Unicorn postcard swap update

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



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

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

Sparkle zebra on orange Crane envelope

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



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

My name in sparkly red letters

This fine handmade envelope came from the lovely Zoë. I am so taken with those sparkly, puffy red letters! They were sticking on very well, and must be low-profile enough not to cause problems in any sorting machines. I was a bit surprised they came through so unscathed, because they definitely have a texture that sticks up from the envelope.



Zoë made this envelope herself, and she has become quite the devotee of making her own envelopes: she even has a fairly new etsy shop, strandedhero, where she sells her handmade envelopes and photo postcards.

A pretty package

Here's another recent use of the lace deco tape I got from orientalflea on etsy. This here is the silver glitter installment, which I foresee using even more than the rest. It was the first one that merited an "ooh, must have that" thought when I saw it. Oh yes, and this silver-outlined-in-purple writing on the package came from this Pentel deco outline marker. Fun stuff.



Gotta love how a slight change in angle will totally change the glitter of the bling. You can see that this is a larger version of the lady cat sticker I got from Janetstore that I featured in a blog entry last week; the stickers come in a bunch of different sizes on one sheet.



I love this sassy winkin' kitty. I took these closer photographs so you can get a better look at the design of the deco tape, too.



Here's the bottom bling.

The package's lovely recipient blogged about it recently, so you can get some more views of it (and of the contents, which I did not photograph but probably should have) there.

Black lace deco tape

Generally I am not a fan of pink, but I do like this pink and black combination. You can see I've been playing with my new deco tape. (Because I know people will ask, I got it orientalflea on etsy. It shipped from Hong Kong but was reasonable, especially since I got it on sale.) I colored in some of the hearts... the lace design deco tape does lend itself to such fun. I chose the Marge Simpson stamp because hey, if you're gonna go pink, you might as well go all the way.



This particular letterset came from a Swap-Bot swap, so I don't know the brand name, but I like the scalloped edge on the envelope flap. In keeping with the pink theme, I went with a lady cat sticker I got from Janetstore.

I guess this is the overseas shipping theme post - Janetstore is in Taiwan.

Metallic ink powder calligraphy on black paper

One of my pen pals is an artist who writes every letter in calligraphy with a flexible-nib dip pen. She often uses these marvelous metallic powders (dip pens only, not for use in fountain pens) for sparkly flair.

After a conversation on The Fountain Pen Network (FPN), she sent me this letter, which was even more a work of art than usual!



The theme at the time, of course, was Halloween - I love the artistic embellishments!



I'll end with two different views of the same section, so you can see the different sparkles and the orange undertones of the metallic powders (I hope).



And in case you're wondering... NO, I can't do this myself! :-)

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.

Another attempt to photograph glimmer mist

Here I go again, trying to photograph the subtleties of glimmer mist.

You might have to view large to see the effect. I think it kind of shows up better on the dark areas of the stamps.

Can you see it?? I promise, it's better in person, preferably in direct sunlight.

[EDIT on 7/23: One of my astute readers just pointed out that I've not explained glimmer mist. That link will tell you more, but basically it is a non-aerosol glitter spray made for scrapbooking. It's water-based, acid-free and non-toxic... but it IS a bit messy, so I always spray outside or in the icky basement. It comes in a bunch of colors and is really great fun to use: Learn more about Tatterd Angels Glimmer Mist.]

Unicorn wishes! + Cornify

I'm not sure how I learned about this stationery, but I found out about it before the release date and was actually eagerly anticipating its availability. Presenting Unicorn Wishes! from Chronicle Books. Unicorns + rainbows = nostalgic kitsch & happyland for me.

I confess: I did succumb to the unicorn craze when I was a little girl. I loved 'em. I still kind of get a giggle from them. (If you want a SERIOUS giggle, check out the super-kitschy Cornify.com, "the #1 unicorn and rainbow service." Go ahead - you know you want to.)



Only the little mushroom sticker on the back of the envelope came with the set; the sparkly hearts and combo unicorn/rainbow pegasus (wtf?) came from my own private collection. I think they add a whole new level of cornification here.



Again the Chronicle Books website rather fails us, because you only get to see the back of ONE of the lovely stationery sheets (shown on the Unicorn Wishes! page here). I should photograph this in more depth soon - it is full of splendid wonders. Who knows - maybe YOU'LL get a unicorn wish in your mailbox.

Wallace and Gromit: teatime

Here's another fabulous Chronicle Books fold and mails, again of the Wallace & Gromit variety. This time I DID photograph the other side:



I've found it's best to "help" the glue of the fold-and-mails by adding stickers, because some folks have reported that they've arrived intact but unglued. So I thought a skull would be the perfect accompaniment to this twee tea party.

Direct from blog viewer to letter writer

Earlier in February, I got the best treat-return from my blog yet: a fellow letter-writer discovered my blog, read for a while and then wrote me a letter about it! I'd never heard of this gal before, but she sent me a stunningly gorgeous letter.



I was first greeted by the pearly envelope - I'm not a great photographer and I haven't mastered that lighting trick, so I can't really show off the subtle pearlescent sheen of this envelope well. The Victorian-esque stickers are fabu, too!



But the card inside takes the cake - or should I say, takes the cupcake. It's high rococo Marie Antoinette theme (er, is that rococo?), complete with actual glitter and the phrase "Let them eat cupcakes" (I think) in French.



Here's the back of the card, which also has glitter and an excellent feather quill as part of the logo. It came from Paper Nosh on Etsy, for those of you that are squinting in close to figure it out (like I would be, if I saw a photo of this online!).

I should mention that this glitter was firmly affixed, so I could ooh and ahh at it, shaking it from many angles in the light, without it falling out all over me, my furnishings and my clothing. A definite plus.



The glitter-liciousness extended right through to the writing on the inside, which must have been done with a blue glitter gel pen, of a variety sparklier than I've seen previously.

Again, here I am plotzing over the pretty face of the letter, but the MOST exciting part was that it was from another letter lover looking to correspond. Of course I've written her back. If she's reading now, thanks for the WONDERFUL happy surprise!

Origami & sticker bonus

A pen pal in New Zealand enclosed a bunch of goodies with her letter (on this very cute Kawaii stationery). Not only did she send sparkly cute skull stickers (I think the theme is kinda "Nightmare before Christmas," which I love), but she also put a bunch of loose stickers inside this beautifully folded red origami packet. Wow! Snail mail joy!

I feel a little weird posting this - I want to show off photos of pretty letters and such, but by no means do I expect anything from correspondents but letters! It's just fun to show the variety. (I'm not so great at enclosing goodies myself, though I do try.) The letter itself is what it's all about.

Wonder Woman: I married a monster

Here's one of my favorite envelope designs in the Wonder Woman fold-and-mail pad by Chronicle books. I added the sparkly silver star stickers.

Pig Pig with glimmer mist

It's a little hard to tell from this photo unless you view large, but I sprayed this with pearl glimmer mist to make it a little glittery.

This is some of my only official kawaii stationery, with four designs: bear, cat, frog and pig.

Not glimmer-misted, but here's an older photo of the frog envelope, with a little dress-up:


(a bit blurry, sorry...)

Robot Sparkles

This is from the Amanda Visell Don't Eat Paper stationery set from Dark Horse Comics.

The sparkly dots around the edges are my own addition of glitter glue.

I used one of my favorite vintage stamps here too, The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow. Mmmmm.

JB's gorgeous letters

One of my correspondents makes letters that look like calligraphy throughout. She uses a flexible-nib dip pen with ink using metallic powder, which cannot be used in fountain pens because it will clog the pen.

Her letters are works of art! I won't post the text for privacy, but here is the date of her last letter. I tried in this photo to capture how this metallic powder, which she said is called "scarab," alternates from red to green based on the angle of the light. Amazing.

Best viewed large for full effect.

metallic sparkle letter bliss

This truly amazing decorative letter came from Wolfidy, who actually APOLOGIZED for not having cool stationery - whereas I think the home-made original doodles are better than any printed product! Wow. I held this under the light just admiring the metallic gel pen ink for quite a while.

It featured an awesome purple/silver salutation:


and a bat doodle which I love.


Hooray for snail mail! This letter, of course, made my day.