Mail Monday

I sent some mail last week. The envelopes weren't particularly innovative, but at least the contents were something a little out of the ordinary. Last week was Chinese New Year, the Year of the Ram started on Thursday. Even though we don't really celebrate it, I still like to send good wishes by mail. I figure no one gets too much good luck sent to them, right?

I really like the stamps Canada Post issued for the lunar new year!

Is it just me or does it look like that ram is shaking it? Like he's hearing HIS SONG and just have to boogie! Maybe he's twerking, what do you think?

I made a few small envelopes out of book pages and added those in the mail as well. It's tradition to give out red envelopes with money in them. I figured chocolate coins will do the trick too.

Incoming

I had a really good mail day on Thursday! I got two letters from the UK, one of them to replace the one that got away. How amazing are those Alice in Wonderland stamps?

Do you ever feel stamp-envy? It happens to me quite often :)

Letter trauma

Just look at this!

It was quite dramatic! This envelope originally contained a letter from my friend Kelly. Her and I started writing somewhat recently, but hit it off so well that there has been letters fired across the Atlantic at a fairly rapid pace. It was her turn and I was really looking forward to her letter.

And then this happened! I got an empty envelope! Just an envelope with nothing inside!

This made me think about privacy... Now there's a letter out there, somewhere, with a part of our personal conversation. Anyone coming across it could read it. In all honesty, it has probably just slipped out somewhere, maybe with the pages scattered all over, and no one has read it. But, just the idea made both of us a bit uncomfortable.

In my mind, however, it feels a smidgen better if it was read by a stranger. I'll never actually know that they read it, nor will I ever meet that person. Maybe I'd feel differently if it was a letter I wrote...

What are your thoughts on this? How would you feel if this happened? Has this ever happened to you?

Mail Monday - February

Just so I wouldn't stray too far from what I did before, I do have one piece of mail to share.

At least it's something different. Hand drawn paper plane and my first try at water colors in a very long time. It's far from perfect, but it was fun.

Please excuse the awful editing! I'm getting adjusted to this new computer and I haven't really got my photo editing lined up yet. I'm experimenting with new things...

Can you recommend a good online editing tool?

Mail Monday - Third week of 2015

I had a great, albeit busy, weekend. I tried some new things, visited new events and met some new people. I also hung out with a few people I met previously, you just got to love the crafting community. I'm exploring new avenues for my crafts, so it's been invaluable to talk to people who are already involved here in Toronto.

This weekend I also realized how out of shape I am, so I will need to fix that too... I spent all my summer and fall walking outside, but as the weather got colder, it's been challenging. 

It's funny how all of 2014 felt to me like things were in transition. I just knew things were changing, but I had no idea where anything would end up at. I'm still in the middle of all sorts of changes, but I'm starting to feel like things are heading to more permanent locations. I think that sounds a lot more philosophical than I really intended, but it's the best way to describe it. I once read somewhere that you life moves in seven year cycles. I'm not sure how much I really believe in that, but as I approach my 35th birthday, another seven year cycle sounds pretty damn good to me!

As I'm still working on figuring stuff out, I do try to send at least one piece of mail out every week. Here's the third week of 2015:

Outgoing

It's been a while since I made something with a very specific theme. I bought the tape and was itching to use it, who better than another Batman fan Mary? And once I get started, it's hard to stop. I really wish Canada Post had Batman stamps like USPS, but Superman will do in a pinch. And, as if on cue, I had a magazine on my desk that just happened to have a picture of the original Batman and Robin, Adam West and Burt Ward. 

Incoming

A letter from Jenni. We've been exchanging mail at a leisurely pace for a while and it's always a treat to get something from her. She has a very distinct style, this is a good example of it. I'm also still digging the Tom of Finland stamps. Props to the Finnish Post on those!

How have you guys been? What's new?

Mail Monday - Second week of 2015

Last week was really, really long. I'm usually charged up for the upcoming week on Monday morning, but this time I am feeling pretty tired. Sometimes it happens, so onwards and upwards said the granny in the snow*

Looks like I was so tired that I didn't actually publish this post after writing it... So, Mail Monday on Tuesday!

To counteract the long days now behind us, I am lining up some new interesting things for this week. Call it a resolution or a goal (or at least a cliche), I'm stepping out of my comfort zone. But, for now, it's time for mail...

Outgoing

Just one to share this week. Looks like my mind is already longing for spring. Wasn't really intentional, but I think the message is pretty clear.

Did you guys do something fun this week? Please share!

*) If you're Finnish, this makes total sense to you. If you're not, it's a Finnish saying about being persistent when facing adversity.

Mail Monday - First week of 2015

Happy New Year!

I hope 2015 has started off well for you! So far this year I've been reorganizing, cleaning and boxing up stuff. I'm still in the middle of it, but at least I think I'll get it finished soon. Some things just take their time to find their places.

I've yet to forsaken this blog, so here's the first Mail Monday post for this year.

Outgoing

Handmade envelope made from  book page. It was a coffee table book about black and white movies. Some vintage stamps.

Another handmade envelope from patterned paper bordered with new washi tape I got for Christmas. (Thank you Santa, you know who you are!)

How has your year started?

Mail Monday

Hello, hello everyone!

It's still looking very much like fall and I love it! My head is completely on Christmas things already, but I'm trying to keep it somewhat restrained for a little while longer. I've been making many, many holiday items for the shop and creating some brand new ones too! More about those later.

I do have a few pieces of mail to share with you for now.

Outgoing

Let's start with a new style, honeycomb. I've been working a lot with this shape recently and naturally it spills over to my snailmail as well. I really like the look of it, there will be many more...

The second one if a very simple one. It was father's day in Finland yesterday, so I sent something to my dad last week. The envelope is a plain white one, but the vintage stamps are the key to the look.

Incoming

This awesome black, white and pink one is from Mary. I love the stripes. I find working with paper like this is really hard, lining up the stripes can be tough! This is her second ever handmade envelope, so it'll be a collectors item when she's famous! (It also came with chocolate, so I really enjoyed it!)

So, what's up with you guys? Been up so something fun recently?

Monday Mail

My October has not been what I expected it to be. In the last month I have been to a bachelorette party, a wedding and a baptism. I have also driven to Montreal twice and spent a week in Finland. All the things I planned on doing didn't quite pan out, but they were replaced with other things. So I guess I still ended up on the positive.

I am enjoying the Halloween feel you get when you walk around the neighborhood. I saw glimpses of it driving back last night, and I think I might just go out for a walk with a camera today to capture some of the awesome decorations! I'll share the highlights with you this week!

To keep even a little shred of consistency, here's some mail from the last few weeks:

Outgoing

This is the prize package going out to Eva. She won the Halloween giveaway last week!

The next one is a pretty fun one! It's an order from my shop going out to Katherine. I really like the envelope! I picked it up on my travels and added some extras with the washitape decorations and a ton of vintage stamps. I really like how it turned out!

This is another order from the shop. A handmade envelope, washitape and a mix of new and vintage stamps. Fairly standard, but I really like seeing them come together, because the results are always different, even if the components are often the same.

I've actually sent a few more, but since it has been a crazy couple of weeks, I've had to send things out without taking photos. *Le gasp*

Incoming 


I wanted to share this incoming letter, since I really like the decorations. It's from Susanne. Just look how awesome it is!

How are you guys doing? Getting excited for Halloween?

Mail Monday

It feels like I've been gone for a long time... I know it's only been since last Wednesday, but it has been a busy few days. I actually went to Montreal for a few days. It was a quick visit, but very much needed.

I attended a dear friend's bachelorette party, including some quality time with some lovely ladies and karaoke (I don't sing, but I jam along). I got to finally meet my niece, 

...

[stunned silence]

GUYS! I have to interrupt the regular post-writing for this important announcement: A BAT just flew by the window. I shit you not. A bat. I was writing the previous sentence, paused to think, looked up and all casually, like it's no big deal, a bat.

It's a sign! HALLOWEEN IS PRACTICALLY HERE!

I was already thinking of halloween, since I am working on a decoration tutorial. I've been playing around with black ink and my project is looking very promising.

You know what? Let's just look at last week's mail and I go back into crafting things as black as my soul... MuahahahaaHAAAA!

Outgoing

I finally took a little time last week and made some larger envelopes. I've been meaning to do that for a while, I even had the materials just waiting, but I constantly had about fifteen other things to do. As I mentioned in the last Monday Mail post, I had a super stressful few days, so one day I just sat down and made some envelopes. It wasn't the most important thing on my to-do list, but I needed a break from everything.

Even though the decorations are similar, thin washitape and simple address labels, these two envelopes still look distinctly different(-ish). 

I'm also exceptionally happy about the stamps. I recently managed to find a fairly large lot of vintage stamps and have been mixing them with some of the newer ones from my collections. I love the multiple stamps look and I'm really excited to fully sort through the pile (ok, a ziploc bag. But it's at least a medium-sized one!) I just purchased.

So guys, please share: any cool bat-sightings or awesome mail in your life right now?

Mail Monday

What I weekend that was... It was 50% awesomeness, 50% crazy-stress. Go figure.

My Saturday was the awesome part. I met friends, whom I haven't seen in way too long, for brunch and we got to catch up over some huevos rancheros and grilled cheese sandwiches. 

We then proceeded to walk around the Riverside neighborhood where I randomly walked into a shop selling secondhand furniture. Turns out I walked in Debbie's Vintage Vibes. The furniture in the front threw me off for a moment, but you can only imagine how excited I was then I realized that the back of the shop has a room full of vintage clothes (and jewelry and accessories and shoes...). And good ones too! And, I think the best part was Debbie herself. She's so awesome and knows what she's talking about. I kinda didn't want to leave. I'll go back with more time, it's time to thin out the closet again, so I want my vintage pieces to have a good home.

Sunday, on the other hand, ended up being quite stressful. There wasn't any particular one thing that stressed me out, but it was a concentration of so many things. Some longer term plans of ours changed quite drastically, so all of a sudden all schedules are completely off. I have to now finish a lot of projects in a few weeks instead of a few months. I have to give up on some plans. No need to dwell on the negative though, so let's just start a new week with some mail.

Outgoing

Let's start with the collage one. It's a larger size than my regular ones, so I had to get creative. I didn't have a envelope that large, so I gift wrapped it. There's also a lot more space to decorate, so I ended up making a black and white collage out of paper I had at hand. I find this is how most of my collages come to life. They are a combination of things I have just been working with in the right color scheme.

Then we have a more simple one. A autumn-toned envelope. I actually used the stickers on this mail first and then started using them on the previous one. Hence, spelling out a lot of random things until the letters ran out.  Please note the color-coordinated candy at the bottom!

This one's going to Mary who, as it happens, just mentioned she's getting a cold. I'm glad I just sent this package out, since it's actually tea. The bag of tea is behind the envelope and all of this is in a cellophane bag. Now, let's just hope it gets there really, really soon. I'd like to think I had great foresight in sending this!

Incoming

Ooh, a fun aqua one for me! How nice is that monogram sticker on the corner there? And you gotta love the Korean stickers! Well, not to mention the actual letter inside. Thank you Susanne!

So, question of the day: if you get into a stressful moment in your life, how do you handle it? Any nifty tricks?

(Apparently writing a blog post seems to help...)

(Almost) Mailless Monday

Happy Monday guys!

I was ready to give up on this post and just write a mailless Monday post instead. I was fighting with Picasa since last night and wasn't able to figure out my photos. But, alas, I think we're good to go now. Not that there's that much mail this week, but I still have two photos to share, which I feel it's the important part.

My weekend was awesome! I went shopping with a friend, we were on a mission to make sure there's no better wedding shoes that the ones she already found. It's important to be sure! We ended our excursion at an amazing Japanese restaurant in Koreatown. 

On Sunday I went to finally check out Leslieville Flea which was a lot of fun. I found something incredible there (you can see a peek over at my Instagram) and enjoyed looking at all the beautifully curated tables. I also realized that I haven't shared any of my thrift shop finds in a long time! I've found some good stuff, let me tell you... I'll share some later.

Besides that I have been scheming. I have some really fun stuff planned for my two favorite holidays, Halloween and Christmas. So, stay tuned!

Onwards to the mail:

Outgoing

Superman! I might not be a big Superman fan, but I love comic books and stamps. And when the two combine, I am extremely happy! These stamps are in the top 5 favorite stamps from Canada Post in the last few years! (Would you be interested in seeing more of recent Canadian stamps by the way?)

The envelope is made from an old, Greek Superman comic by using, you guessed it, THIS tutorial!

Additionally, and this happens fairly often, I sent some plainer mail. I do decorate the mail I sent out personally as well as orders from my shop, but some mail just better go out more simple. I figured I'd share one occasionally, just to show you that not everything goes out all crazily decorated.

I'm working on a few (ok, like 5) tutorials for the upcoming holidays, but please let me know if you've seen something over the blog or anywhere really that you would like to learn how to make. If it's something I can make a tutorial for, I certainly will try!

How has your week started off?

A sniffly mail Monday

I got a cold about a week ago and it's starting to get pretty annoying. I am somewhat functional, but I feel everything takes me a bit longer than usually.

I only sent out one thing this week (I think), so it'll be a short mail Monday post...

Outgoing

This is a very simple one. I liked the wood grain envelope and felt the photography stamps went well with it. There's no additional decorations, but I mailed it out in a plastic sleeve, since there was another small item, besides the letter, being mailed out. I don't think it has arrived yet, so I won't share a photo that might spoil the surprise.

There's more mail going out this week. Well, that's the plan at least. Right now I'm drinking crazy amounts of tea in hopes to start feeling better.

How was your weekend?

Monday Mail

Somehow I feel like every time I get a few minutes to write this blog, it's always Monday. And I can't, obviously, not do a Monday mail post, so here we go again.

Before we get into the mail part though, let me tell you that I have a bunch of ideas I want to write about! Like tons. And a whole load of tutorials too. I just haven't figured out how to fit writing into my new routine. I'm also more inspired than I have been in a long time about my shop and new products, so that's taking up a bunch of time as well.

Now, this isn't really one of those so-sorry-I-haven't-blogged-shame-on-me - kind of posts. I am learning still and I acknowledge that. This is more of a hey-got-any-ideas-how-to-orgnize-my-time-better - kind of posts. Or perhaps just helping me to try sorting all this out. I guess it's just time to really look into everything I do in a day and figure out where to carve out more time for things I like doing. Organize and prioritize. How very September-ish, no?

All in all, it's been a great week, the weekend was fantastical. We took an imprompu vacation, which helped start the let's get organized mindset again. More on that and many more topics, once I figure out how to make time for it!

In the mean time, here's some mail:

Outgoing

Let's start with a black and white one. I think it started with the envelope and took off from there. I looked for black and white stamps, tape and decorations.

Like so often, you can see a peek of what's inside this letter on my Instagram. Follow me on Instagram to get more up to date photos and peeks on the insides of my letters and a bunch of other stuff: like the Batmobile, punny alpacas, crafting and so. much. food.

I feel like the next one is so colorful to counterbalance the previous one. The envelope is made out of a book page using the envelope templates (a tutorial on how to make one yourself is HERE, in case you haven't seen it yet).

How was your weekend? Do you have any good time-management tips for me?

Tuesday mail

I had the best labor day long weekend! It was pretty hectic at times, but totally worth it! It started with an impromptu party at our place on Saturday, continued with FanExpo on Sunday and ended with Canada's largest Ribfest on Monday.

I'm still quite in awe of FanExpo, but I'll share some photos later. I am so incredibly inspired after visiting the event, that I don't quite know where to start. It's 6 in the morning right now, but I can't sleep, so might as well get some ideas out of my head straight away. The amount of talent was incredible and the topmost feeling I have is that I really want to take part as an exhibitor one year! We'll see when that happens. I'll keep you guys in the loop!

Last week was slower for mail. I sent out only one, but received one as well. I actually have a few more things going out, including a letter a wrote over a week ago, but you'll see those next week.

Incoming

I wanted to try out an upright letter for a change. It worked out nicely with the pattern on the paper I was using. I even managed to find an upright stamp to go with it. It's actually from a new set of stamps that came out recently. Besides that, it's a fairly simple one. It's the paper that really makes it.

Outgoing

I got this bright yellow one from Susanne. It had a letter and a paper pack from her trip to Japan. I already have some ideas how to use the papers.

How was your long weekend, if you had one? How has your week started if you had a regular lenght weekend?

Monday Mail

Happy Monday everyone!

I had a whirlwind of a few weeks and looks like I've hit a calm before the invariable storm. I am hoping things calm down a bit soon, but I am busy with fun things, so I'm not really complaining. 

I thought I felt a hint of fall in the air the other day, but it's still looking full-blown summer here. I love fall, but I'm in no real hurry to get there. Does it look like fall where you are?

This week was exceptionally colorful when it came to mail. See for yourself:

Outgoing

The first one is a vintage-inspired one. I tried several new things on it. I like how the address worked out on several small stickers. I also wrote the name with a sharpie and tried a quick collage again. Even the stamp is new, it's from the new photography series from Canada Post.

This colorful mail went out to Mary, who's had a couple of crappy weeks. I figured this would be a good time to send out silly colorful mail, with scratch and sniff ice-cream stickers. Obviously. If you follow my instagram, you've also seen a peek of the inside, the silliness continues.

And finally there's the colorful letter going to Marie in Florida. This also has some ice-cream scented stickers and a overly-colorful envelope. It just felt right this week.

What do you have planned for this week?

Mail Monday

Happy new week, you guys! Did you have a good weekend?

I was extremely productive last week. I sent out several pieces of mail and was able to finish a whole lot of products for my shop. My sister came to town with two of her friends, so I've kept busy with them perusing (comic) book stores and yard sales.

All the following outgoing envelopes are orders from my shop! I like to add something extra to all my outgoing mail.

Outgoing

It's been a while since I made these crazy airmail envelopes. Since finding the airmail tape, I was itching to make them again. Let's see if it's out of my system now...

Orange and tan combo going to Texas.

Silver and mint off to the UK. This one is quite simple, but I really like it! The mint and the silver work really well together. I think I'll need to experiment with the combination again.

Another take on the tan and orange theme.

I had a few personal letters going out as well, but I only mailed them out yesterday. I'll share those on the next Monday Mail post* so they'll have time to arrive first!

Do you prefer to know you have a letter coming your way or do you prefer it a secret? Do you mind either way? Do you like to keep the ones you send a secret up until arrival?

Please share your thoughts on the topic in the comments!

*) See all the mail related blog posts by clicking the link or using the 'Mail Love' tag. 

For all mail mail photos, check my Mail Love album on Flickr

Monday Mail

First, let me welcome our new-comers to this blog! Welcome, welcome! How are you doing? Did you find your way here through the David's Tea Facebook page?

My brochures into gift tags post got some love from the company and they featured the tutorial on Facebook. I have to say, it's pretty exciting!

Even though it was a busy week, I've upped my outgoing mail a bit. Here's four things that went out:

Outgoing

The first one is a very airmail-y, travel-y one going to my favorite librarian! If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen a peek of this one!

 I've been looking for that airmail striped washitape for a long while, but only recently I found it from The Paper Place here in Toronto. I used some of my special vintage stamps and added some of the vintage stamp stickers too. The envelope is made from an old map.

Next up we have a green and blue envelope heading to a place to leave-your-wallet-in, California. The envelope is made using the envelope template tutorial and lined with washitape like in this tutorial.

(See, I really make tutorials for things I use all the time!)

Another green patterned one, this time with some yellow accents.

And finally another airmail letter. I tried to write the address all fancy with a nib and ink, but the paper was not having any of that! So, not quite so fancy lettering on this one...

Happy Monday everyone! What do you have planned for the week?

Monday mail

Oooh! It's a day off today! How awesome is that? Don't ask me why we get today off, I don't know. Civic holiday? Well, it's a day off, that's what counts.

Last week was a slower week for mail, but busy in other ways. I apparently only sent one letter. I'm pretty sure I sent out something else too, but I don't seem to have a photo. So, it's possible I'm imagining things or forgot to take a photo.

Outgoing

As said, only one documented letter going out this week. It's something else though... I started collaging and this is what came out in the end. I continued what I started last week and it was so much fun! I'm definitely going to keep doing this!

The front it the crazier one, but I added some fun stuff on the back too! 

I've been wanting to get more into making collages, but somehow I just haven't been able to get it going. I've tried a few separate times, but every time I feel like it's more stressful than fun. The results have not been interesting either. I guess this is the perfect medium for me for now. An envelope is small enough and you can make a huge impact quickly. I also feel it's easier when making it for someone else than myself. 

Have you done collaging? What inspires you? Oh, and can I see photos?

Mail Love - a letter from a hotel

I was recently in Montreal and stayed at the Marriott Château Champlain hotel downtown. I was traveling light, so I only brought with me a pared down craft kit. I also wanted to try out making something with the limited supplies available, just to see what I can come up with.

I scoured the room for things I could use* and this is what I found:

Montreal guide book, a hotel notepad, some brochures and paper coasters.

Many hotels still provide paper and a few envelopes, so those are often available as well. I wanted to be creative and was genuinely curious what I could come up with without resorting to the hotel stationery.

The letter part was pretty straightforward, I just wrote the letter on the pad. I flipped through the guide book and found a few pages I liked. I folded one to make the band around the letter.

I used a folded map from a brochure to make the envelope. (There are a few ways I've used smaller pieces of paper to make envelopes in a pinch. I can write a tutorial if anyone's interested)


The page I chose for the band around the letter was just long enough to barely touch on the other side, so I had to improvise a bit. I folded a paper coaster and glued it on the back of the decorative band.

The back of the envelope is secured with a bit of the tape I brought with me.

I tried a few different things for the address label. The coasters had a plastic coating on one side, so I wasn't sure the glue would stick on it. I also tried to find a page from the guide book to use, but in the end I felt i might as well go with the simplest solution. I ended up ripping a sheet from the notepad and using that for the address. At least that would be securely glued on the envelope.

Here's the final look at the envelope:


Pretty simple DIY letter, but it's genuinely made from what I had at hand. It was actually pretty fun! This definitely started a whole train of thought on what kind of other things I could make. I think I'll try them out soon...

I challenge you to try it out, just try using simple things you have at home like flyers or ads you get in the mail. Please let me know if you try it out. I'd love to see what you come up with!

*) Remember, don't be a dick. Just use things that are legitimately there for your use or would be tossed after you leave. Brochures and disposable paper products such paper coasters or cardboard packaging are ok, anything in the hotel binder is probably not. Use your best judgement.