Send Good Mail, Get Good Mail

Hello again! Thought I would post some mail related photos.  First, I would like this "Princess Grace" fountain pen in my Christmas stocking, Santa. Please. (Only 72 sleeps till Christmas).

I received a letter in the mail this week from Pamela, who wrote four pages and tucked each page into an origami-folded wallet. The origami paper was a restaurant menu.  She is so clever!

I did a postcard swap with a gal from Finland, and she made her envelope from a shopping bag! What kind of paper are you using to make envelopes? I've used calendar pages, record album covers, thick scrapbook paper and turned security envelopes inside out so the printed design is on the outside.
She sent me a postcard of dancer Cyd Charisse and my favorite Sophia Loren.

 One of my all-time favorite postcards received is from Graphic Artist, Postcard Jim:

 

And one more favorite for ya: 

Chunk O' Cardboard Swap

I've been participating in the Chunk O' Cardboard swap on Swap-Bot for several months now.  Basically, you can use any scrap of cardboard and make it into a postcard.  I've been saving interesting packaging boxes like beer 6-pack cartons, cereal boxes, cake mixes, etc. and I try to personalize it as much as possible.  Here are some I'm sending out this month:

Round cardboard with retro theme that went to Minnesota.

This is the side for address and correspondence; It is a calendar page which I covered in origami paper.  The other side is an Arizona sunset.  Going to Maine.

T

Blue theme with glitter added, going to the Netherlands.

Probably my favorite outgoing is retro packaging from pantyhose.  I can't even remember the last time I wore pantyhose!  Check out the model's hairdo and false eyelashes.  So mod!

Hitched!

July 01, 2012 

Maui, Hawaii

The State of Arizona

The State of Arizona recently celebrated a milestone on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2012.  Our state is now 100 years old!  The 48th state in the union (Alaska and Hawaii were the last two states admitted). 

A new U.S. postage stamp has been released and I love it:

From the East Valley Tribune Newspaper:
Images of Sedona’s Cathedral Rock will grace letters across the country in February as a first-class stamp allows Americans to help celebrate Arizona’s centennial.
Organizers unveiled the painting by Valley artist Ed Mell this past weekend when the traveling Arizona Best Fest centennial festival kicked off in Prescott.
“I actually tried a few different directions before I settled on Cathedral Rock, which I really felt was an icon of Arizona,” Mell said in an interview Monday at his Phoenix studio.
A native Arizonan and a stamp collector in his youth, Mell said this assignment was a dream come true.
“It’s one of those things I always thought would be a wonderful thing to do,” he said.
Karen Churchard, executive director of the Arizona Centennial 2012 Foundation, said U.S. Postal Service representatives asked centennial organizers going in what they didn’t want on the stamp. Their answer: the Grand Canyon and saguaro cactuses, which they considered overused.
“We want to showcase our history,” Churchard said.
Mell said the oil painting took him about three weeks to complete. He worked in a style that combines abstract and realism.
He started by taking a photo of Cathedral Rock and developed pencil sketches before producing the final work on a 20-by-30-inch canvas.
The piece now belongs to the Postal Service, and the stamp will officially become available on Arizona’s Statehood Day, Feb. 14, 2012. A forever stamp, it can be used indefinitely to mail a one-ounce letter.
Mell, who has worked as an artist for 35 years, said he is looking forward to seeing the finished product in February.
“If you’re not enthusiastic about painting, it shows on the canvas,” he said.

Cool M A I L

I've got some groovy mail pictures to show you!

Beautiful holiday stamps from my packages from Finland.  Thank you, An-Ca!

A parcel I received from Great Britain was cheerfully illustrated by the sender, Gemma!  xoxoxo

Imagine my excitement when I pulled an envelope out of the mailbox...from THE PALACE!  As my friend Pamela says, "To get a letter, send a letter!" 

I did a swap with a lovely Brit named Laura, whose husband is a sports writer and his favorite American football team is the Arizona Cardinals.  I sent her some fan memorabilia and she sent me Royal Wedding souvenirs and later I received this pencil case packed with London souvenirs!  How cool is it to use the pencil case as the envelope?! She even stitched it to keep it closed.  I love it all -- thanks so much, Laura!

 Just one decorated outgoing envelope to show at the moment; heading to Finland:

 

Happy New Year!

 

Whew! It's been awhile since my last post and I'm happy to report that all is well.  I bought myself a new Apple computer that I definitely have not mastered yet.  I traveled a lot for work the last quarter of 2011, back and forth to North Carolina.  I traveled up until December 22, so it felt like a short holiday season for me, which I didn't like.  I really miss the Christmas lights.  Then we took a short holiday to Las Vegas in between Christmas and New Year's and we went back to Minus 5 Ice Lounge:

Then my birthday comes right after the first of the year, and I always enjoy getting spoiled by my family!

My favorite vintage New Year's greeting:

Some (older) news:  Here is a photo of our last garden harvest.  We discovered termites (!) so we had to lose the garden, as the chemicals/termite killer was very close to the garden.

Mum and I went to a flea market in the parking lot at our favorite antique mall.  Here she is, digging through vintage hankies:

Always beautiful glass and sometimes tools can be found!

I left with some nice vintage ephemera that day.


I won a kitty-naming contest for Julie, the talented artist behind the Penpal of the Week blog.  I named one of her hairless Sphinx cats as Augustin.  She let me pick a stationery set from her store, La Papierre and I chose the "Dear Jeanne" set.  If it looks familiar, it is because the image is also featured on her business cards.  It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of her stationery and postcards!  Thanks, Julie!

On Swap-bot, I tried making my first ATC's (Artist Trading Cards), golden on front and then back images:

And here are some ATC's that I received:

I'm in no big hurry to make more as I was criticized for not making them the correct size.  Apparently I used the wrong size playing card as the base!  Oh well, live and learn!  Hope your new year is off to a *b*a*n*g*