Blast Off to the Eclipse! Sent to Canada, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Poland, South Korea, & the U.S.

Here comes another post that I started, but shelved for some reason. I had pretty much finished this one, but did have to go back & fill in a little detail here & there. You can tell it’s been sitting in the fridge here for a couple of months or so, seeing as it relates in part to that well-hyped eclipse, now pretty far in the rear-view mirror. Read on, & enjoy!

This great work of art is from 10 Little Rubber Duckies by Eric Carle, and I picked it up at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts.  The card went off in a Postcrossing Forum tag to Saitama, Japan, to a recipient who enjoys picture book art.  If you scroll down to the bottom of the post, you’ll see there is more picture book art on the back of the postcard: Green Eggs and Ham washi tape, purchased at the Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden in Springfield, Massachusetts.

To a cat lover in Echizen, Japan, I sent this Jetoy postcard.  It also goes out in a Postcrossing Forum tag, and since the recipient says she likes reading, watching movies, & traveling–and I do, too–I told her about my last read, last movie attended, and last trip taken.

Next up, the card on the left (a scene from the Hearst Castle gardens) went to Chantilly, Virginia; and the Rocky Mountain National Park scene went to Chicago, Illinois.

Another Postcard United draw: this reading kitty went to Räyrinki, Finland.

And ANOTHER Postcard United draw–this one went to Seoul, South Korea–and I like that this user offers writing prompts:

*If you don’t know what you should write me, here are some hints 🙂 May 2017 question :> Pick one and answer it please! 1. “Why some people are fascinated with vampires?” 2. “If you can get a superpower, would you like to be a superhero or a villain? and why?” Backside ideas :> -your favorite book / writer -your favorite movie / series -favorite animal, have you got a pet? -favorite food -favorite quote -your hobbies -your love story 🙂 –

One of the types of postcards she wanted was movie-related, so I sent her this l’il movie poster picked up at a local cinema.

The next trio of cards are hewn from food packaging, all sent off in the current round of a swap-bot “Chunk O Cardboard” trade.  Babu’s Kati–Masala Pizza flavor–was okay, but too sweet, I think.  Needless to say, it was munch better than any Hot Pocket.  It’s on its way to a swapper in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Instant update on Babu’s Kati!  The card has been received:

Hi there! Thank you so much for the Masala Kathi chunk o cardboard. I especially like the orange price tag on the front, and particularly the postage you used. The postmark situated itself just between the spaceman and the solar eclipse! Was very fun to receive, and brightened my day!

The gardening tips went off to Topeka, Kansas.  They are from a box of off-brand Chex cereal.  Actual quality cereals do not have room for gardening tips; they use all of that space telling you what cool toys are inside the package.

The DeliChoc panel landed in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada.  I don’t remember where or when I got this stuff, but doesn’t it look delicious?  I love these dark chocolate/biscuit combos, like the LU Little Schoolboy.  Mmm.

BraveStarr here went to Budapest, Hungary, to–well, I just don’t know whom. I was assigned this user when I clicked “send a card” on Postcard United, and the user had absolutely no profile at all. I wrote a friendly note:

Greetings from California, U.S.A.! I was sad that you have no profile. Most of the fun here is getting to know a little bit about other people. Maybe soon?

Another Postcard United, this one to Rybnik, Poland:

Stamps, stickers, & washi tape time. Do you have any favorites?

 

Here comes the scan that gives this post its title.  I’m glad I finally found a use for these spacey stickers I bought quite a long time ago.  If you compare this scan to my previous post, (or if you’re lazy, even just the moon stamp that appears right above this text block), you will see that in the day between those scans and this one, the temperature in my house (and of course, out) has risen considerably.  These heat-sensitive stamps are showing their full moons. At the very bottom of the post, you will see a colder version of the stamp.

Talk of Food, with a Bunch of Other Stuff In & Around: Received from Canada, China, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, & Ukraine

Of course, my favorite card this time around is the one at top left, loaded down with dim sum.  Arriving the day after I had been out for a huge dim sum feast…

…this made me smile even wider!  It came to me from Fuzhou, China in a Postcrossing Forum tag trade, and the sender had seen the card in my favorites.

“This card shows some popular dishes.  I like them too.  🙂  I’m glad to send this card to you.  My summer holiday was finish.  I began to work.  The mid-autumn festival will be coming. We eat mooncakes on the day.  I like mooncakes.”

I made mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival this year:

The colorful card at top right, full of figs & stuff is a Postcrossing arrival from Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine.  The sender tells me:

“This postcard depicts (Crimea’s) sights and culture…and FOOD.  We have a lot of fruits, fish and vegetables and our cuisine is based on this ingredients.  It’s very tasty as the Russian cuisine and I strongly recommend you to visit my country, my city, my region at least because of its food.  If you’re interested, I’ll give you some recipes.”

The cartoon kid came to me from Mannheim, Germany, and the sender writes:

“I’m working as a librarian at the university.  My 15 years old nephew is a fan of Naruto and he gave me this card for you.  OK, it’s an ad card…but we thought you might like it.  My hometown is Mannheim where Carl Benz invented the automobile in the years 1885/1886.  The stamp is a fairy tale stamp of the story about Hansel and Gretel.  Have a nice mail day!”

You can see Hansel & Gretel down at the bottom of this post.

The ship on a postcard is from a Postcrosser in St. Petersburg, Russia, who tells me:

“I love reading and my favorite book is ‘The Master and Margarita.’ And also for cuisine, I prefer Georgia’s.  It’s really amazing!  I like spicy meat and I’m fond of their sweets, too!”

Then we come to two fish postcards, joined into a single notecard with washi tape.  The envelope crafted for this is remarkable–you can also see it down below (complete with the bite taken out of it somewhere along the snail mail pipeline).  This came to me from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as the result of a result of a swap-bot swap: the swap I shared that was so special I felt the need to mail something off in return. This time, she writes (in part):

“Thanks very much for responding to the swap I had sent you.  It was an even happier snail mail day because it involved a Smurfette envie, cool stamps, a retro postcard, and you left very little white space on the postcards–these are my favorite kinds to receive! 🙂

The sea creature rubber stamps you asked about–they are a set from a company called DJECO.  My memory is kind of dismal these days, but I think I got them in the kids’ section at the Vancouver Art Gallery giftshop.  I did check Amazon, but they didn’t have this particular set.  I found them a few years ago, so don’t know how available they are.

You know of ROBOCON!!! It was not until I looked him up as an adult, that I realized he was an actual character!  I though he was just/or could have been a figment of my childhood imagination.  I can’t tell you why I so loved this robot when I was a kid.  Still do, I guess!  

I’m off to Befordshire and will start the new Springsteen book.  Hope I don’t fall asleep b/c it’s heavy and it’ll hurt when it falls on my face.  :I  “

Boy, can I relate to that last bit, about falling asleep while reading in bed(‘fordshire’).

Finally, from a Postcrosser in Groningen, Netherlands, I received that postcard of tapas.  The sender had put this in an envelope, and she wrote:

“If you ‘love’ food, I ‘have’ to send this card to you.  Sorry for the envelope, the sorthing machines mark black stripes on the front of the card.”

I do need to say at this point that if someone were to invite me out for tapas, I would be hoping to go to the tapas place not far from my home.

Okay, this was a rather long meeting.  Let’s end it all now, with a look at the stamps, postmarks, envelope & stuff.

This entire thing is absolutely horrible, am I right? Out of & in to Canada

So, we’ve been talking about those swap-bot nerves, and my latest bout, incurred while preparing a swap I’ve sent off to India.  Always, always going for that extra-effort heart, always somewhat in fear I won’t even be awarded the “you at least did what you were supposed to do” rating of 5…

Well, I’ve received my goods from the person who drew my name in this “flat envie envelope of fun” swap, and…WOW.  In from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:

Holy cats.

An envelope with an elephant; address labels; postcards; and that booklet–about the size of a passport, but with many, many more pages (more than 20 in all), full of fun & wonder.  Let’s take a few peeks:

Yes, there were yoga-tastic pandas throughout the thing, but I did not count them; I was just way too overwhelmed!

 

Cool! Hey, what’s with these tiny Polaroid shots, is this a thing?

Another photo of another photo:

I want to rescue it from its landfill, I do.

This page made me gasp:

I don’t believe in dressing up animals, but these stamps are amazing.

And then there’s this scene, depicting ME:

This entire thing is absolutely horrible, am I right?

I mean, clearly this is full credit & an extra credit heart; she obviously spent HOURS on this package.  And then there’s that stuff I was so proud of, the stuff I just linked back to several photos ago.  I mean, I did go over & above, but THIS person, she went over & above, and a Disneyland fireworks show!

I was so overwhelmed, I practically babbled in my swap-bot thank-you message.  She’d asked a lot of funny little questions in her book, and she’d left a return address on her envelope, so I figured the decent thing to do would be to send off a little “thank you” mailing.  Nothing to compete, but I should at least try to go a bit for the overall spirit.  What was going to be one postcard, turned into 2 cards, an envelope & a tattoo.  I’ll show most of everything but the tattoo, simply because I forgot to take a shot of it (it’s Snoopy).  Here we go–2 postcards…

She likes silly, odd postcards; I give her silly, odd postcards.

 

…written…

I used to actually do this kind of thing.  It’s been decades–pre-internet, and this post is already too long, so let’s not go time-traveling now.

…in an envelope I (had previously) made…

SmurfMail

…and envelope that also had a backside:

Just don’t show the lady in India the mail I got; she may think I done her wrong.

So anyhow, I think I may have to take something for my swap-bot nerves.

 

 

Sent to Canada, Germany, and the United States

It’s recycling day!  Three very lucky people in the making:

These are so cool. I like these better than the majority of cards I receive.

All of those are going out as a part of a swap-bot “chunk of cardboard” trade, one of my favorite swaps on that site.

Deconstructed Toucan Sam is flying off to Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.  I have been paired with this swapper several times–most recently last week, if you’ll scroll back–and so I thought if even just for the purposes of keeping things interesting, she deserved the very best of this lot.  Both of the cube-craft panels in this post came from a box of Froot Loops. I bought several when this was the prize, and have sent many of them off to friends–but I have yet to construct these myself.

The lizard is heading for Goose Creek, South Carolina, to a swap-botter whose profile was so cool with its professions of love for Pokemon, space/sci-fi, comics, “goofy/offbeat/weird” things, and all kind of fun stuff, that I just knew she would like and deserve this cut-up fun. I wrote to each of these partners, CUT UP THIS CARD, PLEASE!  I really hope they do.

That sweet card on the right is making its way to Berlin, Germany, to a recipient who says she would like to take a road trip throughout every one of the United States. I know if she ever does, she will see a lot of the products featured on my card, which I tore off a box of individual cookie packs I bought last October for the local trick-or-treaters.  The happy chef in the corner came from a package of frozen dumplings.  Mmm, dumplings…

Sent to Canada and the United States

Two more going out in swap-bot trades:

I don’t remember how the bird postcard came into my possession–perhaps in a swap-bot envelope-full-of-postcards type trade–but now it’s on its way to Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, in a “for the birds”-themed trade.  When I saw that opportunity on swap-bot, I remembered the card, and saw my chance to set it free!  I can’t tell you what kind of birds these are; the text on the back is printed in Chinese.  I wrote my message in English, though.

The other swap-bot trade here today is going to Kansas City, Missouri, and it is a “reuse a postcard” one, in which participants are to slap a new backing on a card we’ve received, & send it on to someone else.  I love these, even though I realize that in the end, it does not actually reduce the number of postcards in the house–though it does feel like it when I am sending it out!  I received this bus card from Hong Kong, and in sending it along the pipeline, I was careful to preserve my very favorite part: that snowman stamp!  Hope it doesn’t confuse the post office.

Received from Belarus, Canada, & the United States

Three new ones in, via Postcrossing & swap-bot:

The Long Beach comes to me from Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada.  Knowing from my Postcrossing profile that I enjoy being near the ocean, the sender tells me, “if no one has mentioned it to you before, let me tell you that you should check out this beautiful corner of the earth if you ever get a chance!”

The old-timey gas-station scene came to me thanks to a swap-bot recycled postcard swap, and it was sent by a user in Brooklyn, New York, who says she loves the vintage billboards in the background. Now, as far as I can tell–and yes, I dissected the thing–this was not a recycled postcard (we are supposed to slap a new back on a card we’ve previously received through the mail), but some people do actually keep every card they receive!

The last card bears an image of Rio de Jainero, but was torn out of a Lufthansa magazine by a Postcrosser in Belarus, who happened to be traveling to Great Britain!

Cool stamps…

Sent to Canada & United States

Time again to rustle through the recycling bin to create postcards for a swap-bot “Chunk-O-Cardboard” trade!  I think these are a lot of fun.

Reduce * Reuse * Recycle (There’s a 4th R–ROT–but let’s talk about something more pleasant)

Clockwise from the left:

The first postcard is headed for a swap-botter in Port Coquitlan, British Columbia, Canada, to whom I’ve sent a couple of previous cards. She says she likes surprises in the mail; I hope she’s amused by this little mascot from a bag of taro chips hanging out in front of a pile of pineapple cakes! By the way: after seeing my scan, I noticed I had not trimmed the card neatly; it has since been fixed!

The next card is on its way to Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A., to the person who arranges these wonderful “chunk” trades!  Her card comes from a panel from box of of facial tissues, so cute it demands this second life.

In the final card, we see the character from a bag of spicy peanuts hanging out in sweet territory, a selection of cookies I bought for trick-or-treaters.  The card is going to Somerville, New Jersey, U.S.A., to a swap-bot member who says of postcards, “I have a good sense of humor so even funny and bizarre ones are welcome!” Hope she finds this amusing!

Do you ever repurpose old packaging & such into cards to send to friends (or, I dunno, even strangers)?

Sent to Canada, Netherlands, & United Kingdom

These are all swap-botty things…

Hey, I see in putting these together to post, I’ve got a Popeye-y thing going on! Can the remaining card be thought of as a Charlie Brown tribute?

The card at upper left goes to Goes, Netherlands, where the recipient mentioned a desire for “funny/weird” postcards.  I thought this sample of my beach photography might please.

Below that is a card bound for Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada.  I think this user expressed an interest in art cards, so I pulled out this piece I received in another swap-bot trade, in which users stuff 3-5 postcards in an envelope for their swap-partners’ use.  With my postcard’s target living in a place called “coquitlam,” I couldn’t help but think of the coqui frog–and I told her so.

That Oreo cookie/Popeye Spinach mash-up is for a “chunk o cardboard” trade on swap-bot, a chance I always value for some fun recycling.  Popeye meets Cookie Monster, in a panel of a box of treats I bought for Halloween visitors, and a bag of spinach I wouldn’t have dared offer trick-or-treaters!  This goes out to Immingham, United Kingdom.

Received from: Canada, Finland & Germany

A nice trio, all from swap-bot trades:

Starting with the upper right card, which I love:

From Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, this correspondent tells me:

“I… laughed when I read about your toys on the beach… I put this dino in my balcony garden (made postcards of the shot) and wrote people about ‘how bad the garden pests were this year.’  Too much fun!”

This card brightened my mailbox so much.  It is, I think, the 2nd user-created toy postcard I’ve received since beginning my Postcrossing/swap-bot adventure, and I hope to see many, many more!

The card with the gorgeous lions comes from Garbsen, Germany, a town in the district of Hanover.  What an amazing shot!   I am long overdue to visit my local zoos–and now, to pick up some postcards while I am there.

The last of the trio comes from Rovaniemi, Finland, where the sender tells me the middle bridge on this card translates as “Lumberjack Candle,” and is her favorite sight to show tourists & visiting friends.

Cool stamps on all 3 cards:

I especially love those li’l foxes!

Sent to Prince George, British Columbia

The swap-bot directive was to “make a postcard recycled from some other cardboard type material. It could be a cereal box, the container for something bought, a paperback book cover, a used greeting card… The possibilities are endless!”.  I was VERY up for this; every time I buy a box of Hello Panda, I want to turn it into a postcard!  

I like Hello Panda. Do YOU like Hello Panda? I like Hello Panda.