Smiles Sent Saturday~12/19/15~Christmas packages & mail

Here's some Christmas themed mail I've sent lately:

 This paper had a horn on it, so I decided to go with musical stamps.

Smiles Sent Saturday ~ 12/12/15 ~ Christmas Cards

Here's our Christmas Card envelopes for this year.

This was our main one-the card was navy blue with a silver town of Bethlehem embossed on it.  I had bought them on clearance around last Christmas, and was excited that the stamps released last year matched, but when I went to buy them around the first of the year they were gone, so I had to buy press sheets and cut it apart.

This one I used a different stamp for the same card.  This card is one my sister and I mail to the widow of our childhood mailman.  We were homeschooled, so were always home when the mail came, and when we'd see him coming down the road my mom would let us run out to wait (safely off the road) for him to come and he'd hand the mail to my sister and I.  He retired, and we grew up, but we reconnected a few years ago at the funeral of another mailman who went to church with us-we posed for a photo.  He said ours was the only house he'd hope for junk mail at, so he'd have something to hand to each of us.  We started sending him Christmas cards with a little note/letter updating him on our lives, and after he died, we continue to send them to her.  I thought the stamp was great as it matched the card and was also mail themed which was perfect for how we knew her.

And this is a different card we sent.  It had Christmas lights as the cover.  I tried to copy the image for the envelope and then I saw the Charlie Brown stamps!  I was thrilled-like the movie and the stamps coordinated SO well!

We also did alternate stamps on some of these-this was for a family some of whose children's came to the family through adoption, so the corner stamp was perfect, the rocking horse was cute, and the Tiffany lamp was kind of like colored lights.

I also helped my grandmother get her Christmas cards out.  She's to the point where all she can do is sign them, but I get cards I know she'll like and get the envelopes all addressed and stamped for her-she really liked the pretty stamps!

I think between the cards our family mailed, our family sent through our church to homebound members, and the ones I helped my grandmother send I can account for over 100 cards!  So fun!!!

The name “Smiles Sent Saturday” denotes my hope these things I mailed made the people who got them smile.

Smiles Sent Saturday ~ 11/22/2015 ~ Thanksgiving Cards & package

This week I thought I'd share some of the envelopes I decorated for Thanksgiving cards as well as what went in a small care package for a relative in the armed forces.

For my grandfather who is fond of apples!  The Valley Forge stamp is technically a Christmas stamp-but the colors matched and prayer & Thanksgiving go together.

For our goddaughter - I thought this envelope ended up being "cheerful"

I just LOVE those "We Give Thanks" stamps!

Attempt at oak tree to mirror card

The card looked like pencil art, so I used a colored pencil for the tree.

This card had roses in a pumpkin.

Thought the peppers worked well.

Love the Illinois stamp-so pretty & perfect for Thanksgiving.

The card had blackberries on it, and the football & dog stamps were to represent what we plan to watch on Thanksgiving.

Gave up on the oak leaves, & went generic with the leaves. 

Football!

For a letter to a great aunt whose dad used to work on a train & part of the letter was about packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.

This is probably my favorite of the envelopes!  Ducks flying from a fall lake!  I measured against a postmark on a card I received to be sure the ducks would be canceled...

And finally, here's what went in the care package.  Thanksgiving classics: turkey, cranberries, and pecan pie...all a little different.  Plus M&M candy corn, a Mounds Bar (as I normally make coconut pie), popcorn, & Uno Avengers as game playing is always a part of our family Thanksgivings.  And, not pictured are some homemade pumpkin cookies.

The name “Smiles Sent Saturday” denotes my hope these things I mailed made the people who got them smile.

Smiles Sent Saturday ~ November 14, 2015 ~ Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

This week’s a little different.  Instead of something I mailed through the Postal Service.  This is about the shoeboxes I sent through Operation Christmas Child.  For two decades they've collected shoeboxes filled with school & hygiene supplies as well as toys and other items from individuals, families, and groups, then deliver them around the world to children in need or crisis.  My family's done it for most of those years.  Here's three of those boxes I packed this year for girls with different themes:

This was a "rabbit" box for a girl 2-4 years old.    Someone gave the us the rabbits-and they looked like a "mother & baby", so I didn't want to split them up-so I found other smaller items to fit in around it-I was quite pleased with how much I could get in!  I even found a small toy and thin composition book with writing paper in it to add later.

This was for a girl 10-14 years old.  I went with owl themed.  My mom sewed the owl bag, I found the owl report cover (which I used to make a Stationery Set), stamp, collapsible water bottle, and stamp were on clearance at CVS,  The crocheted bracelet with owl button was donated, and we already had the owl wrapping paper.  To be able to get more to fit I put the puzzle pieces in a zippered bag and tucked small items around it in the puzzle box.

This was a cat box.  The report cover had a a cat with a ball of yarn on it and was also a stationery set.  I was pleased with how many cat items I found I had as well as other items I was able to fit in.

Our family, including my aunt, packed 50 boxes this year.  You can see some others of those we packed for different ages and genders a Girl 2-4 years old, Boy 2-4 years old, Girl 10-14 years old, & Boy 10-14 years old) at my Simply Shoe Boxes.

The name “Smiles Sent Saturday” denotes my hope these things I mailed made the people who got them smile.

Smiles Sent Saturday~11/8/15~Veteran's (Armistice) Day

This coming Wednesday America will celebrate Veteran's Day, in other parts of the world I believe it's called Armistice Day (as it's celebrated on the day the Armistice to end WWI). A couple years ago I started sending cards that'd I'd found at the local dollar store. It seems to be well received, especially by one who served during the Vietnam War in Hawaii, his wife told me that he really liked/appreciated  it and didn't remember anyone ever doing that for him.  So, if you know a veteran, please consider sending them a card, it may mean more than you know.

This was for my Grandfather who served in the rebuilding of Europe after WWII.

...another card...

...for a WWII Veteran who I think served on the European front (under Ike)... 

 ...a WWII vet who served on the home-front (hence General Marshal who did the same)...

...a Vietnam Marine Vet....

...and finally for someone serving in the Navy linked to the aviation sector.

The name “Smiles Sent Saturday” denotes my hope these things I mailed made the people who got them smile.

Smiles Sent Saturday ~ 10/17/15 ~ Sweetest Day & others

Today is "Sweetest Day" if you're not familiar with that holiday it's a holiday that originated in the Midwest and is similar to Valentine's Day but was originally supposed to be less romantic.  Here's some of the envelopes I sent family for the holiday.

Although it didn't show up well in this scan, the two flowered stamps were pink, it matched the card really well.

This was supposed to be a heart shaped hot air balloon, didn't turn out too great though.

Another Sweetest Day Envelope

 This was a birthday card envelope...didn't have much time to decorate it, so just took three highlighters (yellow didn't show up here) and made little squares to invoke confetti-turned out better than I hoped!

 This was an envelope I made out of an old calendar-the pansies matched the paper I wrote the letter on and for stamps I decided to go through my stash and pick purple stamps, not a certain theme...sure enjoy having a variety of stamps to pick from!

And finally, something I didn't mail:

Local fair had a gift wrap category-made mine mail themed...didn't win, but I think it turned out cute! For the "Stamps" I printed out images I found on The Graphic's Fairy and cut around them with shaped scissors.

The name “Smiles Sent Saturday” denotes my hope these things I mailed made the people who got them smile.

Smiles Sent Saturday~September 26, 2015

I'm finally getting back to mailing some fun mail:

This one was to a great aunt who really enjoys her county fair.  I've gone in the past, but didn't make the trip this year.  So,  I made a card with a photo I'd taken of her fair, and did this envelope-I thought the ribbon turned out pretty cute, and I really liked how all the stamps went with a fair-thing entered, etc.

I had to mail a couple brown envelopes for birthdays lately to include all I wanted  to send, but they dressed up nicely:

This one was based on the stamps-there were a couple I really wanted to use, then I picked a couple more to coordinate with the color. As you can see I tried to match the font on the Louisiana stamp in the name-just put a few of the letters in alphabetical order to show what it looked like. 

I used some washi tape I got on after Christmas clearance last year at Walmart.

I took this one into the Post Office and the clerk thought it was very pretty, hopefully the recipient did, too, I know she likes butterflies!  I'm enjoying mixing current and vintage stamps for extra postage.

 This is the back, here's a link to where I found the PDF to print the Butterfly Labels.

This was to welcome a new dog a family member got.

This envelope was enclosed in one of the brown envelopes, but would be cute for a mailed one, too.

The name “Smiles Sent Saturday” denotes my hope these things I mailed made the people who got them smile. 

A Charlie Brown Christmas Stamps!!!!

Are you like me, keeping an eye out on the United State's Postal Services upcoming stamp page? I do, but this one sneaked by me! I went to the USPS's Online Postal Store to check something else and saw this image:

Mailbox...one of my favorite Christmas specials...what can I say?  I "need" it!!   I quickly clicked on the link for A Charlie Brown Christmas and saw them all-looks like 8 different designs!

Am I the only one who can't wait to get their hands on these?  They are available October 1!

Remember, if your local post office doesn't have the stamp you want, you can always order them online at the USPS's Postal Store.

Do you have a favorite past, current, or upcoming stamp?

Smiles Sent Saturday~September 12, 2015

I haven't posted in a while, right after my last post I went to visit extended family and within days of getting back my grandmother who lives with us ended up in the hospital twice than spent a few weeks in physical therapy/rehab, and is now home.  So, it's been a little crazy and I've got very little mailed, but I've got a little mailed, so thought I'd share a few photos.  You can see I'm enjoying using vintage stamps!

Well, I've got to go get working on my Christmas Card envelope planning!

The name “Smiles Sent Saturday” denotes my hope these things I mailed made the people who got them smile.

Smiles Sent Saturday~May 9, 2015

Well, I haven't been posting much, in part, because I've been busy preparing to visit a lot of the people I normally only get to "send smiles" to!  But here's a few envelopes I've decorated lately.  I'm really enjoying using vintage stamps to get just the right one for the envelope!

This one is to go with a card with a squirrel on a similar tree.  

This card was red & yellow with sunflowers and lady bugs

A play on "April showers bring May Flowers"

 This was a car birthday card with circles.

The name “Smiles Sent Saturday” denotes my hope these things I mailed made the people who got them smile.