Sent to Germany, Poland, and the United States

Another Postcrossing/swap-bot combo day.

Let’s start with the one that is by far my favorite in the batch, the Oreo/Popeye Spinach mash-up that is quite similar to one I’ve made in the past.  It is for a swap-bot “food package postcard” exchange, and is sure to be a welcome addition to the art scene in its destination city of Nashville, Tennessee.

The other postcards go to Postcrossing members.  The California card is destined for Gorlice, Poland, and a Postcrosser who says she has been coolecting “view postcards” since she was a child.

I have never been to North Carolina; that card came to me with some other postcards in some swap-bot trade.  It’s going to a Postcrosser in Hanover, Germany, who said she likes waterfalls.  I do, too, but not in places where it possible I might be near snow!

Sent to Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Spain, and the U.S.A.

A busy postcard day, with cards flying off for both Postcrossing & swap-bot.

I made that Oreo postcard from a box of you-know-what; it’s for a swap-bot “create a postcard” trade, & it’s headed for Everett, Washington.  I’m a little concerned.  The person assigned to me as the recipient is very specific that she hates everything I love in life:

“…I’m really not a fan of cutesy, cartooney or animated things…I have very few dislikes…anime/kawaii/sanrio/cartoon themes, stickers…”

Just about everything–okay, absolutely everything–that inspires me to go crazy with a glue stick is cartoony in nature; even when I dress up a simple package, as I normally would have with this Oreo panel, it is with something cutesy & cartoony.  You may have seen my past efforts on this blog:

So like I was saying, this lady makes me sad.  I picture her in her home crafting studio, with lace, flowers, rusted metal & a soldering iron, picking up my charming Oreo postcard, & rushing to swap-bot to give me a poor rating.  Ohhh, those swap-bot ratings & the terror they bring to peoples’ hearts.  Are you a swap-botter?  Do you know the terror of which I speak?

Onward…

The next two cards, both images of Italy, are for a different swap-bot trade, one called “not my country, not your country.”  The first goes to Redlands, California; the second to Muar, Johor, Malaysia.  Speaking of Italy & Malaysia: some people dream of going & eating pasta in Italy; you know where I want to go & gorge on noodles?  Malaysia. And that’s what I told the recipient of that card.

Not far from Malaysia is Thailand, a country where I was eating noodles just a couple of weeks ago.  I picked up some postcards there, including the Chiang Mai one above that I just sent off to a Postcrossing match in Heinola, Finland.  Her profile mentioned loving travel, so I thought she might enjoy this..

OH, time for another problem case!  Now, I am sure most people on Postcrossing are, like me, delightful people, but every once in a while, you run across someone who seems to care about nothing more than the specific postcards they expect to receive–nay, demand to receive. Take this user in Barcelona, Spain—por favor! Now, knowing that Postcrossing community guidelines state, “You can not make demands for specific postcards,” read this user’s profile:

“The postcards that I want in my collection are from cities (monuments, things that are in your city as beaches, mountains, and things that are in your city).  No old blank postcards in black please. Or anything other than cities.  I do not like other post, I do not post advertising or handmade. “

That’s it.  Postcrossing can be a wonderful way to learn about other people, other places, other cultures–but all I learned about this person was her postcard demands.  I feel like an unappreciated Santa Claus.  I have been assigned such a profile in the past, & it made me feel sad then, too–I even checked whether the site offered reassignments or waivers.  Anyhow, I  sent this user the card with all of the views of California, and I felt sad sending her something so nice.

Finally, back to the delightful people!  One of whom lives in Witten, Germany, and she says she loves books and animals.  That prompted me to dig back into my long-neglected big box-o-book-cover postcards, where I found this cover of The Hundred and One Dalmatians.  I told my fellow Postcrosser a dog story: how I took mine to the beach yesterday.

Sorry I didn’t have much to say today, it was a really uneventful postcard day.  I’d like to hear about your so-called uneventful postcard days & swapping frustrations, too!  Share!

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)?