Red + black&white washi tape

I'm really into washi tape lately! Washi tape, for the uninitiated, is decorative Japanese masking/paper tape. You can just tear it with your hands, you don't need scissors, and it's really easy to handle. You can even remove it and replace it, and the variety of designs is really lovely. I myself am partial to the black and white patterns, but there's a lot of different options out there. I get my washi tape from Pretty Tape on etsy. I also used an official Letter Writers Alliance mailing label, but I can't link to it directly because it's a members-only purchase. (Go join!) Oh yes, and some cute cat stickers and a little sparkle-pen embellishment.



I sealed it with a sticker from Glitter Old-Time Cats and Kittens sticker book, which is full of weird gems like this one.

I've blogged a lot about postcards lately - and while it's true I've been doing more postcards than ever, I still write lots of letters, too! (It was high time for this letter post.) For a little statistics break - I don't post my sent stats regularly any more, but I still keep them for myself - June was an unusually post-ful month. I sent 104 postcards and 48 letters.

Happy summer mailing, everyone!

My favorite etsy stationery, of the moment

'Stationery I know and love' by MissiveMaven

I've purchased all these items before, and will probably purchase them again - a tried and true list of some of my favorite etsy letter-writing materials.

Pack of 5 letterpress printe... ilfant $12.00	Postcard Pack 1 franticmeerkat $5.00
Books and Bird - Gocco Scree... twoguitars $3.50	Madam Bat - A5 Letter Set LaPapierre $8.00
narwhals are not magical pos... chewytulip $3.00	Set of 10 personalized flat ... MichelleBruseg... $17.50
Notepad - Where Rainbows Com... nutandbee $4.50	P O R T E R N E S S ///Devil... porterness $10.00
Mailbox Mailing Labels and E... farstarr $5.00	Honey Bear Note Cards - Set ... emandsprout $5.00
postcard Emily the cat gothi... schmoomunition... $1.00	Five Unicorn Postcards Pagey $6.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Yet another post featuring Soda on my writing desk

I can't resist. I know I'm biased, but she's so cute... and ever so helpful with my letter writing.



And hey, it's a snapshot of my desk in action, without being cleaned up all nice for a planned photo shoot.



Write the letter, or pet the belly? Tough decision. I usually have to do both.

Update on Walltype

A couple weeks ago I blogged about a new postcard exchange site I'd just discovered, Walltype. I thought I'd follow up and share my experiences of the past couple weeks with you.

I've sent 11 postcards through Walltype since I joined on June 19, and have received 8. I have every reason to believe I'll get a postcard for the last 3 I've sent, since some are inevitably coming from foreign users whose postcards will take longer to travel.

One factor is that it seems to be a very small group of users who participates regularly, nothing like Sendsomething.net or of course Postcrossing and Swap-bot, but to balance that out, I'll note that nearly everyone I've encountered there is dedicated and considerate. They really will read your profile, and most have sent me something really great and interesting. Unlike many Postcrossing users, they're also game to write a fair good bit on the back of the postcard. And it seems a lot of people have joined lately, so the more people that get active there, the more variety there is among senders.

I really only have two complaints:
*The character limit on profiles is severe. It's hard to write much. Most people link to their Postcrossing or Swap-bot profiles, and that's where I find real information about their likes and dislikes. The profiles allowed on Walltype really are super-tiny. But, as I said, you can link elsewhere for more info.
*The "contact us" page says "We try to read all messages same day," and maybe they do, but they don't bother to respond. I sent a couple of questions and comments to the site admin(s), and still haven't heard a word back. So prepare yourself to be in a fairly unmoderated database system. (Or the mods are having email/contact trouble and don't know about it.)

The postcard I used as an image for this post is one I made, for someone who really likes handmade postcards. I don't tend to make my own postcards, but sometimes it's fun when I'm in the mood, and I had fun with this one. (I hope rubber-stamping and a bit of coloring makes it hand-made!) The recipient is someone I'd happened to swap with recently on Swap-bot as well, so it was amusing to encounter her in two different realms like that.

So there's my Walltype wrap-up. My verdict? I enjoy it and will continue to send postcards there from time to time.

No unicorn postcards?

I've only got 5 people signed up right now for my Unicorn postcard swap and I'm wondering why. I blogged about it earlier this week and I'm really excited about it; I'm surprised there are so few people participating.

Honest feedback, anyone? Deadline too soon? Don't have unicorn postcards? Just not interested in this theme? I'd love to hear your feedback, as I'm planning on coordinating some more postcard swaps later in the summer and want to know what works and what doesn't. Thanks in advance for any comments!

Japan Philately Week 2011 stamp

This wonderful stamp came to me on a Postcrossing postcard last month. It may be difficult to read from this scan, but the fainter letters, formed with horizontal lines, behind "Japan Post" read "Philately Week 2011."

Do you think the smartly-uniformed gentleman on the run is a postman? I do! In any case I find the colors and illustration style very lovely.

Canada Post is back!

A big sigh of relief for all the Canadian snail mailers - Canada Post is fully operational as of today. Hooray!

Unicorn postcard swap

I have been back into swap-bot lately, but my rule is never to join swaps to "get rid" of postcards; only join swaps with postcards featured that I'd really want to receive. Since I haven't seen all that many themed swaps with postcards I'd like to swap, I figured I'd just start hosting 'em. It's summertime, and I have a little bit of extra time to do it...

So - UNICORNS!

Come join the Unicorn postcard swap I'm hosting on Swap-Bot. It's an international swap with one partner, so you send one unicorn postcard to another swapper anywhere in the world. Full details on the unicorn swap page. I got lucky, I guess, because one of the Swap-Bot administrators decided she liked the swap idea, and it's now a featured swap on the Swap-bot blog.

If this unicorn postcard makes you plotz the way it does me, you can get one of your very own from the fabulous etsy seller Pagey of Pink Toes Press. I admit, I did buy her unicorn postcards, and may be using them for this swap.

Swap deadline to join is July 2, so don't delay! (If this one is popular, I'll certainly host another.)