Happy Halloween! / Cannibal Pumpkin

Sorry I don't have any photos of my Halloween mail - I've sent and received some - but I do have tonight's photos of the fabulous jack-o-lantern duo that my best beloved carved...



...Cannibal Pumpkin!



Happy Halloween, everyone!

Hurricane Sandy: We're OK

Just a quick post to let you all know that we made it through Hurricane Sandy OK. There was a fair amount of flooding in Newport but not, thankfully, at my house. We have some tree limbs down and we lost power for 24 hours - off work for 2 days!! - but now power is restored and things are returning to normal.

It's kind of amazing how helpless one feels without electricity. It was sort of fun reading by candlelight last night, but I was too nervous to write. Hurricanes are not ideal letter-writing conditions!

I'm thinking of all my pen pals and mail friends all up and down the east coast, and hoping everyone is OK.

New letter-writing themed notecards

I am extremely excited to announce that I have finally created notecards out of my popular letter-writing themed postcard designs. There are notecard sets available for almost all of my designs, and you can find them all in the New original cards section of my etsy shop.



Quite a number of my blog readers and etsy shoppers have asked if I would offer notecards, and I weighed the decision carefully for a while. Notecards are much more expensive to print and sell - more paper, envelopes included - and of course, more expensive to ship.



But they offer a lot more room for a proper letter, and feel that much more sophisticated. (Sort of. Some of my designs are a bit silly, I suppose...) I experimented with small print runs from a number of different professional printers, and found quite a few disappointments: cheaper price and lesser quality.



I did not wish to sell a notecard that I wouldn't want to write on myself, and the ability to take fountain pen ink and still look good was very important to me. I have finally found a product of which I can be proud, but they are definitely more expensive than the postcards. They are on par with other similar cards found on etsy, and I am selling them in sets of 3 - 3 cards, 3 envelopes for $6.



Like the postcard sets, they will come packaged in a clear plastic envelope sealed with a sticker, perfect for giving as a gift or as a gift to yourself.



So what do you think? I am very pleased with the tactile, in-person quality, but I'd love to hear any opinions upon viewing the photo or the concept, including from anyone who thinks they're just too expensive.



I did a small print run of these and don't have all that many to sell, so if they are unpopular or unloved, they won't stick around.... if they don't sell, I'm out a little cash but I'm happy to write my own letters on 'em!



Because as we letter-writers all know, letter-writing is NOT a lost art. Snail Mail isn't dead yet.



Here are links to all the notecard designs and options:

1. Classic American Postman
2. Unanswered Correspondence: DO IT NOW!
3. To get a letter... Write a letter.
4. I jump for joy over SNAIL MAIL!
5. Swallow's Air Mail Garden
6. Letterbird
7. Snail mail: Not Dead Yet
8. Solitude and good company: Lord Byron letter-writing quote
9. WRITE: A Letter is Better
10. Zesty French Postman with quote
11. Combination pack, you choose 3

All made and printed in the USA!



Again, you can peruse them all in the New original cards section of my etsy shop.

Whatever notecards or stationery you choose, support snail mail and write lots of letters!

Really expired Postcrossing postcards

I knew Postcrossing postcards that were expired (postcards "expire" after 60 days, so the sender can be allowed to send another, accounting for things lost in the mail, people not registering them, etc) could still be registered if they were received later, but did you know they expire for good after 365 days? I didn't. I received a postcard from China last week, and it couldn't be registered. I tried to have the Postcrossing "robot" find the correct ID (if you haven't used the Postcrossing robot to find missing or incorrect IDs, I highly recommend it), and just received an email letting me know that the postcard ID from China was over 365 days old and thus couldn't be registered. It was postmarked in September 2012, so either the Postcrosser sat on it for a year, or mail from mainland China is even slower than I'd imagined!

Many of you may already know this tidbit, but it was news to me, so I just thought I'd share. Adventures in mailing...

It's almost Monster Time!

Bump - just three days left to sign up for theMonster Postcard Swap #2 swap that I'm hosting on Swap-Bot! If you're interested in sending and receiving some mail monsters, do join in and sign up.

Just in time for Halloween... another Monster Postcard Swap!

Just in time for Halloween... I'm coordinating another Monster Postcard Swap on Swap-bot. All the details are on the Monster Postcard Swap #2 page, so have a look if you're interested, but here are the basics:

Send one postcard featuring a creepy monster -- vampires, werewolves, zombies, Frankenstein, bigfoots, yetis, ogres, banshees, etc -- to one partner. Signup deadline is Oct 19, send deadline Oct 26.

In case you're wondering, the postcard image above featuring bloodthirsty zombies comes from Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies: 30 postcards by Chronicle Books.

The postman delivers mail to the Red Army

This fine postcard was another very pleasant surprise from Postcrossing, in the form of RU-1125795. According to the sender, it shows a photo entitled "The postman hands a letter to the Red Army," from a set of "victory mail" released by the Russian Post "for the day of victory in the great patriotic war." You know I love any imagery of mail and mail delivery, especially involving mail carriers, and views of postpeople from other countries and eras always fascinate me. Plus, he's got a great bike!



The sender, Yury, even included this awesome stamp showing Vologda lace.

My new favorite Pinterest board: Art Cat Stamps

Source: stampnews.com via Junell on Pinterest

I do hop over to Pinterest every now and then, and I just discovered a board that combines two of my great loves: cats and postage stamps. Just had to share with you my new favorite Pinterest board: check out Art Cat Stamps!