Smiles Sent Saturday~7/8/2017

Well, it's July and this will be my second post for the year...a little slow, huh?  It's been a hard year.  I've been recovering from surgery and my sister has been recovering from a bad heart infection.  Then my grandmother who lives with us was diagnosed with dementia, so Hospice came in.  A few months later she died at home.  So, not only has it been hard to find the time and energy, not only to blog about writing, but to actually write and be artistic.  I think up until the last month or so, I only got one letter written this year, but I did pull off A Month of Letters Challenge with small note-cards and get my great aunts cards or postcards most months, and that's important to me...and I believe them.   But, I'm slowly getting back into writing people and decorating envelopes, so I'm hoping to get posting on here.  For now, here's some patriotic mail.

For the 4th of July I sent cards to my "short list" of great aunts, etc.   I've had a hard time over the years finding Independence Day cards, this year I was glad to find 8-packs of cards with blue stars on it at the Dollar Tree.  Was it supposed to be 4th of July cards? No, but with some red pens writing in them, and USA envelopes, they worked great!  I didn't do any big decoration this time, but I addressed with navy ink and returned addressed with red, and with the help of vintage stamps and stickers to seal, it turned out pretty nice I think.   One thing that is easy to find for 4th of July is stamps...there's lots of USA stamps!

I recently got to go to some Civil War historical sites, including Appomattox.  Since I'd gotten a few of the 150 anniversary stamps, when they came out, I stopped at the post office and had a couple Appomattox postcards hand stamped...including one I sent to myself! :)  Fun!  The lady working there was so nice, she lined it up just right, and sat it aside so that it'd dry well and not smear!

Well, that's all for now, hopefully I'll be able to post...& write more going forward!

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

Smiles Sent Saturday ~ 7/16/2016 ~ 4th of July

Well, it's been a while since I've posted...in part because I've got to share some of my smiles in person...in other words I got to visit many of those I send mail to!

For the 4th of July I made my own cards this year-it's hard to find 4th cards, plus it saved money, and turned out supper cute if I do say so myself! :)  I started with plain black cards-and drew fireworks on the front.  Then I made "Happy 4th of July signs to paste on the inside with some clipart I found online (here) combined with a font.

I also had some stamps I was really excited to get to use on this:

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.

Freedom is not free…

Today in America we observe Memorial Day (a day to remember those who have died defending our country and freedoms). I know I have some international readers, so this may not interest you, if not, you can just skip this post. But if you are interested in my thoughts this Memorial Day, and my reflections on my family's sacrifice for freedom, please click:

Patriotic Summer Hutch

For summer, I’m decorating in a patriotic theme since 3 of the main patriotic holidays are in a just over a one month span from Memorial Day through Flag Day to July Forth. I want to decorate the whole kitchen, so this may change as I get more time to work on this. But this is what I have right now:

Please ignore the photos in the frame, I have to find and get in the right size