Special Delivery: Etsy Feature

Sticking with this week's theme, I decided to search Etsy for letter/mailing related items. I had a hard time choosing what to share with you. I came across so many cute goodies! I was able to dwindle my long list down to these top 8. Enjoy!

Aren't these paintings great?!? On the left, we have Pen Pals by Arian and to the right, is a lovely print by Amanda Atkins.

I'm in love with this little sterling silver mailbox necklace by Studio Seventy Five. And how sweet is Little Crickets felt mail delivery DIY kit. A perfect toy for a kid! The little handmade snail stamp to the right is by Winemakers Sister. Perfect way to add a cute touch to your mailings.

Need to send a secret message? Just stop by The Sweetie Pie Press shop and peruse their secret letters. Or maybe your sick of those plain white envelopes and would like to send your notes in something with a little more pizzazz. Well, Adnagam's handmade envelope shop has a number of fun envelopes, like the one above, for you to purchase.

This vintage postcard from MFVintage is so funny. I love it! She has a few other Easter theme postcards over at her shop so be sure to stop by and take a peek!

Special Delivery Week: Odd mailboxes

Back in March 2007, the USPS announced that they would be temporarily replacing a few regular mail boxes with a new R2D2 model as a way of celebrating Star Wars 30 year anniversary. I remember running into a few on the streets myself.

This got me thinking about what other weird mailboxes are out there. So I decided to do a little web search. Of course, I was not disappointed.

I kind of like this for some strange reason.

Seahorse mail boxes can predominately be found in Miami and other beach towns.

The caption for this photo was "Only in Texas." I would have to agree.

The perfect mailbox for those D&D fans.

I love the shadow that this mailbox design makes.

Hmmm . . . . well, yeah, don't really know what to say about this.

I'm really not feeling this mailbox head trend.

This little video clip nothing to do with weird mailboxes, but it's still great. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite Reading Rainbow episode.

Special Delivery Week

This blog entry today was suppose to be simple. I was going to just share a few of my favorite postal stamps with you. But then an hour later I found I had written paragraphs about the joy of writing letters, postal service, and lost messages found in bottles. I realized then that this little topic was more of a weekly endeavor vs. a simple singular blog post. So on that note, I have decided to devote this week to my fascination with letter writing and good ole' fashion snail mail.

I am really excited to be blogging all week about just this topic and plan on sharing stamps I have collected, postal history, and even a few Crooked Sister's packaging tips! Here are some fun postal service images to start us off. Enjoy!

Who says you can't dress up to take the mail out? After looking at tons of mail service ads, I am convinced that wearing glasses is a required postal service wardrobe accessory. I have also concluded that the minimum age requirement for being a post man was 40 or above. So cute! Here is a photo collage of a postman's morning routine. You must, MUST click on the image so you can view it at a larger size and read the image titles. I thought this image was really weird when I first found it, then my coworker told me who the man was on the left. His name is Luther Burbank and it turns out he was a famous American botanist/horiculturist who invented the Russet Burbank potato (turns out this is the most commonly used potato in the food industry). Thus, the reason why he and the mail man are admiring a yellow rose. I still think it's a pretty weird illustration. Who doesn't drop off mail in their swimsuit? Or is it lingerie? I can't tell.

Embroidery Artist: Maurizio Anzeri

Maurizio Anzeri's embroidered artwork is strangely inspiring. Using synthetic hair for thread, and old salvaged vintage photos, Anzeri has essentially given a new face to these forgotten captured souls. His pieces comment not only on the concept of identity and image but also the act of embroidery itself.

He says, “The intimate human action of embroidery is a ritual of making and reshaping stories and the history of these people.” I think that any craft done by hand has a sort intimacy involved with it's creation. That's why us crafty people enjoy and value what we do and strangely, Anzeri's work reminds us of that.

( Big thanks to my friend, Brian for telling me about this guy!)

Moldy muck muck

My little craft business came to a stand still on Wednesday due to a small household emergency. I discovered late Tuesday night that I had a pretty bad black mold problem growing it's way into my wardrobe in my closet. So for the past two days I have bleaching those little spores away and purging my closet of unsalvageable clothing and shoes. To say the least, it's been pretty draining and I have had to throw out some articles of clothing that had a lot of value to me, including my two prom dresses, a leather jacket, a pair of ferragamo shoes and much, much more.

I'm still trying to save my favorite mustard colored vintage coat and a couple of dresses. I was pretty traumatized to find that an original 1940's dress I had was no longer a nice crispy black but a splotchy musky mess. I was hoping to save it but the material is so old that the mold had pretty much eaten through it. Luckily I only paid $8.00 for it.

(buh-bye dress)

So now that my moldy adventures are almost over (still have 4 loads of laundry to do) I am hoping to return to my happier crafty endeavors very soon. Oh, and if anyone needs any advice on how to tackle mold, feel free to ask me. I'm pretty sure I am mold expert now.

Mini Update

Starting on some new projects for Spring. Been cutting back a little bit with all the online socializing. I don't think it is helping, marketing wise, as much as I wanted it to. Keep telling myself that things take time.On a happier note, I received my latest Etsy purchase in the mail today from Hollandsworth. I could not pass up these awesome bearded men pins. I was actually inspired to buy these for a very specific reason, which I will share with you later. They look awesome even in this crappy webcam pic!

I also grabbed my first Etsy Treasury last night! If you have a chance, please check it out Here. It is a paperdoll theme!

Hope you all had a swell Monday!

Spotlight: Jennifer Andrews

These misty overcast days in the East Bay always remind me of the Northwest, and more specifically, Twin Peaks. So last night I decided to google Twin Peaks embroidery just for the hell of it, thinking my chances of coming across something cool were pretty slim. Boy, was I wrong!

Instead I discovered Jennifer Andrews and her stunning Twin Peaks portrait embroidery series she did for an artshow. Me and my scatterbrain would never be able to complete a big project like this so I applaud Jennifer for taking on a very exciting but obviously daunting project. Here are a few more of her pieces:I love how she takes the time to explain her stitch work in her blog as well.Bob's beard is made up of tiny colonial knots.**All images by childrenplayingwithfire

If you have a chance to peruse Jennifer's blog Children Playing with Fire, you will find she is quite creative. There is more eyecandy over at her Flickr account too including mustache cupcakes with life size noses. No, I am not kidding. Look for yourself.