Snail Mail

I remember when all the mail we got was what we now call "snail mail."  If we wanted to keep in touch with friends and family from far away, we would send cards and letter through the post office.  Then came email, e-greeting cards and facebook and it was so much easier to send greetings through the internet.  So, few people sent real letters and cards anymore.

But, for me, it is exciting to look forward to receiving something by snail mail.

Isn't it delightful to see who the letter is from and  to wonder what's inside?  Sometimes there is the added bonus of a pretty envelope and a stamp to add to my long time collection of Christian/ Christmas or Architecture stamps.  Just like this pretty envelope from Susanna...

 

When I got into trading artist trading cards, the postman must have been surprised at why I was suddenly getting mail again!

How delightful it is to open an envelope with a new artist trading card for my collection, sometimes with the added surprise of a pretty card, a lovely message, some paper scraps or some other wonderful surprise. 
 
Then there are the blog giveaways.  Giving them or receiving them are delightful to me.  Look at this beautiful journal I received from Lani of Healing Expressions.

 

 Doesn't it look pretty on my shelf (together with some of Purplecat's art)?...

Here is what I chose after I won a Firefly Blankets gift certificate from Hope Studios' Tutorial Tuesday.  These wonderful flannel squares can be used as baby wipes, lunchbox napkins or a washcloths and they come in such pretty prints!

And here are some pretty pink hair ties I got from Birgit of the Swapping Howdies blog.  I will be giving them away to a little friend...

 

Just today, another surprise in the mail - free luggage tags from KLM!  I got them from their "Create your personalized luggage tags" website  and I used one of my artist trading cards for the design.  

(If you are from Australia, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Finland, Denmark, Sweden or Norway, you can get your own free tags, too.)

Thank you, all, for all these gifts.  After receiving all these goodies, is it any wonder that I delight in receiving snail mail? 

I have finished the ATC that I made for Carola.  I hope that she, too, will be delighted when she receives it!