From Amy - July Exchange + Using Up an Odd Stamp

This envelope had a note enclosed indicating that AmyS was not entirely pleased with this envelope. I like everything about it and if someone said I had to make a suggestion for improvement, I can only think of one thing to mention that is the thing that I have the most trouble with and that is centering the words within a centered design. It drives me crazy. While I like the idea of centering everything - if it does not come out just right - it. drives. me. crazy.

I'm a big fan of uber-out-there lettering.

Amy's will appear again in December. I've been pairing these will-be-repeaters with something that I sent to them and I do not have one to post to AmyS - so I will post one that went to CathyO that was close to not even being posted on the blog. It relates to Amy because a long time ago Amy gave me a huge stack of vintage stamps. I've had a whole sheet of these stamps and they have been very difficult to use since it is not a topic that I care to joke about - nor do I want to send it to someone who might find it a difficult topic to just show up. So - when I had another one of these playing-with-my-new-bottle-of-McCaffrey's-ink -- and I couldn't think of something really nice to finish the envelope - I jumped on the opportunity to use up the stamps. I like monochromatic themes. I think I enclosed a note explaining that I just needed to use up the stamps and hoped they were not offensive. CathyO is a retired postal worker and I figured that made her the perfect recipient. She could roll her eyes and recall that not every postal decision was a fantastic one. I guess the biggest problem I have with the stamp is the tag line *You can beat it!* As if a person was going to use the stamp to send invitations to an intervention??

So the next thing I wondered was when were postal rates 18-cents for one ounce. March of 1981 until November of 1981. Very short time span for a rate.