A TangleMail Theme Song

Every day, I send a little bundle of TangleMail out into the world; and because the majority of my customers love stamps just as much as I do, I make a special effort to use attractive stamps on the envelope. There have been some beautiful British stamps issued over the years, and those issued in decimal currency (from as long ago as 1971 – pre-me!) are still valid as postage

Living on Easy Street

Maybe it’s a hangover from my childhood reading of Enid Blyton stories (The Children of Cherry Tree Farm etc), but I seem to have developed a certain fondness for ‘quaint’ or ‘quirky’ postal addresses

Project Dissimulation – first creations

As April is bowel cancer awareness month, I was keen to get the first issue of the Project Dissimulation zine completed in time for April – so keen that I managed to be finished early!  When I first put out a call for donations of bird-themed used postage stamps and artistamps, I didn’t really have a clear idea of what exactly I would do with them, although the title chosen for the project obviously lent itself to working with collective nouns (a dissimulation of birds being the traditional collective noun for a group of birds).  Once I sat down to get started, though, the idea shaped itself and the first zine was quickly born, as well as a series of badges.

Please click through to the TangleStore to support Project Dissimulation with a purchase – any profits from Project items sold will be donated to a bowel cancer research/awareness charity.

So far I have completed Volume I of the zine, a matching Project Dissimulation badge (I will create a new badge design for each issue, so they can be collected!), and bird badges made from upcycled postage stamps for anyone who would like a completely individual souvenir of the Project:

The first issue of the Project zine features a variety of collective nouns for birds, illustrated with selected used postage stamps which were donated to the Project.  I’m not sure yet how many zines there will be in total, but I will keep going as long as there are stamps to work with. 🙂  In addition to the current items available, there will soon be a one-off chance to buy a set of badges made from the actual stamps used to illustrate Volume I, as well as bird badges grouped by species.  As the Project progresses, I’m also planning envelope seals, address labels, postcards and mini-notecards – watch this space for updates & availability!

Project Dissimulation Store

If there are any bloggers out there reading this who would be willing to help spread the word with a mention of the Project (please feel free to ‘borrow’ any of the pics used in this post), I would really appreciate your help, too – the more people we can reach, the bigger difference we can make. 🙂

Stamps!

Just a reminder that I still have an open call for bird-themed used stamps (& artistamps) for Project Dissimulation.  I’ve received some beautiful stamps already, and am really looking forward to craftifying them!  The first Project zine will be issued in April, to coincide with Bowel Cancer Awareness Month (in the UK; not sure if this is international or not), but I will be continuing to collect stamps & artistamps for the project & will release further mini-zines as material is collected.  Follow the link for full details of the Project & how you can help.

If you’re fond of postage stamps but don’t have any bird stamps for the Project, don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you!  I’ve also recently decided to clear out some of my excess hoard of used Machin stamps – can I tempt you?  I’ve put together some colour themed packs in the TangleStore so that you can creatively upcycle them however you choose, because with the best will in the world, I will never have enough time to use them all myself!  I’ve also put together a couple of packs with a stamp-upcycling mini-zine for inspiration.  This mini-zine was written in 2011 but hasn’t been available for sale before & will only be available now while my stocks of these used stamps remain.  See listings for more pics & info.

How did that happen?

I suddenly realised I only have 7 copies left of my Going Postal zine!  It might have had a few more views thanks to this fantastic review by Jennie Hinchcliff (co-author of Good Mail Day) on her RedLetter Day Blog (thanks Jennie!).

But once the current copies are gone, I have no plans to reprint, so just thought I would mention in case you want to pop along to the Etsy or Folksy store before they run out! 😉 (Don’t forget you can get 25% discount on your order until end January – see this post for full details.) 

Or if you just want to join me in a bit of a postal celebration, I recently created a new treasury along similar lines – lots of lovely browsables for you! 🙂

FIRST CLASS MAIL

pic below shows Pastel Postage Stamp Stationery Rainbow Set by Edelweiss Post

TangleClub July Update

July’s TangleClub freebie has just been added – hop over to the TangleClub Archive for an exclusive-to-TangleClub-members printable Mail-Craft Mini-Zine!  I spent a lot of June playing with my lovely collection of Machin stamps (and making badges from them!) so this mini-zine was the natural progression.  It includes some very easy ideas for making your own, personalised stationery by using & upcycling your own collected postage stamps, plus some Etsy links for further inspiration.

 If you are not currently a member of the TangleClub but want to share the monthly freebie goodness,  click here for all current membership options, and remember, if you spend $10 or more in the TangleCrafts Etsy Store, you will qualify for TangleClub Basic membership absolutely free!

Zines I Like #4: Miss Sequential #4 by Marissa Falco

I love handwritten zines!  And this 24 page, half-size zine is entirely handwritten & hand-drawn.  In addition, it’s subject is entirely postal related, so this zine could really hardly fail to win me over.  The zine charts Marissa’s relationship with letters & mail from pre-school onwards, including letters written in code, early penpal failures, a template for making your own upcycled envelopes, illustrations of mail received, penpals past & postal workers known, and a handy resources page.  And lots more, of course.  There is lots to recognise here in the world of the postal-obsessive, so highly recommended.  Visit the ThimbleWinder Etsy Store to
snaffle your copy.