81

I went to Claremont to see their annual 4th of July parade. It was actually really nice. I don't know why we have never gone, it's literally 5 minutes away from my house. They also have a firework show inside the college but it's not free to we went up to Mt. Baldy to see all the fireworks in the IE. 

Having a holiday on a Wednesday really throws everyone off though. Today felt like Monday! At least it's Friday tomorrow. 

Today I took out my mini sewing machine and made some envelopes. I hope the lace doesn't fall apart.

I have a small stack of mail I haven't replied to so I might just use my new envelopes on that. 

I love waiting for the mail the day after a holiday, it's like twice as much mail!

All the postcards are from my momma-in-law, who went to go visit a friend in Arizona last week. She always sends me postcards when she goes on trips. 

So last year I was really into signing up for free stuff and coupons. I haven't really done much of that lately but I am still receiving stuff. I ended up winning two contests this past week, I don't even remember signing up for them. 

I won a fancy medicated lotion and lip moisturizer,

and nail polish,

I also finished my first embroidery this week! I want to keep making more.

Tomorrow is Postcard Day! A lot of people have been signing up, I am excited to pick a winner! 

  

76

Incoming mail from this week,

Another great package from Mary..Thank you! I have already started filling out the book.

Most of the postcards, aside from the one with the kid and the moose (which are from a swapbot swap) are from my boyfriend's parents who went on a trip to Nevada this past week. They know I love postcards!

I have been working on my outgoing mail so I don't have anything to show for it right now. However today I got to organize my room and got new shelves. I had everything on the floor and all over the place but I love how neat my room looks like now...I wonder how long it will last.

All the boxes and photo albums are full with letters and postcards I have received since 2007!

72

It was yard sale weekend throughout the I.E.
Claremont was having their annual city yard sale next to my brother's school. Unfortunately, it was really empty compared to past years. I still got some pretty cool things. My mother and I usually seek out yard sales for clothes and things we could resell online so most of the stuff I got was to resell. However, I did pick up some postcards at one stand. They were 4 for $.25. I regret not getting more!

Yard sales are also known for all the free stuff people throw out (I'll be driving around the neighborhood tonight to look for boxes that say "FREE STUFF") I got this map for free. I am thinking of using it to mark all the places I get mail from. Also, my cat enjoys sitting on paper and this huge map caught her eye.

 more free stuff, owl recipe cards and a game that looks really complicated and will most likely be used for mail art.

We found a couple of Estates Sales which are always the best! However, the reason why they're estate sales is because the owners are either moving or have passed away. In this case, the lady passed away. They had the entire house open and you could walk in to all the room and EVERYTHING had a price on it. I think we cleaned out the entire house. 

Some of the things I will be keeping to myself,

$2 for all the purses!

Inside of the Minnie Mouse tote was an old ticket stub from the 1989 L.A. County Fair. I thought it was pretty cool since it is also my birth year. It was meant to be.

We also went to another Estate sale where all the had was owl stuff. Owl figurines, owl pictures, owl this and that but they were soo pricey! I did pick up a stack of vintage postcards though...

They're mostly all from Monterey California and nearby areas.

So my momma-in-law also went yard sale hunting and got me buttons! I love her!

65

In my last post I mentioned I stopped at an antique store on the way back from the Poppy Reserve. Here are some of the cute things I found...

I was so excited when I found these! I had seen a seller on Etsy selling the whole set and they looked so pretty! They are mini tin tea cups. They are missing their matching saucers and were previously used to hold paint/water so the insides have seen better days. I love the bright colors and the bottom...they just don't make cute things like this anymore! ..Plus they were only $1 each!

I usually avoid buying vintage/ already written on postcards since I don't really know what to do with them but when I came across these I just had to have them! They're tourist postcard books set that open up to about 14 different views (back and front) of the featured attraction. They are all addressed "Daddy to Patty, Becky and Bobby". Initially I was only going to buy one but they were $0.50 each so I got them all! Check out how cheap it was to mail these back then! it's over 11x that price now.

speaking of stamps, I also mentioned  www.Yardsellr.com a couple of posts back. I ended up getting 200 international stamps for free! I have finally used up all my free photon$ but it was so worth it. 

 These are my favorite out of all them! Most were from Australia, look at the Snugglepod Cuddlepie ones, o cute! and of course Costa Rica :)

I hope to incorporate them in my mail art and finish covering one of my mail boxes. What other cool projects are there to do with stamps? 

and one last thing...last Friday, my brother wanted to see if anyone actually participated in that whole "Kony 2012" so we went to Claremont Village to walk around and look at what I found! I need to go there during the day when they are open. I want all of them! ...except the chef one, that one was creepy because it's eyes moved. How tacky! LOL!

59

Even though I just remembered that I have to read an entire book, study and write a paper for next week, I felt like taking organizing my USA postcards in alphabetical order and figure out which ones I need to complete my collection.

The states with a stamp means I have a postcard from there,

I currently need:
AL, AK, CT, DE, ID, IN, IA, KS, LA, MS, MT, NC, ND, OK, RI, VT,WV,WI, & WY

I would love to trade for any of those states (written and stamped, not in an envelope). I have tons of California (LA/Hollywood, different Beaches and misc. touristy ones).

40

I went to Big Lots the other day and came across a whole craft aisle and everything was so cheap! I really don't like going to Big Lots but this time I found so much great stuff that I had to resist spending the money I don't have at the moment. However I couldn't pass up a huge button grab bag! My mother and I have become obsessed with buttons and we love sitting in the dinning room table and sorting buttons. We could do it all day long!
All these buttons just for $2.00! I will definitely be going back for more soon!

I also bought a booklet of 72 sheets of 6.5" x 4.5" cardstock which is perfect for making postcards! I already made one the other day (instead of studying for my math final)

So as I mentioned before, I am starting to do the whole coupon thing and my latest find was for a free moisturizing body wash from CVS. I came across the coupon on facebook, the offer has now expired. My first $0.00 purchase was exciting!

37

The amount of mail that has been coming in and going out recently has inspired me to update my blog!

July was spent catching up on my mail, getting organized and finding new pen pals. I think I will create a log to keep track of how much mail I receive and send out.

Outgoing mail: August 1st


A closer look to a postcard I made for a member in IUOMA. I really love doing collages!


Now on to some of the goodies I have received recently..

Dollar tree swap from swap-bot. I love the whole color theme of everything, so soft  and relaxing and yay for glue sticks! I go through glue sticks soo fast!


What the mail man left for me today. My family jokes around that I need to invest in a larger mail box.


Christmas in July swap! I was so excited to unwrap the gifts. But i do have to admit it was a little strange opening Christmas presents while it's 100 degrees outside

The package included christmas cards, food markers, sounds of nature cd, a christmas bag with tissue paper and a home made apron!


a close up of the "Feliz Navidad" apron she sent. I can't wait to start baking!



I will leave you all with a shot of my super messy work station. I wish I had a whole entire room dedicated to my snail mail adventures!