Category Archives: snail mail

Nov 09 2012
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crafty adventures, snail mail, washi weekend

washi weekend

Over the summer, I entered a giveaway on the Short Small Sweet Blog. Ru was lucky enough to attend an MT workshop with Hello Sandwich (who is seriously my craft idol) and she was giving away some treats from her day including MT tapes and the MT Textbook that shows plenty of washi tape ideas. Well, I won and my package from Ru arrived this week!

I love the tag Ru created and I am thrilled to add the brightly striped, super-skinny tape to my collection along with the other two Limited Edition tapes (one is graphic flowers, the other is people in traditional clothes from around the world). For those of you who are new to washi tape, MT tapes are the cream of the crop–they are the original washi tapes, made in Japan and are the highest quality tapes. I have a huge MT collection (thanks to my sweet sister-in-law and our trip to dozens of stationery stores in Japan last year) and I also have other decorative paper tapes (made by Target, scrapbooking companies, crafting companies, etc) and there is a difference. Not to say the other tapes are bad, but they just don’t always perform to the level of the MT tapes. (Naoto calls me a washi tape snob…he’s probably right.)

Thank you, Ru, for the amazing mail! I will be crafting the afternoon away!

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Oct 30 2012
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celebrations, crafty adventures, snail mail

Smart Women Vote

When I was a college freshman, I voted for the first time by absentee ballot. I remember being so excited when the ballot arrived, punching my choices with the little stylus, and dropping the completed ballot in the blue mailbox near my dorm. It was really exciting, but I was so disappointed that I didn’t get to vote in the real voting booth and I didn’t get one of those I VOTED stickers. Upon hearing my disappointment, my grandfather (who always wrote me the most charming letters) sent me his voting sticker. I’d forgotten all about this kind gesture until a few years ago when I was sifting through all of my college mail and I found it folded in a letter written in my grandfather’s beautiful script. Just thinking about it makes me all weepy.

Since then, I’ve voted at the polls in every election–and I’ve always proudly sported my I VOTED sticker. And, for the past few Presidential Elections, I’ve sported these Smart Women Vote buttons. This year, I did a mass mailing and sent a bunch out to my friends and pen pals. It’s a “safe” political outreach, because it’s non-partisan…I’m a firm believer in agree-to-disagree…I know I’m not going to change anyone’s mind about their political leanings, just like they are certainly not going to change my mind. (I am very stubborn.) But I do think it’s important to vote–so, no matter which side you are on, or whether you live in a red state, a blue state or a swing state…as they say in Chicago–vote early and vote often!*

*Kidding…just vote once.

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Oct 23 2012
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Honor Flight Chicago, snail mail

Another Post About Mail Call…

It was a close call*, but all of the mail for the 2012 season is packed up and ready to be “delivered” to the eighty-six Veterans on the flight home tonight. I did 100% of the mail call work for this flight yesterday–on the day before the flight–CRAZY! But it worked out fine, and I found myself quite productive under pressure. I wrote 100% of my college papers on the night before they were due (ahem, or on the day they were due!), so this was merely a procrastinator’s flashback.

I’m heading back to the airport in a bit for the Welcome Home, then coming home and crashing in my bed tonight to catch up on the sleep. (I stayed up too late last night watching the debate coverage and the Bears game!) And, I’ve promised my dear, ever-so-patient husband that I will put our home back together again tomorrow…maybe I’ll post some before/after pictures so you can gasp at the insanity around here. (Or maybe not.)

*exaggeration…I was done by 9 last night. I had to have the mail at the airport by 3:15 this morning…plenty of time!

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Oct 22 2012
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Honor Flight Chicago, snail mail

the Last Mail Call of 2012

 

Today I will be working on sorting and packing mail for our last Honor Flight of 2012. And, though I love my volunteer job and I love my mailman and I love doing something for these deserving veterans, I am so ready to have my house back. No more piles of mail sitting around, no more file boxes in my spare bedroom and dining room, no more lugging backpacks to the car…and, I am ready to have some time back to craft and write letters and clean and get ready for the holidays. (I don’t mean to sound complainey…I am just ready for a little break.)

So, off to sort and pack up a few thousand pieces of mail for eighty-some veterans…the flight is tomorrow morning and I have a lot of work to do!

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Sep 12 2012
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Honor Flight Chicago, snail mail

another flight day

Honor Flight Chicago, Legacy Girls

Today is another Honor Flight, the third-to-last of the season. The car has been loaded up with approximately six thousand pieces of mail for 95 veterans. And, as long as you’re reading this on Wednesday, I am most likely at Midway Airport or I’m sleeping. I don’t do much of anything else on Flight Days.

Pictured above are the Legacy Girls with one of our veterans from last month’s flight. The Legacy Girls are an Andrews Sisters tribute group. They entertain our World War Two veterans at the gate before each flight, singing all of the old favorites like “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B”, “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree” and many patriotic songs. It is quite a party with flags and bunting, coffee and donuts and lots of excitement about the day ahead.

I will be back tomorrow, sleep & photography willing, with some pictures of our guest bathroom for your enjoyment–a little “reality check” in our 1970s condo!

In the meantime…

picture from the Honor Flight Chicago website

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Sep 08 2012
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crafty adventures, snail mail, washi weekend

Washi Weekend: Letter Ledger

For the past few months, I’ve been using this Letter Ledger to keep track of my incoming and outgoing mail. I learned about it from the blog Paper Pastries and I was inspired by Margaret’s idea to use washi tape to personalize her Ledger. I used some of my latest favorite washi tapes (some are actual Japanese tapes, some are more “scrapbooking” tapes). I don’t think I will ever tire of pool blue, but if I do, I can change the tapes out–simple as that!

I love my Letter Ledger! It appeals to the “documenter” side of me (I love making lists of things and writing things down) and it helps me to remember who I owe a letter to, what I want to write about and what questions I want to ask.

And, there is a handy pocket in the front for stamps and my Letter Writers Alliance membership card!

Now, if only I could find the perfect address book…

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Aug 28 2012
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crafty adventures, snail mail

mail art with a trader joe’s bag

We have a LOT of Trader Joe’s bags around here. I know, I know…we SHOULD be taking our many reusable bags to the store, but somehow, we always forget. Or they are in the car and we are walking… We always reuse our bags. Some hold donations ready for Goodwill, some hold recycling, some go back to the store for another round. We still have a lot though. Then one day I was noticing the fun, foodie graphics on the bag and I thought hmmmm….mail art!

All I needed were my tiny scissors and a glue stick, but I added some gold stars, rubber stamping and washi tape (of course!)

Donovan’s letter is ready to go, because I had a fun stamp for it (silverware with silverware). I have a ton of the Pioneers of American Industrial Design stamps, and I find that they work on almost any letter.

My mom is a tea drinker, so I thought she might enjoy the tea envelope. I wanted to use the 5 cent teapot stamp on it (you know, to beat the theme to death), so I just used a mishmash of stamps that added up to forty-five cents (although, I bet she enjoyed the Foxglove stamp!)

I haven’t decided who will be the recipient of the “man” envelope yet…but I do know he won’t be going in the mail until this stamp is in my hands. I’m loving that ship!

Not bad for a humble grocery bag.

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Aug 20 2012
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crafty adventures, snail mail

more neon love

Last week, I mailed a thank you to a friend. She tweeted that she liked this, and so I ordered it (oh, and one for myself in grey), waited three weeks for it to arrive, and then finally wrapped it up in a kraft envelope with some twine, glitter and washi tape, packed it up with some Japanese treats (all of my favorites from the Japanese grocery store) and mailed it on its way.

I know summer is fading but my love for neon isn’t going anywhere… Neon isn’t really a “fall thing” so I’m going to soak up (and use up!) all of the neon while I can.

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Jul 24 2012
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Honor Flight Chicago, snail mail

Under a pile of mail

I had some other posts planned for this week, but my volunteer stuff is kicking my butt again. I wish I wasn’t such a procrastinator on the weeks that are empty…it would make these weeks that are full of work and volunteering a little less “full”. Oh, and our apartment is a mess! Mail everywhere, craft projects everywhere, newspapers, laundry and new furniture…YES! I said new furniture! We are moving full speed ahead on finishing the messy side of the living room! It’s so exciting, and scary at the same time. (Will everything look okay together? Will it fill up the space, or crowd the space? Do I need a rug there? What about art? These questions paralyze me…)

So, I thought I would share the Honor Flight Chicago Mail Call letters above. Most of the mail the veterans receive is pretty standard–a plain white letter, a plain card, maybe a few patriotic stickers. But when a letter has vintage postage, I take a moment and enjoy it. That 1942 “Win the War” stamp (top letter, left side, purple with a V and an eagle) is one of my favorites and I love that early stamps were very monochromatic…so lovely. I have a few old stamps, and this makes me want to break them out and use them on a special letter. Do you use vintage postage on your letters?

 

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Jul 19 2012
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snail mail

washi mail

I’ve been behind in my correspondence lately. To remedy that, I spent a day writing letters and making mail for some new and old pen pals. It felt so good to drop these in the mailbox this week! Now, as the mail for the next Honor Flight rolls in, maybe some mail will roll in for me, too!

To get a letter, write a letter!

Pigeon stamp from the LWA, You Are Here stamp from Elise Blaha Cripe’s (now closed) pop-up shop, Hello stamp from Michaels, washi tape from various sources

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