Handmade card with a theme (February)

I am hosting a series of swaps on swap-bot where you make a handmade card representing a celebration or festival celebrated in your Country for each month. 

This is the card I chose to make and it represents Imbolc/Candlemas a festival representing the Sun returning, the longer and lighter days.

This beautiful card is from my partner and represents Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is widely celebrated in America even down to the children sending friendship cards.

Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt 2015

It's the big reveal day today for the Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt. 

I heard about it on a blog called SnailMailLove and signed up for this year's round. Participants each get a partner to send to and have to chose 5 things to find or make from a list, plus a gift for your partner.

The Scavenger Hunt List

The City Explorer's Kit 

Something that represent you

A mix CD with your favorite tunes. 

The Postal Freak's Kit

The Bad Day Survival Kit

Something quirky

Something with - your partner's - monogram on it

Something oddly shaped

Something old fashioned

Something to read

Here are the items I received from my partner. She sent me some lovely items some of which I have already used in my outgoing snail mail.

From left to right

The Postal Freak's Kit - Some address labels, an airmail envelope, some postcards and washi tape. Something Quirky - A funky magnet. Something That Represents My Partner - A coffee themed postcard and notebook, something we have in common as I love coffee too!

Something Old Fashioned - She sent me drawstring bag with a pink and white hanky, I'm not sure if she made the bag but I am guessing so :)

City Explorer's Kit - Some stunning postcards and equally stunning bookmark plus some stickers. I'm  not too sure what they are but they look familiar please comment if you know what they are :)

A Gift For Me - A hand painted owl bookmark (gorgeous!), cute sticky notes and some printouts that she made for me.

My partner hasn't received yet, but her parcel has to travel quite far, I'm nervously waiting for an email to say she has received.  I'll post what I sent when she has received.

Have you done anything like this before, how did you find it?

Penpals and mail art

I host a penpal round robin on Postcrossing and I have joined in a couple of the rounds recently. I've been lucky enough to find some new penpals. How do you find penpals to write to?

This is a lovely letter from my new penpal in Germany, she also happens to be a member of the anime fan club I am in so we have "met" before. Check out her blog here.

This is a lovely letter from my new penpal in Hong Kong, they have recently celebrated Chinese New Year. The envelope is a First Day Cover for Year of the Ram - so cool!

I also received another cool piece of mail from a member of swap-bot, I did a mail art swap where we had to make mail art using three out of five themes, the themes were; a superhero, a hippo, blue, children's illustration and stripes.

 I sent an envelope decorated with Big Ears from the Noddy stories, I also happened to have a Noddy stamp so I used that.

This is the awesome envelope I received and the goodies which were inside. The front is decorated with Flash Gordon comic strips written in German.

And the back has a cute superhero hippo ^_^

6 month RR (Part 3)

I  have another batch of gorgeous cards to share with you today. Last week I received a piece of happy mail everyday which has never happened before - very cool!

Another Jetoy to add to my collection, these cards are quite popular.

A beautiful Sunset in the Ukraine

Another Jetoy =^.^=

A viewcard of one of the 7 old skyscrapers in Moscow, built by Stalin.

A gorgeous polar fox, 

The card got a bit marked by the mail monster but it's not too bad luckily.

One more post to come of my received cards from this round robin, I am looking forward to receiving the last few cards :)

6 month RR (Part 2)

Some more postcards I received as a winner of February in the 6 month RR. 

A beautiful tiger postcard from Ireland.

A Moomins card from Finland.

Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve from USA

A Jetoy for my collection

A night view of Zurich the biggest city in Switzerland.

Official Postcards and Other Mail

Recently I decided to draw my allotment of addresses on the official Postcrossing site as I hadn't sent any in a while. I sent 9 out and so far 3 have been registered, I won't be receiving any cards for a while though as I have a small gap (about 5) between my sent and received. I have also been doing lots of swaps, again, and have received a few pen pal letters.

My official postcards going out 

A postcard swap - pick 3, I am sending an extra because I wanted to, going out.

Some incoming mail, a letter from my pen pal in France and one of my 6 month RR cards.

A letter from my pen pal in The Netherlands, she sent me some really cute stickers from Hema which I was quite excited about. I love stickers!

Last but not least a letter I sent to my pen pal in Finland. I made an ATC for her and a little envelope with some teabags, there is also a little bookmark and postcard. The envelope is made out of a page of a Noddy annual.

I also sent out a tea swap and a handmade swap and forgot the pictures. So I have a few pen pal replies to work on plus some other letters, note cards and mail art to work on - fun times ^_^

Sparkles and Cats

Hello again, some more lovely incoming and outgoing mail to share with you today. I'll start with the mail I have received.

A card for Friendship Day signed by some Postcrossers in Finland, sent to me by my pen pal. The sequins are for a craft project and I thought it was a fun touch for her to send them with this particular postcard.

I've been receiving some great letters from Mooshi the Cat from a fellow Postcrosser and I thought I'd send a little envelope to say thank you. I enclosed some stamps as the lady sending the letters collects them, and a few cat cards for her postcard collection.

This is a card to someone from Sendsomething. I really like the colours in this card and the flowers called lanterns, I'd love to have some flowers like that in my garden one day.