Postcard week #28, 2013

This week has been insignificant in terms of quantity, but among those few postcards that I got, there is one of my all-time favorites an another one is a postcard from India, which is still a quite rare country on Postcrossing.

From The Netherlands via Postcrossing

This postcrosser was extremely considerate. She had seen the other postcard of this two-card series that I had in my collection, so she decided to help me complete it. Thank you, Marloes!

From India via Postcrossing
Little Egret (Egretta garzetta)

From U.S.A. via Postcrossing
Broaded Chinoiserie sheer gown, Jeanne Paquin, 1925 by Tom Tierney

This American postcrosser not only sent me a gorgeous card, but she also chose me as one of the  lucky persons she sometimes sends extras to. I got a handmade envie with this postcard and many great stickers! She just wanted to share them and brighten my day. Well, she certainly did! It's my first time "getting RAKed*", and I must say it's truly heartwarming :)

*RAK - Random Act of Kindness

From Belarus via Postcrossing
Red deer (Cervus elaphus)

And now, drrrruuummmmmmrollllll --- 

From the United Kingdom via Postcrossing

---- here it is, in all its glory. The drawn map card of Cornwall. I've always wanted to have it, since I'm interested in Celtic heritage, lands and customs. And I didn't even have to arrange a private swap or anything. Once again, it was pure kindness of a member of the Postcrossing community. I cannot thank her enough!

As for the stamps, I especially liked the ones of the prominent people of India (Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and I. Ghandi) and the famous Dutch cabaretiers J-L. Pisuisse and E. Jacobs.

Bye for now!

Postcard week #27, 2013

Last week Postcrossing karma finally went full circle and after five days of working away from home I came back and found a very pleasant surprise waiting for me. That's what I got -------> CLICK ME I KNOW YOU WANT TO, plus another letter from my penpal in Switzerland, but I somehow lost the photo of it. Ahhh, the stress is taking it's toll on me! I hate to misplace or forget things. 

Anyway, here's the postcard dose for the twenty-seventh week of this year.

From Germany via Postcrossing

From Finland via Postcrossing

From France via Postcrossing

From U.K. via Postcrossing
Love this card!

From Japan via Postcrossing

From The Netherlands via Postcrossing
The sender had bought this card in a second hand shop in Finland.

From U.S.A. via Swap-bot
(NYUP Sender's Choice #7 swap)
Although it arrived damaged, it is a great lenticular (3D) card showing the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.

From U.S.A. via Swap-bot
(NYUP Sender's Choice #7 swap)
My first The Simpsons card!

From U.S.A. via Postcrossing
I must admit that I'm more fond of English Bulldogs than babies :S

 I also decided to take photos of the stamps I receive. To me they are equally as exciting to see as the postcards themselves. I don't collect them and usually pass on the ones I cut from the plain envies, but for a naked postcard stamps are a must. I wish I could cheer someone up with beautiful stamps, but sadly, that is nearly impossible.

An Angry Birds stamp!!! 

This stamp didn't come on a postcard, but I decided to show it off anyway :) It's impressive because of its size, as you can tell from the postmark:stamp ratio.

I have almost completely refrained from participating in mail art and foodie swaps for the summer. It's just that I'm very low on time nowadays, and when I do have time, I feel too exhausted to put enough effort into making something worth sending to my partners. The only swap series that I'm hosting (Envie With a Challenge) on Swap-bot is gaining more attention each time, but that will also be put on hold. The heat has been awful for the past couple of weeks (reaching 40 ºC on some days), and even though I have several penpal letters to answer, I really don't want to sweat and leave sticky fingerprints on the paper, hahaha. So I guess I'm on a forced swap-vacation for the coming weeks or even months. I don't really mind, since in two weeks I'm going back to my home country for a visit, and family dinners, barbecues and mojitos will prevent me from getting anything done anyway. I will continue swapping postcards wherever I am, though, and it will be a good opportunity to focus more on quality letters for the few penpals that I have. Moreover, I still have some blog posts about the most successful previous swaps pending, and some awesome mail gems to share with you. I have already realised I would never be able to manage those AND swapping at the same time. THE BOTTOM LINE IS (I'm getting worse at writing by the minute), welcome summer, f* you heat, goodbye for now swaps.

I am going to naughtily flash new received postcards this weekend.

See you!