Juguetes

Juguetes is Spanish for toys. Europa had the theme classic toys in 2015 and Correos issued this pine-scented stamp featuring a wooden train. It makes me think of Christmas a little bit. Eva gave me instructions to make sure I didn't miss the fragrance :)

For more stamps with a 'made from wood' theme, head over to Sunday Stamps and explore the links.

Bonus wood-related postcard received via Postcrossing from Canada

A postal almost-misadventure

I started sending and receiving postcards via Postcrossing this year. I've received some great postcards so far, and had fun choosing cards to send out. 

Today I received a great postcard sent from Belgium featuring a drawing of Amsterdam's famous red light district by artist Guus van Eck. You can see more of his work at his website.

Even better than the postcard is the story told on the other side by the sender.

"I bought this card in Amsterdam. My sister lives there (followed her love). We wanted to send a card to our nieces who were at camp with the youth movement. We found one in the style of Van Gogh. And then we searched for another one in the same style. We found this one (we were in a hurry). At home we realized by looking at it more closely it was an adult card :| and we never sent it."

This put a big smile on my face, thinking about her realizing the nature of the card, and also imagining this card showing up at a kids' camp :) Definitely my favorite Postcrossing postcard received so far.

Have you had any funny almost-misadventures with a letter or postcard?

Clearer, yet more blurry

The postmark celebrating the 50th anniversary of earth day seems to have been short-lived, however I did receive another one:

Compare to one I blogged a few weeks ago:

Food for Peace

The theme for this week's Sunday Stamps is food, and the stamps on this envelope that Jean sent almost two years ago fit the bill.

The 5c food for peace stamp promoting freedom from hunger was issued June 4, 1963 on the first day of the World Food Congress held in Washington DC.

For more links to food on stamps, click here to go to Sunday Stamps.

Orange is the warmest color

Incoming mail art from Pat L.

Sent in this envelope - with quite the stamp selection.

Gifts of Friendship

I sent a letter using these stamps from 2015. They were issued on the centenary of the gift of flowering dogwoods to Japan from the US in response to a gift of cherry trees.

On the left, cherry trees blossoming in front of the Lincoln Monument, and on the right, dogwood flowers with the US Capitol Building in the background.

This was a joint issue with Japan.

US sheet:

Japanese sheet:

For more flowers on stamps, explore the links at Sunday Stamps.

Front Door Gallery Zinenvelope

Mail Art Martha sent this great year of the rat-related zine. 

She often uses a clever fold to create the envelope from a sheet of paper.

It's called the front door gallery because she 'hangs' mail art so that it can be seen through the glass panels of her front door, for all passersby to see.

Doggerland will rise again!

Mail art with mammoths and a message, from Alan.

Mother and child

I went on a bit of a different tack for today's stamps.

Issued in 2019, this set of 4 stamps takes a look at Tyrannosaurus rex. Two of the stamps incorporate lenticulate technology, so look different when you turn them.

Mom T rex

And child on the 2nd stamp, and on the back of the envelope.

You can see one of the other envelopes I sent at Eva's blog.

For (presumably) more traditional mother and child stamps, explore the links at Sunday Stamps.

Guess where I am

Another card in this great series by Harold Geisler arrived yesterday from Eva.

Eva is right, you don't need to guess these days, as almost everyone is at home. One benefit of a lot of people being at home is felt by the planet. This green stamp (one of several on the envelope) makes me think of the big decrease in pollution.

Great to see an envelope arriving from Eva to cheer up a rainy Friday!

Bonus postcard about a bonus day

In her mail from earlier this week, Heleen included a card from a postcrossing meetup held on February 29th, with some attendees on the back and a lovely stamp.

Thanks for this bonus, Heleen!

Flower moon

The last in this series of moon mail, sent to Fabienne. Blogged today as it is the full moon known in north America as the flower moon.

Earth's moon in all its glory - and a place humans have been to, and will probably go to again.

A puzzling piece of mail

Heleen sent this wonderful envelope, inspired by the fact that I have completed a couple of jigsaw puzzles this year.

And the Rubik's cube puzzle stamp is the perfect addition, along with another game stamp. 

The puzzle conversation made Heleen think of this playful painting by Marius van Dokkum (b. 1957).

Thanks so much for this unexpected and clever piece of mail, Heleen.

Earth Day postmark

I received an envelope with a new postmark that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

You might have to click and enlarge to see the wording more clearly.

Agua

This week's Sunday Stamps theme is water.

First up, the water of the Bay of Cádiz on this stamp celebrating the 300th anniversary of the Casa de Contratación in Cádiz. 

Initially founded by the Queen Isabella I of Castile in 1503 in Seville, it was transferred to Cádiz in 1717. It was a crown agency responsible for collecting all colonial taxes and duties. The Casa de Contratación also produced the official maps carried by Spanish ships. Interestingly, these maps were a highly guarded secret. The agency was abolished by Charles IV in 1790.

Cádiz, located on Spain's Atlantic coast, is one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited cities, having been founded in approximately 1104 BC by the Phoenecians.

Staying in Spain, here is a nice beach scene reflected on sunglasses on a stamp issued in 2019 promoting tourism.

My third stamp from Spain was issued in 2019 to show commitment to the United Nations 17 sustainable development goals. There are a couple of water-related aspects to the stamp: the earth is two-thirds water, and two of the goals are water-related: Clean Water & Sanitation, and Life Below Water. The Spanish post office, Correos, donated 3% of revenue from this stamp issue to this project.

And finally, I was fortunate enough to receive one of the water-related sustainable development goals stamps issued by the United Nations in 2016.

Thanks to Eva for the first three stamps. To see more water on postage, explore the links at Sunday Stamps.