envelope EXCHANGE *rules*

YES - there will be a monthly exchange in 2025 and 2026.
If you have any questions, please contact me
PTEnvleopes-at-aol-dot-com
There will be 12 exchanges in 2025 - and also 12 in 2026 (assuming nothing drastic happens).
Sign-up starts on the first of each month. Details below.

The rules:

TIMELINE  - 

I post the invitation to join the monthly envelope exchange on the first of the month.  The deadline for signing up is the 4th day of the month. I send the lists on the 5th (or 6th). If you sign up and do not hear from me within 2 or 3 days acknowledging your request to exchange, send me another email. 

Please follow this 5 line format (or whatever works for your country)

John Doe
123 Oak Street
Town, State ZIP
Country
john.doe@gmail.com
(BIRTHDAY) (2 LISTS)

Lists will include 5 other people + your name.

You may add the word BIRTHDAY - under your email - to indicate if you have a birthday in the upcoming month. It is optional for exchangers to do a birthday themed envelope.

You may offer to be on 2 lists. I do not guarantee that you get on two lists - but, I may add you to a second list if I need to make the lists come out even. Offer to be on two lists by adding (2 LISTS) under your name

There may be one international address on your list.
If you do not want to mail to international addresses, please do not sign up.
There are usually only two or three international addresses participating each month so I should be able to limit the foreign addresses to one per list.
Once in a while I make a list with all the international addresses and ask the US participants to tell me if they want to be on that list.

YOUR NAME WILL BE ON THE LIST YOU RECEIVE  

Your name will be on the list, but you do not have to send anything to yourself. Just send something to the other people on the list and they will send to you. Or, if you want a record of your design, it might be fun to make an envelope for yourself.

ARTWORK

There is no theme, do whatever you want.  Any medium is fine - ink, markers, ballpoints, watercolor, typewriter, rubber stamping, collage, and digital art are all acceptable.  Calligraphy is welcome, but not required.  Please decorate the envelope.  You do not need to enclose anything.  Some people enclose a simple card or note - but this is optional.
[once in a while there will be an optional theme - but it is strictly optional]

ALL THE SAME -or- EACH ONE DIFFERENT
It is entirely up to you. Some people create one design and use it for everyone on the list. Other people make each envelope unique.

QUALITY AND SKILL LEVEL

We have a wide range of skill levels, we welcome beginners, and we do not judge the quality of the artwork.  Don't worry about where you are on the bell curve of creativity. Explore possibilities, experiment, and have fun.

EMAIL ADDRESSES

Emails will be included on the list. If you are missing any mail, please contact the missing sender directly. You may want to open a separate Yahoo email account just for exchanging if you do not want your personal email going out to strangers.

MISSING ENVELOPES

Please try to track them down yourself. If you are getting no response, please let me know.

LATENESS

Sometimes things happen and your envelopes will be late. Please email the others on your list and let them know.  In the event that you are unable to complete your envelopes, let me know and I will try to do them for you.

WHAT DO I PUT ON THE BLOG

Pretty much anything and everything.  Most exchangers are happy to see their work on the blog. If you are shy and don't want your work on the blog, please try to get over it. There are a bazillion images on the internet, and I don't think anyone is going to notice one more decorated envelope. This blog is all about sharing, and it will be a better blog if you join in the sharing.

POSTING PERSONAL ADDRESSES

I avoid scanning and posting images with personal addresses. Some of us already have our addresses all over the internet so I do not blur my own - or those people who are posting their own address on their own blog. For everyone else, I will blur [or cover] your address before posting.  I request that any of you who have blogs also blur addresses that are not your own. I have asked people to put return addresses on the back of the envelope...which in theory, would make it unnecessary to blur the return addresses, but it seems that a return address on the back sometimes confuses the scanning machines.

So.....

WHERE TO PUT THE RETURN ADDRESS

We do not have any perfect solution for this. I like to put it at the top of the back flap. Some people have reported that when they do this, the scanner will read the return address, print that bar code, and the envelopes comes right back to their house. One option to make it less likely the scanner will pick up the return address, is to put it along the right or left side, vertically, on the back of the envelope.

OPEN or EMPTY - NOTE ON THE BACK
Please write OPEN or EMPTY on the back to indicate whether the envelope is empty or has an enclosure. It is also helpful to write PTEX and the month on the back. Some people participate in more than one exchange and it is helpful for them to know when it is a PTEX envelope.

MAKING THE ADDRESS HARD TO READ

There are times when a design is so cool that you want to put the address into the design in a very artistic way that is also very hard to read. If you choose to do this, and your return address is very easy to read, that may cause the scanner to pick up the return address. In general, I recommend making the street and zip code pretty easy to find and read.  But, it is up to you.

WHEN DOES IT COST EXTRA

The post office will charge extra if you have a square envelope or one that is addressed in the portrait orientation. The address should be level with the bottom of a landscape orientation if you want the standard one-ounce rate. You can find the current information on the non-standard rates and out-of-US rates at usps.com