Christmas Prep: Postcard Projects

I know I said the "C" word, please keep reading though, it was important to start some of these things so early!  I personally have a no Christmas before Thanksgiving belief system, but I had to let go of that this year. 
It all started with a postcard book and a Facebook post by one of my friends. 
I bought this Star Wars themed postcard book and decided that I would send the book to one of my friends as her Christmas present, but then I decided, "It's postcards!"

And so I am mailing her the entire book, one page at a time.  The cover will be the final surprise with a pocket and a small monetary amount gift card for a chain coffee shop she adores.  No worries, she never reads the blog, so the surprise will be still there.
But to achieve her getting all the cards sent, I had to start by mailing 3+ a week now!  I figure this will spread out the joy of receiving a great gift while making her smile.  She is in a very high stress internship right now, so any smiles I can add to her day make it all just a little bit better.

Secondly a different long time friend posted on Facebook that instead of giving her daughter gifts, she preferred I make memories with the child instead.  Examples were taking her to the zoo or stopping in for craft time and so on.  Great in theory, but what to do when she lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and I am hours and hours away from there!? 

Amazing high gloss, high detail postcards!

Well, recently, I just happened to have ordered this great Waldo collection on Amazon!  I do not have a lot of extra cash this year, so I decided to do the same project, but I am splitting the book into thirds and also sending to my oldest and dearest friend's boys and my nephews.  They will need to receive about a postcard a week to get them to Christmas.  The last mailing will be a make your own postcard kit including stamps so they can mail back to me or to somebody else if they so desire and an invitation for them to request more postcards from me.  I will try to tech them the golden rule of mailing "Send so you can receive!"  Not to forget, thank you notes are important!

Lastly I decided that the vast majority of people do not appreciate Christmas cards like they used to.  After the holidays, most of the cards are tossed, recycled at the curb, or otherwise disposed of.  So this year I am raising the bar and lowering my postage costs.  I will be sending postcards with heartfelt wishes on the backs instead of enveloped and embellished cards.

I found these Dover books fairly cheap!  I figure people may be more willing to tuck these away for the years to come as a keepsake of the season.  A few people will still get cards as I have a lot left from last year.  Who knows, maybe the postcard trend will catch on!  It will definitely curtail my after Christmas hoarding issue.  Maybe one of these years I will make a few handmade to send instead, but obviously not this year.

I am starting some other projects as well since this will mostly be a handmade Christmas with only a few exceptions.  This girl is poor right now and needs money for insulating this drafty house!  So invent-a-gift has started.  I have fond memories of all the hand made gifts of Christmas past although I am not sure my family can say the same, but they are stuck with me and the worst they can do is smile and say thank you before selling it on a garage sale later.  Muwahahaha!  The maniacal laughter of a crafty crafter with cash flow issues! 
I'm thinking I'll try ugly dolls, magazine/ newspaper baskets, and a scrapbook.
What are you making this year?  Any fab ideas to share for those on a budget?
-Becky
 

Recycling Old Christmas Cards

This is Almost all of my received cards this year

Now that the holiday festivities are dying down, I just wanted to offer a few ideas on what to do with the Holiday cards you do not want to keep.  Last year I had a list of disposal ideas (link here)  This year I would like to add a another list of ideas.
Check out the Squido link for everything from boxes to gift tags. 
I have all the cards from my Mom, work, and myself gathered, now comes the question, donate to St. Jude's Ranch or tear them apart and use them myself?

My Best,
-b

Happy Holidays!

To those who celebrate- Merry Christmas!  To those that don't celebrate - My Best Wishes always, just because you are in my thoughts today!
A few special thank you go out to the following
To Val:
Thanks for supporting me from the very start of the blog!

The gift of stamps!!!!

To Lou at Lou Lou Crafts:
Thanks for sending something for me to open on Christmas morning.  It can be lonely being far from family and friends on a holiday.  But having a package to open is exciting and is physical contact with the world at large!  Hope you are having a good day on your own too!

She makes such wonderful "warm your heart" things. 

To the Picadilly Post:
Thanks- you always know how to brighten my day!  Letter and more will be on its way South to you!

The wrapped goodies I opened this AM

All the contents of a super lovely package (minus a few stamps-a postcrosser in Slovenia will be the recipient of those - a gift that gives on!) 

To Everybody who patrons this blog:
Just a big heart felt thank you!  You have no idea how this little electronic world has grown to be much more to me.  It's hard to describe the fulfillment I get from a post that generates interests or seemingly has inspired others to create!
My Best and Happy Holidays,
-Becky

Family Christmas

Hell all,
I still have limited photos to put up as the camera is in one of the currently still packed bags.   Anyway the weather held for my trip back to Ohio to visit the parents and family there.  I quite happily got the one thing I had really requested!  Any guesses???
Stamps!  That's right all this mailer really wanted for Christmas was stamps : )
Anybody else have a similar request? 
Happy holidays to all! 
-b

Sending and Recycling

One thing I love more than sending or receiving a fun and interesting letter is making care packages - huge heart here!- !!!  Recently, I was looking to consolidate my remaining stationery and knew I had a few beautiful boxes almost empty of their stationery (not stationary) contents.  I hated to toss them.  What memories and beauty!  What to do?  

How about combining some of my loves?  Here are some examples of the compact care packages I am sending out to a few pen friends.   It was fun to let go and I hope to eventually slow the accumulation and increase the home made pieces!

I like this holiday card very much, but could only score a handful of them at the Dollar Store!

The Post Office's Jolly Elf,
-b

Recycling Old Holiday Cards

The first task of the new year is to take down the holiday decorations and do something with them.  Which brings me to today's task,
 I love holiday cards.  Many are so beautiful and most of my friends rarely write much  in the cards themselves. So at the end of the season, I am left with the ungratifying task of sorting and tossing the beautiful but unwanted cards into the recycling bin.  I keep the ones with legitimate sentimentality and pictures, but what to do with the others?
Well today, I decided to find some alternatives. I have often thought about doing crafts with some of the really pretty cards.
Site for making boxes for next year's trinkets and gift cards.
Site for making bookmarks for those who like to celebrate Christmas year round.
Site for Angel Decorations for those with children who like to do crafts
Site for some really cool ornaments for those with real ambition!

But the site I chose was St. Judes Ranch.  They take used cards on donation and tear them apart to make new cards for sale to profit the charity.  You can read more at the link provided.

This was the best choice for my busy lifestyle, and it helps me to find a good way to reduce, reuse, and recycle in the new year!  But which ever way you decide is best for you, do it.  Just please think hard before throwing these beauties in the trash.
Happy mailing!
-b

Christmas Threw Up on the Farm

First off, I'd like to say I'm not a huge Christmas person.  I don't believe I need a holiday to prompt me into sending out love and cheer, nor do I feel bound to give gifts at this time.  Don't get me wrong, I love to send out care packages, but I do them when I feel like it.  My friends will tell you, they love to get things out of the blue and just because I saw something that made me think of them!  I also think the true meaning of the holiday has lost its way, and I'd rather have joy, generosity, and general sunshininess in my heart every day of the year, not just Dec. 25th.  I feel the same about sending out cards, Christmas is great, but what's really truly wonderful, is sending out notes to folks just because you wanted to say "hi, you are in my thoughts" and not because its a socially EXPECTED norm for a holiday season.  
(On to my story, sorry about the tangent)
Since my arrival in Eastern Pennsylvania, I have been making a few friends.  Not so easy when your main hobby is writing letters- a generally solitary activity.  So when I got the call to go out to a Christmas display with a group of great ladies, of course I accepted. We drove to Bernville, PA in the Blue Mountains to see a 60 yr old Christmas display on a farm .   The farm is no longer a working farm but is the home of a gigantic Christmas extravaganza. I was warned to dress in layers as the exhibits were outside and the we followed a path with a few hundred other sight seers that snaked through about 3 acres of lights. 
Much to my eyes amazement there were lights, lights and cold everywhere.  They also had 5 warming stations with items for purchase which is where I found these nifty postcards for sale!

I really liked the little vignettes they had made into the out buildings (the chicken coop was Santa's Workshop, the milk house was a winter wonderland, etc).  If Christmas could throw up, I'm pretty sure this is what it would look like!

All in all we had a good cold time!  And I got some terrific postcards for postcrossing.  I'm not sure I would brave the cold to do it again next year, but it was definitely a site to see and a tradition for many of my fellow local Penn staters.
Hopefully the holidays will bring you plenty of cheer that will make your whole year Christmas!
-b