Floral Mail Art

Last Friday I had an exam and got a surprisingly very high grade, so when I got back home I was in a rather cheery mood.
I picked up my watercolors and started doodling on an envelope. It had been a while since I last hand painted anything, and it felt really refreshing. It still doesn't have a recipient, but I still wanted to share it with you ♥

Some details:

What do you find yourself doing when you're happy?

Have a lovely day,
ƒ.

details: mail from Katzi

Yesterday, I received a wonderful surprise in the mail from Katzi. I knew she was going to send me something, but I didn't really know what to expect and this little box of wonders blew me away!

First off, the lettering on it was amazing! I really wish I didn't have to edit out the rest of my information from the label but you can take my word for it ;3

This is what was inside (or part of it, actually), and I loved everything!

Something I was particularly excited to see, was the Creepy Hearts Club little fellas & zine, which is super dorky and fun!

Another thing I was very happy about, are those gorgeous analog photographs she too! I really love when my penpals decide to share with me some of their shots. Besides being able to see faraway landmarks and cities, I feel like there's something special about being able to see even the smallest detail through the eyes of someone else, don't you agree?

Thank you so much Katzi, you're one amazing lady, and this parcel really made my day! ♥

A question for you before I go, what is one thing you love getting in the mail?
Have a lovely day,
ƒ.

Snail Mail Love

Hello everyone! Today I would like to show you my newest illustrations, as I'm sure you snailmail geeks will appreciate them ;)
They're a series of five, that I've titled "Snail Mail Love".

They were really spontaneous drawing, but I realized they all represent something I really love about letter writing.

the flat swap

Hello everyone!
Today I've got something rather interesting to show you; a while ago I joined a very fun swap over at Giova's blog, and last week, my parcel finally came!
I was really lucky to be paired with an amazing artist called Aljona (or Katlix) that really spoiled me with many beautiful goodies!
The swap required to send a couple of different things, and here's what I've received:
- for "something handmade in your area of expertise", Aljona decided to make me a portrait! How cool is that? What's even cooler is that she implemented some of my favourite things in it (for example, my hair are teal in her drawing because I told her it is my fave color! So clever).

- for "a drawing of something you like"she sent me various of her prints, and I was really impressed by them and all the different techniques that go into them.
- there was a little letter, of course, in this very pretty geometrical print card;

- for "something handwritten" she wrote a poem called "window" by Forough Farrokhzad on a watercolor stained paper. The poem itself is beautiful, and I really appreciated the creativity in displaying it.

- last but not least, for "something that you own, but not need", she sent me a bunch of paper ephemera and a few rolls of washi tape, that may or may not have made me squeal.

All in all, it was definitely one of the most fun swap I've joined lately, and I'll be definitely up for another round if there's ever gonna be one (*wink wink, Giova*).
Thanks again to Aljona for everything she's put together for me, and to Giova for hosting it :)

Have you guys joined any fun swap lately?
Much love,
ƒ.

Mail lately

I've been neglecting the blog again, sigh, I haven't posted about my outgoing mail in a while and I thought it was time for an update.
Here's something I've sent out in the past month:

As I mentioned in my monthly wrap up for January, I've been experimenting new mediums, and with DAS I created this little family of owls that have been sent to a special someone in Belgium.

I've sent a few orders from my Etsy, and a letter to Maddie.

I made a painting (to be shown after the recipients collects it) and sent it across the ocean.

And lastly, more orders, and a letter to Corey and one to Ari ♥

What have you sent lately?
Have a nice day,
ƒ.

Detail: mail from Mexico

I feel really blessed to have many talented friends all over the globe that care to share their wonderful creations with me every now and again! In this particular case, I'm referring to Ely, my awesome penpal from Mexico.
With her letter (all written in spanish, I want to add ♥), she sent me some cards and stickers she designed, and that I quickly fell in love with:

She was also so kind to include a present for my birthday (which is in about 3 weeks, but knowing how slow mail from Mexico reaches me, I truly appreciate the thoughtfulness of the gesture), which is this dragonfly notebook, that besides being gorgeous, is also made from recycled materials and I don't think it could get better than that!

Last but not least, she included a "city explorer kit" from her trip to Querétaro, and I loved going through all the bits and pieces imagining the places she visited ☺

Thank you so much for your wonderful parcel, Ely. Will write back soon!

What did you receive lately?
Have a great week,
ƒ.

Detail: mail from Ari

Erlier this week, I received an parcel from my friend Ari, a wonderful artist from California.
I already featured some of her mail here on the blog, and I probably already said this too, but she's one of those people with whom I just clicked right away, and seeing her letters popping in my mailbox is particularly exciting.
Here's some eye candy for you~

& this is her zine (which you can get here) and besides being a-mazing, it also features a little thing I sent her in the mail a while back ♥ such an honor!

Talk to you soon!
ƒ.

Are you looking for a penpal? II

Here' some of the penpal ads I received recently, if you're looking for a new friend, this might be your chance to find it ☺! 

"Hi, my name is Marisa and I'm 22 years old. I want a pen pal either in the US or internationally and I enjoy things such as swapping, collecting stamps, decorating planners, putting together cute parcels, smash book and other scrapbooking, cute note cards, and everything else in between. I know everyone has their own life going on, but I'm looking for someone that can take some time out and maybe send me some mail every few weeks? I want to get involved in the snail mail community!"

Contact: mythology.marisa@gmail.com
Blog: http://mythologyyy.blogspot.com

"Hello! My name is Autumn Echo. I am 18 years old, from New York. I'm looking for pen pals all over the world. I love coffee, owls, crafting, snail mail, reading, poetry. I'm willing to swap letter, post cards, and/or small parcels. I respond quickly as well, so if you are looking for someone to correspond with quite regularly, I'm your girl. If you are interested in being pen pals with me, please contact me by email."

Contact: mangoymango95@gmail.com

"Hello :) I'm Dani.
I am 25 years old and living in Massachusetts.
I like YA books and Jane Austen, colonial houses, halloween, Buffy, Doctor Who, picnics, long and deep conversations, little love notes, unique greeting cards, The Mortal Instruments, pagan holidays, and trying foods from other countries.
I am looking for a female penpal around my age, with similar interests, with whom I can hopefully develop a great friendship. Any country.
I hope to hear from someone soon!"

Contact: daniellephant@me.com

Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt 2014 reveal day!

Hello everyone! 2014 seems like to be just started but one month is already gone by, and today marks a very special day, the reveal for the Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt!
I've been really lucky this year too, to be paired with an amazing person who put lot of care and attention into my package. My partner was Giova (who blogs over at "One Bunting Away" - check it out, it's rather great!) and this are the amazing finds of her scavenger:
1. Mail Art Kit - a wonderful assortment of paper, packed very nicely as well, that will probably satisfy my paper needs for the next month!

Freebie Friday: Valentine

I NO LONGER POST ON THIS BLOG, PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT MY NEW ONE!

click here to download

Enjoy!
ƒ.

PS. feel free to comment with your suggestion for future possible themes for stationery! ♥

Flow's Book for Paper Lovers [Review]

Finally, I have my hands on it! Yesterday, I received the amazing "Book for Paper Lovers" by, the very awesome Dutch company, Flow, and wanted to share it with you!

Let me start off by saying that the title is incredibly fitting, in fact, my poor paper heart exploded with joy as I flipped through its pages!

Christmas Mail

Hello guys,
it's probably time for me to share some mail with you! Who's excited? I definitely am, I'm really looking forward to blog more regularly again in 2014 ☺
Here's some lovely mail I received recently:
from my dear Emily in Sweden, a Christmas package full of owl themed goodies! Some rubbers, a notebook and a cutesy card ♥

From Marisa in California, some gorgeous monogram cards to match the stamp she got me a while back, so pretty!

Details: letter from Michelle

I received a very lovely letter today, from Michelle. Here's some details of it:

♥ ƒ.

Outgoing: tiny watercolours

I've stated many times how obsessed I am with handmade booklets, didn't I? Lately, all my outgoing mail consisted in tiny booklets filled with facts, ephemera, or tiny artworks.
Last week I've sent one over to America - not telling to whom yet in case they're reading - that I embellished with little watercolour paintings inspired by an old botanical book I have at home.

Considering I hadn't pick a brush for quite a while, I'm very happy with the result, also because I'm finally feeling like my artist's block is coming to an end - hopefully!

Have a great weekend everyone!
ƒ.

Are you looking for a penpal?

Recently I've received a lot of penpal ads, and it's finally time to share them with you and hopefully someone will find a new friend ☺! 

Hi ^_^ My names is Loredana (Lolly for friends), 34 years old, I live in Italy with my husband and my one year old cat Amy.
I am an artist and I love correspondence. I love paper, art, fashion and animals. I'm vegetarian and I love cruelty free fashion.
I am looking for new pen pals to whom write in English because I want to learn it.
Let me know, send me an email: darklolly79@yahoo.it 
ps: my facebook profile 

Hi, I'm Aimée. I'm 25 years old and I am a Year 2 primary school teacher in England. I have lots of hobbies; I love reading book, making and baking, and going for rides in my vintage land rover. I love nature and love my two naughty cats, Saxon and Pixie. I would love a pen pal to exchange snail mail letters with, as I miss opening post that are meaningful and personal. Hope to hear from you soon! Please email if you are interested in writing to me. Email- aw160@alumni.le.ac.uk Blogspot - MissWoodall.blogspot.co.uk I've been looking for a crafty/friendly/foreign pen-pal! I recently graduated from art school with a Painting & Printmaking degree and have been lacking the creative juices. I have always enjoyed getting letters my whole life. The thought of not only getting letters but also little works of art sounds awesome! I hope to get some reply's! -Virginia (woodvj2@mymail.vcu.edu)

 

Hi, my name is Katie, I'm 17 years old, and I live in Massachusetts. I'm looking for a pen pal who would also love to swap treasures, handmade or found. Some of my interests are reading, musicals (especially Les Mis), music, painting, cats, and horror movies. Anyone who shares some of these or just wants to make a new friend, please send me a message. Contact me through my tumblr, stall-me-stall-me.tumblr.com

Catching Up!

The time to catch up with my letters has finally arrived! I don't want to count my chickens before they've hatched, but my creative/writer's block seems to be gone and I also have more energy I can't wait to put into letters and crafts ☺
I already started replying some letters, that I will mail in bulk later this week.
Here's some pictures of what I received lately~
(for some reasons the pictures ended up looking really weird after I uploaded them)

This is a letter from Mehreen in Pakistan. We've exchanged letters before but experienced some postal issues and now we're trying it again. She showed me around her hometown including some pictures she took, and I really loved the experience!

Lavender Mail

A few days ago, I received a package from Love in California.
She's a freelance artist like me, and she made me a very nice booklet to display some of her favourite things and crafts!

The first thing that I noticed after I opened the package, was a sweet yet strong smell of lavender, which I love!

Moths in my Mailbox!

Hey guys, hope you're well! I'm back from my short *vacation* and I'm already flooded with things to do.. but luckily I've got mail to make me happy even when all those obligations makes me sad!

I'm still so stocked about the parcel I got yesterday, from a lovely girl - Ari, that you may remember for this parcel.
She's a very talented artist and the parcel she sent me, really blew me away:

Starting off with her letter, everything was perfect~ I love it when I click so well with a penpal. We haven't been knowing each other for long, au contraire, but the connection I feel with this girl (which is apparently mutual ☺) makes it feel like it!

In my first letter to her I digressed a bit on a drawing in her zine, representing moth-faced people, and I was SO psyched when I opened the package to find a bigger version of it! I love(d) it so much I run out into town to buy a frame for it, about instantly.

Everything else in the parcel was very quirky, no wonders I enjoyed everything so much! She sent me a little booklet, an illustrated "for you" sticker, vintage thread, a goat pin, an eyeball (fun fact: when I opened the parcel my boyfriend was with me and when the eyeball fell from the packet it was into, we both couldn't help but think how "Breaking Bad" it was - hopefully someone will catch the reference too!), and another moth related gift, a pretty handmade keychain/pendant:

Ah, I'm so inspired by this parcel.. so thanks a bunch Ari! I'll be working on something special for you in the newt few days!

What's the quirkiest thing you've ever got in your mailbox?
Have a nice day,
ƒ.

Mexican Skulls in my Mailbox

Hello everyone! I hope July's off to a great start for you all and that you're enjoying the holidays ☺
Today, I want to show you an awesome package I received from a very artistic friend over in Mexico: Musberina! We both love skulls, so we decided to go for a skull-themed swap and she sent me some amazing stuff and artworks..

Mailbox Madness pt. II

Hello everyone! It's about time for me to write a post on my incoming mail, isn't it?
I've been receiving some lovely pieces of mail lately, so here we go!

I received a zine I ordered on Etsy from the lovely Ari, owner of the shop The Big Little Lunch, who really did an amazing job packing it up:

The content was of course amazing too. I loved her zine (suggested to those who love  peculiar, creppy and surreal illustrations), and I was really impressed by the extras she included for me:

In the little bottle there was some cute random object: an heart pushpin, a teeth, a miniature fork and a button!
Then I got mail from Bernadine, who did a swap with me not so long ago; she sent me some adorable