Going Postal

A Zoo Of A Halloween

I love celebrating. Big or small – it really doesn’t matter. I enjoy special preparations and all the touches of care that go into decorating for changing seasons, cooking a Christmas feast or showing some cultural flair.

Growing up, I eagerly anticipated the Saturdays when Mom would bring a box of decorations up from the basement so we could help dress the house. I also knew this meant a special surprise from my aunt would soon follow in the mail.

My aunt was one of many who helped me see joy in holidays. For every occasion, she would send individually addressed cards to me and my sister – a big deal when you’re not accustomed to receiving mail. And this wasn’t just run-of-the-mill mail. The cards were always the kind that made me smile … and often included an extra little surprise, like a stick of gum or a dollar bill. Plus, the envelopes were penned in beautiful calligraphy, and equipped with seasonal stickers and a special stamp. It was almost as if the “boring default” flag stamps weren’t allowed. I remember thinking I wanted to be that kind of aunt when I grew up.

Never fail, every holiday brought a card with a loving note. The cards even came when I moved to college, and still come now that I have my own household with my husband. I firmly believe my aunt helped me cultivate the bit of pleasure I receive every day when getting the mail.

Fast forward to this summer. Remember my mention of borderline hoarder tendencies? I have a hard time tossing personal things … even if those things aren’t meant to keep forever. I decided to sort through my boxes of mail, collected through the years, and consolidate. (Is it frightening that I speak of these boxes in the plural tense? Or that I’ve sorted through them a time or two before?) What did I find? Numerous holiday cards from my aunt, kept treasured away for their sweet sentimentality. Some of my favorites I’d even used as holiday door decorations while in college. I had to laugh when I discovered a date on a postcard – 1989. Wow.

So, instead of keeping these thoughtful notes stuffed in a box, I decided to honor my aunt’s postmaster career by putting a new twist on these old cards. And what a great reminder – take joy in celebrating life’s many occasions!

Pilgrim Turkey

HOW Did You Make That?

Red Hot

In 2007, a dear coworker/design mentor and I traveled to the HOW Design Conference in Atlanta, Ga. This was my first time attending a creative conference, and I was nearly overwhelmed by how many things appealed so vividly to my senses. The speakers were passionate, the graphics were beautiful, everyone had a shared interest in something artsy, and people appreciated dorky type jokes. It was great.

And good gracious, were there freebies.

Every major paper distributor was there, promoting their newest products, pushing anyone and everyone to take their inventory to far reaches of corporate and agency life. And take we did. We did so much collecting to share what wonderful options were available – we even got to pay extra luggage fees at the airport for our treasures.

In my excitement of seeing so many selections, I failed to realize that the rather large corporation I worked for would most likely have a binding contract in place with the company who supplied the copy paper. And even though beautiful things existed, that didn’t mean we could have them … or afford them.

So. There sat my mound of lovely samples no one cared about but me, soon to be filed away with my other “creative stuff” at work.

Fast forward three years. I’ve now moved half way across the country, and I still had a vast majority of these samples in my possession. Why, you ask? They were too pretty to throw away or recycle.

Have I mentioned my tendencies to hoard?

In my ongoing effort to reduce clutter, I started pulling out these samples, dismantling the binding, and checking out what I really had. Frankly, it was an odd assortment, but sometimes that provides great inspiration.

The first piece I cut into was a vibrant catalog with an awesome striped envelope. Just look at how many different cards with such a wide range of styles have come out of this one piece!

Modern Traveler

 

Smooth Ride

Home Sweet Home

Celebrate Life

Sports Unity

What’s even better – there are still a few images/backgrounds from this one small catalog I think have potential! To me, this is upcycling at its finest. And one less thing to find space for the next time we move.

You Know You're Friends When ...

Best friends are really one of those sweet treasures in life. The people who help ground you, give you an honest opinion and call you when you need it, even if you just have five minutes to talk.

I never really knew what a best friend was all about until I went to college and met one of my roommates. And I didn’t like her at first. Here was this uber athletic chic who was, on first glance, the exact opposite of me. My idea of a good workout was taking the stairs, holding my choir notebook “properly” the entire hour and wiping down the dining room tables.

Since living quarters were small, we learned more about each other, and all I can say is I am thankful.

We walked side by side on our very different college journeys – from track meets and cadavers to speeches and photo shoots. We met our first boyfriends/future husbands … and told each other everything. (We married great men – they get our relationship.) We stood side by side at our weddings. And her sweet baby and I even share a birthday!

We’ve shared many things in the years we’ve known each other. But one way you really know the extent of friendship is when you share trash.

Even though our styles are different, we both enjoy crafting and we respect each other’s talents. When I recently visited my dear friend, as we chatted about projects we were working on and trying to reduce clutter in our lives, the light bulb flashed. She had finished a large scrapbooking project and had a stack of trimmed paper “ends” she just couldn’t make herself toss … and I was making cards.

Naturally, I gladly accepted her trash, and we were both pleased.

I’m not sure if this exactly classifies as helping me reduce clutter in my home … but it’s always great to turn trash into treasure!

The rest of the materials from these cards come from my wedding. The black background is a portion of the classy ribbed cardstock I used to create pocket fold invitation jackets. And the ribbon … yep, I’m that girl … it’s saved from a gift. (Is it sad that I even remember what gift it came from? I have a memory like an elephant!)

With each project, I keep trying to make things a little better or learn a new way to improve my processes. I’ve also been striving for the perfect card – straight stitching, no extra needle holes, no pulled ribbon – it’s a lot harder than it seems. I taught myself a new finishing trick on this Halloween set – I’m now pulling ALL of the threads through to the back so the front of the card has no stray thread ends/knots. I’m quite pleased with the results! And I think this card is as close to perfect as I’m going to get.

See the Trick or Treat card set and some of my sewn cards on Etsy.com.

And thanks, friend, for being my best friend … and enabling my crafting. I’ll help you curl ribbons any day!