For the sake of it.

So, my colletion of Aerogrammes has come to a bit of a standstill. Finding countries that still have this running are very few, and then to find someone within that country to send me an aerogramme...phew. It's a lot of asking around.
A pal in Singapore has sent me two aerogrammes - they have four designs and she is going to try and keep an eye out for the last two for me. How sweet! THankyou so much Sally!!!

But the lack of incoming aerogrammes has caused me to think about other projects I might carry on with. I've still got my penpal Smashbook which is just so awesome.
I still collect and trade postcards - and have been concentrating lately on illustrated food and cats. SO ADORABLE!
But I thought next year I might buy another smashbook and attempt to fill it with a postcard from as many countries as I possibly can.  One country per page, and perhaps stick a few fun facts and stamps around it too. Still brainstorming on this idea.

Not a happy camper that Australia Post has increased the cost of sending postcards outside of Asia Pacific to almost DOUBLE of what it was. NOT GOOD. Boo.

Aerogramme Love and a Long Overdue Update

So these past couple of weeks I've rediscovered the wonderful aerogramme. A single piece of paper, which folds up on itself to create an envelope, which is prepaid to fly off and be delivered anywhere in the world.

Of course, you ar prohibited from adding anything additional that would add weight such as stickers or extra paper...but you CAN make it look prettier on the inside with drawings, sketches, doodles and fancy writing.

 

The current australian aerogramme.

Prettifying the inside of an aerogramme.

But what I really want to do, is collect written aerogrammes from around the world. Not all countries have them anymore (and I'm only talking about official aerogrammes here), but a lot still do and I'm trying to rope all my Penpals into sending their next letter on an official aerogramme for me to collect.

An aerogramme from Malaysia

I also discovered that I can buy some sweet looking stamps online, that aren't usually sold in the post office. So I've ordered some. They don't cost anything extra, but my Penpals will surely appreciate the change of scenery.  In the meanwhile I did manage to obtain some very cute mr men and little miss stamps.

Some of the mr men stamps

I seems that a particular australian postcard I've put up in instagram is very popular. I've had several requests for swaps, so soon there should be an influx of postcards in my mailbox. The problem is what to do with them. I have so many. If I out them in a folder, I just won't look at them. Perhaps it's better to keep them in a loose pile?

Etsy has become my favourite hunting ground for postcards recently. Here's a selection of the most gorgeous postcards I purchased.

Zines and Moleskine Journals

Lately I've been looking at amazing photos of Moleskin Journals and Zines. These small booklets, usually containing artwork or information are just amazing. It got me thinking, that I would love to own a few of these booklets, dedicated to a subject.
What better idea for a swap? Making a booklet/moleskin/zine for your partner, based on something that they would like to know more about.
 

A few photos from the internet and instagram to get you thinking...

Wonderful happy mail day!

Firstly, this arrived from Janet Store. Super quick postage!

The two postcards in this lot are part of a letter puzzle being sent to me by Deb in the UK. She's written a letter, but over the stretch of a handful of postcards. I wonder if she posted them on the same day?! Anyone, two of them arrived today. It's rather exciting waiting for the next installment...

The rest of my mail today

Two of the letters that arrived today were from Marge in the Philippines.

I just adore her mail because she puts such lovely things in them! I'm going to have to SMASHbook a couple of these items I think :)

WE don't get these cute things in Australia.

Package number 2!!!! So kind :) Thankyou Marge! Mail will come to you very soon.

This makes up for last week, I suppose, when I didn't have much in the way of mail at all!!!
Good things come to those who wait :)

Happy mailing.

How to make your letters a little more special...

Are you someone who likes to write letters, but doesn't know how to make them a little more exciting or special?  Here's an idea to get you motivated...

For starters, instead of using plain paper, why don't you cut out a long strip or scrapbooking paper, fold it into three...
I snipped the corners off to create a scalloped effect when it's folded out.

I also put washi tape along the edge to create a border. Now get writing!

Flip your paper over to the patterned side and have a think about what your recipient likes.

I'm writing to Tasha for the first time through www.sendsomething.net and her profile says she likes Dystopian and Lyrical novels.  So I thought I'd write down some recommendations of my own.

Instead of just writing straight onto the patterned paper, why don't you use some tags, or cut out rectangles of different coloured paper to write on, then stick it on?

I traced around the edges with black texta to create a bolder effect

When your paper is folded up, you'll want something nice on the front, yes?

Tasha likes feathers, so I searched through my sticker stash until I found something she would like, and stuck it on the front, again tracing around it with a thin black liner.

I added a bit of coloured twine around the paper, just for kicks!

What else can we do to make it extra special for Tasha?  

I made a little pouch for the letter to go into, and added her name on the front with alphabet stickers.  I couldn't find another matching 'A' for Tasha....so *cough* we'll shorten her name to Tash for today :)

At this stage, you can add further stickers, tape, borders....anything really. You could even tuck a blank postcard inside, or a photo.

Try to compliment the colours you are already working with.

Right, now for how we are going to send it.  I don't want it to be damaged during the post from Australia to America, so I'll wrap it in something.  Tasha likes herbs, so I found this page that I tore our of Frankie Magazine.

I did a simple wrap of the letter, and popped another feather sticker on the end.  It's one that will easily peel off in case Tasha wants to use the paper for her own craft.

Pop it in an envelope (I've only used a plain one here, but you can make something really creative if you like).

Remember to write clearly, and use the correct postage.

Seal her up and you're done!

A bit of washi tape never goes astray. Don't forget your return address!

And there you have it. Make the recipient of your letter smile by doing something a little different. It will be worth it when they get it and send you an' OMG!' text or email :)

Happy mail should be happy!  Get creative and do something different for your mailouts this week!

Click here to follow me on Instagram to see more of my mail that gets sent out.

Have you had a good happy mail week?

I'm running out of imagination for Post Titles.  Because really, it's just more and more happy mail photos. What to say?
This is what I've sent off this week.  As for what has come in....sadface. Nothing really worth showing.

The owl and the pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat...

These three items going off for the Postal Society Swaps on swapbot

These five going off for my Week of Letters swap on swapbot

Meet Sakura. Isn't she cute??

A week of beautiful mail in photos. May.

The oh so annoying thing about the ipad, is that it's not very blogger friendly.

I can't comment on posts, I have to go to my normal laptop for that. And it's very hard just to read through people's recent updates. Very frustrating. Even with the app, it's only designed for updating your own blog (basically, very basic) and that's it.

Regardless, I have been reading your posts, just not commenting has much as I would like to because the majority of my Internet surfing is now done on the ipad.

Here are some recent mail photos for you.

Some postcards going out

A most awesome package from Marge through a private swapbot swap.

A beautiful peacock card I got from sendit.net

Is the first thing I received from that website!!!

Now, how gorgeous is this paper? Note the inside pattern of the envelope too.

A package I made up to send for my trinket swap on swapbot.

Going ooff to Alice in Malaysia tomorrow

I also had a handful of letters and postcards that I mailed at the end of last week, and forgot to take a photo of.  I've been very busy spending a fortune on postage. 

My week of Letters swap starts this week, and there is a large handful of people who have joined and have been matched up. These swaps are very popular and I'm happy for it. I already wrote to Steffi in Germany tonight, but won't post until the end of the week so it goes out with all the weeks letters for this swap.

Hope everyone is having some happy mailbox days! 

As usual, you can find me more frequently on Instagram and twitter as olivewasabi, so see you over there.

Sending out some surprise and random mail

I am absolutely loving www.sendsomething.net
Being able to send something to someone you don't know is exciting, especially when it is something you know they will enjoy.

Here is some sendy goodness that's gone out recently...

Send Something. Anything.

One of my wonderful new online friends, Postmuse put me onto this website, and it's just awesome.

www.sendsomething.net

For those of you who love to send and receive happymail, then this particular post is directed at you.  Simply register, and your name and details will be added to a (secure) database where people can send you stuff.  

Now, it is true that a lot of people don't like giving out their addresses online like that, and one of the many reasons why a lot of writers have Post Office Boxes (thinking of getting one myself) but to be honest, I just don't see anyone joining these websites being malicious.  And quite frankly, if someone wants to try and drag me off in the middle of the night they've got to contend with my big-as-a-horse-dog, and THEN they'll have to figure out how to fight me off since I'm a bit on a the chubby side. (I'll just roll riiiiiight over you trouble maker!!!) But for those who don't mind putting their address out there, this just might be the kind of pay-it-forward marvel the world is looking for.

You arn't matched up.
There is nothing obliging you to send anything.
No one is 'checking up' on you.
It's all on YOU to find, or randomly generate a person to send something to.

I like the idea of it being a complete surprise!

I've already packaged up and sent off an envelope to someone there who enjoys smashbooking like me. They are going to LOVE what's inside the envie.
And to make things even more wonderful, a message was left on my profile that someone is sending ME something!!! Just two days after I joined!

Envelope to Weronica in Sweden

Packed full of goodies to smashbook!

And now, I must go because I can see my cat is trying to eat the cheese biscuits I just made.

Happy Writing!

I accidentally went shopping.

Ok so here are some pics of what I've been up to lately.
There are a few outgoing letters, and I did a shop at the scrapbooking store (oops). Also another letter from Olivia.