Blue & Red Letter

Letter sent to John (the UK).

Van Gogh

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). It's a portrait of Vincent van Gogh, whose 161st birthday would be today. It was sent with a matched stamp. I love the quote on it:

werkelijk, er is niets kunstzinniger dan liefde voor de mensen

('Really, there is nothing more artistic than loving people'*)

And I have just discovered that I got another stamp of this series long time ago:

*Google Translate dixit.

Make Tea (or Coffee)

Postcard sent by Laura (the UK).

Maybe it is a naive slogan but I adore it. But of course, as usual, unable myself to choose between tea and coffee (I love both), let me show you another bright postcard I have got:

It was sent by Heleen (the Netherlands). They forget the second part of the sentence: Let's do coffee... not war!

Which one do you prefer?

Shakespeare Mail Art Calls

Shakespeare 450: Life and Creative Work

Everyone and every technique are welcome to participate in this international mail-art project devoted to the 450th birthday anniversary of William Shakespeare, the English poet and playwright. Exhibitions will be held in the Siberian and European parts of Russian in 2014.
The works must be received by May 1, 2014
More information here and in s-hybrid@mail.ru

Send your works to:
Alexander Limarev
Do vostrebovania / poste restante
Novosibirsk-106
630106 
Russia



Shakespeare Postcard Competition
(ages 5-11; sorry if you are too old...). Details here. 

Blue Cowcollage

Collage sent by Christophe (France).

Rose Cream

Sent to Gabi (the UK).

I made this postcard for the 14th Challenge of Mail a Smile. The theme for this month was Ice-cream. As usual, I made the postcard with recycled materials: cardboard from a cereal box and a nice rose-cream cut from a magazine. I added some stickers (of Alice in Wonderland), washi tape and a happy rubber-stamped sun.

Interchangeable Postcards Quilt

Nice idea! Taken from here (good tutorial).

Cabinet dentARTie

Sent to Christophe (France).

Sometimes I feel surprised by the themes that people choose for their mail art projects. But a mail art call about... teeth?!? And with the slogan: Parce que le timbre aussi a des dents ('Because also the stamp has teeth'). Don't say me that it is not really cool... I had to participate!

The collage I included inside the drawn envelope:

Nous réparons toute sorte de
timbres cassés. Même sans dents!

Also published here.

Cowstamps!

I can't be happier because this week's theme for Sundays Stamps is Farm and farm animals. So that gives me the chance to introduce you the VQR Postal Project and invite you to participate. You will be more than welcome (just drop me a note through the contact form).

And for those just interested in stamps, here the cowstamps I gathered so far:

From Canada

From France

A False Letter

«—Vou escrever uma carta à minha namorada. À velha maneira. Uma falsa carta, para apenas me distrair, apenas para distrair saudades dela.

Uma carta falsa? Haverá carta que não seja falsa?»

Mia Couto, A Confissão da Leoa

Last Days of Winter

Postcard sent by Laura (the Netherlands).

Today the spring arrives. But I wanted to show you the last winter postcard, from Amsterdam. This woman ice skating with a baby is something difficult to see here!

Some postcrossers and collectors have capital cities among their favourite themes. For instance, the runner of the blog Capitals of the world on postcards. I also have a little collection of this theme, although being the capital doesn't mean being the most beautiful city of a country, of course.

I have recently added some postcards from Amsterdam, sent by Laura and Heleen:

The Rijksmuseum (1876-1885)

VOC-ship

Skyline made of ontbitoek (='breakfast bread'). I love it!

Prisengracht, Westertoren

And I place I wouldn't probably miss...

Happy Springtime*!

Letter from Mary (Jersey).

*To everyone in Northern Hemisphere. If you are in Southern Hemisphere, please, keep my wishes for next spring.

Nookie

«I went home, reset the alarm clock, roused the family at four, to protests and general consternation, and had everyone bundled into the car and road by five. As a result, we were in Newquay in time for breakfast and had to wait around for seven hours before the holiday park would let us have one of their wretched chalets. And the worst of it was that I'd only agreed to go there because I thought the town was called Nookie and I wanted to stock on postcards. »

Bill Bryson, Notes From a Small Island

I can perfectly imagine myself doing something like that. What about you?

Disello

I am sorry: this is a post for residents in Spain.

Correos (Spanish postal service) had launched a contest: you have to design a stamp and send it to the platform. The winner will enjoy a trip to the Salon Philatelique d´Automne de Paris! And the most important: (s)he will see the design on a real stamp in 2015!

Here the conditions to participate.

----

Another interesting initiative of Correos: Libros que llegarán muy lejos (again, just for residents in Spain).

Saint Patrick's Mail

Letter sent by Laura (the UK).

Actually, this letter was not intended to be "Saint Patrick's Mail"... but so it seems. Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

The Postworld on Stamps

This week Sunday Stamps is for Letters, postcards and the post. I have published many times this kind of stamps, as it is one of my favourite themes. And I guess it  is the same for a lot of mail lovers.

So today I want just to show you some of the latest I have got and really love.

From Belgium.
Smurfs are my heroes!

From Germany

From the Netherlands
I like this Escherian idea!

From the Netherlands

From the Netherlands
(Sorry for the bad picture!)

From the Netherlands
I adore this stamp you can read in all directions...
(See the complete sheet here)

Little Pink Museum...

Sent to Tessa (the Netherlands).

This is the second museum I made (the first here). The receiver is a museums' lover and I think she loves Rembrandt, so I built The Little Pink Museum of Rembrandt and his friends especially for her.

I am not sure if she loves pink. I hope so, because I decide to use pink papers (from an old magazine) and pink tape, and pink markers... I was in a pink mood that day!

And, as you can see, I hung only masterpieces:

I am proud to inform you that the museum has a big success: there is a never-ending queue of people (mmm... more or less) waiting for entering:

Oh, but this time I couldn't write a letter on the wall because it was absolutely forbidden...

So I wrote it separately in another museum-related postcard and send it to the owner of the blog You have mail from me (I know you will like that blog!).

(This is a post for Paper Saturdays)

These Are Not Letters

« De même qu'il ne suffit pas d'écrire un livre pour être écrivain, il ne suffit pas d'écrire du courrier pour être épistolier. Je reçois très souvent des missives dans lesquelles le destinataire a oublié ou n'a jamais su qu'il s'adressait à moi ou à quelqu'un. Ce ne sont pas des lettres. Ou alors, j'écris une lettre à quelqu'un et cette personne m'envoie une réponse qui n'est pas une réponse, non que je lui aie posé une question, mais parce que rien dans son propos ne signale qu'il a lu le mien. Ce n'est pas une lettre. »

Amelie Nothomb, Une forme de vie

Snails!

Postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).  I love this design by Ankepanke, so I sent the same postcard to another friend (but I am afraid it is lost in way...).

Postcard MADE (and of course, sent) by Heleen (the Netherlands).

Coquillage

Squared postcard sent by Heleen (the Netherlands).

Diligence tirée par... des escargots, by Tomi Ungerer.

Postcard sent by Stéphanie (France).

Postcard sent by John (the UK). I had previously received the matched stamp:

Teacup Envelopes

Seen here.

Cow Envelopes

Envelope sent by John (the UK). Did you noticed the VQR bike and the beautiful stamp with Little Red Riding Hood?

And another cowcover sent by Richard (France):

Envelope sent by Ângela (Portugal). Isn't it wonderful?