June envelope exchange

Here are the wonderful June envelopes I received.

Colorful and fully loaded from Jean. I do regret not buying any of the 'From me to you' stamps. They looked so bland online, yet so good on envelopes.

From Lynne, a fun contrast of gothic with Star Trek. And a fantastic bee seal on the back that traveled perfectly through the mail.

Perfectly matched calligraphy and lace for this de la Renta stamp from Maggie.

The perfect summer scene from Pam.

And some patriotic stars and stripes from Alison.

The Moon and the Stars for Sunday Stamps

The Sunday Stamps theme this week is stars or the moon or planets, click here for more celestial bodies on postage.

Eric sent me this wonderful envelope made from a paper bag from the drugstore Publicis, with two of the three possibilities on these gorgeous stamps. I love the whole set, but I have to say the polar bear might be my favorite of them all.

The stamps are from a wonderfully whimsical set titled 'Correspondence Planetaires'.

Watercolor calendar envelopes

Some more of the envelopes I harvested from a large watercolor calendar titled 'Fairies'. I continue to be impressed by how well they pair with the botanical art stamps. These are envelopes 784, 808, 793, 795, 783, 786, 807, 777, 794 and 810.

America runs on Dunkin

For Eric's paper bag mail art call.

Leftovers 55

Collage to Jan H in WA.

It's the foot!

Great envelope from Philippe.

Envelope 344 to Jean

Weird Al

Sent to Richard C.

A place I'd like to visit on Sunday Stamps

I used a few of the National Parks stamps on this paper bag envelope I sent to Eric.

Of the three, I'd love to visit Hawaii, and then Carlsbad Caverns look intriguing, too.

The stamps are arranged on the sheet in an unusual way, around a central information square. I added one to the back of the envelope;

For more places people would like to visit via postage stamps, check out the links at Sunday Stamps.

Bonus post - the completed squares

Right after I posted my contribution to Jon's project, he showed the results from the first four boards at IUOMA.

Lights out, and the Bear Psychiatrist

Cartoon envelopes sent to Thom and Brooke.

Wonder Woman!

The Wonder Woman stamps issued last year seemed perfect for this envelope I sent to Adrienne.

A stunning abstract

Philippe sent this amazing abstract design. I love how the stamps (and my address!) fit perfectly on the envelope.

A square to Jon

Jon, over at IUOMA, found a few frames that each contained 9 wooden squares.

I decided to participate, then once the square arrived I felt at a bit of a loss. Then one day, I decided to see what kind of collage I might come up with.

And this is the final result I sent back to him.

When the board is complete, I'll post it.

Hester mail

In from Hester, with a Finn connection.

And out to Hester.

Calendar envelope from Katerina

This nice envelope from Katerina...

...contained this collage and another colorful minizine.

Monuments for Sunday Stamps

Luckily for me, this great envelope from Fabienne arrived in time to give me something to show today.

A journey around Paris by metro and stamps showing the monumental Grand Arch of La Defense, as well as two other stunners. Including the Opera, which has impressive statues on either side. I love the added Hockney collage.

With a little help from another Paris landmark, the Pompidou center.

And postcards showing the beautiful opera building, and a view of Paris.

For more statues and monuments on stamps, head over to Sunday Stamps.

One postmark, or two?

A couple of envelopes arrived from Eva a few Fridays ago. Bright clown feet bouncing through the letter box. Clerks usually cancel the stamps by hand in Morocco. Did they add the stamps to this one in this unusual way? Eva would surely not have placed them like this. Fortunately it didn't matter. Given the date of the postmark, this envelope took a month to reach me.

However, on the colorful envelope posted a few weeks later, the stamps were canceled with a single postmark, no bonus one this time. I wonder if the clerk respected the image on this envelope? Just another mail mystery, I guess.

Key to sating your hunger pangs at the central market in Rome is this fun guide to the food on offer. Love the fact that one part is an A-Z story and another is a found poem. 

M is for Memory is the title of this photograph that Eva sent to congratulate me on finishing the A-Z challenge. Not sure I saw the connection to memory from the photo at first. Of course after some contemplation I can see seeds 'remembering' how to grow into full plants. Perhaps the image is intended to evoke a memory. Quite likely one of a half-forgotten summer picnic. Refreshing watermelon eaten on a hot afternoon. Scrambling to evacuate after the ants also realize how delicious the fruit is. Tired after spending hours in the sun. Unhappy to be returning to reality. Vexed at having to unpack the car in the heat, which now seems sweltering instead of relaxing.

What things in the letter's contents have I not mentioned so far? X is a letter Italian's don't have to worry about starting sentences with, Eva points out. Yet another postcard from Rome showing the 17th century work titled Prospettiva you can see in the Galleria Spada.

Zebra-striped washi tape puts the final seal on Eva's envelope, as well as this post.

Found poetry from Patrice

Four days from France

Both of these envelopes arrived at the same time in just four days from France. Wow.

Crazy crowded pool form Eric.

Black, white and a little red from Fabienne.

Maps

Envelopes 893, 895, 896, 898, 899, 900, 901, 902, 903, 905, 906, 912, 913, 904, 907 and 914 made from a central Ohio cycle route map, as well as from a central Florida real estate map.