February exchange envelopes received

This lovely hand made envelope from Amy has wonderful vintage postage and got amazing cancels at the post office. Unfortunately, one of the postal machines must have thought the same thing, as there is a little bit nibbled away.

I love the way Carol C extended my surname onto the back. Clever!

Rehj played around with the computer to get a quilled effect on the letters to match the quilled heart stamp.

A classic  beauty from Lynne S.

I am saving the fifth envelope for later in the year - thanks, Rachael!

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.

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?

October exchange - Halloween is coming!

Envelope 571 to Rehj

July envelope exchange - part 1

From Bridget - great splattered colors from Australia

From Rehj - I love how the letters reflect the penguins on the stamps

From Elizabeth - this starry envelope is a big wow

 From Kate - the perfect accompaniment to the Maya Angelou stamp.

Marti was putting together her exchange envelopes and kindly sent me this bonus envelope.

Thanks, everyone, for another great exchange.

Sunday Stamps - say it with flowers

These are the envelopes I sent out for Jean and Jan's June exchange. Don't be shocked, regular followers of this blog, there is hand-lettering ahead, so sit down if you feel faint.

I usually send out my hand-made envelopes for these exchanges, but this time I thought I would mix it up a bit. I prefer to take on an alphabet that is do-able, and one that is forgiving of mistakes and inconsistencies. I'd admired the cream letters that Chuck sent Jean and then Jean created some lovely envelopes, including this one she sent to me, which started out like this.

So I combined the letters from Chuck, the tree branches from Jean, and the Vintage Tulip stamps, which are my selection for today's Sunday Stamps. To see more flower-themed stamps click here. They were first issued in February as 70c stamps, then reissued last month as non-denominated 2 oz stamps (currently valued 71c). Based on drawings from engraved plates originally created by naturalist artist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), they are printed using the intaglio method, i.e. the engraved lines are slightly raised, giving the stamps a vintage feel themselves, as few modern stamps are printed like this in the US. The only other one I can recall is the $2 upside down Jenny.

Five envelopes are for the exchange, and three were bonus ones to Jean, Jean's Mom, and Eric. Perfect that non-machinable international (1.20+22c) = 2 x non-machinable domestic ;) And I thought the design warranted a red hand cancel from the post office, so this marks the third time I've requested this service - two clerks thought they looked great and were happy to oblige.

They are posted more or less in the order I addressed them, and even I can see there is a progression from thinner to thicker, and there is a lot of variation, but I think it still looks OK.

And the group shot. 

Jean and Jan's April exchange - received part 1

From Rehj. I *think* this was done on the computer - looks fantastic with the love ribbons stamp.

From Hester. This envelope is handmade from wallpaper - I love the Calder stamp, the asymmetry of  stamp placement and the vertical format.

From Me to You, from Cathy. I had skipped buying these stamps as I thought they weren't particularly inspiring - turns out all they needed was Cathy's artistic touch!

Janet sent me this fantastic cherry. Really beautiful colored pencil work. And this might be the first time I've received a water lilies stamp.