Nov to AmyG, Cindy, Kate, Janet and Nanski

I promise, this is the last of the little houses. I took these 3 days to post all of them. If you are annoyed at looking at them day after day - just be grateful that I didn't give each of them their own day - that would have been 26 days. 

AmyG's would have been better if the name was lower. I had two of the cryptologist stamps left. They went to Cindy and Kate. In June, when I did the first 4 envelopes with the little houses, most of them had that stamp. The tiny lettering on the stamp is so perfect with the little houses. A couple people wondered how I got that lettering on the houses - not realizing that it was just part of the stamp. Now I'm curious if I could write like typewriter type.

You can see how it looks better to have the names a little lower than what I did on AmyG's

Saving the best for last, we have Janet and Nancy. They might not be the best - but I do love repeated impressions without re-inking. So these two are very pleasing - even though they have the ho-hum color theme. If I ever get more ink pads in colors - I'll do more of these little house envelopes. 

This concludes my Nov envelopes. Tomorrow we have the annual Christmas Eve story. It's not one of my favorites. The story is something that I am happy to share - but, I didn't figure out an angle that included the warm fuzzies that we long for during this season.

Here's a link to my all-time favorite Christmas Eve story. I get verklempt every time I think about what a joyful time I had on a cold November morning.

The 2021 Christmas Eve Story

 

Nov to Cathy, Hadley and JeanR

I do a lot of complaining about how my envelopes to Cathy aren't ones that please me. I actually like the way the elements worked on on this one. I love the Underground Railroad stamps so much. 

I'm happy with both of the ones below - although I think JeanR's is a little better. I wish I had done Hadley's name the way I did Jean's. When I took the stack of Nov envelopes to the PO, I took them inside because I had to buy stamps. The clerk who I see quite often is named Hadley - and as I was getting back in the car, I thought - Oh, I should have shown him the Hadley envelope. 

I wonder if my son wants me to do envelopes for the people at his station. I did it last year. I think I'd rather bake cookies - or maybe a big vat of chili or something.

 

Nov to Meg, Mia, Connie and Gloria - Kleenex box

There were 4 international people in the November exchange. The only international stamps I had were the orange daisy stamps so I used some color on the little houses. They're pretty cute. The postage stamps look like the sun. I bet the round button stamps would be super cute with the little house rubber stamps done in coordinating colors. Too bad I didn't think of that before I used all those Ansel Adams stamps.

We are reading this on Dec 21 - some of us are in the midst of the holiday frenzy - others have nothing to do because we're not in the frenzy loop any more. I'm actually writing this on Nov 20 - and it's a week before Thanksgiving. I just discovered that it is 7 pm. I thought it was about 5 pm - which explains why I am so tired. Hopefully I come back before this pops up and add something a little more interesting.

***

On Dec 18, I realized that I had not posted my Kleenex boxes.

Am I the only one who found the best ever holiday Kleenex boxes?

I wonder how many people are on the design team for Kleenex boxes - as well as Puffs. 

I wonder if they would like suggestions.

Nov to lots of people - Little houses and Ansel Adams stamps

My first idea with the little house stamps - rubber stamps - was to use the Ansel Adams stamps. From time to time I wish I had a black and white USPS stamp - but then when I get some, I don't remember why I wanted them. These are fine. I had fun.

I penciled in a horizon line on Irene's and it was dreadful, so I erased it. I took a picture to show exactly how bad it was. Yuk. I smallerized it so it doesn't give anyone upset eyes.

Then I did some more - with different combinations of rubber stamps - different weights of markers. I was trying to put in extra letter-spacing - something I don't do, but I always like it when I see it in the work of others.

I tried a different style of lettering - which was a nice change of pace. I think I used a silver Sharpie and then outlined it.

And Susan got a bird sitting on her roof as an homage to the bird-on-the-head series from long, long ago.

 

Nov to Amy and Meg's Dec - good habits

 All my December envelopes were condensed into 4 posts. My Nov envelopes will start tomorrow. As you may recall I was on a mission to ALWAYS choose the stamps first. I had also made a note to do more  envelopes using the rubber stamps with the little houses. Four people received little house envelopes in Sept, and I was going to send them something different in Nov - but, I forgot - and sent them little houses again.

So, November was the very first month where I had one theme that went to every single person - except the birthday girl. But, they are all different because I used different stamps and styles of lettering. The important thing is that I had much better success knowing which stamp was going on the envelope. I'm cautiously optimistic that I will make it a habit to stop doing envelopes when I haven't chosen a stamp.

What's the word you use to describe an iron-clad rule? It's not really a rule - it's a *thing.* What do you call a *thing* that you are faithful to? I know there is a word or phrase I am looking for. It has to have a positive connotation. Maybe it's just *a good habit.* That sounds like remembering to fasten your seatbelt - or brushing your teeth.

Enough pondering and wracking of my less-than-optimal brain....I feel confident that someone will share the word or phase I am looking for. Rachael came up with garland yesterday - let's see if she can fulfill  today's word need.

Amy was the only one who didn't get little houses because it was her birthday. I don't think Amy is old enough to be a grandparent. I probably should have saved those stamps for someone who I know is a grandparent. 

And I can't remember if I posted Meg's Dec envelope. I could go look - but - that takes up too much brain power and I'm a little behind on my posting. My ribbon writing is rusty.

Dec to Mary, Leslie, Carol and Carolyn

More deep regrets on these two. I need to add *swagging* to my list for deep diving in January. Yesterday we started our list with dangling and sprinkling. These ideas were directly appropriated from Pinterest, the land without attribution and it puzzled me as to why I did so poorly at appropriating. Google does not like the word swagging - is there another word for putting up a swag? Swags are sometimes called bunting  or festoon, aren't they? Is there a word that I am forgetting? Don't forget, I hit that button that allows for quick and easy commenting.

***This just in --- Rachael remembered the word garland - thanks, Rachael.

And to further confuse things - swag seems to be a word for free stuff. I'm not interested in more research. And I FOR SURE - have lost interest in learning new slang. That's one of those things that happens - to confirm that one is officially *old.*

I chose Leslie to get my silly comment envelope. We've met up in person so I don't think she'd take my silly caption the wrong way. After the stockings turned out so poorly, I figured I'd salvage the envelope with silliness.

Two final envelopes in the deep regret category:

Carol's might have been ok if I had used a finer tipped gel pen - or better yet, nibs and ink.

Carolyn's would have been fine if the tree was larger.... and a bolder pen or marker would have helped.

Thank you for putting up with 4 days of red -- we're done with red.

 

Bonus post

Scroll down past this post to see the daily post.

I'm happy to have a little variety on this 4 day trip through all the red envelopes that are making me cringe every morning. Some envelopes look better after I haven't seen them for a while - others look like *what was she thinking?*

So, on Sunday, there was an anonymous comment left on a very old post. I posted this alphabet and said that I lost the place where it came from - although I think it is that place in the Netherlands. Anyhow, my post said that it needed numbers - and the Sunday commenter asked for lower case as well. 

Cool. Chore avoidance. So, I made the numbers. I also noted that there are only 24 letters. Q is missing, but it would be easy to add a curvy doodad to the O. V is missing - but you could just use half of the W.

The numbers were pretty easy. I will not do any lower case because this is one of those styles that does not lend itself to lower case. It's what we call a *display face* - it is meant to be a word or two - and nothing more. Having said that - if you wanted to do a name with this style and figure out some lowercase letters, you could - and it would hinge on what the letters are. 

I did the name Mary, because Mary had been posting anonymous comments - but then I think she figured out how to put her name in - so if you are the anonymous person who left the comment - let me know and I will do your name in this style --- and show how it either works or does not work with lower case.

Also, I noticed on the original that the M and S were touching and the M had an odd jog in the second stroke. It relates to the R - so maybe they look good together. I like the top M better - without that jog. 

Those curvy appendage serifs are very tricky. 

Here is the image from the original post

It is fun to ponder names. 

For example JEAN would have a big curl on JEA and then nothing on the N.

I think that would be clunky. It might be better to merge the N and M and get something curvy going on the N.

Maybe I should start my January envelopes...... JANET seems like a good name to try - PATTY, not so much. I know from the past that those double-Ts are tricky. 

Let's all use this style on our January envelopes and see what happens...... and by *all* I only mean the people who like geometry. 

Dec to Kate, JeanR, Mia and Rachael

I tried really hard to make a nice envelope for Kate, the donator of the stamps. Putting the stamp on the left side resolved the proportion problem. I tried to pull out some gold from the stamp, but that wasn't working. I always like writing a little blurb on envelopes and Mary was pointing at something so I thought I'd have her point at the caption. Then I had to write Deep Regrets in the awkward space under the stamp.

I remember a lot from art history but I sure don't remember why Mary is prone to pointing in the paintings with her baby. I bet there is a reason, but nothing popped up on Google. Maybe someone knows and will shoot me an email. A lot of people are pointing straight up in renaissance painting. I assume they are pointing to heaven or God.

Deep regrets on the gloppy, bold *give thanks* on JeanR's. I liked the appropriated wreath. I had a major lapse when I did a thanksgiving message and motif on a Dec envelope. Very strange how that happened. But, my new normal is full of those kinds of glitches.

I'm going to bury a couple more because they have deeply regrettable components. The colors are fine. The stamps are so cute. I cant't seem to articulate why they are regrettable. Maybe Mia's is too busy and Rachael's is too blah. Maybe *dangling* is a lot trickier than it looks. Maybe I need to do a deep dive into the subtle nuances of dangling. 

I did a deep dive into *sprinkling* and I have a tried and true method for sprinkling doo-dads and making sure they are the right proportion. Maybe we will explore sprinkling and dangling in January. 

 

Dec to. Cathy, Cindy, Susan, Sharen

Here are 4 ideas that I tried on the stained glass madonna stamps. Cathy's is pitiful. Deep regrets as well as another apology to Cathy for my ongoing inability to do decent envelopes for her.

Cindy's is a perfect example of how much better it was to use straight lines rather than the wavy lines from yesterday on the *clothesline* style.

Susan's looked so nice when it was just white pencil. The white gel pen that I did over the top of the pencil  is sad and clunky. Apologies to Susan.  That stamp is quite large which makes it tricky. Putting it at the bottom was not a solution. The proportions on Cindy's are better. Having a larger address looks better.

The two different sizes on Susan and Mashman is really distracting. Grrrr.

And, deep deep multiple level regrets on Sharen's. I'm fine with the idea. A nicer result could have happened if I spent a lot more time and burned through a lot more envelopes - but that's not going to happen. I have a bunch of free envelopes and I can't even make myself burn through the free-bees. I wonder how wealthy I would have to be to give no thought to using multiple envelopes to get to a final design that was pleasing. Feel free to mail me a lottery ticket and write your name on it. If *we* win, *we* will split it 50/50 - and I won't go back on that promise because I have announced it here.  

Clearly, that was my silly side talking -- I am not asking for people to send me lottery tickets. Kate was so kind to send me her orphan madonna stamps. This is not an *ask* - but, anyone who has orphan stamps that are not inspiring them - send them to me. As I've been saying for nearly 15 years, I never met a stamp I didn't like.

 

Dec to AmyF, Irene, Christy, Janet, AmyG, Jess

 

This is either the second or third year that I did my December envelopes and put them inside of the November. envelopes so that I could skip sending anything in December. I like to lighten the USPS's seasonal load by 30 envelopes. Although that's insignificant. The main reason I like making a non-mailed envelope is because I don't have to make it legible for scanners. 

This year I used up some vintage madonna stamps that Kate sent me. She had a stash of them and was not coming up with any inspirational ways to use them. I realized that there was nothing interesting about using multiples. They want to be alone - so this was a perfect way to use them. I was very happy with my concept. The execution took quite a while to figure out. 

I also had quite a few of those teddy bear stamps. They do not have a denomination printed on them so last year they confused the USPS and one envelope that had enough of them to equal the current cost was returned to me. I'm sure that some postal worker was not familiar with them. So, rather than go through that again, I figured it was better to use them on my non-mailed envelopes.

Here are two ideas where the ideas were better than the result. On Amy's, it seems like that popular style (called clothesline) needs to be on straight lines. I had wavy lines on my mind from doing those wavy lines with the trees. Good example of how it's fine to experiment with the blending of ideas, but sometimes they don't work out.

Normally, I do not screw up a versal that was inspired by medieval designs. IMHO, the epic fail here is that there are no examples of medieval work in white gel pen on red paper. It's tricky to mix a  contemporary medium with medieval design. I'm not saying that it's impossible - I'm just saying that I would have to try some other ways to make it work. It would be a fun challenge, but not one that has caught my interest at the moment. Actually, there are a ton of contemporary versals - so there is a solution. It doesn't seem like a good use of time to keep trying to use the contemporary material but stick with the medieval designs. And yet, you know me, I like a good challenge. 

There was one good idea that came with the Dec envelopes. Since these were not going through the mail, I realized that I could use fantasy addresses and then I would not have to block them. More than one person contacted me, curious about the goofy address. I should have tucked an explanation inside.

Nov from Mary to AmyF - Silly tip No. 2

I keep forgetting to do foxy designs on Amy's envelope. There are so many cute foxy images out there. And I need to make a note to find other *screaming* images and appropriate that idea. Maybe I'll get that done and add onto this post at a later date. 

This concludes Mary Week - thanks Mary for sending images of your November mail. I know I have a whole folder of past mail from you - I rather like the idea of showing your mail that inspires me along with my version. Maybe that will happen.

***

Silly Tip No. 2

Hmmmm. The caffeine seems to have worn off. This might be a very short series. The only tip I can think of is not silly, and it's probably something everyone has already heard and implements as needed.

If you have kids that get a little crazed over the wrapped gifts and they seem like the types who will start tearing corners... rather than put tags on the gifts - mark them with secret codes. It can be a word written on the back - or a sticker. If you choose words, pick a random word for each kid. Alex gets the word Bear, Ben gets the word Mouse, Colin get's the word Bird - then when it's time to open gifts, they find out who gets the *Bear* gifts -- and so on.

Or you can get a pack of stickers --- and choose a particular sticker for each person - even a pack of different colored star stickers would work - Alex get's the red stars, Ben gets the green stars, and so on.

 

Nov from Mary to Mia - Silly tip. No.1

 Yesterday I suggested that she was using the Sharpie Creative markers - and these ferns have a Sharpie look to them. Tap-tap-tap leaves are so much fun to do. I'm very drawn to repetitive motions. 

***

Is this Day One of silly ways to cope with the holidays if they tend to overwhelm you? 

The first thing I remember doing, which was very early on, is this. If you have little kids and you have to go somewhere for Christmas Eve, get your base layer on first thing in the morning. In Iowa, and when I still wore skirts, this included putting on the tights. Somehow that was a lot of work. Then, opt for separates so that you can get your top on and find something to wear over the top to protect it from the inevitable spills and glops that little kids distribute all day every day. 

Around 3 pm - or whenever the last nap of the day occurs, do something about your hair and face. Then during final prep for launch, at the last minute, you can quickly put on the final pieces of clothing - this includes the skirt or pants. The toddlers should be corralled so they don't have one last chance to wipe their nose on your skirt or pants.

Also, stick to plaids, prints and anything with pattern to disguise the inevitable glop. And every car should have an emergency outfit for every kid. This is not seasonal. It's for every day. You never know when you will need an emergency outfit. It doesn't have to be fancy but it can save the day. Even having it on hand to share with some other desperate mom is a reason to have it.

Nov from Mary to Connie - more holiday musing

 This looks like Sharpie Creative markers because the greens look more opaque - rather than alcohol. My note to self on this one is to remember to do the thing where you switch up the colors on each letter. It's time consuming - but I think it is one of those fool-proof ways to do something fun that is pretty forgiving on how skillful the actual lettering is. I'm stunned that Mary fit connie's full name into that space.

***

Was my musing yesterday alarming or concerning? Or is that how I always sound? Those are rhetorical questions. I'm fine. It's Nov-Dec. Remember when I wrote about how my daughter's Nov 27th birthday was the annual kick-off of the holiday season which was a bit *too much* for my minimalistic nature?

Well, since my daughter has had 2 kids and has been experiencing all the things that used to be *too much* for me (technically, all the holidays were too much for me) she has been sharing with me that she now has a better understanding as to why I tended to be frazzled during the holidays. 

Sadly, she ended up with one kid who has a birthday on Nov 9th, so Nov becomes a *too much* month with her birthday and thanksgiving and then the other kid has a Dec 17th birthday. At least she still has me to offer suggestions. 

Maybe I can work this into a series. A silly series to be sure. 

Nov from Mary to Leslie

A+ on cuteness - but I'm not stealing this idea. Too much coloring in and I don't see a way to make it cute without coloring in.  

***

As I do my preliminary editing of the early Dec posts, I detect a bit of discombobulation in my writing. This concerns me, because I had that nasty brain injury and have not returned to 100% in a couple areas. It's not like I was ever 100% in the beginning - but there is some slippage. And then there is the reality that I'm in my mid-70s so, what if there is some age related slippage. And then there is the sad reality that it's getting harder and harder to schedule any kind of appointment with someone who might have an educated opinion on whether or not I should be concerned. And then, finally, there is the legitimate concern that those people who have those *educated opinions* are very hit or miss. 

When I was doing my deep dive into brain rehab, it was stated - with great frequency - that there is still a lot that *we* do not understand. I still listen to some of the new books on tape that come out regarding advancement in how brains work and age. It's a 50/50 situation. Half the time I'm wildly excited about the new research and information - and half the time I'm shocked and overwhelmed. 

So there you have it. 50/50. Once again, I am old and and can condense every single topic down to 50/50. The only thing we know for sure is that my coffee was perfection this morning.

***

Oh.My.Gosh. I'm reading this a couple days before it popped up and I just watched an interview *a very well known person* - and he was so interesting. There was a part that mentioned how every day - every moment - can be a 50-50 experience. It might go well or it might go off the rails. And then he said, the only moment of each day that's guaranteed to be perfect is that first cup of coffee in the morning. You can count on that to be a *up* - on the inevitable path of ups and downs.

For some reason, I can't remember who it was -- see why I'm concerned with brain slippage? Maybe it will come to me.

 

Bonus post

 Today's regular post is right below this one.

Here's a fun display at my son's post office. He didn't do it - however he knew that his mama would be very happy to share photos on her blog.

Nov from Mary to Cindy

 

I know I have something similar to this in my stack of ideas - from Mary - from a while back. I love the concept. Once again, I'm not sure I can pull it off with my non-blendy markers - but I think I can. The trick will be finding enough rubber stamps that fit within the lines. I like this idea so much - but it does need to go with a stamp that has enough colors in it. I'll be leaving more space for the name and address. 

The envelope yesterday with the house - that one needs a very short address. This idea will work beautifully for those of you with those long addresses.

The top row of pattern is a repeat of the roof on the house on the stamp. That repeated pattern contributes to the overall cuteness. Once again - the success of stealing this idea will hinge on the stamp. 

Here comes the stream of consciousness - should I let myself get sidetracked with a visit to the USPS website in search of a good stamp?

These look like they might work.... the Eugenie Clark stamp looks like the one to try - because it has light colors. I think the stronger colors in the other two might be too heavy.

Nov from Mary to AmyG

 I have three of those stamps left - and have been waiting for a good idea....and now I have one. I am going to make the house bigger which will allow the address to be larger - and hopefully will be scannable for the PO. This has a Zentangle feel to it and probably took a fair amount of time. And now that I ponder --- it looks like Mary used alcohol markers - so it's nicely blended - and I do not have alcohol markers --- so I might want to rethink doing this. 

The other thing that is drawing me in is the amount of black. Now I want to do a couple versions - one that is bold - and one that is lighter - maybe with the tulip stamps - and maybe one with multi colors. 

That was a stream of conscious -- because it is 4:48 am. I might have to edit this - or it might just show up the way it is. Part of me is adjusting some of my routines - so you'll have to bear with me. I hope that is the right *bear* - it wouldn't be bare - another sidetracking thought.

Nov from Mary to JeanR - ghosts in Chicago

Welcome to Mary Week. From time to time I ask people to send me photos of the envelopes they send out in the exchanges so that I have extras in the event I run out of envelopes to post. People do send me images - and I tend to let them pile up in my inbox. When Mary sent images of her November mailing - I decided to post them promptly. 

Normally, I send 20-25 envelopes per month and receive the same - so that's plenty to fill each month. In Nov, I did something that I rarely do, I chose one theme for all the envelopes. So, even with ganging some of them - they are going to get redundant pretty quickly. In anticipation of that series, I figured it would be fun to post Mary's.

I like how the dome shape of the tree is reflected in the dome shape of the mushroom. I hope I remember to do some snail themed envelopes - since I love the term snail mail.

***

Yesterday was the last day of the Oct envelopes - and then I remembered I had these photos. I was in Chicago for 2 weeks before Halloween. There were many houses with very fun decorations. This was my favorite. I thought it was very stylish. Loved the ghost-dog, too. Not sure why the dog doesn't have eyes.

 

Oct from Grace and Mike

 Grace found a shade of blue that works for a witchy night sky - and she still has some pumpkin stamps. I wish the USPS would reissue those stamps. They are both adorable and versatile. Maybe I should plan a visit to my local vintage stamp dealer ---- if I stock up for next year, maybe they will come out with a fabulous new Halloween stamp next year to make me regret I stocked up on pumpkins....except he packs up and goes to Arizona after Thanksgiving - so, I'll have to wait until spring.

This is from a pen pal - Mike - it's a good pairing with Grace's - orange and that shade of blue is such a nice combo.

***

There was no add-on today - but a few of my November envelopes were super slow to arrive. A couple took 2 weeks to travel less than 10 miles - so, I am going to remind everyone that dark envelopes seem to delay things. Also, script instead of block printing might contribute to slowness. The name can be as elaborate or innovative as you like. It can say *Occupant.* All the PO really needs is the street and the ZIP code. If those two items are clear - and the scanner can read it - it will get a bar code and be on its merry way.

Of course, this time of year, with the volume - some of the easy to read mail ends up sitting on a truck because there is literally no space left inside the stations to unload more mail. They often have narrow walkways for the postal workers. It's like Tetris or some kind of puzzle - or maybe log jam is the best way to describe it.

Oct from Ming and Sharen - musings on Dec, etc

Ming is an occasional exchanger and is masterful with her hairlines. She also makes very nice cards.

Here's another envelope with a black cat -- from Sharen - a little spookier with that spider and a touch of something creepy on the name.

***

It's Nov 15th, and I am scanning through the blog posts that are scheduled for the rest of the month- editing out the typos. I got a little verklempt on Nov 27, the day that my daughter (oldest kid) turns 44. That decade (40s) is full of stuff, the same as all the decades. For 44 years, her birthday has been the official kick off for *the holidays* which was generally an over-whelming season for me. I did a decent job of providing some holiday cheer - finding my own balance. I did not scar my kids for life or at least that's what they tell me. 

While it is a joyous season and some people pull off a month of non-stop tinsel and sprinkles - or maybe they can choreograph legitimate over-the-top extravaganzas --- other people just endure a season that is a reminder of loss and disappointment. Losses and disappointments come in all sizes - and that's as much as I'm going to say about that. I'm old enough and wise enough to make only general statements  - but, I did want to thank my pen pals and readers for our connection. It might be through emails or exchanges - or maybe even through the ozone. 

Whatever our connection is - and whether you revel in or struggle to endure the month of December --- I'm grateful and I hope that we all make it through the inevitable ups and downs of this season -- or -- for that matter --  any day/week/month/year/decade/century. 

I should have saved this for my Dec 31st post - dang. 

 

Welcome, Paul - follow up on those 2 wreath envelopes I appropriated

 

This was a very welcome surprise to pop up in my mailbox. It's from Paul who lives in Toulon France. He enclosed a letter, introducing himself and expressing an interest in exchanging mail with my collector friends. If anyone is interested in exchanging with Paul, email me, and I will send you his address. This is an on-your-own activity - not part of the December exchange.

Paul is interested in calligraphy, drawing, engraving and painting - so he's probably more interested connecting with the calligraphers. I'm going to get out some real art supplies to respond to this envelope. The red bird looks like a hand carved image. Maybe I'll send him one of my engravings....I think there are a few left.

Will 2025 be the year that I finally get all my excess stuff sent off??? 

Part of me wants to suggest that you don't send any mail until after the holiday tsunami of mail - but that's me....

***

On Nov 25 I posted a couple envelopes and apologized for losing the info on whose idea I had appropriated. And then I found the image on Pinterest. It looks like it's a rubber stamp from Avery Elle, but it is no longer available. I think the person who used the rubber stamp and colored it in on her envelope is Kristina Werner. It was posted in 2017 - she's still in business. Her newer stuff is way too busy for me.

LINK to Kristina's blog

And then this one popped up - which is actually the one I appropriated.....they are similar. I like the top one better. But, I don't know how I would do those giant polka dots. There is no info on the two below - so there won't be any attribution - unless the person who did them contacts me.