Sunday Stamps | I for Insects

Some insects arrived from different countries, for the letter I of Sunday Stamps:

Petasida ephippigera
(Leichhardt's grasshopper)
Australia, 1991

Stigmodera gratiosa ("Jewel Beetles")
Australia, 2016

Castiarina klugii ("Jewel Beetles")
Australia, 2016

Dragonfly ("Protected fauna")
Spain, 2015

Anthophora bee ("Solitary bees")
France, 2016

Ants
USA, 2012

Western honeybee ("Protect pollinators")
USA, 2017

Greetings from...

 

Two different styles of Greetings from... postcards. The postcard sent by Heleen from Belgium belongs to the Postallove's series Greetings from...

The one below, sent by John (the USA) is a bit older, probably 1930s-1940s.

HitM | The Crookedest Street in the World

Bryon sent this postcard from Lombard Street, in San Francisco (the USA), for the Houses in the Mail project. The street, paved with red brick, makes eight turns in one block, and for that reason is known as "the crookedest street in the world".

The Mail Monsters Project | 5

A little nibble never hurts if it appeases the Mail Monster

I guess that only the recipients noticed, but most of the Mail Monsters I drew, were personalised. I mean, related to the previous letters, or the recipients' hobbies, or so on. So to  speak, every Mail Monster has its own story.

This was the last Mail Monster I sent, but it shows the origin of the project: the comments on this post.

It never came back, though. It is disappointing when the letters get lost in way. But, well... this is what Mail Monsters do, isn't it?*

_______

* When a Mail Monster eats a letter like this one... Is that a form of cannibalism? Monsterophagy?

Incredible Eye

Joyce (China) sent me this incredible postcard (painted by herself), inside of a funny envelope literally covered by stamps!

The Mail Monsters Project | 4

Don't be such a guzzler, Mail Monster!

But it really was! When the Mail Moster came back all the way from Canada, it has swallowed another envelope (the red one)!

You can see here a big scary Mail Monster, awaiting for fresh letter to be posted:

And Barb's answer to the question:

I've never heard of mail monsters before but the more I think about it the more I'm pretty sure they exist. Take for example how sometimes mail travels with rapid speed between two places and other times takes forever to reach destination. Perhaps the mail monster ate too much candy for breakfast and was working in hyper-alive :)

Then, there are times when a letter simply vanishes or shows up months later with 'return to sender'after so much time you actually forgot all about sending it. Perhaps, the mail monsters have a unique sense of humor and send mail to the wrong people... on purpose?

Do you think that Mail Monsters have a peculiar sense of humour?

Postcrossing Meetings

Two friends of mine attended their very first Postcrossing meet-up last week-end. And both sent to me the meeting official postcard signed by 7/8 postcrossers, from their respective meeting: Rochester (the UK) and Almelo (the Netherlands). How coincidental is it?

I have never joined one of those meetings, but I think it would be full of fun!

Sunday Stamps | H for Hamlet & Herda

The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre, located in Lambeth, London, England. It celebrates its bicentenary this year.

On 30 August, Royal Mail has issued a series of stamps to celebrate legendary performances and productions from 1960 to the present day. I have received two of them:

• Hamlet, 1975 by William Shakespeare starring Albert Finney
• Hedda Gabler, 1970 by Henrik Ibsen starring Maggie Smith

By the way, I received the first one two days before they were officially sold. Just because the post office where a friend of mine buys the stamps had run out of any other stamp!

See the complete set and read more about this issue, here.

This is a post for Sunday Stamps, letter H.

The Mail Monsters Project | 3

Have you heard about the terrible Mail Monsters?

It seems that, in Hungary, Mail Monsters are really colourful!

And this was Micu's friendly answer to the question Do you believe in Mail Monsters?

Yes, I believe in Mail Monsters. In fact, I think they want to be good friends with me so they keep "borrowing" my letters. In the beginning when I didn't know they exist I was really frustrated when some of my letters didn't arrive to their destinations. Now I know everything happens for a reason.I don't want them to be lonely, so every now and then I allow them to play with my letters :)

Would you allow the Mail Monsters to play with your letters?

The World is Small

Hand-painted envelope sent by Imma (PC). Inside, a letter explaining an incredible mail adventure...

The Mail Monsters Project | 2

The three-horned, fire-breathing, letter-delivering
blue monster is just one of the Mail Monsters.

Maybe you remember the brother of this monster from an earlier envelope I sent. The blue one went to Finland and came back really quickly. It was the first one that landed in my mailbox.

This is how Finnish Mail Monsters look like:

And this was Laura's answer to the question:

Can there be any other reason for mail that arrives like it had gone through a war on its way to the recipient?

Can there be any other reason? What do you think?

HitM | Please, Deliver...

This is another contribution by Heleen (the Netherlands) to the Houses in the Mail project. It is a big envelope. Actually, a cardboard bag containing a new house... to be crocheted. I do not crochet, but I knit, so the yarn is being used anyway.

On the cover, Heleen wrote: "Please, deliver this new house to the new house of...", and she sent it to my new address. But the fact is that we are not living there yet, and there is not mail slot. This bulky piece of mail did not fit under the door. So the postwoman, who delivers also the mail at my parents', ask them if they wanted to take the letter (because I get some mail at my parents', you know). Or otherwise she would take back the letter to the post office and leave me a note. 

Finally, this new house letter was delivered to my old house!

The Mail Monsters Project | 1

The Mail Monsters live on Letters*

The Mail Monsters Project started with a letter that I sent to some of my friends. The letter included an envelope drawn by me, to be sent back. And two questions:

• Do you believe in Mail Monsters? Why?
• Describe, create, draw... a Mail Moster.

More or less, the letters read as the following:

Dear _______,

After more than 30 years sending and receiving mail, I have learnt a great deal about how the postal systems work (and, sometimes, don’t work). They never cease surprising me. Recently, I came to discover that the Mail Monsters exist. And I have started a postal (Of course!) project about.

This is an invitation to collaborate in my research (let's say so) about the mail monsters world. I'm trying to get all my penfriends involved, so I hope you feel like playing with me. What do you have to do?
· Stick the due postage to Morocco on the mail monster envelope. (And a mail label?)
· Add your name and address on the back.
· If you have the time/feel inspired: do the task(s) I suggest on the white cards. No problem if you can't.
· Feel free to add/comment/ask whatever.
· Send it back to me before _______.

I hope you enjoy this project as much as I do. And, who knows? Maybe another mail monster will appear in your mailbox…

All the best,

Mail Adventures

Even if, eventually, less letters than intended were sent (life happens!), all the contributions I received were really wonderful. Thanks to those who sent them, and sorry for the delay: I am going to upload them here, little by little.

_______

* I sent some envelopes to myself, as a test.

Back to School

Laura (the UK) sent me all I need to get back to school today:

A hand-made postcard with some schoolmates...

... And a folded postcard with new school supplies!

Sunday Stamps | G for Gastronomy

Every year, a Spanish city hold the title of  Spanish Culinary Capital. In 2018, it is the turn of León.

The stamp, issued on 17 January, features an illustration of the famous rose window from the western façade of León Cathedral, and some of the most significant products of León’s cuisine: Valdeón cheese; cecina de León (dried beef meat from Léon); Pimiento Asado del Bierzo (a type of pepper, sun-dried and roasted); chocolate (consumed especially hot); Bañeza beans and mantecadas (butter sponge cakes).

The stamp features also the logo created for the occasion, with the slogan Manjar de Reyes [Food fit for a King].

More information about this stamp, here.

Go to Sunday Stamps to see more G stamps!