Last month, I did a custom order of buffalo themed thank you notes for a soon-to-be-mom’s baby shower. I didn’t have any buffalo postage stamps, but I did have this 1960 World Forestry Congress stamp that features a buffalo, a deer, and a hiker. 
It was fun working on something new. Sometimes I see working with stamps and typewriters as a limitation…I’m limited in the designs I can come up with because vintage stamp designs are somewhat limited. I can’t really use a bunch of neon in my card designs (oh, how I love neon!) because there aren’t neon stamps, or neon typewriter ribbons for that matter. I can’t do a cat card because there aren’t many vintage cat stamps (readily available…I do have some with a cat and a dog though.) But limitations lead to creativity, so I’m trying to expand my bad dad jokes and puns and see how many cards I can come up with in my own style.
kimberly ah
kimberly at home
Tag Archives: vintage
Letter Month Was a Bust
Sigh…I only sent fifteen pieces of mail in Letter Month. Sad, right? February was one of those months where it felt like I was constantly preparing for something and then failing to be fully prepared. I kept putting off writing to get other stuff done but then I’d waste time on my phone or “researching” ideas for things coming up in March and garden stuff for the summer. Dumb.
But I did manage to use up plenty of my Valentine stash and I didn’t buy anything new on clearance after the holiday! Though I did finally break down and buy this Martha Stewart stamp set that I’ve been wanting for years…no regrets. And I finally sent some overdue thank you notes and replied to all the mail from January. This month I’m working on replying to the stuff I received in February. I’m planning a little letter writing session tonight once I get all my laundry folded and put away. 
As usual, I’m glad I participated, even though I didn’t meet my goal, and I’m looking forward to Write On for National Letter Writing Month in April. (I’ve already ordered my kit!)
So, how did you do?
International Women’s Day
Happy International Women’s Day! I’m celebrating by writing letters to some of my favorite women and having a little feminist card special in my Galaxie Safari shop. Do you have any favorite quote about or by women? Mine are:
“Women and cats will do as they please.” –Robert Heinlein
“In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman.” –Margaret Thatcher
“Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go everywhere.” –Mae West
“A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water.” –Eleanor Roosevelt
“Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.” –Susan B. Anthony
2018 Goals, Mail & More…
Is the year flying by, or is it just me? I sent out some New Year’s cards last week and some snow-themed letters this week. I feel like I was a terrible pen pal for most of 2017, so one of my goals is to do better this year. 
Some of my other goals for 2018 are:
- apply to 10 craft shows
- list regularly in my Etsy shop
- add vintage postage to my Etsy shop
- take another screen printing class
- start a podcast with Naoto
- get the apartment organized once and for all
- paint our bedroom
- post here at least twice a week, maybe even on a regular schedule!
- as usual, spend out my stationery and paper stash
- host Hasegawa Happy Hours again
- host more dinner parties
- cook more with Naoto, especially Japanese recipes
- turn off the TV more often
What are your goals for the year?
Petite Boutique 2017
In November, I did my second Petite Boutique and my fifth craft show ever! Petite Boutique is so well organized and popular in Oak Park. We were in the sunroom again, the same spot as last year, which was perfect. 
This is the sunroom from the outside. Isn’t it gorgeous?
I didn’t really change a ton on my booth set-up. I re-used my Kimberly AH banner since that’s what I used last year, but I need to consider a new banner with Galaxie Safari. I’d like something to go above my booth so you can see it when people are standing in front of my table. Something to work on this winter… I rigged a little bar to hold my “Comparison is the thief of joy” letterpress print and got a felt board for pricing. I really resisted the felt board since it’s so trendy, but really, you can’t beat its convenience and simplicity. 
I still love my card rack. It’s not big enough for all of my designs now (yay for new products) so I highlighted holiday cards, best sellers, and newer designs in the rack. The other designs were in a wooden box. I feel like last year, my holiday designs sold best. But this year, it was a nice mix of things since I had so many other (birthday, love, thank you, friendship, etc) styles to choose from.
I added a ton of framed quotes, so I no longer had space for my typewriter. The framed quotes sold really well, which was so exciting. 
This particular saying sold the best. I actually came home after the show Friday night and made more to sell on Saturday. I’ll be adding a greeting card to my shop next week, too. (As a side note, I’m so excited for the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote. I think we need to throw a huge party.) 
Naoto was a great sales assistant. He wore his Mr. Zip t-shirt “uniform” and manned the booth while I ate lunch and walked around and assisted with bagging and answering questions. It’s so nice to have a partner who is so supportive of this! 
This winter I’m trying to research and apply to more shows. They have been really good and really fun for me. I am, at my core, a last minute person so planning six months to a year ahead of time is mind-boggling, but necessary. I’ve already signed up for two shows in Berwyn this year at Friendly’s Tap. (I’ll be there April 21 and November 17!) And I’m applying to a few more thanks to friends I’ve met along the craft market way. If you’re local and know of any good shows, I’d love to hear from you!
My Putz House Settlement
Last year, I told Naoto about vintage Putz houses, the tiny Mid-Century glittered paper houses. I’ve always wanted a Christmas village but the newer ones never struck my fancy the way these old beat up ones did. They’re almost impossible to find with the glitter still shining and it’s a rare gem that still has its vellum windows and doors in tact. (Mid-century children must have loved to punch those things out!)
He surprised me at Christmas with two Putz houses–BOTH with all of their vellum in pristine condition! The green one has sweet little details like the curtained window and green door and the red one is so glittery and also has a really special door. He also got me a cast iron Santa riding a sled. I was so excited to pull the village (more like settlement) out this year! 
Then, during the Forest Park Holiday Walk, Karen and I found this blue gem. The windows, as you can see, have been repaired, but its color and two-toned glitter roof really sold me. 
I also picked up this teeny plastic nativity for the village, because every town needs one. 
Every settlement also needs a town Christmas tree, so I painted one at Creativita. Have you noticed ceramic Christmas trees are making a comeback? I highly recommend painting your own! It was such a fun activity! 
The flocked deer are especially fond of the new tree. 
I had to put the village on the sideboard this year because Presley has been napping on the wine cabinet lately. I like it better on the sideboard because the wine cabinet was too high to appreciate the village anyway. 
This year, Naoto added to my collection with a tiny Putz church!! And again, he struck gold with intact windows and doors!! It has some faded trees, but I love the little gate and the blue walkway! This one hardly has any glitter left so I may add some…but I hesitate to mess with its worn charm too much.
Here’s a little video of the complete village…
December…Already?
Is it too late to share a few pictures from Thanksgiving?
It’s that time of the year again where I can’t believe it’s already December, yet this year seems like the loooooongest ever. My friend and I were talking about the famous Beyoncé pregnancy photo last night and I couldn’t believe that picture was from this year. (February to be exact.) Aren’t those twins toddlers by now? At the same time, I feel like summer was just here and we didn’t enjoy it enough and fall flew by in a blink.
Now we’re in the middle of the holiday season and time isn’t slowing down. The house is all decorated, but it’s still a mess because I haven’t put the decoration bins away yet. My goal for today is to get that done, vacuum and be ready to finish my cards in front of a Hallmark Christmas movie tomorrow afternoon. As far as other holiday goals go, I’d like to:
- bake cookies
- make some Chex Mix
- host a tiny gathering (mostly because I want to make a cheese ball)
- finish my cards by the 10th (and spend out most of my holiday sticker and card stash)
- mail gifts to faraway friends before the 15th
- rate all of the Hallmark Christmas movies
- paint one of those ceramic Christmas trees
- go to Chris & Heather’s 20th Anniversary Calendar Show
- make some holiday cocktails for Hasegawa Happy Hour
Let’s see how I do with my list. Anything special on your holiday wishlist?
Petite Boutique
Sorry for the radio silence around here. I’ve been typing and cutting and pasting new cards for Petite Boutique this weekend. If you’re in the area, stop by Pleasant Home in Oak Park tonight and tomorrow to shop handmade. It’s a really great show and I always love seeing friendly faces. 
This is one of the new Christmas cards, inspired by the (wonderfully terrible!) Hallmark Christmas movies I’ve already started watching. I’ll share some more next week! Until then, have a great weekend!
Galaxie Safari News
A couple weeks ago, I got some really exciting news. In August I applied to be featured as a local artist in the Oak Park Visitor’s Center shop. Oak Park has a great tourism industry. People from all over the world come to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home & Studio, Unity Temple, and other homes. Oak Park is also the childhood home of Ernest Hemingway (and Betty White!) and there are all sorts of quaint shops, cafes, and restaurants in town. The visitor’s center gift shop is fantastic, filled with Chicago and Oak Park themed items, and many things that are made by local artists.
And now…a few Galaxie Safari cards will be in the shop! I submitted three Oak Park and Illinois specific designs and they accepted them! I will also be featuring some boxed holiday cards for the season.
Since I won’t be standing in the shop telling people that my cards are all typed on vintage typewriters and that I use real cancelled postage stamps and line the envelopes with pages from old encyclopedias, I’m having a stamp made for the back of the cards to explain those details. Most of the cards at the shop are mass printed, so I’m hoping some locals and visitors will appreciate something that’s made entirely by hand.
I feel like I’ve been in a bit of a lull with my shop this summer, but I have been sourcing some new stamps to work with and I have a bunch of new cards (including Halloween and holiday) that will be ready soon. I’ll share more soon and I’ll be back later this week with my promised origami tutorial!
The Royal Society of Venturesome Parcels
Once in a blue moon, the Letter Writers Alliance will release a small subscription series called the Royal Society of Venturesome Parcels, or RSVP. It’s a four-week themed mailing of postal and vintage surprises. Most recently, the theme of the RSVP was Pigeon Fancier and I managed to get one of the subscriptions. There is so much mail love in the mailings…Donovan and Kathy really go all out curating the perfect items for each theme. And the design and the details–like the pigeon stamp and wax seal on the address label–just make it such a treat to find in your mailbox each week. 
The first mailing included a Pigeon Fancier membership card. Subscribers received an email asking us what our pigeon’s name should be. I chose Dorothy Zbornak of Golden Girls fame. And there was a bag of tea (that I haven’t tried yet) and a bag of delicious coffee, too. 
And! There was a pigeon espresso cup! (I believe it’s made by Circa Ceramics here in Chicago.) 
The second mailing was a sweet little box. This is what it looked like inside. 
There was a pigeon patch, two tiny pigeon rubber stamps, a pigeon washi tape, and a pigeon tape dispenser. (OK, it looks more like a dove, but you get the idea…)
The third mailing was Dorothy’s papers. It arrived in a personalized kraft folder with some pigeon stamps. 
Inside, there was a stack of vintage pigeon awards and diplomas that can be used in mail art (or added to my paper collection.) 
And, Dorothy has her own personalized stationery…she will be penning a letter shortly. 
The final mailing–surprise!–was Dorothy herself! Donovan’s calligraphy adorned a banner on the top of the box. 
Each pigeon was hand painted according to our specifications. (I requested a blue pigeon based on this information.) For now, Dorothy is living on my (messy desk) but I have plans to hang a shelf for some of my mail things and she’ll probably live there. Or maybe I’ll mail her someday…
kimberly ah 