The Missive Maven

New U.S. postage rates today

2012-01-22T12:25:00.003-05:00

Today is the day when the latest round of postage rate increases take effect. Don't ask me why the new rate starts on a Sunday, when there is no mail delivery or postmarks, because I have no idea. If anyone can answer that question, please, comment away! (Pictured above is the new 2012 international rate stamp, featuring Lancaster County, PA)

The new rates are as follows:

Letters (up to 1 oz.) – 45 cents

Letters additional ounces – unchanged at 20 cents

Postcards – 32 cents

Letters to Canada or Mexico (up to 1 oz.) – 85 cents

Letters to other international destinations – $1.05

Source: Postal Service Adjusts Mailing Services Prices for 2012

"Forever" stamps will reflect the current first-class rate. So, if you are using a numbered stamp, or a Zazzle-bought stamp etc and it says 44 cents, you'll need to make sure you add a 1-cent stamp. However, if you're using a Forever stamp, it becomes worth 45 cents so you don't need to add extra postage.

All postage released at first-class rate in 2012 will be Forever, and all of the later releases in 2011 were Forever stamps. As much as I miss the numbers, and combining old/vintage stamps to provide the proper face value, I have to admit that the Forever designation is handy and a good value.

Happy mailing!

Batty / Writer's Block

2012-01-20T12:32:00.003-05:00

This amazing postcard of Batty the cat (aptly named - look at those ears!) came to me from the venerable PostMuse, and it has to be one of my favorite postcards ever received. A black cat (named Batty) plus a typewriter - what could be better?

It is from the series "Funny Cats Postcards" from Stewart Tabori & Chang, and this photograph is called "Writer's Block" by Joyce Ravid in 1992.

Batty looks like she is ready to type, or berate a writer for not typing!

Gilded

2012-01-19T11:32:00.004-05:00

I was feeling golden in my decorative mood for a recent (well, November) letter to Donovan. I combined some large plasticky deco tape with a Martha Stewart Crafts label. I think the stationery is Crane something... it's certainly cottony.

I went with a simple vintage label on the back.

I used a couple of vintage stamps - Abigail Adams, known as a writer (corresponding with her husband, President John Adams), and that lovely rainbow-edged United Way stamp.

Only a few more days where two 22-cent stamps = the current 1st class domestic letter rate...

Letters in the Mail: from famous authors, to you

2012-01-17T11:29:00.008-05:00

I have never been a fan of the "buy a letter from me" gimmick that some folks employ, though really, - to each her own. However, this new little gimmick from The Rumpus looks pretty intriguing. Their Letters in the mail subscription gets you a letter from a famous author "almost every week." No, the letters are not personalized - everyone got the same letter from Margaret Cho, for example - but it is still an interesting idea, and a great way to give quality writers a little extra income between their publications, no? (I'll give you a little secret: those of you who know me very well already know that my best beloved is a writer, with a real-live hardback novel coming out in future months... but don't worry, I'll tell you ALL ABOUT IT when it's closer to publication. So I'm pretty down with supporting writers.)

Want to know more? I definitely did. Here's an interview with author Stephen Elliott that tells us all a little more about it.

~~I might try it. I haven't decided yet.~~ [I admit it - curiosity got the better of me and I already signed up!] If you're a reader or a literary type, you might be interested, too. Anyone who's subscribed to Letters in the mail already? I'd love to hear from you about it.

Happy time handmade postcard

2012-01-14T09:21:00.002-05:00

I got assigned a rare Postcrosser who likes handmade postcards, conveniently at a time when I could actually make a postcard - so I broke out some rubber stamps and stickers for US-1248400 to Australia. I got a kick out of making this one. The mangled English stamp reads "Happy Time: flowing of waited interval is itself time." Deep.

Handmade Halloween envelope

2012-01-08T11:32:00.003-05:00

This was a combination birthday/Halloween letter for my cousin (also a sometime pen pal) whose birthday is almost on Halloween. I made the envelope out of a small file folder that came in a Letter Writers Alliance RSVP Halloween package. The black label also came with that package, so it was like a letter-making kit right there! The stamp with the kitty on the moon surrounded by bats is one I found on Zazzle.

That big-eyed witch face is all kinds of creepy awesome, if you ask me.

2011: a year in mail

2012-01-04T18:15:00.034-05:00

I've been wanting to do this for ages now, and the start of a new year seems the perfect time to do it, so hear ye, read ye: I give you one hell of a massive blog post chock full of information on exactly how I keep my correspondence records, complete with monthly and yearly statistics at the end. (Beware, this may be a frightening glimpse into my quirky depths. But isn't that why we all read blogs anyway?)

Every day I record my mail, both incoming and outgoing. I haven't settled on a good name for the books yet; I refer to them as letter journals, mail logs, correspondence records, letter logs, and mailbooks, depending on my mood. I have come to favor the small lined Rhodia Webnotebooks for this task, for a variety of reasons: they're the perfect size for my needs, the paper takes fountain pen ink beautifully, they travel well, I like the weight and color... I could go on and on. Sometimes I think about switching it up, but for now I like this habit. Also, the month/year labels just fit on them so darn nicely.

I just started a new one recently, and I average about 4 months of mail per book. (I recommend Rhodia Webnotebooks from Goulet Pens and Jetpens; they do not endorse or sponsor me in any way, I am just a very satisfied customer of both fine online retailers.)

I record incoming and outgoing mail separately. For incoming, I do all the day's mail (or multiple days, if I've been away or - gasp! - so busy I can't make it to the mailbox) in one sitting, logging it as I read it. All received mail gets recorded with a Pilot Varsity disposable fountain pen, refilled with Noodler's Heart of Darkness (black, black, very black and permanent) ink. Outgoing letters get logged as they're written, using the last color ink I used for the letter.

Here's a fair sample page with personal information blurred out. In the received section, I note the sender, location/US state or country (with Postcrossing ID if applicable; other notes, like swaps or misc info like background on the sender, I list on the facing page), postmark date or note illegible, item date or note undated, and postcards get listed first and noted as postcards.

A while back, I started satisfying some of my own curiosity with statistics. Nothing mathematically fancy here, just plain counting. It greatly facilitates my own tallies if I designate letters and postcards numerically by month. I did this all through 2011 for sent items by month, and it made counting the entire year's output exponentially simpler. In 2012 I shall do this for received items as well. That is what the designations before each entry, such as P29 or L14, mean. On this page, P29 is the 29th postcard and L14 is the 14th letter written in November. (One little statistical note, now that my etsy shop is a year old, too: although I write a note with every etsy order, I do not tally those in statistics or log them in my mailbook. They are not personal correspondence.)

So today I went through and counted them all manually. At times like this I wish I kept a fancier spreadsheet; it would be handy or at least interesting, for example, to find out how many things I sent domestically vs to foreign countries (that info is in my written records but I didn't tally it for this), or, perhaps more daunting, exactly how much money I spent on postage in a year. But I really enjoy the ritual of writing in a notebook filled with quality paper, using fountain pens or other fun writing instruments. It's a part of the process that I enjoy, and I would not enjoy keeping a spreadsheet nearly so much.

Enough nattering. Here are the numbers by month. Because I noted letters and postcards separately as I sent them, but not received them, they are broken out thusly as follows:

January 2011
Sent: 39 letters, 48 postcards = 87
Received: 71

February 2011
Sent: 37 letters, 39 postcards = 76
Received: 69

March 2011
Sent: 32 letters, 56 postcards = 88
Received: 74

April 2011
Sent: 39 letters, 56 postcards = 95
Received: 83

May 2011
Sent: 20 letters, 46 postcards = 66
Received: 88

June 2011
Sent: 48 letters, 104 postcards = 152
Received: 120

July 2011
Sent: 36 letters, 83 postcards = 119
Received: 126

August 2011
Sent: 32 letters, 75 postcards = 107
Received: 147

September 2011
Sent: 18 letters, 45 postcards = 63
Received: 92

October 2011
Sent: 12 letters, 50 postcards = 62
Received: 89

November 2011
Sent: 20 letters, 51 postcards = 71
Received: 53

December 2011
Sent: 44 letters, 41 postcards = 85
Received: 69

SENT TOTAL: 377 letters, 694 postcards / 1071 total
RECEIVED TOTAL: 1081

Postcrossing is also great about emailing monthly and yearly stats. I am not including those numbers in the monthly totals, because Postcrossing doesn't count a postcards as "sent" until it is registered, and it could be registered a month or even two after I sent it. But the yearly totals are fun, so I'll note that of the totals listed above, 326 of the sent items and 333 of the received items were Postcrossing postcards.

If you'll permit me some more characters (in an already lengthy post) of reflection, I have to note that I'm fairly cheered that my sent total is only slightly behind my received for the year. I am many months behind in responding to mail I've received, and I dare not even count the numbers in my current "needs response" (NR) pile, but the total of letters and postcards in that daunting NR pile always seems to hover around 100 or so, dating back for those many months. I don't stay on top of it by any means (obviously!), but I try to keep up a steady stream. And an average of nearly 3 mail items sent per day, with at least one of them a letter, is pretty respectable for me and my crazy schedule; it's what I'd hoped I'd achieved, and I'm pleased and proud that I have managed it. You can tell a lot about my schedule by the month's outgoing tallies; I'm a bit surprised, though, because I always feel the busiest in the winter months, but the lowest outgoing months were actually September, October, and May. Those are also busy months for me, and this year was especially skewed since I got very sick in October and did far less mail than usual that month.

Blah, blah, blah. Numbers are fun, but I hope I can maintain some credibility, after spouting all those figures, when I attest that the spirit of my postal journey is far more about quality than quantity. Postcards do tend to be quicker than letters, but for those items contained in an envelope, I may spend 10 minutes on one or I may spend 6 hours. At the end of the day and the end of the year, I am very happy with the year in mail for 2011. I wish I weren't so behind, but I've been behind for two years now and I doubt I'll catch up anytime soon, so I've given up worrying about that too much.

I'll also err on the side of being a little preachy and note that the months of and following my most productive send numbers were also the richest in received numbers. Here you go, folks, numerical proof: to get a letter, send a letter!

This post has become more loquacious than I ever intended, but I guess some of my favorite posts end up that way. Thanks for bearing with me. It's been a great mail year, full of postal joy and fulfillment... what about you? Was 2011 a good mail year for you, too?

Another no-mail Monday coming

2011-12-31T11:20:00.003-05:00

Due to New Year's Day falling on a Sunday, the U.S. Postal Service will observe the holiday on January 2, 2012. So mail your stuff today, folks, because we won't have pickup or delivery again until Tuesday.

On the bright side, that means Tuesday will likely be a good mail day!

By the way, Soda likes Halloween mail, too

2011-12-31T11:12:00.003-05:00

Back in October, Soda was exceedingly helpful with Halloween mail.

She was particularly fond of all the goodies in the Halloween RSVP packages from the Letter Writers Alliance.

Halloween postcards with Halloween tape

2011-12-30T17:11:00.003-05:00

I spiced up a lot of my Halloween mail with some recently discovered Halloween paper tape - from Martha Stewart Crafts, of all places. I don't know if one is allowed to call this "washi tape" as it's not Japanese, but it is paper tape and tears essentially the same way. Of course the bat tape is my very favorite, and I found this Swap-bot Halloween postcard swap the perfect occasion to use one of my skull envelope stamps. A sparkly bat sticker, also by Martha Stewart (who knew her Halloween stuff was so great? I didn't!), livens things up.

More Halloween tape here, though these stickers are decidedly NOT Martha Stewart.

Finally, a shot of a bunch of Halloween postcards together before they went out for their swaps. I love these vintage reproductions! They came from three different postcard books: Halloween: Romantic Art and Customs of Yesteryear Postcard Book, Old-Fashioned Halloween Cards: 24 Cards (Dover Postcards), and Halloween Postcard Book by Darling & Company. Very few are actually spooky, most are cute, and some are just downright weird, like the bottom right-hand corner card that shows a kissing couple standing in a Jack-o-lantern.

U.S. Postage rate increase in January 2012

2011-12-28T10:55:00.006-05:00

I blogged recently about the upcoming international first-class postage increase, and I (and other blog readers) have been curious about which other postage rates are going up, and by how much.

So here's the skinny.

As of January 22, 2012, the new rates are as follows:

Letters (up to 1 oz.) – 1-cent increase to 45 cents

Letters additional ounces – unchanged at 20 cents

Postcards – 3-cent increase to 32 cents

Letters to Canada or Mexico (up to 1 oz.) – 5-cent increase to 85 cents.

Letters to other international destinations – 7-cent increase to $1.05

Source: Postal Service Adjusts Mailing Services Prices for 2012

It is important to note that the U.S. Postal service "Forever" stamps will reflect the current first-class rate. So, if you are using a numbered stamp, or a Zazzle-bought stamp etc and it says 44 cents, you'll need to make sure you add a 1-cent stamp. However, if you're using a Forever stamp, it becomes worth 45 cents so you don't need to add extra postage.

All postage released at first-class rate in 2012 will be Forever, and all of the later releases in 2011 were Forever stamps. As much as I miss the numbers, and combining old/vintage stamps to provide the proper face value, I have to admit that the Forever designation is handy and a good value.

Use up your 98-cent international and your 29-cent postcard stamps while you can!

Silver Halloween letter

2011-12-26T11:46:00.005-05:00

Yes yes, I am terribly behind in blog posts. I'm working my way through October letter photos now. So, here we have one of my more decorative and exciting Halloween letters! I do hope the metallic silver envelope went through with no problems, along with the day-glo green gel pen ink for the address. (That ink isn't totally waterproof, so I covered it with tape.) The envelope features some of my favorite Halloween stickers, and is being modeled by a cute bendy skeleton I got from one of the Letter Writers Alliance RSVP Halloween packages.

Naturally, Soda had to get in on the photographic action. I took a bunch of her with this letter - she seemed really to like this one especially - but in an effort not to barrage you with a million Soda pictures, I just picked my favorite.

And ta-daa! - the back. I love those stickers that make a play on words with favorite alcoholic beverages and spooky imagery... skin and tonic! Eyeball highball! HA!

More spooky Halloween letters and postcards to come in future posts... because I know a lot of you readers, just like me, love Halloween year 'round.

Happy Hanu-Kat 2011!

2011-12-24T18:15:00.002-05:00

As you may have seen in years past, our shy kitty Magic is very fond of the Hanukkah menorah. She and I both wish all of our Jewish blog readers a Happy Hanukkah (this was from last night's candles, but she's sitting by 'em again tonight!), and a happy holiday season to everyone.

New 2012 international rate stamp: Lancaster County, PA

2011-12-24T13:44:00.006-05:00

Behold, the new 2012 international rate stamp! This image features Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (Amish country, I believe?) as part of the Scenic American Landscapes series, according to the Stamp of Approval blog. The new rate is $1.05, up from $0.98.

UPDATE: Rates go up January 22, 2012.

Missive Maven is 3 years old today

2011-12-16T12:50:00.005-05:00

Happy Blogoversary to me! I can't believe it's been 3 years. It seems like much longer, and much shorter than that, all at once.

I want to thank all my wonderful readers for joining me on this epistolary-blogging journey. You are all an inspiration, and a heck of a lot of fun, too.

I never thought I'd end up blogging this long, or this intensely, or that the whole Missive Maven endeavor would turn out to be such a large and fulfilling portion of my life.

This is my busy season at work, and I know the posts fall way down during November, December, January and February. So I wish I had some big bombastic way to celebrate this anniversary, but as it is, I'm just happy I've managed a blog post on the day. I hope to do some more catch-up posts at the end of the month, but in the meantime, I'm trying to prioritize my little free time towards putting pen and ink to paper.

And for now... let's both go write a letter!

World's Smallest Post Service surprise

2011-12-13T09:55:00.001-05:00

I got the most wonderful surprise gift a couple of months ago: my very own gratis World's Smallest Post Service, brainchild of Lea Redmond of Leafcutter Designs and manufactured by Chronicle Books. I have been aware of the WSPS for quite a while, as the Letter Writers Alliance has often touted Lea Redmond's magic, long before it was released as a collectible set by Chronicle Books.

Along with my own free set of the WSPS to play with, I got this neato letter from Lea Redmond, WSPS Postmaster, herself.

It came adorably sealed in one of those little cases - I know they have a name... what are they, film cases? - with its own mini envelope seal.

Oh my golly, how flattered am I that the WSPS postmaster and creator herself thought I needed one of these?!? So cute!

The letter came packaged with its own magnifying loupe. Fortunately for me, my eye deficiencies run the other way; I'm dreadfully nearsighted, but I can read tiny things unaided. (Or write them, as recipients of some of my microscopic-handwriting postcards can attest.)

Of course I responded right away, with a mini-thank-you written on using the WSPS sent to me. Here's the array of writing utensils I used for the job. On the far right you see the pen that came with the set; it is unmarked, but I believe it is a Sakura Micron of some sort. I was surprised that it isn't all that fine... I have finer-tipped pens in my own arsenal already, so I used those instead.

Here you see my tiny response with its tiny airmail envelope and very cute miniature postage stamp sticker.

Here's a closeup of my letter. You saw in hers that she had quasi-notebook paper with lines and little holes, but the paper included in the WSPS set from Chronicle Books includes blank paper only. I was pleased with how well it took fountain pen ink, though, since my own needlepoint nib/XXXF Pelikan nib (special grind from Richard Binder) wrote finer than the black pen included.

The tiny letters need their own larger encasing, so I used my beloved nib head skull design and stuck it inside of a larger card, to ride inside of another larger card.

Is the set adorable? Yes. Would people who love tiny cute things love it? Absolutely. Would I ever have bought this on my own? Nope. I'm not a tiny-cute-things lover in most cases, and to me its not terribly practical - I'd rather just write a real letter (again, not being a swooner over the miniature thing). Will I have fun with it now that I have one? Most definitely.

Thanks, Lea Redmond and Chronicle Books!

This just in: New Postcrossing send limits

2011-12-08T08:08:00.004-05:00

I know a lot of my blog readers are as addicted to Postcrossing as I am, so I had to share this as soon as I saw it.

Postcrossing has just updated the send limits for new users (or users with fewer than 100 postcards sent). You will now be able to send more postcards with fewer logged sent postcards. They can explain it better than I do, so I'll just quote directly from their post:

Today we are doing an update on the formula for limits in Postcrossing. From now onwards, the limit for new accounts will start to increase after the first 5 postcards sent (and registered). Afterwards, the number of postcards you can send will increase by 1 for each 10 postcards sent (it was for each 20, so it grows twice as fast!). After the first 35 postcards sent, it increases by 1 on each multiple of 50 postcards sent.

We know this might sound a little confusing, so we made a little graph to explain the difference between before and after. Here it is:

As you see, the limits grow faster initially, allowing the account to reach a more comfortable level sooner.

As for me, it's been a while since I've been able to have all my postcards traveling... I just don't have time to write them, and my current limit is 19. But all users get an extra postcard in their limit now, so in fact they just bumped me up to 20. It's a little holiday gift to everyone.

Happy Postcrossing!

Etsy letterpress love: Orange tabby press

2011-12-03T20:43:00.008-05:00

I found out about Orange tabby press, a fantastic etsy shop, from one of PostMuse's tweets (@PostMuse). She was praising this Snail mail letterpress stationery set, and of course I fell in love with it and couldn't resist ordering some. It's a little hard to tell from the photo (though the description does say this on the etsy listing), but it's on light green paper. The paper itself is thick and of high quality, and takes fountain pen ink beautifully. I've only tried one ink on it, and in all honesty I can't even remember what ink it was right now... but it did not bleed through or show through at all, and I could write on both sides.

Also from Orange Tabby Press, I got this lovely set of Letterpress notebook paper, which really does come with the pencil. I haven't tried mine out yet, though I will assuredly do so with a fountain pen and not the pencil.

Is it time for a new look?

2011-11-26T13:07:00.002-05:00

I have had the same blog design since I started up The Missive Maven nearly three years ago. At the time, it was a blogger template, but it is now so antiquated that a lot of doo-dads don't work with it, or I have to go into the html code to tweak it so that they do.

I am thinking it might be time for a new look. I am not a creature who takes kindly to visual change, so this is a big deal for me. I don't even know what the new look may be yet, but I'm just thinking out loud here. (Is that a weird thing to say on a blog? Probably.) I would keep the features but things would look different.

Any strong opinions either way from readers? Inquiring Missive Mavens want to know.

Looking for a pen pal? Here's a Twitter option...

2011-11-25T13:53:00.000-05:00

I just saw that one of my fine tweeps (that's Twitter users I follow, for those unfamiliar with that lingo), @LetterSets of lettersets.com has offered to help with pen pal searches on Twitter. If you tweet that you're looking for a pen pal, they'll retweet it to all their followers for you.

Seems rather instantaneous, but for all those people who are looking for a pen pal RIGHT NOW, it could be a fun option.

If you've read this blog for a while, you know that the last thing I am seeking is more pen pals... but I do know a lot of folks who land here are looking for more pen pals and letter writers, so I hope this is useful to someone.

Critical thinking = survival

2011-11-22T17:47:00.004-05:00

This is a wonderful Postcrossing postcard I sent a while back, if I do say so myself. It is US-1235446 to Pihka in Finland, and is the work of the fabulous Stella Marrs. Whenever I see Stella Marrs postcards in a store, usually an independent bookstore (funny affinity, that), I generally snatch up a bunch of them. This went to a woman who enjoys women on postcards, particularly those depicting feminism and women's rights. She was quite pleased with it, and I was glad to send it along to someone else who would love it as much as I do.

On a completely unrelated note, it's about to be Thanksgiving here in the USA, a lovely secular American holiday. I have a bit of holiday travel planned myself, and I've been a whirlwind of busy the past month. I have officially entered my daunting "BUSY SEASON," and I'm not even going to admit how many days in the past two weeks went by without me writing a single postcard or letter... there were even a few days when I didn't read my mail. *sigh*

So don't worry about me, I'm still here but I'm hunkered down, sending mail when I can. I'll try to get at least one blog post a week up just to share the mail joy.

To all my American readers - Happy Thanksgiving!

'Tis nearly the season...

2011-11-21T16:47:00.000-05:00

It's the appropriate time of year to go ahead and direct folks to my oft-viewed "A word on holiday cards, or, why I don't do Christmas" post. (It's in my top 10 most-viewed posts, wow!)

If you're really interested, there's some fairly in-depth dialogue in the comments section.

The short bit: don't send me a Christmas card, please.

The long bit: read why.

Want a hand-drawn letter?

2011-11-15T22:45:00.003-05:00

Want your own hand-drawn letter by the creator of this fantastic painting? You might have time to get one.

Bop on over to yourhandwrittenletters tumblr and check out her offer. The artist will draw you a letter from the alphabet and mail it to you like the letter it is, and all you have to do is fill out her handy-dandy form.

I've admired her artwork before, and this seems like a lovely little project that will brighten people's mail days and encourage more letter-writing along the way. And yes, it's the newest blog linked among my letter blogs now. I'll be following her progress regularly.

The amazing cat pouch letter

2011-11-08T21:00:00.003-05:00

The fabulous Donovan of the Letter Writers Alliance has outdone herself again with breathtakingly cool mail. She sent one of her latest letters to me in this sweet little cat pouch!

I can't believe it arrived so unblemished, postally perfect. Even the postmarks are carefully done.

She knows her mailing rules; to avoid any issues with a dangling zipper, she sewed the zipper pull into the zipper itself! It was very easy to open with one snip of the scissors.

Inside, the letter awaits...

...and even the inner presentation is awesome, with the letter tied up with red and white string.

Lest I focus too much on the packaging, I must say the contents were up to her usual stellar standards, with it being one of the loveliest letters I've received this season. Some people think this blog is only about mail art and the way mail looks, but I just keep the contents of letters private. Our postal conversation is between us, but let's just say Donovan's letters read just as beautifully as they look.

I received this quite a while ago, and I had to follow my own rule of not blogging about the letter until I had responded... but I finally put a long letter of my own in the mail to Donovan, so I'm excited to share this pulchritudinous postal tidbit with you all. Surely this kitty pouch is an honorary member of the Feline Postal Brigade!

A clean desk encourages letter writing

2011-11-02T23:10:00.004-04:00

It seems like everything has been a mess in my life lately. The last two weeks of October were just incredibly rough, with mostly unexpected things... the latter of which was that I've gotten a nasty flu and have been sick for nearly two weeks, sicker than I've been in years. So things piled up, including letters and mail, and I barely had the energy to get anything done. My desk got messier than it's been in ages! I'm not a neat freak, but I firmly believe that a clean and organized desktop makes for a more inviting workspace... and it was such a mess before that I didn't even want to look at it, let alone write letters at it!

Tonight I sort of started to get my energy back, and I cheered myself up considerably by cleaning my desk. The piles are still daunting, but at least the writing space is cleared and all my tools are organized.

Naturally, moments after I settled into writing a Postcrossing postcard to Japan, Soda had to jump on up to be a part of the action.

She appreciates the clean desk, too - now there's room for her to stretch out there again!

Sorry for my lack of posts, and my severe lack of mail output... it's been a bad month, but I think I am on the upswing. I did manage a lot of postcards in October - 50! - but only wrote 12 letters. I'm hoping to do a little better in November.

Happy H-OWL-oween!

2011-10-31T10:23:00.003-04:00

This postcard is from one of my vintage Halloween postcard books that I purchased via Amazon.com, but in all honesty, I forget which one. It was either this one or this one.

Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a fun and spooky day.

Common sense about smoking

2011-10-28T22:46:00.007-04:00

Here we have Postrcrossing US-1282619, one of the fantastic offerings in the "Postcards from Penguin: One Hundred Book Covers in One Box" by Chronicle Books.

I wonder what common sense this dated book offered? I love the cover image with the rebellious-looking boys smoking, but here is a little Missive Maven secret: I abhor cigarette smoke. I am zero tolerance about it. I have ended friendships because I can't stand to be around people who smoke. My nose wrinkles in disgust when I read a letter from a smoker, because the paper absorbs that awful cigarette smell. I have a friend who sometimes writes me letters from European pubs, in countries where they still allow smoking in those establishments... and I always know when he's done so.

Nonetheless, I dig this postcard. There's still something kitschy about it.

To mystery "B"

2011-10-17T23:07:00.004-04:00

I got a letter today from "B" in California, with thoughts on a recent post I made. It was written on paper with illustrated Hallmark dogs around the edges.

B, thank you for writing. I am glad my post resonated with you and meant something. That is exactly why I decided to finally write that post.

I would write you back, but you didn't leave a return address, and I imagine you are just preserving your privacy and wanted to get something off your chest. I am sorry you are feeling so alone, and I hope you find some more resources online or among friends. My heart goes out to you.

p.s. No one is a cliché. Everyone is a complex individual with her or his own unique story.

I ♥ U.S. Postal Workers!

2011-10-14T19:43:00.004-04:00

I was inspired by the Send the Love campaign to draw a little something special on a recent outgoing order from my etsy shop. Nothing fancy, just a little something that I hope showed some appreciation to all the mail handlers on the way.

Soda often helps me package up orders, and this one was no exception. Since she was posing so nicely, I had to grab a shot of her with the little package, too. Hooray for the Feline Postal Brigade!

I'm a day late for National Coming Out Day!

2011-10-12T09:11:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (Oct 11) was National Coming Out Day, and I missed doing a post about it on time! Oops! Better late than never, I hope. This fabulous postcard is from Syracuse Cultural Workers, a great organization with excellent progressive postcards. This one reads "Unfortunately, history has set the record a little too straight" and references 10 famous LGBT/queer people in history. They are, from left to right, top row: James Baldwin/writer, Willa Cather/writer, Errol Flynn/actor, Michaelangelo/artist, Edna St. Vincent Millay/poet; bottom row: Cole Porter/composer, Eleanor Roosevelt/social activist, Bessie Smith/singer, Walt Whitman/poet, Virginia Woolf/writer.

I often feel admiration for someone who is "out" openly and casually in mail-type internet settings, such as on a Postcrossing or Swap-bot profile. In the past I've been tempted to come out on this blog, but have held back because I want the focus of this blog to be on mail, not on me and my personal life. And I admit, I'm well aware that it's one of those things that once I put "out there," I can't take back. But I am mostly "out" in the aspects of my life where people come into personal contact with me - at work, with friends and most family, etc - so in a sense, I'm putting this out there for people who know more of my online persona than the real me, per se. I digress. Every time I see one of those little casual out mentions, I contemplate what I'm doing in this post. A lot over the past year I've been thinking how important visibility is, especially with the USA making so many wonderful, positive civil rights changes like repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" and promoting marriage equality in so many states. A lot of people can be casual in how they come out by referencing a partner, but my referencing my husband (I don't mention him often, for aforementioned privacy reasons) doesn't tell our whole story. I am bisexual and he is transgender. We do not consider ourselves a straight couple. I do not want this blog to become about me, and I don't want to grandstand by getting into any complicated explanations that don't have anything to do with mail or letter writing, but I am thinking it is time to just put it out there. I've come out to some of my pen pals, and not to others, and I am honestly reaching the point where in some cases, I forget to whom I've come out and to whom I haven't! So now anyone who reads this blog knows. I hope every single person who comes out, on National Coming Out day or any other day, makes it a little bit easier for everyone else in the world to come out, too, if they want to, and to lead normal, happy, hate-free lives.

So now, may my own record not be set a little too straight!

Another mail blog to share

2011-10-11T23:27:00.003-04:00

I just bumbled on to another mail blog, which has been around for quite a while - more than a year, anyhow. How did I this one? It has such a fabulous name: The Society for the Prevention of Empty Mailboxes. Alas, it seems oriented only towards college students (umm... why?), but if you are a college/university student, or even if you just want to read the posts, it's worth checking out.

One more for Halloween postcard?

2011-10-10T23:16:00.000-04:00

We need ONE more for the Halloween postcard... USA only swap, though more than one would certainly be welcome! Any takers?

New shop section: vintage postage

2011-10-10T21:53:00.000-04:00

So y'all probably know I have a lot of stamps. I am rich in vintage postage, both from my Grandpa's old stamp collection as well as my many purchasing ventures. I'm now putting a few for sale in the new vintage postage section of my etsy shop.

Many of you also know I'm Jewish, so I'm not going to use the many Christmas stamps that have come my way in various stamp lots. I've just posted two different listings for holiday/Christmas stamps that people other than myself will probably be a lot more interested in.

This Vintage holiday greetings postage book is in excellent unused condition, with 20 29-cent stamps. Perfect for the current postcard rate! They are glue-backed, so you do need to moisten for the adhesive.

Also, a smaller lot of 6 unused individual Christmas stamps.

I'm on the fence about selling some other stamps. The Christmas ones are the only ones I have that I know I'll never, ever actually use. But I've seen a lot of folks selling vintage unused postage on etsy lately, and it seems to be pretty popular. I'm considering selling some of my other postage that I have a lot of, even some of the letter-writing themed stuff...

...like the stamps pictured on this postcard. What do you think? Would you be interested? Should I sell other vintage stamps? Feedback most appreciated!

Giveaway: handmade swaps organizer

2011-10-10T17:14:00.000-04:00

I received this today in the Swap-bot 100,000 swap, the swap celebrating Swap-bot's 100,000th swap. (Wow, that was repetitive.) It calls itself "My Swap-bot Swaps Organizer." It is handmade, clearly with love and effort, and it is something that I will never, ever use for anything. (In all honesty, I would have preferred a groovy postcard, but there's the Swap-bot smorgasbord serendipity for you.) But it's hard to throw in the trash, since someone put so much effort into making it, and maybe someone would use it... does anyone else want it? I imagine someone does. So, I'm offering an immediate giveaway for anyone in the USA. Sorry, USA only because I can send this very inexpensively via media mail, but it gets much pricier beyond American borders.

Inside the front cover there are some post-it notes of different sizes.

All pages inside are blank, and there are a few plastic tab dividers.

Behold the back.

Want to take it off my hands? Read the rules below and comment on this post.

THE INEVITABLE RULES

1. HOW: To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post. One comment/entry per person, please.

2. WHO: No anonymous comments will be approved. You need a blogger profile to enter this giveaway (simply because I need to know who you are - I'm not going to count through "anonymous #7"), and if you don't have a blogger profile yet, just make one. It's fast, easy and free, doesn't require a blog, and I think only requires a valid email address. Also, your profile with email address MUST be viewable, or you must provide a valid email address in your comment. If you don't have an email address in your comment or viewable from your Blogger profile, and I don't magically randomly already have it, I won't approve your comment/entry. Lastly, keep your eyes peeled for this magical phrase after you submit your comment/entry: "Comments will be visible after blog owner approval." If you miss that and comment twice, or three times, or more, I'll delete duplicates.

3. WHERE: USA only. I will be sending this Media Mail.

4. WHEN: The deadline for comments/entries is Saturday, October 29 at 12pm EST. I will announce the winner Saturday afternoon or evening.

Halloween postcard swaps!

2011-10-10T16:40:00.000-04:00

I adore Halloween! I have a bunch of awesome Halloween postcards, and have already participated in a couple of great Halloween postcard swaps on Swap-bot.

There are two more that close today and tomorrow; if you're looking to sign up for a Halloween postcard swap on swap-bot, the more, the merrier!

Halloween PC swap: this one is technically international, though right now all the swappers signed up for it are from the USA. Last day to sign up: TODAY, October 14.

Halloween PC... USA only swap: Last day to sign up: tomorrow, October 15.

Come join the spooky postcard fun!

Orange printed "Save the Postal Service" postcard

2011-10-04T23:18:00.003-04:00

So this is one of those awesome free printable "Save America's Postal Service" postcards that I blogged about a couple of days ago. The savvy designer recommends cream card stock, but I don't have cream card stock. I do have glaring bright orange card stock! So, I printed on that, jazzed it up with some washi tape, and taped it to some paperboard, as my card stock felt a bit flimsy for the mail processing machines. It makes me smile to think of any postal worker than handles this, and notices it.

I made this little doodle of appreciation on the back.

Free printable postcards: Save America's Postal Service

2011-10-02T23:34:00.004-04:00

Somewhere jumping around in the Twitter vortex, I discovered these incredibly adorable free printable postcards: Save America's Postal Service. Really fun design. I don't have a color printer, but I think I'm going to have to try out a couple of these in grayscale. I love the adorable artwork of drowning mailboxes! Check out the link, where you can download this design + two more.

Mucha stamp from the Czech Republic

2011-10-02T14:40:00.003-04:00

This incredible Alphonse Mucha stamp recently came to me on a Postcrossing postcard from the Czech Republic. I'm a Mucha fan, and this truly delighted me! It has zodiac imagery, and the stamp is titled "zodiac." I can't tell which zodiac sign this lovely lady is representing (is it Libra, because Libra is on the top here?), but it has a warm, autumnal feel in the mood and colors.

Official White House petition to for the U.S. Post Office

2011-10-01T11:46:00.006-04:00

I guess Twitter is good for some things. I just learned about this official petition from the U.S. White House to save the postal service. Yes, you have to create an account in order to "sign" the petition, but I see the validity in that. This probably does not have the power of a personal contact to your legislators, and it definitely doesn't have the power of a handwritten letter to your government officials, but it seems like a good idea to make our voices of support for the U.S. Postal Service heard in myriad forms. As of my signing it, it had 63 signatures, with 4937 needed by October 26.

For my international readers, thanks for your patience with all my posts that concern only the U.S. Postal Service.

Tweet, tweet

2011-09-30T19:17:00.004-04:00

I'm holding out on Facebook for a million reasons I don't even want to get into here (yep, I'm one of those people who doesn't do Facebook), but I did cave and join twitter once I learned you don't have to do it from a mobile phone. I tweet from my laptop.

You can find me on Twitter now, and I even added the little buttons above my post labels so you can tweet, or email, my posts. (The latter is somewhat experimental.)

Are you on Twitter? Let me know. I am still exploring that realm and would love to check out your little corner of it.

L'Shana Tova / Happy New Year 5772

2011-09-29T17:24:00.003-04:00

Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, 5772 in the Jewish calendar. Blog reader and lovely pen pal Rusty created this handmade, textured card featuring the traditional Rosh Hashanah symbols of apples and honey, sweet foods for a sweet year. She even sent it to me in time for it to arrive before Rosh Hashanah! I am touched by this lovely handmade artwork, Rusty, and delighted to share it with my readers as the mail image for this joyous holiday.

L'Shana Tova / Happy New Year 5772! Wishing a sweet year filled with joy and peace for all.

Send the love: show support for postal workers

2011-09-27T22:57:00.003-04:00

Thanks to a comment on my last post about saying no to a bad postal bill, I learned from The Creative Beast about another wonderful little campaign called Send the Love. This one is more about good energy than politics, but gratitude is a powerful thing, and letting our postal workers know we appreciate them has to brighten their day. So this idea is all about "sending messages of support and gratitude for our postal workers during this time of crisis."

My favorite option is the "make a mark" suggestion:

Next time you put something in the mail, on the back of the envelope, make a mark of support to show postal workers that you value what they do. Just draw a simple heart with a P.O. inside. If you’re more creative, make a drawing or write a note. The postal workers who handle the mail, from the person who takes it out of the blue collection box to the people who do the sorting and processing to the person who puts it in your box — they will all get the message. So many postal workers make sure your mail gets where it’s going. Send them some thanks.

Post office politics: say no to a bad bill, and yes to 6-day delivery

2011-09-27T20:49:00.006-04:00

I recently blogged about the current woes of the U.S. Postal Service in my post, Is the postal service really in trouble?.

While I normally keep politics off of this blog (though on a personal level, I'm a pretty political kinda gal), this is a very important political issue for supporters of the U.S. Postal Service, postal workers, and 6-day delivery, so I'm going to stand on my soapbox for a minute.

I just read this excellent and informative post from the Letter Writers Alliance about a nasty new bill that's reared its ugly head in the senate called the Issa-Ross bill. The LWA quoted one of their members, post worker Carol C., who said it so well that I'm going to quote her again right here:

"I need to put out an all points bulletin! Perhaps you are already aware of a very mean-spirited bit of legislation which is aimed to dismantle the USPS. It passed in the House and John McCain introduced it into the Senate this past Friday. It is called the Issa-Ross bill which will eliminate Saturday delivery, cut jobs, services, close more offices than previously anticipated and ruin the unions. And it is completely unnecessary. They are using a scare tactic by saying the USPS will need a taxpayers bailout- this is completely false...However, it is gathering them support. The fact is there are sufficient funds in other postal accounts to cover the under funded one. Congress needs to authorize the transfer of money. HR1351 would do just that and keep our Saturday deliveries. But common sense is overshadowed. Time is of the essence- please spread the word to have everyone contact their Senators ASAP and vote NO to the Issa-Ross bill. Ask that they preserve Saturday delivery and support HR1351 instead! Sorry, to be so political, but it is crucial. They are trying to push this through before Friday. Yikes!!!

Thank you! Visit writealetter.org for more info."

The links above should point you in the right direction to take some action and contact your legislators. I like this one, too: Ask your representative to co-sponsor HR1351. It's pretty egregious that they're trying to push this through on such last-minute notice, but I admit that I don't entirely understand how these political games work.

I DO vote, though, and I voice my opinions to the lawmakers: I urge you to do the same! Stand up for our mail!

Letter to Crane & Co., as per their pen pal request

2011-09-25T11:53:00.004-04:00

Remember the notice that Crane & Co. wants pen pals? Of course I did write in a letter, though we all know I don't need any more pen pals... I somehow doubt the lovely marketing lady really intends to correspond long-term with anyone, but it's a nice thought and I wanted to send a supportive gesture. And hey, the possibility of winning some goods from Crane & Co. paper was a nice incentive, too. So I had to make my letter nice and pretty, since I'm sure she's getting quite a deluge of pulchritudinous post. I used some washi tape, Japanese decorative masking tape, and my own Missive Maven-designed stamps and stickers, with white ink on a red envelope.

That's my dandy new return address sticker (a la moo.com) on the back.

I know of one person who said she'd heard back from the official pen pallers at Crane. I know a lot of us have written - anyone else heard back? I have a feeling that they didn't quite know what they were getting into when they asked for handwritten mail on the Crane blog, but I hope they are enjoying the letters that are coming their way. Read the details of their offer here.

Is the U.S. Postal Service is really in trouble?

2011-09-18T11:18:00.014-04:00

Image: cover of the Sept 19, 2011 issue of The New Yorker, with a parody of the unofficial postal service motto. We subscribe to the magazine, and the covers are always witty, but this one is a favorite, and relevant to this post, so I hope I'm not blowing the cover surprise for any subscribers who haven't received it yet.

A lot of folks have been talking about what trouble the U.S. Postal Service is in these days. Dropping Saturday delivery? Going bankrupt? Defaulting? It's a complex story - and our postal service is a complex institution, being an odd mix of a mandated public service/agency that is expected to generate its own private revenue - and I am the first to admit I don't understand the details of it. So I've tried to refrain from posting some of the "doom and gloom" news stories, which I'm sure most of you have read or seen, until I can really get a handle on my own opinion on it.

Of course I support the U.S. Postal Service, I believe in its value and necessity, and I want to see it thrive - but that doesn't mean I have blind faith with how it is run. Still, I wouldn't want to run it myself, so...

I've found a few links that I think are really valuable and I'd like to share, for those who really want to know more.

The best compilation of facts I've yet found is at savethepostoffice.com. The Consolidating processing network map post has some insightful analysis of the numbers, and some musing on what these closures would mean for mail delivery time. I'm still exploring other areas of the site, including an excellent indexed news table with links to stories of post office closings.

I'd also like to highlight Save America's Postal Service because it is from the perspective of postal workers - letter carriers, mail handlers, postal workers union, and the people who really know what's going on from the inside out. I gather that the very nature of the budgetary issue right now has become tangled up in politics (sigh, what hasn't these days?), but I found their background explanation of the situation to be most illuminating. (In their words, "a congressional mandate is killing the U.S. Postal Service.") Whatever your thoughts on the matter, it's worth reading for perspective.

A great source of insider postal service information is Your Postal Blog, pithily written in the voice of "Benny the Blogger," aka our first postmaster, Benjamin Franklin. I've had this blog linked from mine for years and am a regular reader, as it's not only well written, but full of good, current, accurate information from those in the know - and not those in the business of sensationalized conjecture.

So what can WE do? Well, write letters, buy stamps (vintage stamps are fun, and I buy them, too, but I always make sure to buy new issues just to support the postal service), and send mail, of course, but beyond that, I really don't know.

I do think the McCaskill Mail idea pitched by Melissa of Viva Snail Mail is a lovely one, though, and certainly can't hurt anything.

Catwrangler's fabulous stamps

2011-09-14T23:45:00.009-04:00

Fellow cat-loving mail enthusiast Catwrangler has the most amazing collection of rubber stamps, and she's not afraid to use them! She is also generous with her mail, sending me lots and lots when I still haven't responded to her, and sending other random goodies. I think I love every single one of the stamps she used on this all-stamp handmade postcard.

And so many of them are meta! I heart meta mail. Yay letter stamps. And look, that's her own kitty on the Zazzle postage stamp, too.

Star Wars postcard carries random info

2011-09-11T14:40:00.004-04:00

I sent this fine Star Wars postcard for a Swap-Bot swap last month. The postcard comes from The Art of Star Wars Comics: 100 Collectible Postcards set from Chronicle Books.

This particular swap was for "random info about oneself," so I wrote about my particular aversion to jewelry. It's a tactile-sensitive thing.

Rainbows for sale!

2011-09-10T17:50:00.002-04:00

Here's an update on some new rainbow items I have for sale in my etsy shop. First up, these awesome vintage 80s rainbow hearts postcards, which I love and am using them all up myself already. I'm loving these really fun, simple happy rainbows to send through the mail. The rainbow beams ending in hearts. The front has the rainbow with a space for address and stamp, and the back is completely blank for your message. Each postcard is roughly 4x6 inches, and they're for sale in lots of 10.

Also, I now have multiple color options for these awesome Zebra super marble rainbow gel pens, which I'm also using a lot of myself! They're great on postcards, and the rainbow colors really stand out.

I guess its my vintage kitsch side, but I'm really into 70s and 80s rainbows right now...

Dark on Red

2011-09-08T10:49:00.004-04:00

This offbeat and exquisite blog reader letter came from Lithuania, a country from which I don't receive mail too often. I wish I had taken a photo of the letter, because the sender has excellent and interesting typewriter-like handwriting, and she drew a couple of illustrations on the letter as well.

This artwork on the envelope was the most detailed and eye-catching. Can you tell that the background in the window is "dark" repeated many, many times? I like that use of words as texture in the drawing.

And here's a closer look at that Tall Ships stamp. I really appreciate that the sender included the continued panel next to it, for the full picture! What lovely postage, and other than a tiny rip at the top, it survived the journey well.

Stationary vs. Stationery

2011-09-07T23:39:00.004-04:00

I have blogged about my peevishness over the conflation of these two words before. I have often vowed, with rare irresistible exceptions, not to purchase from vendors who don't know how to spell their own stock.

But now I see the search results on etsy, and I wonder if I need to mistakenly tag my items with "stationary." I think more people search for "stationary" than "stationery." ARRRRGH!!

I mean, is a postcard really meant to be stationary? I think it's meant to fly...

Apologies for the late-night rant. I think I won't respect myself in the morning if I cave. Persnickety grammarians will agree, and the rest of you will probably think we're just fuddy-duddies. Ah well. Perhaps we are.

Latvian writing postcard + bat stamp

2011-09-07T12:31:00.003-04:00

I've complained about some of the crappy cards I've gotten from Postcrossing before, but this one is another winner! This writing-themed postcard is LV-42684 from Latvia. I really like that the design shows ink, writing, and a writing hand, against a warm, well-organized background. Plenty going on, but not too visually distracting. Awesome!

Is if that weren't groovy enough, it has excellent stamps! Of course the Pope gets a "meh" from me, but the bat, people, the BAT!

The bat deserves a closer look. Yay! I like the moose below it, too, which uses metallic silver ink.

Whenever I get bummed about Postcrossing, I remind myself of cards like this. There really are wonderful postcards moving all over the world because of Postcrossing, so if you are a postcard lover and you can afford international postage, I highly recommend it!

Hot postcards!

2011-09-07T10:50:00.002-04:00

I had a lot of fun picking postcards for the Hot postcards swap on swap-bot. I do love me a good pin-up and a little bit of sizzling salaciousness, and nothing was better for this swap than postcards from the fabulous Hellcat Amazons postcard book.

I'm a big fan of the campy-ness of these classic pulp images. This one promises to be "revealing." Ha! I received one of my two postcards for this swap yesterday, and it's a bit too risque for me to post it here!

This swap was a play on hot weather/hot postcards, but I do believe the summer is gone. Labor day is past, and it certainly seems like fall here now.

Crane & Co. wants pen pals

2011-09-06T16:42:00.000-04:00

The Crane Insider, the blog of the venerable Crane & Co. paper company is looking for pen pals. Check out their blog post, Pen pals wanted, for the full details. They offer to write a letter back to anyone who writes them.

I would caution them about that promise, since I do not even make it myself anymore, but I am but one gal and not a company that employs quite a lot of people, and makes paper, to boot.

Oh yes, and the icing on the cake is that "every pen pal will be entered in a contest to win an assortment of Crane & Co. paper goodies." Hmm... I certainly don't need more pen pals, but I will most likely send a letter for that entry!

Pictured at the top of this post is some of my favorite Crane stationery, Snail mail correspondence cards, made in their Kate Spade line. I did a blog review of these cards way back in 2008.

Dutch-themed mail art from Sirpa

2011-09-06T11:32:00.003-04:00

The artistic, talented Sirpa is at it again! She and I both went to the Netherlands recently, and she used one of the very cute Delftware-themed gift bags to make a wonderful envelope. It also features photo stamps of her adorable kitty, Killi! As I told her in my response, this was the first time I had seen photo stamps from any country other than the USA. As always, leave it to Finland to make amazing stamps... I think her photo stamps are prettier, and the photo printing resolution is great. Ah, Finnish stamp envy...

Then, inside the letter, Sirpa really put her talent to use! That's a hand-painted cover to a letter book she wrote, showing a watercolor bouquet. Wow! Sirpa also blogged about this letter booklet; have a look at her post on it, too. Of course she beat me to it by a long shot... and she's already blogged about my response to that letter, which I'm pretty sure I didn't even photograph from my end.

Another great giveaway

2011-09-02T10:42:00.002-04:00

If you missed my recent postcard giveaway, you can get another chance to win some of my postcards along with a whole slew of wonderful items at the
Letters & Journals September giveaway.

There are beautiful items there, from vendors new to me as well as some of my favorites. The L&J giveaways are always excellent, but I'm especially excited for this one as it's the first time I've donated any of my own items.

Good luck!

500th Postcrossing card giveaway winners

2011-08-30T12:17:00.007-04:00

Behold - my 500th registered postcard via Postcrossing! This is a Jetoy cat postcard, US-1268197 to Finland.

The winner of the 5-postcard giveaway...

#10 is Sirpa! Sirpa has some really great luck, because she's won one of my giveaways before - way to go, Sirpa!

7 people correctly guessed that the 500th registered would be in Finland. Just as I was wondering if the random number generator ever picks 1...

...it did! Kanerva was the first of the seven, so she is the winner of the extra 2-postcard lucky guess giveaway.

Messages are off to Kanerva and Sirpa (is Finland a really lucky country? Both these gals are from Finland!) to let me know their choices for which postcards they want.

Thanks to everyone for entering, and for your congrats on my 500th postcard milestone! I'm pretty excited about it. Now, I wonder when I will have received 500 postcards? Right now I've only received 484.

Post hurricane, we're fine!

2011-08-29T22:20:00.001-04:00

We had no damage during Hurricane Irene but we did lose power, internet, and all phone service for 32 hours. It was a fun candle-lit evening last night. Just got power and internet back - hooray! Thanks for all your concern and comments.

Just to compare to my photos from Saturday's post before the hurricane...

Here's the same view on Sunday around 1:30. The hurricane-force winds were down, but we were without power... it was still blowing hard, but other folks were out walking and gawking so we went out, too. It wasn't raining but we got covered in sea spray. I don't know if you can tell by this photo how much bigger the waves were, but I couldn't stop and take too many photos because the wind kept blowing me back a few feet. Seriously. Had to keep walking! It was a little scary.

And then today brought typically gorgeous post-hurricane weather. This is what the ocean usually looks like right here!

I am ashamed to admit that I only wrote a few letters and postcards during our 32 hours without power. Frankly, I was just nervous and unsettled. There were little things to do, like get all the perishables from the fridge to the cooler, pick up branches in the yard, unstow trash bins and pots and bikes from hurricane-yard lockdown, make sure candles were in place ready to be lit for sunset, etc... I lost myself in a good book and played with the cats, and tried to keep my mind off not knowing how long we'd be without power, and without a phone to call my family and let them know we were okay. So. I'd like to say I was a flurry of letter-writing activity, but that is unfortunately not the case. Oh well. I guess a hurricane is sort of an excuse, no?

Oh, and one last thing: I couldn't get my mail today! To their credit, the postal trucks were out and delivering, but as some of you know, I get my mail at a UPS store. Most of Newport was without power today, including the UPS store, and people in our area were urged to stay home from work because stop lights weren't working, etc... not to mention flooding here and there. So, although the mail was delivered some places, my UPS store wasn't open to accept or sort it. I hope they have power tomorrow so I can get my mail! I know we are lucky ones who got it back quickly, because I can still hear generators humming a couple of streets over...

Hurricane Irene on the way

2011-08-27T17:24:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone who has expressed wishes of safety and concern with the approach of Hurricane Irene. A few of you know, but most of you don't, that I used to live in Florida, and we had an awful lot of hurricanes down there in the 3 years I lived there. Our house flooded in Hurricane Wilma in 2005, a category 5 direct hit, and we were inside the house while it happened. It was a terrifying experience just 2 months after Hurricane Katrina did so much damage elsewhere, but I digress.

I've been through a fair number of hurricanes. It's hard to get too worried about a category 1, though I grant you things aren't built quite as hurricane-proof in Rhode Island as they are in Florida. I do live a quarter of a mile from the coastline now, but up high on a hill, and we have our fingers crossed and hope for the best. My superstitious side won't allow me to say "it probably won't be that bad," but optimism is good.

But anyhoo, apologies for a non-letter-writing post, but I've been getting so many emails and comments that I thought I'd better just send the word out that we're fine, we're not evacuating our little island, and maybe send your concern to NC and NYC and all the other areas that look like they may be hit harder.

UPDATE:
We just took our usual neighborhood walk, but I took my camera along this time. The waves are starting! I can't believe how many people were surfing. See that tiny little dot in the photo? That's a surfer WAY out. (The beach is behind him.)

More photos of the ocean by our house in my Hurricane Irene Flickr set.

Stay safe this weekend, everyone, wherever you are!

Postcard giveaway in honor of my Postcrossing 500 sent marker

2011-08-26T10:56:00.005-04:00

I'm too excited, I can't wait any longer - I'm starting my postcard giveaway!

I've been waiting for my Postcrossing sent postcards (which really means registered postcards) to hit 500. I'm still at 498, but I'm starting the giveaway anyway! Here's the catch: the giveaway will be closed when I announce hitting 500 postcards, or on Tuesday, August 30 at 12pm EST - whichever comes SECOND. I realize that it's possible that 2 of my traveling postcards could be registered in the next day, which really wouldn't give folks much time to enter... so if you're thinking of entering, enter now! If I hit 500 before Tuesday, August 30 at 12pm, I'll keep the giveaway open until then. If Tuesday, August 30 at 12pm comes and I still haven't hit 500... then the giveaway is open until I do.

But what am I giving away, you ask? I'm offering 5 of my new postcards from my etsy shop. The winner can pick any combination of the designs listed above: all of one, 5 different, whatever. I will ship these anywhere in the world, so this giveaway is open to all locations.

(Hint: there's a secret bonus extra giveaway at the end of the rules, too!)

THE INEVITABLE RULES

1. HOW: To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on this post. One comment/entry per person, please.

2. WHO: No anonymous comments will be approved. You need a blogger profile to enter this giveaway (simply because I need to know who you are - I'm not going to count through "anonymous #7"), and if you don't have a blogger profile yet, just make one. It's fast, easy and free, doesn't require a blog, and I think only requires a valid email address. Also, your profile with email address MUST be viewable, or you must provide a valid email address in your comment. If your name is drawn as the winner, and I don't have or can't access an email address for you, I'll choose another winner. (Don't be an Indigo.) Either 1) you have an email address or a blog of your own accessible on your blogger profile, which I am allowed to view; or 2) you leave an email address in your comment. If your comment/entry doesn't fall into one of those categories, it won't even get approved, lest it throw the numbers off for the random number generator when I do the final pick. Lastly, keep your eyes peeled for this magical phrase after you submit your comment/entry: "Comments will be visible after blog owner approval." If you miss that and comment twice, or three times, or more, I'll delete duplicates.

3. WHERE: No location restrictions this time. I'm going to open this one up to anyone, anywhere in the world.

4. WHEN: The deadline for comments/entries is no earlier than Tuesday, August 30 at 12pm EST... but possibly later!

5. RANDOM BONUS: I will also send out two free postcards to anyone who guesses the correct country that rings in at #500! I'm not sending out any more Postcrossing cards until the 500th is registered, so these are the final 17 countries that are possibilities for this milestone. If the random winner of the larger 5-postcard giveaway also guesses the correct country, a secondary winner will be chosen for this smaller bonus... so this giveaway really has two winners. To clarify, though - to win the larger, 5-postcard giveaway, you don't have to have a correct country guess or even a country guess - everyone who comments on this post (and gets through my rigorous selection process in #2, ha!) will be entered for that prize. But you might as well guess a country, because that will give you two chances to win.

Good luck! Let the giveaway begin!

New R by Rhodia tablet: my new favorite paper!

2011-08-25T13:55:00.002-04:00

I just got my latest, greatest order in from Goulet Pens, and I couldn't be more excited. I have been eagerly anticipating the new R by Rhodia soft-touch notepads for longer than I even knew. More on that in a moment.

I warn you, this is going to be a long and photo-heavy review. But you already know that if your page is loading as slowly as mine is. I think it will be worth it, though.

First, you might want to acquaint yourself with the hype. Brian Goulet did a wonderful video on his Ink Nouveau blog that gives an excellent review of the new product, and a nice overview and comparison. I wish I had remembered to take a photo of this paper in comparison to other papers, but I didn't - I think he does that in the video. Anyway, worth watching.

So here is the awesome new paper. It is a gentle ivory/cream color. It does not detract from any ink color, but it's not SCREAMING BRIGHT WHITE like Clairefontaine Triomphe and most of the Clairefontaine notebooks, including my current ink journal. Nor is it screaming bright white like the other, original Rhodia pads.

Also unlike the other Rhodia pads, there is no margin, and the lines (this is also available in blank, but I started out with the lined version) are sort of a soft grey, not blue. Subtle. Nice touch. I like the ruling. It's a good width for me. (I just checked, for those of you that want precision: it's 7mm.)

But it's really about the paper, and how well it takes ink. This new pad is an "upgrade" to 90g paper from the previous 80g. It does feel slightly thicker to the touch. In his video, Brian said it was nearly as smooth as Clairefontaine Triomphe, and I would mostly agree with that, but it doesn't have the Triomphe's "glassy" quality... which, in most cases, is a plus. I wouldn't say there is drag on the paper, and there is definitely not "tooth"... it's just a lovely smooth surface.

Again, though, it's all about the ink. And this is where this paper really excels. For those who like their colors harmonious, I apologize, as I just grabbed pens with excitement in no particular order, other than thinking, "this is a juicy wet pen!" or something like that... really putting the paper to the test, as it were.

As you can see, no feathering. Slight smudging, due to wet inks and my smudgy over-writing hands (+ general impatience). Ink dries significantly faster on this paper than on Clairefontaine Triomphe: a significant plus! All of the inks played nicely, even one of my newest, least favorite inks: Noodler's Old Dutch Sepia; this is the only paper I've tried it on yet where it doesn't feather! (It's humid here in August. That happens. I hope it will be have better in the winter, when everything, including my pens and papers, is less damp.)

Inks and pens shown:
Noodler's Heart of Darkness / Pilot Varsity M
Diamine Registrar's Ink / Pilot Varsity M
Noodler's Eternal Hunter Green / Pilot V-Pen F
Montblanc Ink of Love / Pilot V-Pen M
Noodler's Old Dutch Sepia / Daiso Mini
Diamine Steel Blue / Waterman Taperite
Montblanc Ink of Joy / Parker Flighter 180
Iroshizuku Shin-Ryoku / Sheaffer school pen F
J. Herbin 1670 Rouge Hematite / Noodler's flex pen
Diamine Violet / Dollar Demonstrator
Diamine Dark Green / Noodler's Nib Creaper (firm/non-flex)
Diamine Delamere Green / Waterman Graduate M
Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng / Platinum Preppy F
Diamine Oxblood / Parker Vector M
Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses / Esterbrook 9788
Noodler's Blue Ghost / Platinum Preppy M

Slight tangent - if you thought the last line of ink was Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses, you thought wrong! Included in my order from Goulet Pens was the awesome Noodler's Blue Ghost invisible ink, which shows up with a black light on non-bleached papers. COOOL! Goulet pens also sells this ingenious set of black light rings that you can attach to your pen or your finger as you write, illuminating in black light just your area of writing. Trust me, this is key: it is eerie to be writing if you can't see what you're writing! I'm writing with a Platinum Preppy M, which came from Goulet Pens already as an eyedropper conversion (and folks, I am happy to pay the extra $2 to Goulet Pens for them to do the eyedropper conversion for me - it's a time-saver, so this pen came all ready to go), and for a specialty ink such as this, I wanted to make sure to use a brand-new pen. Platinum Preppy eyedroppers are one heck of a great bargain for about $6 from Goulet Pens!

I do happen to have a larger black light, which is handy for the reading part, not so much for the writing... but it allows me to show you the whole line of ink and not just part of a word.

With the ivory color of this paper, this ink looks fabulous! It does not show up at all in my bright white Clairefontaine ink journal... that paper is just too white.

So back to the paper. This photo above is the most exciting photo to me of the whole bunch, and if you're a real fountain pen/paper aficionado, you'll guess why. This is the back of my ink tests page. Not only is there no bleed-through, there's not even any SHOW-through! You can only tell there is even writing on the other side if you look really closely. WOW! And I even flexed my flex nibs with Noodler's BSIAR and Herbin's 1670 Rouge Hematite inks... wet inks in very wet pens! LOVE it. This, as much as anything else, is why this is my new favorite paper. I will use it for second/additional sheets in letters, and I can write on both sides with ease. It's also a great size for the sort of stationery I prefer to use.

And finally, the back of this wonderful tablet. It comes in many sizes, both lined and blank, with black and orange covers. (The inside of the cover has the inverse color.) I chose orange this time, since my other Rhodia pads have black covers.

Important note: I am not affiliated with Goulet Pens, I am just a happy repeat customer. Here's the buying info: R by Rhodia No.16 tablet, 70 sheets for $7. This stuff is new and freshly out, but other retailers may be carrying it now as well.

Wrap-up:
If you wanted pretty much the paper that comes in Rhodia webnotebooks but in micro-perf tablet form, this is it.
If you wanted "off-white Clairefontaine," this is it.
If you want a great, high-quality writing paper for a great value, this is it.

Highly, highly recommended!

My writing desk is a Rhodia advertisement

2011-08-25T13:34:00.004-04:00

I tidied my writing desk yesterday because we had a little cocktail party. I didn't mean to arrange it as such, but the piles (I always have piles!) ended up looking like an advertisement for Rhodia, with a secondary tier for Chronicle Books boxed postcards. They do stack tidily... On the top of these piles you can see my Rhodia Webnotebook, a Rhodia No.16 lined tablet (black cover), and the new R by Rhodia soft-touch No.16 tablet (orange cover). Lurking underneath there somewhere is a Rhodia dotpad, too.

I always love seeing photos of people's writing spaces, so here's what mine looks like right now (or what it looked like yesterday when I was doing an ink test, which will be showing up on this blog shortly). I am particularly pleased with how I've learned how to use the room's built-in lattice, which used to be an annoyance, as an advantage, by hanging things from it. My latest storage idea was to hang my washi tapes from a ribbon (with a paper clip securing them underneath) - keeps them right at hand, but off the surface of the desk.

If you click on the photo above, that will take you to the photo on Flickr, which is covered with a lot of notes showing what things are. Sometimes I just love Flickr notes so very much.

Countdown to Postcrossing 500 giveaway

2011-08-24T10:43:00.002-04:00

As of this moment (10:45am on 24 August 2011), I have all 17 of my Postcrossing postcards traveling. This shows you where they're traveling... and only 3 more of these puppies need to arrive to reach my 500 sent (well, registered, really, as I've sent well over 500 by now) marker!

Once I hit 500 registered, as I hinted last week, I will do a giveaway of postcards from my etsy shop. I'll announce the milestone and the giveaway officially, and at that point interested parties can register...

...but I'm looking at this traveling list and getting awfully curious! Which of these will be #500? I guess it's statistically possible that one I have even yet to send will be the magic postcard, since some things travel awfully slowly...

My personal opinion? It WON'T be the one to China. I predict that one is fated for expiration.

Any guesses? This is NOT the official giveaway contest, I'm just feeling like a guessing game will be fun right now.

Comparison of grey fountain pen inks

2011-08-23T17:16:00.010-04:00

If you've read my blog for a while, you know I keep an ink journal to keep track of all my fountain pen inks. I update it every time I refill or clean a pen, so it's a great record of maintenance, and of course it helps me remember which ink is in which pen! But I also play around in it from time to time, and ink comparisons are always great fun. I had a yen a while back to compare my grey inks - or at least, the grey and blue-grey inks I had loaded in pens at the time.

What you see above is a scan of that comparison.

I also took a photo of the page, in natural light (indirect sunlight), and to my eyes, this one (the photo above) is a far more accurate portrayal of the colors. But some people prefer scans to photos, so in the interest of a full range, I used both imaging options.

I hadn't realized, until I put them all together like this, how very greenish the Noodler's Lexington Gray is.

The inks and pens listed above:
Diamine Grey / Esterbrook 9550 (EF)
Noodler's Lexington Gray / Guanleming 706 EF
Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun / Platinum Preppy M
Diamine Prussian Blue / Esterbrook 9788 (M)
Diamine Registrar's Ink / Lantu Bazic Eclipse M

The Registrar's Ink and the Lexington Gray are both waterproof, so they show up on postcards with some regularity. The others are for the innards of a letter or a journal.

Do I have a favorite? I guess I'd have to flag the Iroshizuku Fuyu-Syogun and the Registrar's Ink as current top picks, both for the color and behavior.

For those who are as geeky as I am about this sort of thing, these comparisons are in a Clairefontaine Basics clothbound journal, just like this one I blogged about over a year ago, except the current incarnation has a black cover. I'm pretty happy with using this journal as an ink journal, but when I finish this one, perhaps I'll branch out. Who knows.

Elton John, 1975 earns fashion hunks

2011-08-21T10:55:00.004-04:00

I got this FABULOUS Elton John postcard months ago on a swap-bot swap for LGBT people. I am so taken with this image - Elton (he wasn't Sir Elton yet, then) in his closet, surrounded by shoes, with a little stuffed replica (of him, most likely?) on his shoulder, beatific expression on his face, complete with hat. It's one of my favorite postcards ever.

Weird coincidence: when I pulled this postcard out of my mailbox, an Elton John song was playing on the radio in the UPS store that holds my mailbox. I think it was "Tiny Dancer."

My excellent swap partner DID put a return address on his postcard, so I finally got around to sending him a thank-you postcard. I don't have anything that is on par with Elton John, but I thought one of the fine underwear postcards from Catalog Man: Mail-order Fashion Hunks from Chronicle Books would be about the best I could do in these circumstances.

Cat postcard + wonderful stamps from Ukraine

2011-08-20T19:56:00.003-04:00

A wonderful Ukranian postcrosser, Jirafka, took the time to read my profile and go through my favorites on Postcrossing. She saw that I had favorited this awesome cat postcard, so she sent me one! UA-130118 shows a cat smoking a pipe with a mug of beer on a nighttime rooftop, looking at the moon and stars. Lovely scene, and an imaginative illustration...

...and she used wonderful stamps! I am just hypnotized by the beautiful artwork of that striking woman, with what I presume might be traditional Ukranian headwear? Lovely stuff. I don't know what's going on in the scene with the regal-looking man and woman with the long braids, but it's an interesting scene as well. You may not be able to tell from the scan, but the name of the country on that stamp is in metallic gold. Fancy stuff!

Just as soon as I get fed up with Postcrossing, I get another one of these wonderful surprises. It definitely helps me keep the faith in my 5+-year relationship with Postcrossing.

Check out the latest Sandbook pen pal magazine - I'm in it!

2011-08-19T11:03:00.006-04:00

Remember the blog post I did last month for Sandbook magazine? It showcased all 6 of my new postcard designs.

Well, it's hit the internet newsstands!

Hop on over to Sandbook.net to download the latest issue. (I'm on page 12.) If you read many letter blogs, this will be well worth your while, because you'll also see great articles from the following fellow mail bloggers (all linked in my blog sidebars, too!):

Send More Mail

Confessions of a Pen Thief

Bywater Wisdom

The Pen Pal Project

It's a Pen Pal World

It's full of lovely photos and other great mail-related articles and ads - give yourself plenty of time to explore it, it's pretty packed. (Warning: it also has lots of great photos of delicious food, so don't read it when you're hungry.)

My thanks to Raia for the opportunity to crow about my postcard designs in this great magazine.

Go to Sandbook.net to download August issue in PDF format.

Giveaway hint

2011-08-18T20:11:00.003-04:00

I am very close to 500 postcards sent on Postcrossing.

One can never know when that 500 milestone will happen - I've certainly got plenty of postcards traveling, but who knows when they'll get registered - but I think when I reach that milestone, I will have a postcard giveaway, from the postcards in my etsy shop.

Stay tuned!

Beyond the perf 2012 stamp-a-day preview

2011-08-16T09:25:00.001-04:00

A lot of other blogs have mentioned this, so many of my readers may already be aware of the wonderful 2012 stamp-a-day preview from Beyond the perf, the USA Philatelic website.

But this may indeed be news to you. If you haven't checked it out, you really should; each weekday at 7:30am, they release a preview of a 2012 stamp to be released, with photo and description. They only skip holidays and new stamp release days, so it's a great way to stay current with the new releases, too.

I find myself popping over to the site every day just to get a glimpse of the future stamp for that day... it's a neat gimmick, and a great publicity method. You can also see all the previous stamps they've previewed there, too, to play catch-up.

Take me to the 2012 stamp-a-day preview!

A very odd Monday

2011-08-15T19:37:00.004-04:00

Monday is usually my biggest mail day.

Every now and again, a day will come when I get no mail - often a Tuesday, maybe a Saturday - but NEVER a Monday...

...until today! Today was my first mail-free Monday in years. Something funky must be up with the sorting, as the friendly folks at my UPS store who answered my frantic queries ("WHAT? Did the mail not get sorted? Where are all my letters and postcards??") said that it startled them, too, because the only mail that came into the whole store today, with hundreds of mailboxes (my UPS store box is similar to a P.O. Box, except that I can get any kind of delivery including UPS and FedEx, and they're significantly more service-oriented), was packages and magazines.

Go figure.

All of Rhode Island mail is sorted in Providence, so I wonder if my fellow Rhode Islanders had the same issue today, or if it's specific to my area.

It's got me a little bummed out, but it's not like I don't have a HUUUUGE backlog of fun mail to keep me busy anyway. And hey, tomorrow will be a BIG mail Tuesday.

(Or else I really will be biting my fingernails!)

You want mail?

2011-08-15T10:35:00.003-04:00

I just read a wonderful blog post called You want mail? by Pamela of the excellent blog Cappucino and art journal. I highly recommend you check it out. She really breaks it down for mail enthusiasts, and burgeoning letter-writers: start writing!

For inspiration, and a bunch of good links, go check out You want mail?

Vintage rhino postcard

2011-08-14T11:37:00.003-04:00

I sent this lovely little vintage Current postcard to Lela in Estonia recently. (She blogged about it, too, and took more photos as well.) She and I both have a fondness for animals and fanciful illustration styles. I am a big fan of these vintage Current postcards - they are very sturdy, and take fountain pen ink beautifully. I love the colors in this, too, with the toucan making a splash of brightness against the purplish-grey of the friendly-looking rhino.

If I had a dollar...

2011-08-13T21:33:00.003-04:00

... for every time someone addressed something to me as Massive Maven instead of Missive Maven, I would be able to send a lot more international letters and postcards.

Oy.

(For the record, I am not massive... I'm pretty darn average.)

AMAZING writing bat postcard from Carroll!

2011-08-11T20:18:00.005-04:00

If you know me at all, you know I absolutely plotzed when I saw this postcard. It came to me in my own Monster postcard swap, and the amazingly talented Carroll. Oh my gravy. A bat, holding a fountain pen and writing a letter to me? Incredible! And what a fine bat it is!

You can't tell from this scan, bit it's like this was a painting painted right on canvas. Carroll worked her magic somehow to make this beautiful yet tough, and it arrived in my mailbox today in absolutely gorgeous, perfect condition.

And here's the back. Of course she used bat postage stamps! She also used a wonderful hand-carved stamp of a skeleton holding an envelope, and I'll wager that is bound to be Carroll's own handiwork. If you've been following my blog for a while, you may have seen some of her hand-carved stamps featured here...

...most touchingly one she carved for me showing my dear cat Memo ("Memo guards the mail") which I received just a few months before he died.

Carroll, you have outdone yourself once again!! What a treat!

The mystery of Miss Millie [now solved, sort of]

2011-08-08T20:26:00.008-04:00

Someone signing herself "Miss Millie" sent me a postcard in April. She was one of the good ones who put a return address on her postcard, so I did send her a postcard back in July.

But it was returned to me.

I thought I copied her address exactly, but her handwriting was not the most... direct.

So, if you are Miss Millie in the vicinity of Puyallup, WA (or were in that vicinity in April), do let me know the proper address and I'll try again. Miss Millie was a bit of a mystery even then, because she wrote to me with some sort of familiarity, but I had no idea who she was. Did we exchange on swap-bot? Postcrossing? Sendsomething.net? Another method? Because I really do get a lot of mail, and if we don't write regularly, I am likely to forget. C'est la vie.

I am amused by the "nixie" in the top left corner of the postal label. Is that an official designation for "give up and send back?" Too bad for the nixies...

UPDATE: thanks to a kind and observant reader (thanks, Pen Thief!), I've got an address (though not from Miss Millie herself). I misplaced one letter, which has me somewhat baffled, as I was under the impression - from postal workers - that it gets routed by the zip code, which was correct. Hmm. Anomalies happen. I'll pop it in an envelope and send it off again. I am still not sure where our correspondence began, but that could be due to my own rusty memory and slow response time!

Simpsons postcards

2011-08-05T11:52:00.003-04:00

Although I don't have a TV, I am a huge fan of the animated series "The Simpsons." It's a long story, but I find their brand of humor brilliant. So when I stumble across out-of-print Simpsons postcard books, I snatch them up. This postcard of a surfing Bart (doesn't that wave look Japanese?) was US-1097163 sent to the Netherlands.

The next two postcards come from a much older set, circa 1990, when the Simpsons were still quite young as a TV series. It even includes characters who died, like Bleeding Gums Murphy. All those postcards are single-spot mug-shot character studies like this one. This sweet little Maggie card went out as US-881455 to Poland.

And of course the great Homer! He went out as US-952533 to Russia. Favorite snack: pork rinds lite! Ewwww!

Literary postcard swap sent

2011-08-04T10:07:00.004-04:00

I sent my postcards for my Literary Postcard swap, and really enjoyed the process.

It helps that I am entirely in love with the "Postcards from Penguin: One Hundred Book Covers in One Box" by Chronicle Books. They take fountain pen ink so nicely, and the designs are wonderful - lots of variety.

The book that I raved about, not coincidentally, involved a tiger: The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht.

Even Soda liked it!

Happy summer reading and writing... I think I'll go write a letter now.

A postal tip on foreign addresses

2011-08-01T18:38:00.004-04:00

I recently chatted with a very friendly postal clerk at my favorite post office, and she gave me some great advice about addressing international mail.

I have long known that it's best to put the name of the country LAST, but haven't understood why. Sometimes I'll get an address on Postcrossing where there are numbers listed after the country. I usually figure that the person who lists their address most likely knows best the conventions of addressing mail in their own country, but that is not necessarily the case if sending from the USA.

I recently got a postcrossing card to Russia, and I've altered the info, but let's say the person listed their address as

15 Petroskaya circle
Moskva
RUSSIA
12345

or something like that. My friendly postal clerk pointed out that you always want to list the country last, because American postal scanners will scan mail from the bottom up. If they see a country name first, it's headed for that country. If they see numbers first, they will read it as a zip code. I don't know if I'm explaining this as well as I could, but I think I understand some routing difficulties with international postcards I've sent in the past.

So - if you're in the USA, and you're sending to mail outside the USA - always put the destination country's name last, and on its own line!

And there's your friendly postal tip of the day. I love to learn new postal facts and tips!

UPDATE 8/4/2011: Thanks to blog reader David Harrison for some really excellent tips. Please read the comments for the full dialogue, but at the heart of the matter he recommended FRANK'S COMPULSIVE GUIDE TO POSTAL ADDRESSES, which is really spectacular. Do have a look.

My mistake on the Literary Postcard swap

2011-07-31T21:43:00.003-04:00

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

2011-07-31T21:33:00.002-04:00

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

2011-07-30T11:00:00.005-04:00

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

2011-07-30T10:35:00.006-04:00

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 that 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!

2011-07-30T10:15:00.003-04:00

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

2011-07-29T11:09:00.003-04:00

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

2011-07-29T10:42:00.004-04:00

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

2011-07-27T12:35:00.002-04:00

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

2011-07-26T21:36:00.004-04:00

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

2011-07-25T16:14:00.003-04:00

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

2011-07-25T12:44:00.004-04:00

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

2011-07-24T10:45:00.003-04:00

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

2011-07-23T10:47:00.028-04:00

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

2011-07-22T20:47:00.007-04:00

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

2011-07-22T11:11:00.006-04:00

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

2011-07-20T08:27:00.004-04:00

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

2011-07-19T15:06:00.002-04:00

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

2011-07-17T20:29:00.002-04:00

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

2011-07-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

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

2011-07-11T16:58:00.004-04:00

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

2011-07-09T10:56:00.003-04:00

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!!

2011-07-08T16:34:00.003-04:00

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.