mail art | kimberly ah

Dec 01 2015

Thanksgiving Mail

I finally finished my Thanksgiving invitation…about three hours before Thanksgiving. I wasn’t feeling very inspired in November but I really wanted the invitation to include the vellum ledger paper and vintage Avery metallic tape I bought on Instagram. (Note: Vintage paper sales on Instagram are very addictive. And fun.)

I always try to add a quote to our Thanksgiving invitations. (Here’s a list of some favorites.) “Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way” is a Native America saying and I love how optimistic it is. I typed it out on a leaf that I cut from patterned paper and layered it with some other leaves from my stash. I added a strip of the vellum and a bit of the tape and a Japanese stamp. Done, right? Well, no. I had to make a mess of things and try to stamp the year on the top with my giant number stamp. But I didn’t press down hard enough and the numbers were messed up so I had to write over the numbers…anyway…I’m trying not to dwell on the numbers…or the fact that I handed the invitation to my parents when they walked in the door on Thanksgiving Day…I did send some other Thanksgiving mail. A few weeks ago I attended the LWA letter social at my library and there were some vintage books available for mail art. I had too much fun choosing images for mail art. And when I didn’t use vintage paper, I had fun using postage stamps and turkey stickers to jazz things up. (That Write More Letters postcard is from Craftgasm. I added the turkey.) And now…holiday card season begins. Once I finish decorating, that is.

Have you started your cards yet?

Tagged celebrations, crafts, holidays, mail art, office supplies, parents, rubber stamp, snail mail, Thanksgiving, thrifting, vintage, washi tape

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 30 2015

4 Comments

crafty adventures, Halloween, Office Supplies, snail mail

Halloween Mail

I’m behind on my Halloween mail because I got sick this week and I was down for the count for a few days. But, earlier this month, I got a jump start on sending some festive mail out to a couple of cat lady pen pals. I had these glow-in-the-dark cat buttons from La Familia Green that I wanted to send in a slightly more creative way than just sticking them in a plain envelope. I was inspired by the peek I had of my Presley patch from Margaret, so I decided to use a cellophane envelope instead. I used washi tape to attach the button to the card and wrote my note. I tried to place the buttons on the middle of the card, where the machine wouldn’t be canceling the stamp or printing the bar code on the bottom. I stuck it all in the cellophane envelope with an address label and added postage. Since the envelope was lumpy, I added the extra twenty-one cents. I also used a cellophane bag to attempt to protect the googly-eye “bra” on my mail art to Kathy. Thanks to a Halloween mail art party with Donovan, I’ve have a huge stack of Halloween envelopes to work through. Now that I’m feeling better, more spooky mail will be written. Better late than never, I guess.

Tagged crafts, Halloween, holidays, mail art, office supplies, 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 21 2015

USPS Consumer Advisory Council Meeting 11

On Wednesday I attended our August meeting of the USPS Consumer Advisory Council. We spent most of the meeting recapping the Oak Park Farmers Market and planning for the 80th anniversary celebration next weekend.

The mobile post office made over $500 at the Farmers Market during its four hour stay! That was with the challenge of not being able to take credit cards (thanks to a broken generator and no access to power.) One of the concerns with the mobile post office was that it might hurt the business at the regular post office, but the main post office maintained its sales numbers. Because of this success, the USPS is planning to do more farmers markets and bring the mobile post office into the shopping areas of Oak Park, too. I suggested selling those stamped postcards and having a table for postcard writing near the mobile post office. It would be so great to see a mini letter social at the farmers market!

Plans are rolling along for the 80th anniversary celebration. Press releases were sent to the local newspapers, though none have been printed or posted online yet. I’ve posted it below. The event will be happening next Saturday, August 29th from 10AM-2PM. There will be tours of the post office, including the second floor and the sorting room. (The committee got a tour of the sorting room a few months ago and it was fascinating to see how the mail and packages are sorted.) And there will be a display of old pictures from the ground breaking to the finished building. And…there will be a special postmark!! Woohoo! (I’m hoping to have a stack of mail ready to go!) If you live in the area, please come!

Tagged adventures, forest park, mail art, 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 27 2015

4 Comments

crafty adventures, Japan 2015, Office Supplies

Sakura Ballsign Knock Pens

Every time I step into Loft, my second favorite stationery & more store in Japan, I head directly for the pen displays. I stand there, section by section, trying out all of the different pens, different colors, different styles. This time, I was shopping for a new pen that I could use for letter writing. (My reliance on the Frixion pens has gotten risky for letter writing since some of the ink disappeared on the way to Tacoma, Washington recently.) So I was shopping for something a little bit more permanent. I found and fell in love with these Ballsign Knock gel pens. They come in a few different varieties, but I ended up getting a pack of the metallic ones that can write on dark and light paper, a pack of the shimmery ones that glitter in the light, and a single neon one. My favorites are the metallic ones. I love pens that write on dark papers, and I was excited to have some that went beyond the normal white, gold, and silver options in my arsenal. I love the metallic gold (it’s almost a white gold), green, blue, purple, and pink colors, but sadly, they don’t show up as strong colors on black paper. (It’s hard to tell from the picture, but they read more silver metallic on the black paper.) I think part of the reason is the colors aren’t very dark to begin with and that they have a 0.6mm point. (I like a thinner point on my pens, but I’m also not sure that this style comes in other sizes.) I still love the way that they write and the way that they look on dark paper so I’m pleased with my purchase. (Plus I have these other Ballsign gel pens in my pen stash and their true colors show up perfectly on dark papers. I’ll be sharing more about them in a future blog post.) The glittery ones are a lot of fun, but only show on lighter papers. I purchased the 0.8mm points in these (again, I think that was all Loft offered) and the thickness is perfect for showing off the shimmer of the ink (the box calls them lamé). The colors are very opaque and the ink flows really well. These will be fun for addressing envelopes and making mail art. I almost bought a box of the neon pens, but I decided that I should leave some pens for the other people. So I just bought the red one. (Neon is out of style now anyway, right?) But I like the width of the neon red pen and there was a tiny bit of skipping at first, but it got better as I used it a bit. It’s hard to tell from my picture, but the ink really pops off the page.

Sakura also offers a pastel version that can be used on dark papers and a regular ol’ gel ink version (in a 0.4mm point). All in all, I’m really happy with these pens. They are nice and slim and comfortable to hold. Time will tell if they are good workhorses for letter writing and list-making. I’ll have to put my precious Frixion pens away to find out.

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

Jul 24 2015

3 Comments

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

USPS Consumer Advisory Council Meeting 10

At last…our July council meeting!

We started the meeting with a follow-up report about the Freedom of Information Act request about our council. The USPS provided the meeting minutes of all of our meetings but redacted all member’s names. The USPS also declined the person the right to attend one of our meetings since meetings are only open to current council members.

The next order of business was a discussion about the mobile Post Office visiting the Oak Park Farmers Market. The Postmaster determined that July 25 was too close for him, so he decided to push things back to August 1. Again, this was disappointing since we’ve been talking about the farmers market for months. I wondered if it would actually happen. Since the meeting, I’ve received confirmation that the mobile Post Office will be at the Oak Park Farmers Market on August 1! I am hoping to get more details (timing, whether or not there will be a special postmark, services) and I will share more information then.

We moved onto the big topic of the meeting–planning for the 80th Anniversary celebration. It will be held on Saturday, August 29 from 10am-2pm. We discussed contacting the historical society to see if someone there could create and host tours of the building that day and to see if they had more old pictures of the building through the years. Two members had already reached out to the local newspapers, but more media attention was planned. Council members volunteered to attend and help with refreshments and greeting people on the day of the event. The post office decided, in spite of our offers to help, most of the planning would be done by the post office. (Honestly…this makes me a little bit nervous. Considering how poorly the planning of the other two (smaller) events has gone, I hope they get on the ball and create a really great celebration.)

We got more updates about the facilities issues at the River Forest Post Office.

An order was put in for repaving and striping the lot to make the handicap spaces more clear.
There is also funding approved for a new roof for the building in 2016.
Funding has been approved for more maintenance staff in the Oak Park post offices, which will benefit River Forest since they share.
As far as the Oak Park Post Office is concerned, the building’s exterior (the bricks and the brass) will be professionally cleaned thanks to private donations. (For those of you who have no idea what the post office looks like, I promise to have pictures soon…it’s really a beautiful building!)

Nationally, a lot of changes happened in the past few weeks. Apparently the new Postmaster General has made some personnel changes and cuts at the top. The USPS is trying to save money on management to relieve money and resources for delivery and sales. Sadly, some people lost their jobs or got moved around, but the postal employees at our meeting seemed to feel this was a step in the right direction to improve operations in the long run. Customers will benefit from the changes and improvements and hopefully that will increase sales in the future.

New delivery vehicles are coming soon. The vehicles will be tall enough for mail carriers to stand up inside and there will be a skylight so carriers can see the mail and parcels better. All of these changes are driven by the huge increase in package delivery, the future of the USPS.

A USPS marketing manager was scheduled to visit the Oak Park Post Office on Friday (July 17) to observe the service counter and to look at the post office from the customer’s eyes. This conversation brought up a suggestion that signage at the post office is sometimes lacking. For instance, it’s difficult to know (unless you do it all the time) what forms you need to fill out for each service you need. The signage is not helpful. The USPS app is not really helpful. And we reiterated our frustration that the cost of a first class stamp is very difficult to find anywhere on the USPS website.

Last month, all USPS employees attended a “Deliver the Brand” training. There is a huge focus on customer service right now. I would love to hear from you whether or not you have noticed a change in your local post office.

Tagged forest park, mail art, snail mail

Jul 23 2015

1 Comment

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

USPS Consumer Advisory Council Meeting 9

Our June Post Office Consumer Advisory Council meeting was…interesting. Phil (the Postmaster) was not in attendance but his manager, Jackie, was, so we sort of rehashed a few things from the previous meeting in order to clarify some concerns better.

The meeting started with the announcement that someone filed a Freedom of Information Act request about our group. This person is a former postal employee who now travels around filing FOIA requests about the post office in his role as a self-appointed USPS watchdog (my words). My fellow council members and I were concerned whether or not our names would be given to this person, so the post office promised to follow up with more information at our next meeting.*

We talked about the Passport Fair again. Apparently this is the “year of the passport” and more fairs will be scheduled. Council members who did receive postcards about May’s Passport Fair mentioned that the type was very small and there were spelling errors on the cards.

We talked about the 80th Anniversary celebration again. Saturday, August 29 was confirmed as the date for the celebration. Jackie said she would approve small giveaways like coloring books for kids. And she thought there would be a small budget for refreshments. A few members mentioned they would reach out to the local newspapers to give them a heads up about the event.

Bob, our co-chair, offered to contact the Oak Park village newsletter to ask them to put something out about dog bites and mail carriers. The post office said they would give him an official “blurb” for the newsletter.

The (Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park) carriers have new scanners that are connected by satellite so if you get text alerts for your Amazon packages, you will get your text even faster letting you know your Prime package has arrived.

We confirmed that July 25th would be the date for the mobile post office’s visit to the Oak Park Farmers Market.

We learned that all postal employees would be attending a “Deliver the Brand” customer service training.

We reiterated the shabby state of the River Forest Post Office grounds.

At the end of the meeting, we discussed the effectiveness of our group. According to Jackie, who manages a number of post offices in Chicagoland and Northern Illinois, Oak Park has recovered from its initial challenges much better than other “troubled post offices” that she manages.

It is still to be determined if our council appointments would end after one year. (If so, August would be our final meeting.)

I’ll be back tomorrow with our July meeting notes and then next week, we can get on with our lives and talk more about Japan, okay?

*I’m obviously blogging publicly about the advisory council, so I don’t have any expectations of privacy in that sense…but my name handed to this guy on a government document feels a little bit invasive. And my fellow council members don’t blog about our work, so they certainly deserve a level of privacy.

P.S. The guy in the middle of the stamp reminds me of John the Mailman.

Tagged forest park, mail art, snail mail