I have to admit, I am something of a post geek. I get enormously excited when a letter or postcard drops through my letterbox. I love sending packages, letters and presents and knowing the pleasure the person the other end will get from receiving it. Since I’ve moved into the new house my passion for post has increased – seeing the Postman walk up our front garden, and feeling the weight of post on the doormat as I push open the door after a long day at work makes me all kinds of happy. Since we’ve moved out of the city centre, and a forty minute drive from all my friends, there’s just something about living in a new area and a new town that makes me want to make that walk to the village post office and send something – to old friends, or new ones.
One of my goals for this year has been to send more letters and packages. When I wrote this I had in mind that I would send cards, photos and little gifts to friends and family. And whilst I have been doing this, I’ve also discovered several websites where you can do the same, but to people you don’t already know. My favourite so far is http://sendsomething.net, where you can set up a profile, put your likes and dislikes, and search the profiles of other people to find something to send. I have already sent two postcards, and received a postcard and a lovely letter and some assorted ephemera from a girl in the US.
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| Letter sent from someone lovely on sendsomething.net, and a postcard from a friend |
Before I started delving into the online world of sending post to people you don’t know, I had never heard of mail art. Mail art is basically sending art through the post – usually via beautifully decorated, illustrated or collaged envelopes. I pinched the below examples from Bianca’s Tumblr ‘Fuck Yeah Mail‘. Bianca also has a lovely blog where she posts her own amazing mail art. All of the below are from a project called Mail Me Art, who has held exhibitions and published books of mail art.
Now, I absolutely cannot draw or paint, but I wanted to get a slice of the pretty envelope pie, so I’ve been furiously gathering bits and bobs to send and to decorate my post – envelopes, stickers, cute sellotapes and postcards. The craft room now even has it’s own mail drawer…
I have also signed up to a website called Postcrossing; a sort of postcard swap website that means you can send and receive postcards from all around the world. I’ve made some of my own postcards on Moo.com so I can get involved.
Are any of you post enthusiasts? Or do you prefer ‘electronic communication’? Also, if you fancy sending me some post or receiving something from me, just drop me an email and let me know.
As you will probably all know by now, one of my other loves, is baking and cooking, and I have been baking up a storm this week to say thankyou to my friends at work for buying me a lovely ‘new home’ card and Ikea voucher. I made mint aero cupcakes from this recipe ….
And also a very, very naughty but utterly delicious chocolate cake from this recipe. Yum!
Finally, I’m going to finish off this post with an apology. Today I moved into my new study/craft room and so I am writing this sat at a desk, in a comfy chair, looking out on the front garden. However, prior to this (and since our move), my laptop was in the utility room and I could only use it if I crammed myself into a space between the washing machine and the cupboards. Because of this I have been a little bit absent from Blogger and I have missed out on lots of your posts and haven’t been able to comment. But don’t worry – I am back with a vengeance and looking forward to catching up on what I missed! Thanks for being patient with me 🙂
