Vintage

Another Philatelic Catalog arrived featuring the vintage tulip stamp on the cover.

This one went to Julie S.

And another vintage rose, this one sent to Cathy O.

Bonus postcards & bonus link

I received this one from MissiveMaven... I couldn't wait until October to post this one, so how about a little Halloween received in January and blogged in February!

And some fun washi tape and sticker action on the back. Great stamp, too, celebrating the bicentennial of the Library of Congress (a stunning building, well worth a visit).

________________________

One from Karen. the outer layer is a transparency of some kind - very cool in person.

And some great vintage stamps.

From Honi C.

_____________________

A happy new year from Liberty.

___________________

Nancylee sent this pretty winterscape. Hey, that could be the post office's next 'scape' set, to go with cloudscapes and earthscapes. 

_____________________

A bright collage from Jazzie.

_______________________

The scan isn't going to do this one justice at all.

Julie created this postcard using five different fabrics, then used a sewing machine to make neat edges. I wouldn't even know how to turn a sewing machine on!

She used the Nevada statehood stamp to complete the theme. 

________________________

Another one from Honi C

__________________________

'Stolen page 176'. The flower Hester added to this page makes me think of a strelitzia

Hester used a great Alexander Calder stamp to send this one - even more fitting as the year of the Horse draws to a close.

________________

Bright orange and fuschia bicycles from Rose.

More color to cheer up a dreary February from Terrie.

__________________________

Bonus link to two articles from the designer of the upcoming Summer Harvest stamps, Michael Doret. I think the design of these is great. I wish it had included a couple of the originals - the lemon and pineapple ones in particular.

The first design series, ultimately rejected in 2002.

The redesigned series, currently scheduled for release in June. 

Bonus holiday envelopes 485, 552, 553, 612 and 613

A few bonus holiday catalog envelopes sent out before Christmas.

To Eva, one from the Philatelic. I always find it hard to break up the four stamps - three would have been enough.

To NancyLee, one from Paper Source

To Trula, another from Philatelic

To Julie S, Circus stamps from the Philatelic catalog

And another paper source to Adrienne

White mail candy

Adrienne sent this fantastic piece of mail... that's candy on the tongue...

And this beautiful collage was inside.

_________________________

And Julie sent this great circus of an envelope addressed in white.

And a bonus artistamp on the back.

And even more inside a neat cellophane envelope.

________________________

Even more white... this time on black, also from Adrienne. And with an amazing variety of vintage Canadian stamps on the envelope that are, once again, uncanceled.

Adrienne included this beautiful minizine featuring her collage work.

Envelopes 318, 322 and 334 - butterflies

#318 is another one from an old calendar featuring Japanese woodblock prints.

I liked the colors of the spicebush stamp for this envelope. I played around with the position, and ultimately liked the idea of a butterfly erupting from Mt Fuji.

______________________________

#322 is from the same calendar.

I thought the distant sheets looked a bit like butterflies. Sent to Currie in thanks for her MMSA postcard.

______________________________

#334, a classic woodblock.

Waves and butterflies: both ephemeral.

Sent to Jean.

MMSA handmade envelopes - part 5 - bonus envelopes

I sent an envelope to each of the five MMSA swappers whose envelopes I received in the exchange.

Creepy #135 to Julie S (already shown at Halloween).

# 382 - circus couture to Gina V.

#385 - a sunflower to Laurie M.

#386 - the city at night to Kathy J

and #395 - drum set to Doris D.

Bonus update - even more Halloween!

Owls from Christy R in the envelope exchange. This envelope is amazing. The way the lines are done to outline a moon is fantastic, and a great choice in vintage stamps to accompany it.

I didn't want to open it, as the design continued on the back, but there was something inside...

...a great bonus Halloween poem.

________________________

And an outstanding bonus Halloween envelope from Hester. Dark and brooding, with Monster stamps.

There's even a great Romanian spider stamp used as a seal on the back (and a post office barcode in orange - does this help solve the mystery of Adrienne's triple barcoded card, or just add to the puzzle?)

Inside, another fantastic bat.

And even better, a creepy Halloween story.

____________________________

And speaking of creepy, here's what Julie S sent me...all the elements work well, and the vintage stamps are fantastic.

The back has a brilliant chalk body outline, and I love the fact that the return address is on a tombstone.

Inside was a bonus postcard - I don't think I can part with it. Also, Julie included a signature Laboratory note. The smiling skull on the poison label is a hoot.