I finally solved the problem of the embarrassingly-bad postcard set! I tried–3 or 4 times–to give them away, and no one took me up on the offer, so I pulled out some stamps & some spackle, & refaced the things:
reuse
Received from the United States
Whoa, look at this thing! It’s about 9″ x 12″, and sent for a swap-bot “Chunk of Cardboard” exchange.
It is HUGE!
I’m not even sure how it made it through my mail slot! It was sent to me by a swap-botter from Phoenix, Arizona, who, like me, likes Frida Kahlo and Día de los Muertos. She writes, “I found this decoration at Party City and I knew it would make a cool Chunk ‘O Cardboard.” Oh, it does! And look at all of the stamps & stuff:
The Naruto clipping was the very first part of this whole mailing to catch my eye!
Sent to India, Malaysia, and the United States
More swap-bot “Chunk of Cardboard” trading. Did a little collage work this time!
Some super-lucky swap-botters out there.
All that produce is on its way to Puchong, Malaysia. It’s a facial-tissue box backdrop, decorated with bits of packaging that once contained (as you can see) tangerines, avocadoes, and spinach. Those are all things I enjoy eating, and Malaysia is a place I would love to go & eat, so what a great pairing. Also, the trader living there said she really likes yellow & green, so that made this a good choice. You may not be able to see the yellow, but trust me: it is in the green.
On the topic of places I would like to go and do some eating: India! At long last, I have my first postcard match with India! The li’l superhero card will go to Kanpur, India: the 5th largest city in India by land area and 10th most populous urban agglomeration (so says Wikipedia). We have here a collage of a monster from a candy/toy box, and a superhero from junk mail, facing off on a tissue box background. The recipient devotes a lot of space on her profile to decrying what is apparently an extremely unreliable postal system, so I sure hope this little piece of art makes it to her. She is also an absolutely avid reader: as much space as she devotes to distress over the mail delivery, and receiving a low rating on swap-bot, she devotes far more to the books she reads: genres, authors, and titles. Makes me want to slam the laptop closed & go pick up the book I am reading!
Finally, the simple chunk of silly-face-printed tissue box goes to Palm Coast, Florida, to a person who has just received a postcard from me in a “food packaging” card exchange. It’s good match for the cookie package I sent her before, because the tissues can be used to wipe up the crumbs.
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 Canada, England, Russia & Poland
Came home to four new cards today, from all over the world–uh, that is, if you consider a few locations in Europe & North America to be “all over the world!”
Such an assortment.
The Ural Owl flies to me from Russia (from Russian with stamps, it flew to me), from a Postcrosser who owns two parrots, and would like to have an owl. She writes, “if you need someone to cheer you daily, I highly recommend to have a pet birds.” Birds are lovely, but I prefer to look outside to the trees & other birdy places to see them! The card traveled 5,520 miles over 65 days to reach me. WHOA!
As far as animal-related situations that really disturb me, I absolutely hate what is happening in that bottom-center postcard, which comes to me from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The card’s printed caption reads:
Chuckwagons may have been invented to provide food and supplies for cowboys out on the range, but here at the Calgary Stampede they serve a different and more exciting purpose. The chucks and their crews barrel around the track in a nail biting competition, making chuckwagon racing the signature event at the stampede.
Screw you, boys.
By the way, it traveled 1,010 miles in 9 days–and no horses were exploited to transport it to me.
The funny card on the far right moved 5,937 miles in 17 days to get to me from Poland, where the Postcrosser wrote to me about some of her favorite Christmasy habits. Her favorite Christmas dish, for instance, is makówki.
Finally, my favorite card in the group, at top center, comes from England, reaching me after a mere 9 days. This panel is from a box of “ice-lollies,” as the sender of this card calls them. It’s the result of a swap-bot “Chunk O Cardboard” trade, which I’ve brought up many times here as being a favorite of mine.
Hey, 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)?
Received from Canada & United States
It’s a handful of recycling this time, a trio of cards received through swap-bot “Chunk-O-Cardboard” trades.
That Graze card comes from someone someplace in the U.S. who says about the product, “though their snacks were strange, they sure had good packaging!” Uhm, yeah; I’d seen advertising for this company, and it seemed like they were overcharging for items I could readily find locally–but wouldn’t want to eat, in any case.
Speaking of things I wouldn’t want to eat, the Nature Valley Granola Bars comes to me from Puerto Rico where the sender agrees with me that this recycled trade “is a very good idea.” Yup–in fact, I save “chunks” in anticipation!
One more thing I don’t eat is Toffifee. Love chocolate & hazelnuts, hate caramel & nougat. The sender of this card is from Canada, & she tells me,
“this is one of my favorite treats that I always buy around Christmas. They are so good but almost too easy to eat, before I knew it I was ready to recycle the box! I might need to wait another week to get a new box otherwise they won’t make it until the holidays!”
Great stamps all around, and I love that li’l robot sticker. It’s my single favorite thing in all of this!
Received from: Taiwan & U.S.A.
3 in, clockwise from top: Taiwan, New Jersey, California
Let’s start with the U.S. entries, both received through swap-bot:
The owls, which flew all the way from New Jersey, are from a “notecard postcard” trade. The sender decorated the edges of the repurposed card with some soft, sparkly tape, and also told me she is looking forward to spring. Me, too!
At bottom left is an image of Sedona, Arizona, sent to me by someone right here in California. She took a trip there a few months back, and recommends it.
* * *
And now on to Taiwan, Postcrossing, and one of my favorite postcards received to date! The top card, featuring Doraemon (Robot Cat from the Future) traveled over 9 days and 6,628 miles to get to my mailbox.
I know from reading profiles & stories on Postcrossing & swap-bot that many people would be irate at receiving a hand-made card decorated with stickers, but more effort & consideration went into this than most cards, I think. Look at the drawing from the opposite side:
Nice art, on both sides! The person said she likes drawing, and I see that she seems to have looked at the handful of cards I’ve favorited on Postcrossing (yes, they contain images of Doraemon & the Buddha) & tailored something especially for me. Made my day!
Cool stamp, too.
Received from: Finland & Poland
Cards from both Postcrossing & swap-bot today! Postcrossing first, with this from Poland:
Really colorful, interesting stamps on that card:
Through swap-bot–and an “up-cycled” card challenge–I received this card from Finland:
Hey–I love red pandas! Beautiful stamp art, too, and it’s really nice to see the enlargement in that sticker.
Sadly, the person who sent these didn’t bother to write anything more than the necessary distinguishing tags for swap-bot credit–a real shame–but the stamps all over the card were cool.
The Snail Mail 