dedicated.

Image from: imgur.com

proposed price increases.

News broke today that the USPS is proposing a 3 cent price increase on postage starting in 2014!

Image from: news.yahoo.com

The USPS is hoping the price increase will raise $2 billion in revenue. The increase, which would go into effect in January 2014 if it is approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Here are some highlights of the new single-piece First-Class Mail pricing:

Letters (1oz): 3 cent increase to 49 cents
Letters additional ounces: 1 cent increase to 21 cents
Letters to all International destinations (1oz): $1.15
Postcards: 1 cent increase to 34 cents

Read the full press release by the USPS here.

p.s. Will this increase effect you and the amount of letters you mail?

tiny post offices.

I discovered this tumblr the other day with tiny sketch drawings of small town post offices.

Image from: tinypostoffices.tumblr.com

He turned these drawings into postcards. A set of 10 letterpress postcards for $15.00. They are so adorable!


p.s. You can pick up a set here.

postal museum. copenhagen.

A year later I am finally getting around to organizing and filing some photos and stumbled across some of these from our honeymoon.

While we were in Copenhagen, Denmark I spotted a postal museum!

 

While we were there I snapped these pictures of us as the faces of two of their postage stamps.

stamps: ray charles

Image from: beyondtheperf.com

The USPS honors Ray Charles with a new stamp today! This is one of several stamps in the Music Icons series. Ray Charles is a composer, singer, and pianist, blind since childhood, went beyond category, blending blues, gospel, country, jazz and soul music in a unique and highly influential pop music style. Some of his many hits include "I've got a Woman," "Georgia on My Mind," and "I Can't Stop Loving You."

The artwork on the new stamp features a picture of Charles, taken later in his career, by photographer Yves Carrére. The stamp sheet was designed to evoke the appearance of a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve. One side of the sheet includes the stamps and the image of a sliver of a record seeming to peek out the top of the sleeve. A larger version of the photograph featured on the stamp and the logo for the Music Icons series appear on the reverse side.

Art director Ethel Kessler worked on the stamp sheet with designer Neal Ashby. The Ray Charles stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp.

mailboxes. copenhagen.

I took this picture while we were in Copenhagen, Denmark on our Honeymoon (Hard to believe it is been over a year already). I love how every country in Europe has such neat and different mailboxes!

p.s. Do you take pictures of different mailboxes when you are traveling?

my home. part 1

There are several places in my home that when I look at them I smile. Some of those places have to do with letters and mail! I thought I would share these places with you on a little home tour. Some of the places are still a work in progress, so when I finish those I will make a post about them.

First, is our mantle. We have a lovely gas fireplace, which I can not wait to use this winter with a cup of hot coco (and extra marshmallows). When we moved in, we painted the mantle cream to better match the walls in the room. I then added a few of my favorite things. 

I found this red mailbox while shopping at World Market one day and just knew I had to have it! I also found the adorable chalkboard easel, which we used in our wedding and afterwards thought it would look great next to the mailbox.

Sitting next to those are a few vintage items I picked up while in Mount Dora, Florida a few christmases ago while visiting my in-laws. By the way, if you ever get a chance to go to Mount Dora, I suggest you do so. There are so many great antique shops in town and they all have tons of vintage mail paraphernalia!

Here is a close up of the vintage items. The three metal tins are old typewriter ribbon tins and behind those are old mailing tubes. They are made of wood and have screw on tops. I was so excited to find these! The taller one still has the mailing label and postage on it. These old mailing tubes are so much cooler than the ones they have out now days.

p.s. Do you have any vintage mail paraphernalia in your house that you just love?