Mooi Nederland

Stationsplein ('Station Square') in Utrecht

Het Binnenhof, in The Hague
(What is a hof?)

Rijksmuseum, in Amsterdam

Postcards and matching stamps (How nice is that?) sent by Heleen. 

2017 Europa Stamps Competition

Today's theme in Sunday Stamps - II is Statues or Monuments. I thought immediately in castles, because this is the theme of the 2017 EUROPA Stamp Competition.

I have received only the beautiful Dutch castles so far. The 10-stamp sheetlet contains two stamp varieties and was designed by Hague-based graphic designer Bart de Haas. It features images of two Dutch moated castles, Doornenburg and Ammersoyen

Here you can view the rest and vote for you favourite until 9 September. It is quite difficult to choose only one!

The Mountains or the Sea?

Postcard sent by Laura (the UK). This is Errigal Mountain in "the rugged and beautiful" County of Donegal. With a scratch that I thought was part of the picture, at first sight.

Mama's Beach, by Jan Kasprzycki. The real beach is on Maui's North Shore. This is another postcard that arrived thanks to the #AtoZChallenge. It arrived just two days after someone from Maui commented on the blog. It is my second postcard from Hawaii (but actually this was sent from Canada, by Rosemary).

But it is more likely that I visit the Mediterranean Sea, like on this postcard of the Costa Brava sent by Mom. Beautiful beaches near home! 

14 Juillet

This envelope to Philippe (France) is my first attempt of sending mail related to the French National Day or Bastille Day, celebrated on 14 July. I tried even to find a French-like stamp: it is not a Gallic rooster, but it is a rooster! I must say that the result was more naïf that I expected.

Letter Delayed by...

The Witches of Letters

Sent to Eva (Germany)

Sent to Tara (Canada)

Aerial Views

Some Aerial Views for Sunday Stamps-II, received from the UK (British Coastlines set, 2002) and the USA (Earthscapes set, 2012). 

Yellow Bear

Letter sent to Laura (the UK). The template for the envelope was Naomi's, I just added some colour.

Naomi Loves is one of my favourite snail-mail related sites. If you subscribe to her newsletter, you get free monthly mail art templates like this, and lots of snail mail ideas.)

How Can You Not Love Letters?

«How can you not love letters? I have boxes of old letters -and every so often I take them out, unfold them and re-read them. They remind me of the person I once was; the loves and losses I have suffered over the years; my own personal history captured in ink. »

Liz Williams, Kind Regards: The Lost Art of Letter Writing

Tongs vagabondes

Tongs vagabondes is an amazing postal project by the French artist Chantal Bossard. I do not know when it started, or if it is still running. but I found it very inspiring. One day I will send out all those tongs that I find on the beach...

What an Envelope!

Sent by Heleen (the Nethrlands).

A Letter Full of Smurfs!

Sent by Micu (Hungary). The postcard features a church in Třeboň, Czech Republic.

For Those Days...

Postcard sent by Laura (the UK).

Repurposing Another Calendar

I have enjoyed another calendar during 2016, with beautiful illustrations of the tea and coffee world (Have you noticed the golden letters). Actually, I have enjoyed it twice: while hanging on my desk room wall, and then, making postcards of it. These are the tea pages:

Moroccan Mint Tea
Sent to Alan (the UK)
This is the letter that arrived without stamp.

Matcha
Sent to Hanako (Japan)
She published a picture here.

Earl Grey and Green Tea
Sent to John (the UK)

Russian Blend
Sent as Christmas postcard to Eduard & Sonia (Russia)
Published here

Darjeeling
Sent to Laura (the UK)

Reading Slowly

Woman Reading, 1965
Will Barnet

This postcard, also sent by Bryon (the USA), belongs to this post. I had not the time to upload it, as it arrived with certain delay. Exactly: it was sent (and postmarked) on 15 February, and it arrived on 28 June.