Saving Money and the Planet the Stationery Addict's Way

I am always looking for ways to save a buck, and  I recently had an idea.  Most mail is of a standard size and shape.  I also realized that many of my friends only wrote on one side of the card especially birthday cards, and this left a whole other side all unused and alone.  So sad and wasteful!
So I decided to chop them up and make postcards.  The front of the card makes a beautiful front of a postcard and the back is free for the heart felt sentiments!

I also came across these scrapbooking stickers with a backer perfect sized to cut out several postcards.

This is the leftovers after cutting the cards.  Look at how little is going to go into paper recycling.  And the paper print is this beautiful airmail vintage motif.

Just some thoughts on how to help out the pocketbook and the environment by reducing, reusing, and recycling!  I better take up post crossing to make use of all my wonderful recyclables.
I hope this finds you creatively mailing!
-b

Traveling with Mail

I went home this week to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family.  The drive was long and since the daylight is limited, we need to have hobbies in the North to keep us busy.  As you all know, my passion is mail, and I love, love, love taking the hobby on the road. It's very easy with this kit.

 

the insides

I wish I had actually got some letters written though! I'm taking the turkey coma defense. Too much food, Black Friday (the shopping day after Thanksgiving), Scrabble and driving! 

I hope you all had a very happy holiday or at least a good last few days. 

Happy Mailing!

-b

Thanksgiving!

It is time for my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving!  Why do I love this holiday the most?  Because it is a holiday about getting together, eating good food, and being thankful for that opportunity and the good things in life in general.  Which is why I send out cards, to let folks know I am thankful for what they bring to my life!

Unfortunately, my envelopes were not as pretty this time.  SO you will have to feast your eyes on all the pretty supplies prior to sending them.   With that I am off for a few days to drive home and spend some quality time with the family.

I truly thank you all for supporting my blog and more importantly embracing me and my mail geek obsession. Hopefully this finds you all happy and thankful!

-b

I Pose a Serious Question to all Blog Viewers - Your thoughts are Much Needed.

First of all, I hit 1000 blog views today!  Thank you to the mailing community for all the support!

The issue:

I was recently approached by a company that wants to do a give-away through this site.  I have never had any grand ideas of earning income or having a sponsor for give-aways.  This is my stress reliever and hobby.  I am not sure if I should take the opportunity, and not to be discriminatory, but they have nothing to do with mail.  I think if Crane's or Hallmark had approached, I would have JUMPED on it! (and probably declared my stationary-addicted self the winner ; )  Plus the give-away is for the US and Canada only, which is not cool for all my wonderful overseas viewers and mail friends!
I also know that some of my fellow bloggers find corporate sponsorship distasteful, and I would normally agree, but I have the opportunity to use my site to give somebody a $35 gift certificate, and with the economy and the holidays . . . not so easy to decline.
So your thoughts are much welcomed!  Please help me decide and leave comments below.
And if this sways anybody here is their web-site, so anybody interested can make sure they think the company is legitimate.
www.csnstores.com
As every posts should have some mail, here's last weeks pile from my friends!

I hope you all will contribute constructive comments. Thanks for the support!

My Best Wishes for your Happiness!

-b

Mail Experimentation

So I have been trying to make stationary that is more personalized for the people I write to.  I am far from the most artistic and creative person, but I think I can through a few things together and end with a decent finished project.  Though I have no grand ideas of opening an Etsy shop any time in the near future, although I could market it as mail by 8yr olds, hmm.  I'm not sure anybody would believe an 8 yr old did this, maybe 6 yr old would be more like it!?! 
Oh well, I hope you all enjoy!

Experimenting with sticker placement, for the girlie girls- right Steph?

Envelopes with some whimsy.

For my cat loving friends- I tend to be a minimalist!  Short and effective (aka, can't draw/ art deficit).

Some of my first postcard attempts.

And finally, my envelopes out of scented drawer liner paper!   It just happened to be the perfect paper thickness for envelopes.  Not only is it pretty, but it smells fabulous! 

Hopefully this has inspired you to try some of your own mail experiments.  If I am trying, and making a mockery of myself, you should to.  I learned long ago, that my friends rarely care what the packaging looks like as long as the mail is intended for them. 

I heart people who heart my letters even on ugly stationery!

Hope this finds you happily mailing!

-b

Barbie Goes Postal

As a kid, I was a real tomboy.  I loved to be rough and tumble and roll in the dirt.  But I also seemed to be a juxtaposition, because I had my girlie moments.  Barbies, for some unknown (even to me) reasons, were the only doll I would play with, and I would only play fashion show. I spent hours of my youth mixing and matching outfits and walking them down the catwalk - probably why I love Project Runway and Heidi Klum!
So it was a great trip down memory lane when I found Barbie Stationary!

No negative mail (or body) images here.  Just good fun, with a fashion icon, a pen, and my thoughts.   Oh if my stationary collection could talk, it is a crazy mix and Barbie just adds to the eclectic ambience!

I hope this finds you all happily mailing!
-b

The Cat in the Hat! How cool is that?

Has it been awhile?

Since you had a little smile?

Well I thought it was time

 for a little rhyme.

An ode if you will,

About cards that give me a thrill.

I thought these cards were great

Number one! First rate!

I think sometimes I'm partial,

to the cards I get at Marshall.



Oh!  The places you will go,

And what will you have to show?

A beautiful postcard or letter,

To make some body's day better!

Go on-Travel and live!

But don't forget to give,

Lots of snail mail love!

 (And I hope you enjoy the cards above.)

Happy Mailing!

-b

Bargains! You Never Know What You'll Find UnlessYou Look

By now, I feel you all know me well enough to know that I like a sale, a bargain, a find!  Well today I was dropping off some stuff I didn't need at Goodwill, and of course, I had to look around to see if there was anything I couldn't live without. Now, I hope none of my followers are too snobby to appreciate that Goodwill actually has some decent stuff.  You have to dig, but the finds are there and they support a good cause.  So win, win! 
And for those over seas who may not have a Goodwill, it's basically like Salvation Army.  People give things to the store they don't want anymore, and the store employs people who need work experience or are going through other difficulties in life and resales the donated items.
I didn't have to dig too long when I stumbled over bags of rubber stamps!  There were 5 bags and they were all gently used and very nice. The bags contained 4 rubber stamps apiece and cost a whopping $2.97 a bag.

And just so you know, I showed restraint and only purchased 3, (only because I had limited cash on me).  Below is a closer look at my goodies!

I also found this very well made and pretty stationery.  What drew me to it, was the very beautiful, well made box.  But the cards were not 100% my style, but easily converted to birthday cards.

Below is the contents of the box.  Apparently they were made with D. Morgan's designs and poetry.  I had heard of her work, and I have a feeling this set costs more than the $2.97 I paid

Finally-I saved the best for last, just ask My Real Wall- I found a bag of card stocks, which I wasn't going to buy until . . .

(Sorry my helper got involved in the pics, How can you not love a cat that's excited about mail?)

I saw the center layer was postcards!  None of the packs were open and all three cost $0.97 total!  To recap, I got 2 packs of card stock and 1 pack of postcard stock for that price.  Mind you most of it was white, but great for a variety of crafts!  Now I have no more excuses to not send Mischief a mail art piece, and return the Post Muse's last hand made card, which I will post in the next few days, because it was a beauty.  The whole shopping trip costs me less than $14!
I hope this finds you all supporting your mail habits frugally!
Happy Mailing,
-b

Pop! Getting Visual Bang for you Buck

I found these cards intriguing, (and so did my helper).  They were in a crappy plastic bag at the bottom of a bin marked discount and the only ones I found.  The whole set of 20 costs no more than $2.  And if you can't make out the details, they are a bunch of pop-up cards with die cut pieces to complete what you want to say!

Normally the designs would not appeal to me, but the fact that they allow room for modification intrigues me.  I hope I can do them justice and rise to the challenge of creativity.  I bet they were once all part of a very nice kit complete with instructions. Well its a good thing I won't be bothered with the formality of losing the instructions as I was never very good at reading them anyway! 

As always, I hope this finds you happily mailing!

-b

Bills That Make Smiles

I've never professed to be normal.  At work, I have been voted Captain Random for the connections my mind makes and the things I sometimes blurt out.  But like everybody else, I hate bill!. I don't like seeing the money drain from my account, but maybe unlike everybody else, I think about the folks who process my bills and have to open boring envelope after boring envelope and get paid, god knows what, for their probably monotonous job.  I have a feeling it may not be a high satisfaction work environment.  

So I decided along time ago, to brighten their lives through mail!  I try to make each envelope say something fun or have a theme that might make them smile. 

So join in my letter beautification efforts and send some smiles, even if you don't necessarily like the address or reason you are sending the letter. 

As always I hope this finds you happily mailing!

-b

Enveloped in Creativity

Today I was sorting and tossing, and like every paper lover, I sometimes have a hard time of letting go of interesting bits that others would toss. That inspired me to pull out the scissors and glue and make some envelopes! 
This was always a favorite activity when I was in the Girl Scouts.  We used to cut up calendars and magazines and make gorgeous mail.  But one thing the Girl Scouts taught me, is the USPS is fussy about what they consider to be standard sized.  SO first I made a template out of a pre-existing envelope and cardboard.

My helper of course had to approve it!  And everything seemed to meet her standards, (although, I don't think cats know much about mail).  And then I found a variety of scrap paper to work with.

Later I got sticker happy and decided to "recycle" some envelopes that I didn't use for bills/ donation solicitations.

And finally, my vehicle has been targeted recently by several take out Chinese restaurants.  SO I took advantage of the free menus.

All the menus must have made my helper hungry as she started demanding supper after these were made!
Hopefully this inspires you to try something different, maybe re-purpose some materials, and send some whimsy in your everyday letters!
Happy inking,
-b

Pics and Post: Sending a Part of My Life

So recently I decided to go through a bunch of photos from 2 different vacations I took last year and place them into albums.  After compiling my photos, and those from friends and family, I had several repeats and kick outs. Why would I post this under mail? 
Well I realized that 1) that it is rare these days to send mail and 2) It's even more rare to get pictures in the mail.  The advance of technology has made e-swapping pics as easy as an email.  And not to date myself, but I remember when my friends and I used to write long letters and send each other tons of photos from our summer travels. It was always fun to open the thick "don't bend, pictures enclosed" envelopes and get a glimpse into another person's life.  Admit it, we are all voyeurs!  That is why HGTV is soooo popular!

I also hate to throw these beautiful photos away, so I have decided to open up the option for my blog followers to claim them. 
Just leave me your email and we will exchange contact info, and as long as the photos last, I will send out letters containing what's left of my beautiful vacation pictures and a glimpse into my travels!
Privacy is a big thing, so I will not divulge anything you don't want me to, but I hope to have a follow up blog on this little experiment.
Hope this finds you all well and happily mailing!
-b

A Mailer's Journal

I'm not really a big journal writer.  My talents and efforts in writing are usually all in my letters and this blog.  I tend to write longer letters to most of my closer friends and pen pals, so catalogging my thoughts in a journal hasn't been a strong desire.  But the other day I was in one of my favorite discount stores buying more crap that I probably don't need for my already cramped apartment and the following journal seemed to fall into my cart!

If ever there was a journal that I would be inspired by, this would be it.  I can't say this will make me a more prolific writer, but at least I can write my ideas for this blog in it!  And therefore a good purchase.  Functional + Use = Money well spent, (or so me brain rationalizes, even if the use is sporadic.)

I hope this finds you all happily writing, (letters or journals, you will always be write!)

Best Always,

-b

Sometimes a Little Repetition is a Good Thing!

Yeah November!  For all my fellow Northerners, this is one of my favorite seasons-FALL!  But this post is more for those South of the Equator and those in complete denial about the seasons changing.  I have recently latched on to the bright repetitive patterns of petite stickers.  Call it the last hoorah for Summer.

I know I may have a problem with going overboard.  Just a little secret between me and the entire internet community -when to say when, hasn't always been a strong suit of mine.

Although this envelope shows some restraint, I have plans for the beautiful circles left over!  We'll save that for a future post.  I hope this finds you all receiving and sending lots of mail!

-b