Best Hanukkah card EVER

The fabulous PostMuse made my day, and made my Hanukkah, with this: the best Hanukkah card ever. I can't find a direct link to the card, but it is from Alternate Histories. You may have read my On holiday cards page, so you may know I'm not big into holiday foo-fa-la, and I get especially grinch-like at the misconception that Hanukkah is as big a deal for Jews as Christmas is for Christians. It's actually a very minor holiday. But lighting candles is fun (I love candles), and PostMuse got it spot-on with this wonderful card!



We're enjoying "kittens' first Hanukkah" in our household. Oberon has a healthy fear of candles, but Stella exhibits a morbid (and slightly masochistic) fascination with the flames. On the first night, she ended up extinguishing the candle by pawing it. After we wiped her paw down with a cool cloth, she was right back at the Menorah for more action. Fortunately, last night she slept through the candle lighting. Wish us luck with Stella and fire safety throughout the rest of Hanukkah and the future.

Happy Hanukkah, everyone! Chag sameach to all who celebrate the holiday.

L'Shana Tova / Happy New Year 5772

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.

Handmade, hand-sewn card

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



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

Inkognito: The Ventilator

My mother-in-law sends the best cards!

This features artwork by Peter Gut, called "Ventilator," from the wonderful oddball Germany card company Inkognito.

My MIL's pithy quote inside: "Don't do this with Memo."

She's batty

A dear friend sent me this wonderful bat card from She's Batty Designs. You know I love that name! The skull-embossed paper was really fun, and of course the sparklebat was my favorite part.



Groovy logo.



It came in a black envelope.

Love it.

Mailbox kitten

I found this box of cards in a Christmas Tree Shop, where I ended up rather randomly while running other errands. It was ridiculously cheap, so I thought I'd take a chance on the paper quality since the kitten in the mailbox was just irresistible. In fact, these cards take fountain pen ink quite well! I might have to go back and try to get my hands on some more of these cuties. Kitten mail!

Strong coffee, strong hairspray

This lovely handmade card and envelope set came to me from PostMuse. The envelope is a larger version of the little lady on the card, who says "I am only as strong as the coffee I drink and the hairspray I use."

Jezebel, dragonfly, owl

Here is another gorgeous card by Jezebel. This one is called "Delilah sings the blues." I am fairly proud of myself for photographing the sparkly aspect of this dragonfly sticker (view large).



On the front, I used vintage ship and owl stamps, and spiced up the addressee's name with some Stickles glitter glue.

(I blog about Jezebel cards a lot.

Morning Fairy cards

The Victorian Papers outlet store in Kansas City yields many gems and surprises. These Morning Fairy cards, with artwork derived from a 19th century Fairy Soap advertisement, were on a rack there. I've never seen these cards in their store or their catalog, and I've been frequenting their store and browsing their catalogs for nearly 20 years now. I was delighted to find this surprise.

I am actually a big fan of fairies, but don't like the cheesy kind - I'm picky about my fairies - and I'm kind of surprised I haven't blogged about fairy cards or stationery before.

One of my favorite things about the small 3.5x5 Victorian Papers cards is the die-cut envelopes with the beautiful back flap, which I hope this photograph captures.

I wasn't able to successfully photograph the back of the card, which has printed Lord Byron's "She walks in beauty, like the night" poem.

Lovely spring card

I received this lovely, springy card from one of my new LEX (LEX=The Letter Exchange) correspondents. I really like the vintage feel of the birds and flowers, and I admit I'm also a sucker for die-cuts.

It really does feel like spring now - for me the true sign is when the little leaves and leaf-buds start appearing on the trees. Daffodils and crocus don't do it for me - I need to have trees stop being naked for the feeling of spring to seem real.

Chag Sameach! Happy Passover. That also makes it feel like spring. I went to a wonderful seder last night and now I'm really in the spring mood! I'm Jewish, so I don't do Easter, but I wish everyone a happy spring in whatever way they celebrate it.

The felt parts of this card can be played with

The felt parts... played with... heh heh heh.

My friend gave me this card as a gift, just because of the sticker and what it says. I haven't taken it out of the package and played with the felt parts yet.

buggy

I love this card, from a Flickr pen pal, and I love the hand-drawn heart border on the envelope!

I kinda dig insects.

MOST AMAZING pen card EVER

I was just plotzing when I got this pen card from my dear friend Tracy, who continues to outdo herself with amazing cards and stationery in her letters. How gorgeous is this?? The gold accents are just over the top, as is the little-bear-playing-the-tuba sticker.

The inside of the card and the inside of the envelope had little cutie stamps, including this awesome pig-in-a-tutu.

The card says it is Turnowsky by Papyrus, but I wasn't able to find any of them anywhere online.

Yet still more Jezebel glory

Delilah sings the blues. I love this one especially. Someday I will buy a box of them instead of buying them singly.

I know, I know, I crow about Jezebel a lot, but they're gorgeous, dreamy and quirky all at once.

Then for The picaresque adventures of robert and shirah, I put on a pretty sticker...


and some preciously saved vintage stamps:



I know this blog is photo-heavy but I hope it's worth it.

Folding bat card

Another sendsomething.net bat enthusiast got this folding bat card. I got them years ago from Bat Conservation International. (I don't think BCI sells them any more.) They're small, but much fun to write on.

Best Hanukkah card ever

From my MIL.

Love it.