Post 2000

 What better way to celebrate post 2000 of the blog than with an envelope from Jean - who's blog I found back in 2013!

I like how Jean made this stamp look like not a stamp. The addition of decorative leaves and suns to go with the motifs on this Thinking of You stamp (issued in 2023) is a lovely creative touch.

Thanks for all the visits and comments along the way!

Ho, ho, ho, 'tis the Season...

...for dem bones!

Gift bags that I repurposed as envelopes  in 2018. Accompanied by the Magic of Vanishing and Prediction for Jean.

With the Magic of Production and Levitation for Chuck. 

And the Magic of Prediction, Transformation and Vanishing for Eric.

The Olympic Games

The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games were supposed to start today. They have, of course, been postponed to 2021.

In honor of the spirit of the Olympics, I have a couple of envelopes that I haven't blogged.

One from Maggie

And one from Jean (I know, it is summer, but it is so hot just looking at these stamps makes me feel cooler).

Have you ever attended an Olympic event?

Envelope 1000 - for real this time

Once upon a time I made about 120 envelopes by hand, took a long hiatus, then started making more.

Recently I made envelope 1000 which went to Jean in an envelope exchange.

Today is the blog's 7th anniversary! I'm amazed you're all still here - thank you for your interest and support. 

I know this year of the rat isn't turning out like we imagined it would - hang in there, we are all stronger than we think. 

We will be able to look back on the blog's 8th anniversary and see how we made it through some tough times with determination, and some good mail.

(Link to first post titled Envelope 1000 if you're interested)

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.

I love the simplicity of this exchange envelope from Jean, along with the vintage stamps.

A sparkling kraft Christmas from Jean-san

Jean sent this lovely kraft envelope. White looks so good against the soft brown, and the snowflakes are perfect.

With this really nice note - love the mix of case styles in one message.

Did you end up needing this weekend to recover from the holidays so far, or is it just another part of the extended whirlwind?

More sun

It is bright and sunny here, and we're about to have a mini-heatwave for a few days with temps up in the high 40s F (8-9 C).

Here's an envelope I sent to Jean with one of the O Beautiful stamps.

How's your weather today?

Summer!

This exchange envelope from Jean is the perfect one for the first day of summer.

Two together

These fun envelopes arrived on the same day.

From Jean, who lives in Iowa, the 150th anniversary of statehood of which is celebrated on these amazingly uncancelled stamps. I love how the 'leg' of the R crosses the C.

and from Lynne. You can't appreciate the metallic colors from the scan. They look great with the tamales stamp from the Delicioso set.

Two ways to be addressed

Jean sent me this great envelope made from a paper bag. Can you see the different ways she addressed it? (You might have to enlarge it).

1c

Once upon a time postage for postcards was 1c (in 1898, and again between 1919 and 1952). And of course 1c stamps were needed for make up rates.

Jean sent me this bonus envelope. The calligraphy details are beautiful and perfect to go with this stamp. The writing is greener in person, the scanner darkened it a touch.

10 days from Iowa

Jean's January exchange envelope took a leisurely 10 days to arrive. The vintage stamps from 1988 are very nice.

It also managed to confuse the machine cancel on the front... and on the back. 

Snowflakes

I sent out envelopes 942 to 946 for the January PTEX a day before our first major snow (4 inches).

I decided to post them now, a few days after another major storm (6 inches).

Calligraphy from Jean

This is Jean's October exchange envelope. Apparently the envelope has a mistake that Jean fixed. I certainly can't see it.

It also received an extremely light postmark, so you can enjoy the modern vintage stamps. The 32c stamp celebrates 1930s-related themes as part of the Celebrate the Century series, and was issued in 1998. The 22c one is from a set of four issued in 1986.

Get anything good from (Sparkling) Santa?

The secular Christmas stamps and souvenir minisheet from USPS featured Santas taken from vintage Coca Cola vignettes. Did you know that before Coca Cola 'branded' Santa in red and white that his outfits were in various different colors?

I used the souvenir sheets on my December PTEX envelopes. And, since it is Christmas, I even added a little decorative writing - using Jean's very forgiving wrought iron letters.

PS I have to confess I find the Sparkling Santa stamps creepy! Despite that, I hope Santa was good to you this year.

Happy Hollerdaze!

I love Jean! She has an awesome blog, sends incredible envelopes, and has a fantastic sense of humor.

Here is her marvelously understated exchange envelope for December. I doubt I could ever write that small and have it look so perfect.

The best part is the card inside.

To understand why this is such an excellent thing to receive, check Jean's blogpost.

Thanks again, Jean, this was unexpected and put a huge grin on my face. My own envelopes were mailed out yesterday, so should arrive next week, and I am hoping that my November envelopes arrive before Dec 25th :)

Sugar skull from Jean

The Halloween mail continues with this fun envelope from Jean.

The scanner hates neon, so here's a photo. The envelope is a lot brighter in person.

Bonus J is for Jack-O'-Lanterns

J is also for Jack-O'-Lanterns, the first ever USPS Halloween stamps issued in 2017. Halloween is huge in the US, so I am surprised that they don't have issues every year. They were certainly a success, as they are no longer available from the online store, unless you want to buy giant press sheets for $60 dollars each (I think that is 120 stamps). A few post offices might still have them in stock.

I received one as part of this months envelope exchange run by Jean W over at Pushing the Envelopes - this one is the fantastic handiwork of Chuck M. I love how the close-up photo came out - it really shows off the inner glow of the pumpkin.

For more J japery, head over to the links at Sunday Stamps.

Shock around the clock - September envelope exchange

I sent out my envelopes a bit late for last month's exchange, so they arrived in October.

They were all made from a horror movie festival flier. I hope they weren't too gory :)