A little Christmas Holiday Cheer!

Christmassy Outgoing Postcards....

Hi EVERYONE!!!!!  Just sharing a little bit of what I just sent out to all of my local yokel friends and family (stateside, not international!)  I normally send postcards out to my international  postcrossing community...but instead I sent locally...why not?  So, in addition to the  "real" Christmas mail...my token family picture card...I thought I'd send out some fun stuff!  YAY for me!  :-)

I thought I'd do a flat lay , so you could see the different stamps I used.  Some of them are such cute vintage ones...that I hated saying goodbye to them.   But, I do hope they bring a bit of a smile on the receiver's face! Some of the stamps are not Christmas stamps (like the West Virginia and Alabama. state stamps, and the traffic light!) , but have a prominent red and or green.   

Hoping your Holidays are

Bright and Cheery

Love to you

Always,

Pam

Pen Pal Kit

I've Got The Blues: Snail Mail Flipbook

This is one of my small, simple to make flip books ....you can find more examples of this style of flip book here.  Need some more inspirations?  Try this link...  

Just a few things I put inside my flip book...actually I should probably call them "fold overs"...what do you think they should be called?

Happy Snail Mail Inspiration!

Pam

*Available In My Shop*

Pen Pal Kit

This Little Mail Man...Snail Mail Postal Theme

Who Wouldn't Like to receive this cutie in the mail? 

I absolutely LOVED receiving this super creative , vintage postal themed envelope and long, chatty letter. This was from a pal  I met at the DC Postal Meet Up, organized by Global Pen Pal!  Carrie is a great creative talent in the snail mail community.  You can follow her work on Instagram:  

Carriejojo212. She pumps out mail like no one's business, and ALL of it good mail!

Urgent!!!  I needed to get something out to Carrie...and I decided to  continue the vintage postal theme!  I grabbed one of my vintage children's readers and  was thrilled to find a picture of "Mr. Postman"!!   Then I had to get out my post office stamps, and vintage stamps...and here you have it!

And this cute photo  as a pair!  Yay!  We LOVE our post women AND men!

Happy Snail Mailing,

Pam

*Available In My Shop*

Pen Pal Kit

Pen Pal Letter Set

Incoming Stationery Haul....

Parcels are so much fun to receive, right?  

This nice big envelope arrived in the mail from Global Pen Pal.  (And I have NO idea why her cute envelope is upside down in each picture!) She was so thoughtful to send me her nice de-stash of stationery.  

For those of you not familiar...this stationery comes from the Victorian Trading Post.

I try to send "global" themed mail to Global Pen pal whenever I can.

And of course...a letter also!  Speaking of which...If you have written me, I am attacking my pile as quickly as possible.  More posts coming on YOUR beautiful snail mail!

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam

*Available in My Esty Store*

Pen Pal Letter Set Kit

Pat Mail....Let The CRAZINESS Begin..

SNAIL MAIL AT ITS BEST

HELLO, RVA!

Everyone needs a crazy, wacky sister like mine.  Oh, and to top it off, she is my identical TWIN  sister.  Of course that doesn't make me crazy or wacky....ha! This summer she came for a visit, taking the Amtrak down to my neck of the woods...Richmond , VA.  When she came to town, I had already planned each and every day with something she hadn't already done in the Richmond and surrounding areas.  We had a blast...and she was so sweet to send me a thank you card(s) with her very cool graphic art and watercolor.

Are you ready?  Dare to open?  I did.

First, THANKS!!  For what?

Our first trip was downtown Richmond for an electric bike tour of historic Church Hill.  We had a great tour guide and it was absolutely fantastic,  everyone needs to check out their local e-bike tours!

One day was spent at the Jefferson for high tea!  You can read all about it here:High Tea At The Jefferson  .  You will have to google why the alligator is in the picture.  It figures into the history of the Jefferson Hotel.

And then the obligatory family time!  And that is no small feat getting 10 children, 4 spouses,  and 11 (now 12) grand kids all together! And just so you know, no babies were injured or harmed in the "baby lift" competitions.  Brandon of course, rocked it!

We had so much fun researching the type of coconut (4 layer originally) cake that my grandmother used to make --circa 1920's?.  We had narrowed it down to about 8 different recipes online, and finally think that we found THE ONE!  Here is the recipe we settled on: Grandma's Coconut Cake.   It was amazing....and so much fun to make with Pat.  Thanks, Pat, for taking over the grating of the coconut!

Ah, then the interesting trip to Petersburg Virginia.  Petersburg has a fantastic  Civil War history and the city is amazing to visit...but be warned!  Since the town has suffered almost total bankruptcy this past year , the tourism industry has been completely annihilated!  First stop to the Visitor Center?  Closed!  Museums?  Closed!  The historic area is like a ghost town!  One saving grace was our luncheon at the Dixie Restaurant!  Great small  town vibes, super friendly service, and we were told ahead of time about the heavenly "Spoon Bread" which was literally "to die for!"  Great place, I highly recommend.   Then it was on to the national battlefield to see the "Battle of the Crater"...my young uns that we took were not really impressed.  I think you have to be an adult to appreciate this interesting bit of history.  But, there too, the museum was CLOSED!  Ugh, arrrrgh!

Richmond, Virginia is home to one of the only two, URBAN  level 5 white water rafting in the country!  So off we went to try our hand at it!  Ha, ha, the pictures are ACCURATE!  We lost Pat and my son Benji on the first rapid into the water!  We had to go into rescue mode immediately! Thankfully we all made it through the rapids without loss of limb or life!  It was an experience of a lifetime.  

Hi Lydia!  We had some swim time in the river which was great on the sweltering day we happened to be on the James River.

Such fun mail!  Thank YOU Pat for keeping the memories alive, even more so than the photos that we took.  What a great week, with this mail I will  always look back with a smile.

I hope you have enjoyed this travelog , maybe you can go out and explore your own city too.

Happy Snail Mailing,

Pam

*Available In My Shop*

Pen Pal Letter Set Kit

Summer Sale!

Hurry on over to my store to catch the Summer Sale!  Check out new listings and all the Letter Writing Kits available.  This is a great time to stock up for Birthday gifts or other events!

Philately Love ...

Literally, all over the place!

Here is some outgoing to Global Pen Pal (You can follow her on Instagram:  Global Pen Pal--that is if you are already following me:  Lostart_revived ;-)  ha, ha. ).  I think the stamps amounted  to $3.02.  I always wonder what the mail system does with this type of mail...Do they manually count up all the postage?  I forgot to show you what I enclosed (besides the letter).  The die cut of the globe, was actually a package of paper globes-- 20 or so in a package. So I included a package of paper globes.   I thought she might find some interesting uses for them.  I also found a nice blank note book (think traveler's notebook size) with a vintage map cover.   

* I met up with Global Pen Pal over the weekend in DC and she told me that there was not a single cancelation on any of the stamps when it arrived !  Do you think they were respecting my work of art?

  I believe Global Pen Pal's mission is to write someone from every part of the globe...  I keep pestering her with mail from Virginia!  I remember the first time I wrote her  (I think I made a blog post about it, but I couldn't find it.)  that I wanted to be SURE that she knew that my letter was from Virginia and that VIRGINIA was accounted for in her mission.

The top photo was the cover of the shaped letter.  You could do this for any state or country you live in.   I basically just downloaded a map of the state of Virginia and glued it to some card stock paper, and then cut it out, along with a few sheets of writing paper.  

Here is a another picture of the letter. And  oh, the envelope, that I MADE SURE had some map pictures of Virginia. Sheesh...  Do you think that she got the message that Virginia had responded to her mission?  Silly me.  

Snail Mail can be FUN, so think about it, and send out some really fun mail!

Happy Snail Mailing,

Pam

Simple Snail Mail Happy Mail Project!

Get down and Get Messy!

Here I am on the floor, making my usual mess.  When I find the desk can not contain my messes, I move to the floor.

These are little folder mailers,  I'm not really sure of a proper term.  But it is a relative of the flip book, just a bit simpler.  I usually have 1-2 pockets to hold some items for the recipient.

If the letter is not too long then I fold it up with some tea, then enclose it in a small lip and tuck cello bag.  This is a 3X4  (inch) cello bag.  

I love these cute , vintage sticker labels.  Aren't they adorable?  I find that I am using them quite a bit lately.  Ha.  You might see them on your letter from me!

Here is the completed project with a cute pink elephant charm and some pink and blue stamps.  All sealed up in a cello bag.   Happy travels!

Hoping this can be of some encouragement to those of you doing the April "Write_on!" challenge!

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam

A Holiday Revisit To An American Gem

Post Office Pride

Boo!  It was closed the first time I visited.

About a year and a half ago I happened across this little , and I mean quite literally, little post office in Red Wood, Virginia.  I was on my way home from a retreat in the region.  I fell in love with the quaint post office even though I couldn't go in because it was closed .  You can read about it here in a previous post .    Well, lo and behold, that post was read by the Redwood, Virginia  Postal Clerk, Ben C.  This postal clerk  has  great pride in his little post office and sent me a message recently  informing me of the post office  hours , and inviting me to visit again--especially because this darling post office was decorated for the holidays!  Events occurred that necessitated a trip to the area (3 hour drive for me) to visit my daughter.  When I was leaving my daughter's home she said,  "Mom, are you going to try to go by that cute post office?  If so, would you take my cards?"  And so another trip to the cutest post office ever!  

Entering the tiny post office was just as I thought it would be, quaint and charming, a definite "Americana" experience.  The Christmas greenery and twinkling lights were a perfect touch for the holidays.  And behind the counter was a  postal clerk with a warm, genuine smile, welcoming me to the post office.  This was the savvy, social media  postal clerk who knew how to track down a blogger through her Etsy store!  Haha, thats pretty good!  I asked if he was indeed , "Ben" and shook his hand and told him who I was.  You know, I have never been "invited" to visit a post office...but hey, I think more postal clerks should!  These gems are part of the American fabric of everyday life and need to be celebrated.

Ben probably didn't think I would treat him with such celebrity status (as I am snapping away with photos) , but he was obliging.   Look how nice and neat his tiny space is!  I particularly like the "Charlie Brown Christmas tree " behind his shoulder!  Hey, I want to nominate him for something in the USPS!!!  Postal Clerk of the Year???? After I left yesterday , I noticed I had  a message thanking me for the visit.  Let me share his own words:

"...This little post office is kind of a throwback to times that have passed in much of today's world, where as postman I get a chance to really know and share in the lives of the people who come here, and be part of the community--which is what I love so much about working here. Since it's a half-day post office, I work some afternoons in larger offices; but my heart is really here...

Thanks Ben!  I'm glad I got to share in the life of a tiny little post office.  

So, as you are sending out your cards this year, don't forget to thank these wonderful postal clerks who are the first to actually handle these pieces of correspondence that you are mailing...the first human to touch your letters and send them on their way to their final destinations.  

Have a lovely holiday....Merry Christmas to all of my readers!

And drive safely...we don't want any delays to  our mail!

Have a blessed Christmas,

Pam

Verity Snail Mail

Snail Mail from the NEXT generation!

This "SWEET"  mail arrived all the way from Scotland!  This is from "Verity" who is 12 years old.  She made me an adorable flip book, and asked to be featured on my blog.  Well, she didn't need to ask.  She has a great crafty style....just look!

Look at all this goodness she sent my way!

I decided to do a little Pen Pal "intro" page to my letter, to let her know a little bit about me.  Along with my letter, I thought she might like some "Owl Mail"  so I whipped up a cute packet of owl themed embellishments and stationery for Verity.

This is a home made Kraft envelope...lined in matching colors.   This is also a LARGE-ish envelope. You need to be careful with international mail.  They seem to allow rather large envelopes, but you need to be sure that it is no more than a 1/4 inch thick.  They have a little doo-hicky thing that they will slide your letter through, and if it doesn't go through...it will go PARCEL rate, which you don't want , unless you want to spend $14 dollars or more.  So be creative in "flat mail".  I usually put about $3 worth of postage , on average, when sending to the UK.  

On its way to Scotland!  Happy Travels!

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam

Black Friday Specials!

Black Friday Deals For YOU!

All  10 of my  themed Letter Writing Kits are on sale this week at my  Etsy Store: LostArtRevived .But for Black Friday there is a special discount.  Use this coupon code :  BLACKFRIDAY10 for an additional discount (at checkout) to make your total discount 20% off any of my letter writing kits.  This is the lowest price of the year. Thanks for all your views on my blog!  Have a wonderful rest of your holiday!

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam

Outgoing Snail Mail!

It has been awhile since I last posted some Outgoing...

This is a flip book that is going out to Sharon.  It has been put in a cello bag so it doesn't make a mess in a postal sorting machine.  I made this little folder flip book quite some time ago....here is a blog post that shows the folder being made and a peek at  inside shots!  Blog Post

If you have written me over the last few months...I am working hard to answer you in a joyful , crafty style!  I LOVE writing letters, and I LOVE paper crafting!  I bring the two loves together in my letter writing style.   I really do hate when I get behind , but I will get to your very special letter!

If you are off this week, take an hour  and get by yourself with a pen and paper and sit down and write that letter you have been meaning to write!

Do you need some help in this area?  I have all 9 of my themed Letter Writing Kits currently on sale this week.  AND on BLACK FRIDAY my Etsy Store LostArtRevived will have an additional savings of 10% for Friday only.The Code is:  BLACKFRIDAY10  This will be a total of 20% off every kit in my store for Friday only.  Please take advantage of this sale, it is the lowest price I offer!

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam