Postcrossing : a wonderful way to communicate and make new friends!

I often mention  Postcrossing.com  as it's become a real interest of mine,  and if you haven't already heard of it you may like to investigate by following the links to give it a try - completely free to join - all you need is to choose a postcard to send and buy a stamp!

I first discovered Postcrossing through research I was carrying out online while making a stamp collage and wanting to find out about a certain stamp I was including. I came across a site which gave me all the information I needed, but also mentioned Postcrossing as a way of communicating with all sorts of people in practically every country in the world! It's really nice to receive mail of this sort - not just the brown envelopes, or junk mail variety!  Some people become penfriends and regularly exchange letters, cards and also become friends on facebook!!  Hello! You know who you are!!It's been quite amazing to discover that so many have similar interests and my Postcrossing friends are based in Russia, Finland, Estonia,Canada, Poland,  the Netherlands,  Kazakhstan, Ukraine, France, Japan, USA  ...and as well as stamps we have exchanged Tea Bags, sewing patterns, sugar packets, magazines,  serviettes and endless stories!! If you speak any foreign languages and want to practise, some people will definitely appreciate your attempts!   Families the world over are more or less the same, with the same concerns, happy and sad times and it's great to share stories, and at the same time learn about our different cultures, celebrations and lifestyles. You may also find that many share your interests too!  I love it!

Who says nobody writes letters any more?

Postcrossing card  received from Germany

Beautiful hand made card received from the Netherlands - thanks to Helma!

More about postcrossing - and I'm so pleased I joined and now receive interesting things in the mail instead of just brown envelopes and junk mail - although this can also have its uses, as some very creative people  turn it into works of art!  I send and receive postcards to people all over the world and also exchange stamps with other collectors. It's not restricted to stamps either as people often request other items they like to collect, such as beer labels, fridge magnets, and I've just been asked if I have any bow ties I could exchange for stamps! Hoping I can oblige!

My postbox yesterday contained letters from Russia and the Philippines, and also this week I've had mail from the Netherlands and Belarus!

Cards and beautifully decorated envelope received from Jose in the Philippines

English/Philippino dictionary

A little late, but also have to include this beautifully hand made card from Ada in the Netherlands - note the hand sewn Christmas tree!

Not only do we receive cards, letters and stamps and make friends with other postcrossers, we even learn a few words in other languages such as Philippino!    I will have to find the word to say , "Thanks" when I send my reply along with my postcards and stamps!

Postcrossing - I love it!

I've been a member of Postcrossing.com for just a few months but already I've made some great friends in all corners of the world.  We may never meet but it's really nice to exchange news and information and also swap postcards, stamps and .. er, beer labels! It's so lovely to receive interesting post and if you send postcards to others, you will receive cards back too and you can specify what you would prefer to receive.
Take a look at the website for further details.  It costs nothing to join, just the price of a stamp and the postcard of course, but if you are anything like me, you probably have some you've gathered on your travels and you can sometimes find something that someone else will really appreciate. Currently it's  88p to post a card to most parts of the world for a postcard - but do check first, and be sure to attach an air mail label or it may take some time to arrive!

I received this card from Berlin, which gave me the final push to create my own version of the Brandenberg gate (see previous post - work in progress).                I've been hard at work trying to finish my stamp collage, and trying to track down the horses to make my own version of the Quadriga on the top of the gate.  Also searching for suitable stamps to make up the visitors - still lots to do, and I still haven't found a suitable sized John F Kennedy stamp!

Images of horses on stamps - JS Bach and JF Kennedy - all with a connection to the Brandenburg gate

Crowd of visitors to the Brandenburg gate - not sure if Sir Rowland Hill ever visited!

Back to Postcrossing - since receiving the cards from Berlin, I've exchanged some cards with the sender, and have received many more from countries including Russia, Belarus, New Zealand, Lithuania, Ukraine, Singapore,  China, Taiwan, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany and the USA.  Some of the cards I've received have been beautifully hand crafted and I will post separately about this!

Official Philatelic Passports - Stamp Show 2000

I recently read Tim Clegg's interesting article in September issue of Stamp & Coin Mart (p.44-45) about his "stamps" collected en route on his charity fund-raising walk to Santiago de Compostela in Spain - the Camino. I've become quite interested in postmarks and commemmorative hand stamps and have incorporated some in my Postage stamp quilt designs, detailed in previous posts.  They all have a certain story to tell and are part of the history of the place they were sent from.
Rummaging through a drawer, as I quite often do, in the search for  stamps to include in a current stamp collage picture, I came across a souvenir Passport from The Stamp Show 2000 at Earls Court in May of that year, issued by Royal Mail.  It's the Official Philatelic Passport, and contains more than 60 pages with the stand number and country exhibiting together with the stamps and postmarks collected at the show.
As a stamp collector and  part-time stamp dealer my dad would make a yearly visit to the Stamp Exhibition and on this occasion he visited the majority of stands and at each one collected a postage stamp and then had it postmarked with a unique hand stamp. Sadly this was the last  one he attended, and I haven't come across any more of these passports, but feel sure there must have been others. It's a lovely item and something to treasure as it is a record of a day in the life of  a keen philatelist.

Stamps from the stands of Malta, Moldova, Monaco and the Netherlands

Stamps from Kiribati, Mauritius, Na mibia and Nauru.
Note the use of the Millennium Dome  image