it's 3.14 - happy pi day!

I participated in a Swap-Bot pi day card/postcard swap. I send the top left card, which I purchased on zazzle. I received the rainbow pi and pi-rate cards from my partners in the swap. More about pi day can be found on the pi day site.

Postcards

Are you reading my vintage postcard blog, The Postman Loves Me? If not, I hope you will take a look!

More Zentangle Postcards

I signed up for a Zentangle Postcard Swap on swap-bot. The only design limitation was a leaf somewhere on the postcard. I made the bottom zentangle first, but didn't like it enough to send, so I created the top one, which I liked much better.

I Heart Pets

I received this adorable handmade postcard from one of the kids participating in a postcard exchange on swap-bot! The excitement of getting another dog is so evident, it makes me smile.

Pet Postcard Project

The Pet Postcard Project helps shelter animals - for each homemade postcard received, a sponsor donates a specific amount of food to a shelter. Walter and I have been participating off and on since last fall (when we can think of fun ideas in the categories: confession, advice, wishes, excuses, and you know you love your cat/dog when). We're sending off a few cards to them tomorrow. This is a great way to help animals (and there are contests that you might win). If you have kids, it would be a fun project to do with them.

Here are the cards we're submitting this month:

Postcard Blog

I decided to start a separate blog for postcards - please check it out here!

Vintage Oklahoma Postcards

I acquired these vintage postcards of Turner Falls from ebay.

Zentangle Postcard

I made this for a swap-bot swap. Because this was to be sent "naked" through the mail, the swap coordinator suggested we use sharpies instead of the micron art pens usually used when making zentangles. I did so, thinking it wouldn't make much of a difference, but I was surprised at how much more precise and in control I felt when using the micron pen as compared to the sharpie.

Oh My George

George had to work on Saturday, and he didn't want to go home and then to the airport after work. Instead, he stopped at the Antique Mall on Hwy 96. He said he went to get a "wooden tool" he'd noticed early in the week. Only after we got home did I realize he was referring to a "tool for wood" rather than a "wooden tool" which was quite a shock to my mental image.

In any case, the point of this story is that George was very sweet and purchased some postcards for me there. Of course, George doesn't want to get a reputation for being sweet, so he said he tried to find the "creepiest" ones they had!

Postcard Postage (US)

As you probably already know, I love postcards - and I don't get enough of them, even though I swap through online sites - so I'd love you to send one written and "naked" (stamped, no envelope) or blank ones in an envelope. But you may not know that all postcards don't qualify for postcard rate postage, which is currently 28 cents. Only standard 4 x 6 postcards can be sent with postcard stamps. Larger postcards (often 5 x 7, though some are larger) require additional postage.

Some postcard companies include lines for the recipient's address designed to match the front of the card, as in the samples below. The far left sample has a landscape photo on the front of the card, while the near left postcard has a portrait photo on the front. When a 5 x 7 postcard is addressed in the "landscape" style, it requires regular first class postage (44 cents). However, if a 5 x 7 postcard is addressed "portrait" style, it exceeds the acceptable dimensions for first class postage (6-1/8 inches high). Currently, cards addressed in this manner require 88 cents postage.

So, what do you do if the postcard you purchase has a "portrait" style format on the back? You probably don't want to pay the extra postage, so there is an easy fix - simply ignore the lines the company has printed and instead address the card "landscape" style.

Caveat: I have received postcards addressed in a "portrait" style with 44 cents postage that have made it through the mail system, but more often, I have had to go to the post office to pay the extra postage due.

USPS First Class Mail Guidelines