January envelope exchange - received

Before I get to the January envelopes, here's one from the December exchange from Lucy. Always great to receive a brightly-colored envelope when it is cold and grey outside.

The back was fun, too. And thanks for the bonus card inside.

In from the January exchange...

...from Jean R. Love the sentiment on the card she included. The watercolors on the envelope don't show up as nicely as in person.

From Carol. I like the vintage stamps she used to complement the colors on her envelope.

From Rehj. I like the icicle effect. The zipcode is done with clear embossing - very cool.

And great sea-themed envelope from Lilli.

The rest of the incoming December exchange envelopes

One from Florence. I like the simplicity of this one, and the colors which go with the stamp.

One from Lynne - I love this idea for a modern take on a tree. Looks so cool, I need to remember this for next year.

Another clever tree, this time from Rehj.

Beautiful calligraphy from Karen. Karen always does such subtle, interesting things with her work. I love how she left off the 'rd' in 3rd, which would have interfered with the downstroke of the p.

An owl (from a calendar page) from Carroll, which came with a peace bird inside.

Vintage Christmas stamps from Amy S.

And last but not least, this one from Kate R.

It's been really great to receive so much beautiful mail over the holidays - thanks, everyone!

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Rehj has obviously been saving up her Christmas wreath global stamps - thanks for paying extra postage to get such a nice effect on the envelope. Which brings me to a bonus mini-rant today!

I buy most of my postage from usps.com as it is convenient and easier to browse than ask a busy postal clerk to browse through the filing cabinet of stamps for me. As of yesterday, there are currently NO Global Forever stamps available at the website. NO Christmas wreaths, NO multicolored oceans, nothing. I know a new issue is coming soon, but I think it is pretty bizarre to have so many options available for domestic postage, but none for international. 

Update 12 Feb: The new global stamps are finally available for preorder from USPS.com, with a 22 Feb release date.

December envelope exchange part 2

I had a few more envelopes made from brown paper grocery bags to go with Forever Love stamps, so I opted to send 10 out for the December exchange.

These are numbered 636, 637, 638, 639 and 651 to Florence, Carroll, Smash, Rachael and Karen.

Bonus Christmas Mail

Some great mail arrived on Christmas Eve, so not enough time to blog it.

A December envelope for Jean and Jan's exchange from Eric...

...and Eric sent me a beautiful Christmas card...

...which had a fun Santa postage sticker on the envelope.

More surprises arrived on the 26th. Large Christmas and New Year's wishes from Tony M.

With a cool personalized postage stamp on the front...

and neat rubber stamping on the back.

Thanks, everyone, it was wonderful to receive such great mail around the holidays.
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Bonus video. I have a link on the right side to OpenInkStand Calligraphy. For her Christmas mail, Schin Loong sent out her cards addressed in the shape of a santa face. How I'd like to be on her Christmas list! Here is a video she uploaded showing her work.

December exchange part 1

I sent out hand made envelopes numbered 630, 631, 632, 634 and 635 for the December exchange. Any guesses what they're made from?

The first couple of December exchange envelopes are here

Just in time for Christmas...

This beautiful calligraphy bird arrived from Jean R.

And Charley Brown (this is my favorite of the 10 stamps) and shadow writing from Jean.