letter" predates my generation by many years, but it is a great motivator for anyone who wants to receive more mail. If you want it coming in, send it out! I have seen this on vintage labels as far back as the 1950s. The slogan on this postcard is slightly modified to match the vintage graphic of writing hands; it reads "to get a letter, write a letter." I hope it motivates some letter writing and postcard sending!



6. "Email: when you care enough to send the very least"

For this design, I have faithful blog reader (and etsy customer!) Joe Chapman to thank. He suggested this pithy phrase in a comment after I debuted my Snail mail: not dead yet postcards.

So... in response to all those who have fallen into the habit of emailing thank-you notes, or corresponding via email instead of proper snail mail, this postcard thumbs its nose! The postcard reads "E-mail: when you care enough to send the very least" set inside an ornate baroque frame, with the email "@" symbol highlighted in the internal frame.



All the postcard backs have the vintage postcard graphic design as shown above...



..and the frame on the back is a perfect fit for the current design of 29-cent postcard rate stamps, the correct postage rate if you're sending domestically within the USA. (I realize a lot of the readers of Sandbook are from outside the USA, so I hope the frame fits some of your own postage stamps nicely, too!)

By the way, I used some of my own fountain pens and stamps to "pose" in photos with the postcards... the etsy listings include only the postcards, and not any fountain pens or stamps. All the postcards measure 4.25 x 5.5 inches, and they are sold in packs of 5 for $5 USD; shipping rates vary by country. Each design has a high-gloss image side, and the writing side has a more matte finish that is great for writing with any kind of pen, including fountain pens.



They are also available in combination packs of postcards so you can mix and match your favorite designs. You can get any combination of the 6 designs:
Snail mail: Not Dead Yet
Vintage Postman
To get a letter... Write a letter
Email: when you care enough to send the very least
I jump for joy over SNAIL MAIL!
Solitude and good company: Lord Byron letter-writing quote

...just make sure to specify in "notes to seller" how many you want of each design.

I hope some of you have as much fun with these as I did - I have certainly been enjoying sending them off myself!

Thanks to Raia and Sandbook.net magazine for this opportunity to crow about my postcards. I hope Sandbook readers might check out MissiveMaven.com, and my blog readers might take a look at the great Sandbook blog, too!

Literary postcard swap

I recently sent this postcard from "Postcards from Penguin: One Hundred Book Covers in One Box" by Chronicle Books as Postcrossing card US-1194131 to west in Taiwan. I am really in love with these postcards - they take fountain pen ink beautifully and the design is fabulous. And they always make me want to talk about books!

Sooooo... I'm hosting another Swap-bot swap. Have a look at the Literary postcard swap I just set up. (Yes, I'm still thinking about doing a mythical creatures postcard swap, but it seemed to me that this literary swap was more far-reaching and folks might already have a bunch of good possibilities in their personal collections.) The last day to sign up is August 1, and the swap deadline is August 9. If you're interested, do sign up and get ready to talk books on literary postcards!

Abyssinian cat stamp from Taiwan

I'm trying to make more of an effort to photograph and post some of the really cool stamps I receive on mail. (Sometimes, when I get frustrated with Postcrossing, I remind myself that it's awesome just for the stamps on foreign mail.) Of course I LOVED this Abyssinian cat stamp from China Taiwan!

EDIT: I've been corrected. This is from Taiwan, not China. Oops. I thought I remembered this letter coming from Taiwan, but the words on the stamp confused me. I have much to learn in differentiating the various China republics.

Nib Head Skull

I've been playing around with my favorite envelope skull graphic. The cross on the top of the crown has been bothering me, so I made it a little more letter-oriented... I took the nib from one of my pen photos and put it on top the crown.

I think this guy will be popping up here and there...

Handmade, hand-sewn card

This beautiful handmade card came to me from Henderica of Letters to a Vixen. The layers are quite intricate, I believe done with spots of glue, and the cut paper images (of course I love the cat in the window) are perfectly lined up.



And check out that stitching! I've said it before and I'll say it again, I do not sew at all, so this is a marvel to me. The thread is multicolored, and the paper is sort of opalescent. A beautiful offering, and I felt spoiled to receive it.

I'm back

I'm back! Vacation was awesome. More mail posts soon.

As for now, I've returned from the mountains to mountains of laundry at home, so... hope everyone has had a lovely time, and now I shall read all the mail I received this week while my laundry machines whir.

Into the woods, part 3

Once again I am heading off into the woods for a nature vacation. I'll be away from mail all this week, but I'll most likely be writing a few postcards from the beautiful deck pictured above. I hope the weather is good!



If the weather isn't good, I'll be writing postcards from a more sheltered location, but still atmospheric. (If the weather's REALLY not good, there will be a toasty fire in that giant fireplace!)



And this old wooden mailbox is where I'll be mailing those nature vacation postcards. I may or may not be able to do posts and approve comments in my absence - that depends on a spotty internet connection - but I shall return to my mailbox and blog, hopefully refreshed and revived, next week.

Happy summer!

Airmail awesome from Catwrangler

Here is another stamp-tastic envelope from Catwrangler. Man, does she have some amazing rubber stamps. How 'bout that PUG? YAY!! Also, I'm totally coveting the stamp in the bottom left corner that shows the envelopes/letters. Yay meta mail.



Par avion! Cats in boxes! Airmail deco tape! Mail happy. Oh, she writes some mighty fine letters, too. :-)

Monster postcard swap

Well, folks, I'm trying another swap-bot swap! This one is much more general, not nearly so specific as my last Unicorn postcard swap. No, this one includes the entire category of monsters. Please have a look at my brand-new Monster postcard swap, and sign up if you're interested. I've given lots of time to go out and buy a monster postcard before the signup deadline on July 30, and then the swap deadline isn't until August 8.

This lovely painting of Herman Munster as a shriner that I used as the swap image is from On Tender Hooks, a postcard book by Chronicle Books featuring the art of Isabel Samaras. All the postcards are this fantastic, and many feature monsters.

I'm mulling over the idea of doing a mythical creatures postcard swap next, so that can incude unicorns AND gnomes and fairies and dragons and all that good stuff. But not yet. I'll keep you posted.

Star trek postcard: tribbles!!

I just can't get enough of these lovelies from the Star Trek Postcard Box by Chronicle Books. I just love these things. I worry that they will be discontinued soon. (I don't know if it's a valid worry, I just worry a lot.) This gem features a still from the legendary "Troubles with Tribbles" episode. The line is a quote from the episode, which deals with the invasive (but adorable) tribbles.

This is US-1118879, sent to the Ukraine via Postcrossing.

3 more new postcard designs in my shop

The creative juices are flowing fast this summer, and I am having a ball creating the postcards I wish I could find. So I've got three new designs up in my etsy shop!



1. "Solitude and good company: Lord Byron letter-writing quote postcard". I have always adored this quote by Lord Byron -- in fact, it's the very first item I put on this website when I was designing it a few years ago! -- and decided it was high time to design a postcard that featured it. The quote is at the bottom in white script on black, below a photo I took of three wonderful vintage stamps from the 1974 "Letters Mingle Souls" issue.

The text reads:
Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company.
-Lord Byron



2. I jump for joy over snail mail postcard. When I found this graphic of a girl dancing on a snail, I knew I had to put it to postal use.

Does a good letter bring you joy? Do you jump up and down with excitement when you pull promising snail mail out of your mail box? Okay, maybe there aren't too many of us who are THAT geeky over mail, but you can show your love of good old fashioned snail mail with this vintage graphic of a girl dancing on a snail. What's not to love?



3. NEW re-designed Postman postcard. I was unhappy with the red-bordered old design (which is now discounted at 7 for $5 in case you liked that design with the poem better), so I cleaned up the graphic and removed the poem, and placed it all on a soft cream background.

Reproduction of a beautiful vintage postman illustration. Meta mail, anyone? Look at his bountiful bundle of packages and letters - and he's offering a letter to you!




I've updated my very popular combination pack of postcards to include photos of all 6 designs together, too. In sum total, they are:
Snail mail: Not Dead Yet
Postman (new design on cream with no borders)
To get a letter... Write a letter.
Email: when you care enough to send the very least.
I jump for joy over SNAIL MAIL!
Solitude and good company: Lord Byron letter-writing quote

I hope some of you have as much fun with these as I did - I am certainly going to be sending some of them myself. :-)

Now, in other shop news -- I'm going on vacation next week. I will be in the woods again, my annual pilgrimage, and I'll be far away from my shop. I think I will probably put my shop "on vacation" so that no one orders items and then gets disappointed that they won't ship for a week. But when a shop goes on vacation, the items disappear until the shop returns. So if you're thinking of getting anything from my shop, do it before Monday, or wait until the shop and I come back online on July 18.

Rainbow envelope from chewy tulip

Another one of my very favorite etsy shops is Chewy tulip. Her tag line is "pickles, postcards, puppets" - what's not to love? I first discovered her shop when I did a search for "Narwhal postcard" on etsy, and her narwhals are not magical postcard is my favorite one ever. My latest order from her - because I have vowed never to be without some of her postcards - came in this wonderful rainbow-decorated envelope.



I highly recommend her pick 5 postcards/make your own custom set offering (which inspired my own, to be honest), to get a nice taste of her designs. The two horn unicorn, hey ladies turtle, and Hey! kitten designs are a few more of my favorites, along with the aforementioned narwhal, but to each her own. Go browse. Her stuff is really fun. (She has lettersets and notecards, too.) I should have photos of the actual postcards but I am blogging from my couch and it's hot and I'm lazy. Someday, I am sure you will see more of them on this blog...



Not only did this order include a sweet little note from her - and we've been exchanging postcards, too - I got this hand-drawn unicorn! Gaaah! This whole set of envelope/unicorn is now hanging above my writing desk, providing daily rainbow-unicorn letter-writing inspiration.