rubber stamp | kimberly ah

Nov 04 2015

KimBOOly HAUNTSegawa’s Mailbox

My mailbox was filled with a steady stream of Halloween mail last month. Margaret sent the package above, adorned with all of the fabulous spooky stamps of the post office’s history! Inside, there was a Halloween card and a tiny wooden casket filled with candy. I LOVE the creative use of the wax seals! Margaret wrote a blog post about creating the little candy caskets. Such a fun postal treat! I’m going to use the little casket in my Halloween decorating next year and I’m hoarding the envelope too. Sarah sent this fun see-through candy corn postcard. It was laminated into the postcard size, like the corn was floating. Yuki sent this amazing Japan Post Halloween postcard. These seasonal cards are coveted by me and many other Japan Post lovers…I screamed with delight when I saw it in my mailbox! Yuki sent the postcard in an envelope, but still used vintage stamps with special postmarks on the postcard. I’m sure the postcard will make a reappearance next year in my Halloween decorating. It’s too good to file away with my other mail. And, above are the other sweet, charming, funny Halloween cards I received. Danielle, who sent me two Halloween cards, addressed them in the BEST way! KimBOOOly Adami- HAUNTSegawa and KimberlEEK! ADOOMi-HAUNTED HOUSEegawa made me laugh for days. And that Parcel Ghost sticker–so good!

Thanks to everyone for making it a great mail month! Anyone else receive anything spooky in your mailbox?

Tagged crafts, Halloween, holidays, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Oct 09 2015

3 Comments

Elvis, In My Mailbox, snail mail

My Heart Belongs to Presley…and Mail

Margaret sent me the best mail last month–a Presley patch in a Midori Kraft Window Envelope adorned with an Elvis sticker!! She hit all of my favorite things!! Margaret loooooves Presley. (Presley loves Margaret, too!) Margaret said she couldn’t resist getting this custom patch from Tuesday Bassen (Link is to a similar one because the “My Heart Belongs to” version was a limited edition, see Margaret’s comment below.) at the Whurl & Friends Shop ‘n Pop. I love this patch! Think of the possibilities! You could get your own pet’s name, or your partner’s name, or your favorite snack. (“My Heart Belongs to Hot Dogs.”) Perhaps mail lovers need a “My Heart Belongs to Letters” or “My Heart Belongs to the USPS.” And in true Margaret fashion, the patch came in the sweetest package. She addressed it on the flap side so that the patch could be seen clearly through the window. The label is letterpressed with the turquoise design and Margaret hand-stamped my name. Thin washi tape sealed it all up. I was delighted to find it in my mailbox. Thanks, Margaret.

P.S. Did you know today is World Post Day?

Tagged letterpress, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Sep 03 2015

3 Comments

celebrations, Forest Park, Oak Park, Postal Consumer Advisory Council, snail mail

Oak Park Post Office Turns 80

Last Saturday the Oak Park Post Office held a celebration to mark the 80th anniversary of the building. I have to admit I was a little nervous about the whole thing after our last advisory council meeting, but man, did they ever pull it off! It was really fun to see people smiling at the post office and to hear of people’s interest in the building. Because the newspaper didn’t help publicize the event (this was the only article I could find online), most people were confused about the snacks and the extra people milling around. Once we told them, they seemed really excited and thankful to have such a beautiful building in the community. Oak Parkers love their architecture! The post office put out a lovely spread. There were donuts, cupcakes, cookies, and coffee and fresh fruit, mini sandwiches, meatballs, and chicken salad…I wasn’t expecting so much variety! Fellow council member, Dea, and I worked at the popcorn machine handing out freshly popped bags of popcorn to customers. We even made deliveries to the ever-growing passport line and those customers seemed excited to have a little something to eat during their waits.

The Postmaster, Phil Crawford, gave tours of the building, sharing the history of the building giving us a peek at the second floor offices and the sorting room. (I’ll share more about that soon.)And, much to my delight, there was a special postmark!! Phil gave the council members a pre-stamped envelope with the postmark (shown above). I sent a dozen postcards out to some of my penpals and bought some fantastic new stamps. It was a great day at the Oak Park Post Office!

Tagged adventures, celebrations, forest park, mail art, rubber stamp, snail mail

Aug 19 2015

5 Comments

crafty adventures, snail mail

Mail Again, Mail Again, Jiggity Jig

I’m finally making some progress in my mail pile! Over the weekend and each night this week, I’ve tried to tackle a letter or two. When I get behind, I always have high hopes of catching up in one sitting and then I get burnt out before even starting the first letter. (The same thing happens with cleaning–I have high hopes of cleaning the WHOLE apartment perfectly, then I just give up and don’t do anything.) Taking the pile one letter at a time has been a lot less stressful and way more productive! I have a drawer in my desk that is dedicated to random paper scraps (used wrapping paper, junk mail, stickers, scraps, bits pen pals send me) to use for mail art. That drawer has gotten so stuffed that I couldn’t close it! So, I’ve decided that a “use it or lose it” policy needs to be put into effect. If I’m going to save something, I need to use it right away, even if that means making an envelope ahead of time. The colorful paisley paper has been around since 2014. It was wrapping paper from a gift Cath sent to me. It was really a joy to use on these envelopes. The green and white Japanese paper was from a gift Jess sent. I used it on her (late) thank you note and some other (late) thank you notes that day. I’ve shared this before, but I always take an extra popcorn bag when I go to Rural King. I like to think of it as spreading the good word about my favorite farm equipment store. I’ve barely made a dent in the map from the Letter Writers Alliance Mail Art Workshop kit. But at least I can close my drawer now…almost!

Tagged crafts, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, washi tape

Jul 21 2015

9 Comments

Japan 2015, Office Supplies

Pilot Frixion Stamps

I’ve never done a post about Pilot Frixion Pens, but they are my favorites. (I’ve mentioned them in these posts.) I love that they are erasable, because I’m a perfectionist at times, and I love the way my handwriting looks when I use them. I use the pens mostly in my calendar so I can easily erase appointments when plans change. When I read about the Frixion Stamps, I immediately put them on my shopping list for Japan. (This should tell you so much about my Tokyo shopping addiction!)I sometimes regret not buying all of them (they are sold individually, but you can see all of the options here on Amazon), but since I also have a planner sticker addiction, I chose the four that I thought would be most useful for me: the umbrella for tracking rain in the garden, the coin purse to mark pay days, the birthday gift to remind me to buy or send a present, and the birthday cake for noting birthdays. Just like the Frixion Pens, the ink is erasable, so if plans change, you can erase the stamp with the rubbery edge of the cap. The stamps themselves are about 1/2 inch square and a little over 2 inches long, so they can easily fit into a pencil pouch for on-the-go planning. The stamped images are about 1/4 inch and fit perfectly in smaller calendar squares. So far, I am using the coin purse and the cake on my monthly calendar spreads. And I’m using the gift and the umbrella on the daily pages. (I guess mainly because buying and sending gifts is more of a to-do list item which I put on daily pages and because this summer has been rainy so I don’t have room for a hundred umbrellas littering my monthly calendar spread.)

Like any new stamp, using the Frixion Stamps takes some getting used to. At first, I was pressing too hard and the images were getting all muddled together. They really take a gentle touch. And, though the stamps dry pretty quickly on normal paper, they dry really slowly on the smooth Tomoe River Paper in my Hobonichi Planner. (But, if the ink smears or transfers to another page, you can just erase any mess.) Now that I’m used to them, I’m really enjoying using these little guys.

(Rumor has it that Jet Pens will be carrying the Pilot Frixion Stamps soon!)

Tagged crafts, gardening, I *heart* Japan, Japan, rubber stamp, washi tape

Jun 24 2015

5 Comments

adventures, Japan 2015, My Love Affair with Tokyo, Office Supplies, snail mail, Spending the Yen

Spending the Yen 6: Fish Stamp

I picked up this kanji fish stamp in Itoya during our trip and I’m so excited about it. I’ve seen these stamps in previous trips and I’ve always loved the artistry and meanings. I wish I’d written down the artist’s name. He has a whole collection of these stamps, with simple drawings mixed with kanji. This one in particular means (roughly translated) “a feeling that you are face to face even though you are far apart”. Isn’t that a perfect description of letter writing? Naoto, who isn’t often impressed with rubber stamps, convinced me that I needed this stamp in my collection. I’m glad I let him talk me into buying it!Yesterday was a most beautiful day and I spent some time on the balcony writing letters and using my new stamp. I stamped it on some sticker paper and cut out a bunch of stickers to send to pen pals. I’m very happy to share these sentiments with my letter writing friends!

Tagged adventures, crafts, diy, I *heart* Japan, Japan, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, summer

May 11 2015

6 Comments

adventures, Japan 2013, My Love Affair with Tokyo, Office Supplies, snail mail, Spending the Yen

Spending The Yen 5: Hiragana Stamp Set

Once again reviving the Spending the Yen series…

I bought these hiragana* stamps two years ago in a tiny scrapbooking store near an izakaya where Naoto and I shared dinner with his family. When I bought them, I didn’t realize how frustrating they would be to use. Every time I wanted to write something, I had to ask Naoto to spell it out for me. So I put them away in the spare room and forgot about them until recently. Every once in awhile I’d see them sitting on the shelf, taunting me and the money I’d wasted. But, now that I’ve had some practice during my Japanese class, I’m using them! I’m still pretty slow, but I can usually pick the right sounds for the words and names I’m trying to write. (Though, I still have Naoto check my work to be sure!) Here’s a peek at the whole set. (Some of the characters may be upside down because I put them away haphazardly last time.) When I use them, I have my textbook open to the hiragana chart so I can refer to it as I sound out the word. (I don’t have my hiragana sounds memorized yet…) It really does remind me of learning to read as a kid. I’m slowly getting better with practice, so I’m trying to stamp a random Japanese word on outgoing mail for the rest of the month. (I’ll let you know how that goes!) I have “arigato” (“thank you”) down thanks to writing a few thank yous lately.

*If you don’t know what hiragana is, this site does a nice job of explaining it. It’s basically the Japanese phonetic script–each “letter” represents a vowel sound or a combination consonant/vowel sound. There are forty-six sounds. In some ways, they are easier than English because each sound only makes that sound. (Unlike in English where we have the long e, the short e, the silent e…) But, the letters are difficult to decipher sometimes and very challenging to write, I think.

Tagged adventures, crafts, I *heart* Japan, Japan, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail

Apr 01 2015

13 Comments

celebrations, Office Supplies, snail mail

Write On In April…

Just when I thought I couldn’t handle another month-long letter writing challenge…well, here I go again. I heard about the Write On Campaign on Instagram a few weeks ago and I signed up for a free kit, so now I’m obligated, right?

In all honestly, I’m really looking forward to April, which is actually the “official” National Letter Writing Month. I’m looking forward to getting back into the daily habit of writing and catching up on my growing mail pile. And, I just found my original welcome note from the Letter Writers Alliance. March 29th marked my five year anniversary as a member of LWA. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than writing letters!

Tagged celebrations, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail

Mar 31 2015

1 Comment

celebrations, Office Supplies, snail mail, vintage

Going Postal Birthday Gifts

A certain mail-lover had a birthday last week and Naoto really hit it out of the ballpark (or should I say the post office?) with my gifts. He went with a postal theme and shopped on Etsy for some ideas and ended up choosing an upcycled mail bag purse, a postman rubber stamp, and an envelope necklace. I was thrilled with everything! The purse is made from an upcycled old Dutch mail bag. He ordered it from the Stiksel in the Netherlands and gave it to me with the idea that I could make it into a traveling mail pack. I love this idea, but I will probably carry it as a purse sometimes, too. I love that it has a “patina” and it’s the perfect size for both mail supplies and daily trips to the store. The next gift was a mailman rubber stamp from Pictureshow. Isn’t he dreamy? He reminds me of John if John was a mail carrier in the 1950s. Look at that overflowing mailbag of letters! It stamps like a dream and I love how detailed the image is. Here he is on a new Postcard Race. (By the way, I’m still doing some postcard testing…updates coming soon!) And last but not least, Naoto gave me an envelope necklace from MonyArt. The envelope charm is kind of rustic looking and I’ve been wearing it every day.

I love a good theme gift…way to go, Naoto!

In addition to the mail stuff, Naoto came home with a stunning bouquet of flowers. Those orchids…sigh…I’m reminded that spring weather is around the corner (even though it snowed seven inches on my birthday eve!)

Tagged celebrations, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, vintage

Mar 25 2015

5 Comments

adventures, crafty adventures, Forest Park, Oak Park, gardening, Office Supplies

Seed Swap 2015

On Sunday the Forest Park Community Garden hosted their fifth annual Seed Swap. Have you ever been to a seed swap? It was my first time, so everything was new and exciting for me. Basically, you bring packets of seeds to the swap–either something you no longer want to plant, or something you have in excess–and trade them with other gardeners’ seeds. It’s a perfect concept for city gardeners and community gardeners who do not have the space to plant an entire packet of seeds in their tiny plots. The swap was held in a school gym, plenty of space to allow for milling around, browsing seeds, and chatting with fellow gardeners. LaManda Joy from the Peterson Garden Project and The Yarden gave a presentation about gardening, her experience as a home gardener, and starting a community garden. The Lisle Seed Library was also there sharing seeds and information about their library’s programs for gardeners.

I brought six packets of seeds to swap (pictured at the top)–lettuce, broccoli, loofah, eggplant, beets, and snow peas. I made my packets from baby envelopes that I had on hand, my favorite Yellow Owl Workshop garden stamp kit, and a little bit of washi tape. (They *may* have been crafty overkill, but I didn’t care.) I came home with edamame, milkweed, malva, alyssum, morning glories, ornamental grass and a clipping from an oregano plant. I worked registration at the swap, so I missed out on seeing the wide variety of vegetable seeds, but I was kind of more into the flower seeds anyway. I wanted some perennials to plant on the balcony and some edamame to try in our plot this year, so I came home a happy camper.

Speaking of gardening, this was the scene when I left for work on Monday morning. Forest Park got about seven inches of snow…I hope it was good for my winter sowing project!! I’m working on planting some more this week. Spring gardens are just around the corner, right?