Green!

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

Snailmail Magazine

Letter sent to Laura (the UK).

Inspired by Anke's designs. Part of the letter was written by using the printable that comes with the magazine:

Westerlichttoren

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

It features a lighthouse in Haamstede (the Netherlands) called Westerlichttoren or West Schouwen. My penchant for lighthouses includes somehow geography and maps. So I was really happy to get this postcard along with a map of the region where it is located:

Can you see the lighthouse (top left)?

And even a very detailed map of her country!

Dear Stranger, Tea for a Day!

I think the pictures of Dear Stranger, Tea for a day! explain perfectly this lovely project...

"My love shared this with me. When he was 14 he had this philosophy: Every human idea and notion, is a reflection filtered through the collective personalities involved. We can never be objective, as everything we register is filtered through our personality. Subjectivity is not a bad thing, as long as we understand, that we cannot be anything but subjective.My filter is influenced by my passion, and one of my passions is creating a beautiful perspective on the World, by sending out small gifts to strangers. Right now, it is tea for a day. Late it might be something else. Who knows."

Cheese Box Postcard

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

Postcard made of a cheese box, sent in response to this.

By the way, maybe you can help me with the VQR Postal Project...?

Lighthouse & Heart

Received from Eric (France).

Printed envelope with one of my favourite themes.

Mushrooms on Stamps

One of my EVER favourite stamps, from Belgium. It puts together two of my passions: the Smurfs and the mail. I wish I receive more stamps with Smurfs!

I did not find any mushroom among my incoming or outgoing stamps. Well, the Smurfs live in mushroom houses... So I upload this stamp to introduce you one of the most amazing themed collection of covers, stamps and maximum cards: Mushrooms on Stamps, gathered by Alberto. I had never realised that there are so many stamps related to mycology.

Roodkapje on Stamps

This letter to Little Red Riding Hood produced different reactions. One of them are these stamps, sent by Scriptor (the UK), that of course made my day:

And I guess it is the right post to show you the following stamps on the same theme (her name in Dutch is Roodkapje) sent by Heleen (the Netherlands) some months (years?!?) ago:

I also received once a postcard with this character from the Czech Republic. I wonder if there are more stamps of Little Red Riding Hood in other countries, and if she is famous in the whole world...

Update 26/05/2013: And Heleen remind me (see comments below) that I had received more stamps with Little Red Riding Hood's grandma!

La Vache qui rit Again

Sent to Eric (France).
He has a mail art project about cows (among others). Check in his blog!
Also published here.

Sent to Heleen (the Netherlands).

Sent to Laura (the UK).

Ok, I recognise I have certain fixation on La Vache qui rit making postcards of these cheese boxes: 1, 2, 3, 4... (And on eating the cheese. The last box I bought has... 78 portions!).

By the way, does La Vache qui Rit (The Laughing Cow) in your country? Do you have one of these boxes? I would be extremely happy if you send it to me!! I'll send you a postcard/a letter in return, of course. Please, check La vache qui rit Postal Project.

Your Mail Box

Sent by Ciara (the United States).

Amazing handmade postcard (painting, collage... all in one!). It was sent as the April swap of LEP. Participants were supposed to sent a picture of their mail boxes (I also sent an artwork, not exactly a picture). So April mail arrived in May...

Sunday Stamps

Stamp from Germany
It's one of my ever favourite.

Sunday Stamps is a meme started by Viridian's Postcard Blog. It started on January 9, 2011. It is a way to show off part of your collection. It is not necessary the stamps are collective or rare. Thy can be commemoratives from your country, stamps from Postcrossing or even stamps purchased from a store.

How does it works?

I welcome you to join Sunday Stamps where you can show off your collection. Write a post, publish it, and then link into my blog. [...] I will be using Linky tools [...] I plan to open the linky party late Saturday night or early Sunday morning (USA Eastern time) and close it Sunday at midnight.

I usually do not participate in this kind of memes, just from time to time. But I recognize I have read a lot of interesting posts and seen a lot of amazing stamps thanks to Sunday Stamps. 

Koningssoep

Sent by Heleen (the Netherlands), on 27th April, birthday of the prince.

It was made of a package with fresh orange ingredients for the Koningssoep (='King soup') invented for this 30th April, when the queen passed her job to her son (the first king since 1890!). I love the idea that Koningsdag (='King's Day', formerly Koninginnedag or 'Queen's Day') is an opportunity for Oranjegekte (='orange craze'): people decorate houses, cars, shops and entire streets in orange colour, wear orange clothing and even dye their hair! I must be there one year!

I love the festive decorations on the postcard. And did you noticed the royal stamps with the queens Beatrix and Juliana?

Sit down and Write a Letter to Me

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

More Reading Women!

I received these three awesome postcards with reading women for St George's Day, from Heleen (the Netherlands). It was sent on 23rd April. 

Lezende vrouw, 1911
By Jan Sluijters, 1881-1957

De zusters Arntzenius
By W.B. Tholen (1860-1931)

By Inge Löök
(One of my favourite illustrators!)

And of course she sent also roses...

If I Was a Genie...

'If I was a genie and I could give you one wish (no matter what) what would you wish for?'

This is the question that this postcrosser ask to whoever writes a postcard to her. Thanks to Postcrossing people from all over the world send their wishes directly to her mail box, and she keeps an amazing blog where she publishes the answers and the postcards.

I Just Call to Say I Love You

Sent to Val Herman (France).

Altered postcard for the Phone Box International Art Exhibition:

My friends Eddy & Annette Duprey recently bought an old British telephone box and moved it -at great expense and effort- from de South of Wales to the South of France. And now this iconic traditional red phone box stands is somewhat isolated splendour in their garden. To celebrate The Box's official opening on 14 June, 2013 I'm organising a Mail Art Exhibition, as part of IUOMA's 25th Anniversary celebrations. Works received will be place on and in the phone box.

THEME: Phones, Phone Boxes, or anything to do with Telecommunications.

DATE: 14 June, 2013 (It's a small phone box... and a small exhibition!)

SIZE: Anything - but postcards preferred

TECHNIQUE:  Free. Anything goes -drawings, paintings, collages, assemblages... it's up to you (as long as they will fit in or on the Box)

VENUE: The British Telephone Box by the swimming pool, Chez Duprey, 9 Rue Jacques Prévert Emeraude, Sigean, France

DEADLINE: 10 June, 2013 

CONDITIONS: No prizes, no jury, no returns, etc.

PLEASE SEND YOUR MAIL ART TO:

Val Herman, 1 Rue de la Vieille Fontaine, 11130 Sigean, FRANCE 

Anniversary

Parcel sent by Eva (Germany).

This was a (beautiful, handmade, unexpected!) birthday packet. I received it for my birthday (so, months ago), but a bit later. This is the reason why I had not posted it yet. I thought today is the right day to show it because it is not my anniversary, but Hawwa's Mail Adventures anniversary. Two years blogging, I hardly believe it...

Little Dictionary

This is a little personal dictionary about some terms used in the snail mail world. You'll find it in the Snail Mail Magazine blog. By the way, I recommend you this blog!

Letter in a Letter

Letter from Bree (Malaysia).

Like this one, it seemed a plain white envelope. But look inside...

There is a lovely Kawaii envelope!

Children Toys on Stamps

Today the theme for Sunday Stamps is Children, toys and games, anything related to children. This is a very wide subject, and stamps related to children are specially beautiful. So it was difficult to control myself and upload only these stamps with toys from different countries:  

From Taiwan

From Germany

From The Netherlands

From The Netherlands

Pink Tree

Sent to Simone (the United States).

Collage made of press cuttings, rubber stamps, stickers, washi tape, colour pencils and words.

Sent as my contribution to the challenge #4 of Mail a Smile project. You are still on time to participate! You must only mail a tree. More details about how it works.

Etiquette

Emily Post (1872-1960) was an American author who wrote on etiquette. In 1922 her book Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home (frequently referenced as Etiquette) became a best seller, and updated versions continued to be popular for decades. Actually, it is still alive. 

You can read the whole book here; it is a good tool in order to understand that time. But I'm sure the most interesting chapters for letter writers are XXVII (Notes and Shorter letters) and XXVIII (Longer letters). Maybe you will find some of her guidelines old-fashioned, but writing letters in the 21st Century... is not completely out of style? I found some interesting ideas:

The letter you write, whether you realize it or not, is always a mirror which reflects your appearance, taste and character. A "sloppy" letter with the writing all pouring into one corner of the page, badly worded, badly spelled, and with unmatched paper and envelope—even possibly a blot—proclaims the sort of person who would have unkempt hair, unclean linen and broken shoe laces; just as a neat, precise, evenly written note portrays a person of like characteristics.

Or

A perfect letter has always the effect of being a light dipping off of the top of a spring. A poor letter suggests digging into the dried ink at the bottom of an ink-well.

Mail a Tree

Are you ready for the challenge #4 of Mail a Smile? The theme of the challenge this month is Trees (which can be freely interpreted as usual). Do you want to participate? Well, here is what you do:

• Create happy mail art, and take a picture of it for us to share. The theme for this challenge is “Trees”, which can be freely interpreted, or if you find inspiration in something completely different: GO FOR IT!
• Send the happy mail art to Simone. His address is given to anyone who signs up to the newsletter. So, if you want to participate, sign up or send a request to info[at]mailasmile[dot]org
• Email us the picture of your happy mail art so that we can add it to our gallery!
• Send us your theme choice in case you will be the winner I can publish the next challenge immediately so the project can operate smoothly without a delay
• Make sure to let us know if you want us to link back to you on any site or social media profile

You have until May 31st to make and send your mail art. More details about how it works.

My Mail Box

Postcard received from Postmuse (the USA).

It arrived more or less at the same time as the monthly newsletter of the League of Extraordinary Penpals. It inspired me to participate in the April swap. I took a picture of the mail box (the one I send mail in). But I find the mail box that I receive the mail in too boring (too regular, too square, too grey). So I drawn it in an envelope instead of taking a picture. This is the result (sent to Kim, in the USA):

Urgentes

 

This is a picture I took in Colón Square (Madrid, Spain), in the main post office. There are some mail boxes like that in a row: for normal mail, express mail (on the picture), international mail...

Alef-Bet

Sent by Danny (Israel).

Postcard showing the Alef-Bet, designed and drawn by Abraham Patt. It is the only postcard I have received from Israel so far. It was long time ago, but it made my day, as it belongs to one of my favourite themes: alphabets!

I cannot help me of publishing this one sent by Heleen (the Netherlands) also long time ago. It shows one letter from the Hebrew alphabet (in a 1923 version):

Postcard Everyday

Sent by Liu Miao (China).

This handmade postcard was send as part of the mail project Postcard Everyday. As explained in the website:

I'm Liu Miao. I'll be sending a postcard and post one I received online everyday from Jan 1st, 2013. 

 1, Give me your address and I'll send you a postcard; 

 2, Send me one:

Liu Miao

P.O. box 31-123

Shanghai 200031

China 

 Happy postcarding!