A Fantastic Mail Week

This week my mailbox was filled with an embarrassment of riches. In one week, I received a month worth of wonderful mail. I got postcards and letters and mail art and my own birth certificate and some things I'd ordered- my first fountain pen and my first passport.

 Here is a detail of the lovely two sided collage I got from a stranger in a swap.

 A detail of my passport, which I signed with my brand new fountain pen.

 A detail of my postcard from a Valentine Swap- Thailand does a great job with their stamps!

 A lino print valentine from my mail art penpal Dawn. I should have taken a detail picture of this, because the  orange paint or ink creates a little raised line around the details, like embossing.  I did not know we were exchanging Valentines, so I sent her a regular mail art letter made from pieces of my shoes and stuff. At least I tucked in a little heart woven from patterned privacy envelopes.

 A glittery blue olive branch seal.

This one is a Valentine that I sent to myself via Valentine, Texas. They couldn't fit the special postmark on the postcard without obscuring the note I wrote to myself, which read, "C- Happy Valentines Day! <3 C." Sending myself a Valentine turned out to be a totally unnecessary precaution against sadness. But, last year I sent a bunch of friends re mailed Valentines without sending myself one, and then I didn't have one around to show people. 

Lastly, this "message in a bottle" arrived weeks ago but I got to open it on Valentine's and it was 6oz of lovely treats. Stickers, candy, ribbons, and a lovely letter, among other things. The one I sent arrived took two weeks to get from California to Ohio, so it arrived on the 16th, but I think my swap partner was happy with it. First Class (stamped) mail has to be under 13 oz, and I was so nervous that it would weigh more than 13 oz that I filled the bottle with feathers and old postage stamps. Well, it weighed 1.75oz. 

I don't forsee having a week like this again, but it was neat!