parcels of postal goodness

Departing this week: two parcels of postal goodness, filled with fun mail-themed goodies. 

According to the swap guidelines, only one item could be store-bought, so it challenged participants to be a little creative and resourceful about finding things to send. I'd actually ordered copies of the U.S. philatelic catalog awhile ago, thinking they might be fun to include if my partners were overseas, but as it turned out they're both here in the States, so I'll just save those for another time.

The packages include:

* packet of hand-stamped postal images

* fold and seal aerogramme

* V-Mail stationery sheet  inspired by stationery used to communicate with soldiers during WWII

* Secret Decoder Cipher Wheels

* vintage Cathay Airways airmail envelopes and stationery

* Griffin and Sabine postcards

* personalized address labels

* sheet of fun facts about mail from USPS

* hand-stamped "write your own story" tags

If you're a mail lover and you haven't checked out the Letter Writers Alliance, by the way, you should! The blog is full of wonderful news and information about the art of letter writing, and they offer many amazing downloads like the ones above. You can even become a member and correspond with other like-minded lovers of the written word.

I wrapped up the packages in vintage papers, one with illustrations from Mother Goose, since one of my partner likes children's storybook illustrations, and wrapped the other with maps since that particular partner likes to travel. Pretty fun stuff! I hope they'll both be able to use the items I sent, and I can't wait to receive my own.