Viva Snail Mail!

Nature Stamps

melissa — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:42:44 +0000

As I have mentioned, I am using stamps from my Grandpa’s collection as postage. Yesterday I tore off two 29 cent “Wild Animals” stamps from a 1991 booklet, licked the backs and stuck them on an envelope. My son came over and asked if he could have one so I tore off a white bangal tiger stamp for him. He ran over to his desk to make a card but came back a moment later and asked, ”Hey, how do you work this thing?” I replied, ” You have to lick the back. That gets the glue wet.”

Today the Postal Service is issuing these beautiful Hawaiian rainforest stamps.

They’re self adhesive.

We heart Postcards

melissa — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 13:58:01 +0000

I hope you all have had a wonderful summer and are enjoying its last few weeks with grace and ice cream. I brought a bit of Viva Snail Mail with me on vacation and subjected my friends to the first ever VSM event. Before our trip I asked the people who I vacation with to bring along an address of someone they would like to send a bit of vacation bliss to by post. I explained that I would provide tacky Cape Cod postcards and stamps and after we all wrote cards together, I would take a trip to the post office to mail them. Easy.

After a few days of sun and food and laughter and naps, I set out blankets and pens for some post BBQ, golden hour postcard writing. I think that my friends were humoring me at first. But once they started to write, several people re-connected with a lost sensation. A few friends, who regularly post on Facebook with postcard worthy updates, told me that they could not remember the last time they had written a postcard from their vacation. They liked it. And I did too.

Viva Snail Mail!

2 letter projects

melissa — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 01:07:10 +0000

This was a good week for mail. I got 2 wedding invitations, a postcard from Biskit, a letter from HT, a thank you note, and a package. Plus 2 mail related projects came my way. The first was from my friend Randi Cecchine, who is sending back the mail she has received from people over the years. She is calling it “The Letter Project” and boy was it fun to open an envelope and find postcards that I had written to her in 1992. Look for an interview with Randi soon.

The second was a request from my sister Allison to her family elders to write letters to ourselves at her age and mail them to her. She was inspired by a story on the radio called What would you say to your 20 year old self? So I sat down and wrote to myself at age 26 and then sent the letter off to Allison. Hopefully she can cull some wisdom from it and if not, at least she’ll get some mail. I loved the process of writing the letter, decorating the envelope and dropping it in a blue mailbox. It felt like art therapy and I recommend it. In fact I think I may ask my elders to write letters to their 40 year old selves, as I approach that milestone this year. Receiving some perspective might soften the blow of becoming a muthahflipping 40 year old!

And if not, at least I’ll get some mail.

Mamita

melissa — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:44:05 +0000

This one goes out to Dari of Papi’s Mami and her bad ass, roller derby self.

Beautiful, hand printed cards from Tall Cow.com. Check them out.

Saturday Delivery?

melissa — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:28:51 +0000

“The reality that folks need to come to grips with is there simply is not enough mail in the system any longer for us to sustain a six-day network,” said Sam Pulcrano, vice president for sustainability at the post office.

As a cost saving measure, the USPS is hoping to end Saturday mail delivery. But the plan has its critics. Read the full article in the New York Times.

Photos by Remy Steiner

HI DAD!

melissa — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:04:10 +0000

So my dad dug this letter up from his daughter archive. I have absolutely no memory of the situation that compelled me to send an illicit letter on my Catholic junior high school’s stationary. But I love it! I guess I had some Dadaist tendencies, even at the age of 13. It reads, “HI DAD! This is wrong. I shouldn’t be doing this. See you soon. Melissa.”

I do remember there being some good postal pranks documented in the RE/Search book, Pranks. If you have sent or received any postal pranks, do tell.

zippy

melissa — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:52:38 +0000

baby steps

melissa — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:41:30 +0000

Oy vey. I haven’t posted in quite some time. And that Mother’s Day card that I said I was going to mail to my mom? Its still sitting in an envelope on my desk, addressed but not sent because its big and requires a trip to the post office. My new gig as a mother of 2 has made both a trip to the post office and writing a blog entry seem insurmountable. But I LOVE sending mail and posting here. It ain’t easy to find the time but I’ve got to make it happen, even when I am mostly always a tired mess. So I am re-committing, taking baby steps. I hope you’ll join me. Viva Snail Mail!

To kick off the inspiration, here are some photos by the lovely and talented iphone flaneur, Remy Steiner.

Mother’s Day Extension

melissa — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:54:52 +0000

Its the last day of April. Have you sent out a letter or card? Or a poem about spring or taxes? If you have, I adore you. And if not, well, you’re in luck! It turns out that National Card and Letter Writing Month extends to Mother’s Day so its actually National Card and Letter Writing Month and nine days. Here’s the card I found for my mother. Mom, if you’re reading, sorry for the spoiler. Oh look. Its actually an Easter card. Perfect.

tax day poem

melissa — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 22:40:31 +0000

I got this beautiful postcard with a tax day poem written on the back. Thanks Corita for taking the VSM challenge and sending some mail to ME! If you’ve sent mail this month, then write a comment and tell us all about it.