Saturday, June 30, 2012

The shark-infested mailbox continues

Shark Mail: a collage from Laura

EGADS, I spoke too soon! Or rather, I posted too soon. Earlier today, I posted about the shark mail saga. Check it out. It's fun. Then, in today's mail, I got more shark mail! This fine collage came from Laura of PleaseDeliverTo -- the one who started the whole lovely shark mail affair. She said it's her first handmade postcard -- what fine work, Laura!

Shark Mail from Laura

"A wine cork, some duct tape, and a ruler" --?? That sounds like quite a shark-capture story! Seriously, though, how perfect is that wonderful Titanic stamp for the shark mail theme?

Now, an unrelated tip. For my newer blog readers (how many months or years has it been since I shared this tip?), did you know you can click on the photos to see a larger version of them? They're all in Flickr and you can embiggen them there.

Shark Mail!

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A while back I had a little conversation on Twitter about shark mail. It turns out that Laura of PleaseDeliverTo had blog visitors from the search term "shark letters," and so did I. We both thought this was very odd. PostMuse of the Orphaned Postcard Project also rang in.

If you are thinking what we were thinking, this seemed a perfect opportunity for a little whimsical mail art. So, I sent Laura some shark mail. Front of postcard with teeth (dripping blood - hey, folks, for freehand drawing, this is pretty darn good for me) shown above. Since my artwork may not be the clearest, I had to designate it shark mail on the side.

Shark Mail to Laura, back

On the back, my theme was "let's give 'em something for their search!" So here is some real shark mail. (See the sparkly sticker? That's an orca, or a killer whale. It's not a shark, but it's the closest sort of sticker I had. This is the first time in my life I was wishing for some shark stickers.)

I was counting on my own blog post for this occasion, and possibly more - and indeed, Laura noted the postcard in one of her blog posts. (And indeed, I've received word that more sharks may be on the way. Sharks ahoy!)

Shark Mail from PostMuse

But it doesn't end there! PostMuse sent me a Shark Mail postcard, too - and wow, can she draw a creepy/comical shark well, or what? Look out, mail carriers - shark infested mailboxes!

On the back of her card, she reminisced about the old Saturday Night Live skit with a shark knocking on doors. I remember that one. Ha.

Anyhoo, this exchange embodies the fun and whimsical spirit of my favorite sort of mail art. And whoever was googling shark letters can now find fruit for their labors.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Best mail pin-up ever!

Best Pinup EVER!

I was just looking at some postcards on Postcrossing, and I came across this one - RU-863545 - which I think must be the BEST PINUP EVER. Sexy lady, mailbox, a skirt full of mail? Whew! My temperature's rising...

You can see by the signature on the envelope in the bottom right corner that this is the work of the famous and classic pin-up artist Gil Elvgren. Here's what I want to know: why is there no reprint postcard book of great pin-ups like this? I've searched and searched, and I can't find one. Anyone? Suggestions?

It puts me in the mood for some fine pin-up postcards, and I'm thinking about hosting a Pin-up postcard swap on Swap-bot... stay tuned for developing news!

And for full disclosure: I did not send or receive this postcard, alas, I just saw the postcard image on Postcrossing. I WISH I'd received it, or knew where to find one!

(In case you are a Pinterest fan, I also pinned it on Pinterest.)

EDIT/UPDATE: Thanks to a tip from Julie (O-kami), I've just discovered this very postcard is available on Zazzle.com. While I'm not a huge fan of the coated paper stock that Zazzle uses for their postcards, I think I am going to have to pick up a few of these! Thanks so much for the tip, Julie!

"To Get a Letter, Write a Letter:" new round sticker design


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When I listed my "To get a letter, write a letter" square envelope seals in my etsy shop, a number of my blog readers and pen pals commented that they would like the sticker better in a round design.

You know what? I do, too.

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Now you can get this design in either the original square with rounded corners, or the new round / circular design.

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Sealing an envelope with this sticker is an excellent reminder that the best way to get mail is to send mail!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Show and Mail: Fiep Westendorp writing desk from Postcrossing


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I got a Postcrossing treat today: NL-1274604 showing artwork by the wonderful Dutch artist Fiep Westendorp. This postcard had been in my favorites, and the sender kindly sent it to me! Of course I love the fantastic writing desk imagery. Look at that great pile of mail on top of her desk!

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Vintage stationery for sale



I've got a bunch of vintage stationery items for sale in my shop right now, and I just thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you here in a clickable treasury, above. Any of the photos will lead you right to the listings.

The three I'm most excited about:

Teen Tattle vintage 1950s stationery (sold)

Vintage 1980s Cabbage Patch Kids cards

1940s Vintage Basildon Air Mail paper

All three of those are original, one-of-a-kind items, so if you like it, grab it, because I don't have multiples of those!


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Mail Me Some Art: another mail resource


Here's another quick tip on how to see some more mail in your mailbox: check out Mail Me Some Art, a paper-based (postcards, ATCs, tags, etc) swap site.

Caveat: I've not tried it myself, I just saw a link to it on Twitter (thanks, @Taylormaidemom), but it sounds like a really cool idea that is guaranteed to have "no flakers" since you have to send something to receive something. All swap items are sent to the coordinator, who then distributes them.

From the Mail Me Some Art FAQs:
"All styles of art and all levels of experience are welcome. In order to guarantee everyone who makes something receives something in return, all swap items are sent to me and I mail them back out to others in the swap."
There's no formal registration process, you just send items to the coordinator by the deadline. Has anyone tried this site or have experience with their swaps?

Oh, and by the way - enjoy the longest days of the year! Happy Summer Solstice (tomorrow), everyone!

Monday, June 18, 2012

How do you find pen pals? A nice blog post


Through a comment she made on my blog, I just discovered the Musings of a postcrosser and letter writer blog. I've just added it to my Letter Blogs list. A recent post may be of interest to some of my readers, and I encourage you to check it out:

How do you find pen pals?"

She's got some good resources and tips listed, and chronicles her own process.