Washi Tape

As some of you may remember from my post on paint chips, I can go sort of overboard from time to time.

Well, it's happened again.  I decided I needed more washi tape.  See how little I had before??

Well, it's all relative.

So, I decided to buy some more.

MoMA exclusive washi tape:

And then some tape from Uguisu:

Mini washi tape:

So small in comparison!

Single rolls from Uguisu:

My full collection:

{More lovely washi tape on Pinterest.}


~ Anne

PS - I confess to posting this today mostly because it's been a loooong day at work (and I can't go home yet!) and tomorrow will be yet another long day (we are getting audited...).  So feel free to leave me nice comments to cheer me up!  (And forgive me for the blatant pandering.)

Incoming, Week of July 23rd

I didn't get much mail this week, but the mail I got was great.  


Incoming:

I've been busy so I haven't been sending as much mail.  It's true what they say - to get mail you have to send mail!  Hopefully I'll get caught up soon.

~ Anne

New Stamps: Choreographers

Today the USPS releases its new issue, Innovative Choreographers, featuring Isadora Duncan, José Limón, Katherine Dunham, and Bob Fosse.  

The dancer in me is very excited to start using these beauties!


~ Anne

Question: Mailing Preferences

Hello everyone,

I have another* mail-related question for my fellow postal enthusiasts. 

When you send a letter to a pen pal, do you usually write long or short letters?  Are you consistent?  Do you have a preference for which type you receive?

I started to wonder about this when I heard about someone feeling disappointed when a pen pal responded to their long and lovingly-written letter with a short note. 

For those of you who love mail art, do you hope to receive back mail art of equal quality?  (Is there such a thing as low-quality mail art??) I will admit to feeling intimidated by the creativity of some fellow mail artists, but for me it's more about the joy of creating something and sending out into the world, thinking about all of the systems at work that help it reach its destination. And I'm always thrilled when someone decides to write back.  Maybe I will get over that excitement, but I doubt it.

I'm curious to know what you think about this topic.  Please share! :)


*Previous mail-related questions can be found here.

~ Anne

Vintage Stamps

The rest of the vintage stamps I received:

In case you missed it, the two other posts about vintage stamps are here and here.

I love old stamps!  I don't want to use them!

~ Anne

Pantone Box {Fab}

Recently I discovered Fab through fellow blogger Alycia of The Curious Pug. 

They have a bunch of different stuff, and great prices.  I'm particularly fond of their vintage furniture and typewriters!


My first order was this turquoise Pantone box:

I thought it was going to be small (maybe the size of a graphing calculator at most), but look at how big it is!

(with a pen for size comparison)

{If you're interested in joining Fab, click *here* so I get credit for referring you.  Thanks!}

~ Anne

Incoming, Week of July 16th

Incoming:

In addition to the letters in my mailbox, I got a few packages of stationery, washi tape, etc that I ordered online.  Stay tuned for more!

~ Anne

Vintage Stamps | LOVE

One of my favorite series of stamps is the LOVE stamps.  Here are a few that I got in a recent order of vintage stamps:

The puppies are adorable, right?

PS: I previously posted about the "G"Rate make-up stamps I also got here.

~ Anne

Electronics Made of Paper

AWESOME.

Electronics from the eighties:

I love the idea of making something plastic, like a Nintendo controller, out of paper!

From fubiz via pinterest.

~ Anne

Found at Work: "Hello"

I was looking through the supply cupboard at work and happened upon these great name tags:

Looking forward to using these as mailing labels!

Have you found anything great at work to use in your mail projects? If not, where do you look?

~ Anne

Incoming, Week of July 9th

So much incoming this week!

Postcrossing

Incoming, Part One

Incoming, Part Two

~ Anne

The "G" Rate Make-up Stamp

This week I received an order of vintage stamps I ordered from ebay.  Among the other lovely stamps I received were these:

"The "G"Rate make-up stamp"... has anyone heard of this before?  I love the bird.  A quick search tells me that these stamps are worth 3 cents each.  I never knew there was such a thing as the "G"Rate!

Pictures of the other stamps I received coming soon!

~ Anne

Guest Post | Miki of Miki's Scrapbook

Hello, Letter Love followers! I am Miki from Miki's Scrapbook and it's a pleasure to be guest posting here today, basically for two reasons. 1) I met Anne not so long ago, but I became friends with her very easily (because let's face it, she's totally loveable!); 2) I love snail mail! So it's cool to have the opportunity to share my mailing experiences here with you :).

First and foremost, let me just say that I'm totally delighted with the way USPS works! I am originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina (have been living in California for over a year now) and the postal service there is ... how can I put it? Really far from perfect! They don't let you use tape on envelopes, letters get mysteriously lost, they charge you taxes if you get a package, oh, and the postmen and employees at the Customs have the right to ask you to open your package in front of them ... But anyway, here in America my experience so far has been 100% satisfactory. I'm currently into sending packages in unconventional and unwrapped containers such as bottles, food boxes and balls and so far I have never had any problem.

My first experiment was the Easter eggs you can see in the pic above. I was not sure whether they were going to accept them at the post office, so I opted to get the stamps and throw them in the mailbox. Fortunately, they reached my recipients with no trouble! :)

I also like using water balloons instead of packing peanuts. They hold up ok for about 3 days, which is how long it usually takes for packages to get delivered. I don't think I'd use balloons for international shipping, though. Oh, and in case you're wondering where I got the plastic balls, they're 99c over at Party City.

Some considerations to take into account:

When you use an unwrapped container, always cover the bar code if it's exposed. I learned that when I took the tin foil box above; the employee had to use black permanent marker to cover it.

If you prefer to skip the post office and print the labels at home or use stamps, check USPS First Class price list (packages) and be aware of the fact that prices vary according to the measurements and shape of your container.

If you pay an extra 85c you can track where your package is on the USPS website. I bought an app that's called Package Tracker so I get the updates on my phone. This app costs $1 and works with many different shipping companies.

Thanks a lot, Anne for letting be here today!

Hope you all have a great day! ;D

Miki 

Images from Iceland | The 52 Letters Project

Check out this very cool post with postal images from Iceland.

Red mailbox:

~ Anne

Postcard Calendar

I was so excited when I spotted this postcard calendar on Anthropologie's website!

At the end of the month, you can send off part of the calendar as a postcard!

Calendar by Linda & Harriett.  By the way, they have a blog I just discovered with lots of lovely things to see!

~ Anne

Street Art: Colored Pencils

Great street art!

These remind me of the smaller-scale tree-branch-into-colored-pencils I posted about previously.

Source: Ned Hardy via To Make Love Stay.


~ Anne

Incoming, Week of July 2nd

Incoming this week:

No mail on Wednesday due to 4th of July holiday, but overall it was still a good mail week.  Lots of creative envelopes coming my way, as you can see :)

~ Anne

Guest Post | Shannah of Write Before Your Eyes

Hello all you wonderful people! First, I'd like to say that I was honored when Anne asked me to do a guest post on her blog. My name is Shannah, and I am the creative mind behind Write Before Your Eyes. This is my first guest post so, here goes!

Since I have a passion for writing letters, I'd like to share with you some tips on how I write/decorate letters. First, I find all the things I may use to decorate a sheet of paper. The paper can be plain or colorful. In this case, I decided to start with a colored sheet. Washi tape is also amazing for adding that extra pizzaz to your stationery. I like to use funky notepad sheets as well, to finish the letter out or add an extra note. Also, ephemera gives it that retro vintage look, if you like that style. 

When writing a letter, you really can't go wrong as long as you're honest! Write about your day, your week, your pet/family/friends, hopes/dreams/aspirations! In this case, I wrote mostly about the vacation I had just taken.

Now, on to my favorite part: decorating the envelope! When making your own envelopes, try to find/make colorful ones. For this one, I found a blueish sheet of paper. For other decorations, I used real lace and ephemera. Go crazy with layers! Pretty much anything flat is great for decorating an envie.

A bit of cutting and a tad of glue and...

This particular letter is going to my pal Melissa. <3

It's just that simple! AND it's very fun creating a piece of artwork when you know the person receiving it will enjoy and appreciate it! Send letters to your family, friends, people you don't know, nursing home residents, hospital patients, down the road, across the seas. It does not matter its destination, as long as it arrives and puts a smile on a person's lovely face. So, what are you waiting for? Go brighten someone's day!!!