Last out-going mail of the year 2012 + snail mail themed X'mas presents received ^_^

Happy New Year 2013 to all my readers~~♡♥(。´▽`。)♥♡

The past year has been such a great year what comes to receiving mail; I've joined and created many great swaps, sent and received beautiful post cards all over the world and even got new penpals! I hope my mail box will stay happy next year too. I also want to thank all the readers, I think it's great I am able to share my passion for snail mail here at my blog with you fellow mail lovers (ღˇ◡ˇ)♥   I wish you all amazing and snail mail filled new year! *end of the speech* 

~Last out-going mail in 2012~

To my new penpal Samantha in the United States. I hope she will reply me. 

For Kam in HongKong. I sent her a few of my favorite Christmas chocolates with the letter.

Another letter to the States. I really like this new stationery I got from my swap partner, it's so beautiful *-*

For my swap partner Erika in Japan. I promised to send her five cartoon cards. In the end I took off the Pluto card and added three Looney Tunes cards. I sent this swap a little late because I ordered the cards on the Internet and the seller didn't sent the cards in time because of Christmas -__- I contacted my partner and told her about the situation...I hope she is not angry ;;; I sent her two extra cards and memo sheets to prevent her anger ^^;;;

Then~~~ I got pretty nice X'mas presents this year and I want to show you two of them, which are very useful for mail!! 

1)Post stamps!!

I actually asked them from my mom, and she got me some yay! Now I can send punch of postcards and letters and pay zero euros zero cents ! lol 

These post stamps has been my favorites for a while. I get a dreamy feeling of them.

Post stamps of old/80's Finnish bands. Really cool, I already used a few of them! These might be my favorite post stamps at the moment.

Girly and cute stamps.

I got loads of priority stickers with the stamps o__o!! I don't know how I am able to use all of them... I have loads of them now as usually whether I go to post office, I grab punch of them in case I don't find them when needed. Now I definitely do not have to collect them anymore..!

2) second present is surprisingly from my brother!!

I didn't expect anything from him, as usually he doesn't get me anything for X'mas..so this was a nice surprise, especially when the gift wrap didn't reveal the usual chocolate box but something more personal; craft stuff =D He had noticed my interest in mail art although I'm not staying at home alot nowadays. I was very happy! The box included envelopes, different colored and sized cartons and other craft stuff. I will definitely use them with my best skills. 

Air Mail Labels Swap

This is a swap I am hosting currently ^_^ I created this swap because I've started to collect air mail labels =D Every country has their own unique label, so nice & interesting ^0^ 

So far there're participants from the following countries:

1)Germany

2)United States

3)Singapore

4)Japan

5)Britain

6)Netherlands

7)Finland

If you'd like to join us, click here~!

Send Me Bubble Gum!

I recently hosted a bubble gum swap! I received different gums from the United States and United Kingdom (^0^)

Järjestin vähän aikaa sitten purkkavaihdon ja minun parini lähettivät Briteistä ja jenkeistä!!

U.K.:

Englanti:

An amazing little packet♡♡ I really liked the envelope she sent the gums in; it's an air mail envelope and super cute stamps on it!! I wonder if those kind of air mail envelopes can be found here in Finland or online store? They're my favorite envelopes (*_*) I love the air mail pattern!! So far I've received those kind of envelopes from UK, HongKong and South Korea.. so they must be sold somewhere in Finland too, right?!

Sain todella mukavan pikkupaketin!! Erityisesti pidin hänen kirjekuorestaan, koska se on airmail /lentoposti-kuvioinen!! Tykkään tuosta lentopostikuviosta, tuommoset kuoret on minun lemppareitani!! Tietääköhän kukaan, myydäänkö niitä jossain päin Suomea? Minulle on tullut postia tuollaisissa kuorissa Englannista, Hong Kongista ja Koreasta, eli pakkohan niitä on myös Suomessa myydä vai?? 

Close-up of the gums;

Lähikuva purkista:

As usual, I shared the gums with my brother and both of us enjoyed the gums! My favorite was the Cotton Bubble Gum!! It was cotton candy and inside it was gum. 

I also gave some gums for my another brother, his girlfriend, my mom and dad. Everyone gets to have a little international feeling when living with me~xD 

Niinkuin aina, maistelin purkkia veljeni kanssa. Kaikki purkat olivat hyviä, mutta minun lemppari oli Cotton Bubble Gum. Se oli hattaraa, jonka sisällä purkaa. 

Annoin noita purkkia myös toiselle veljelle, sen tyttöystävälle, iskälle ja äitille. Musta tuntuu, että mun veljen tyttöystävä varmaan aattelee, että mä oon ihmetyyppi kun välillä lähettelen mun veljen mukana sille kaikenlaista mitä saan ulkomailta :D 

Then the gums from U.S.A.:

Sitten on vuorossa Usa:n paketti:

SO MUCH DIFFERENT BUBBLE GUMS!! She sent them in a big packet. I can't even.. wow. I am very grateful! Now I have gum to chew for the whole next year =D 

Parini Yhdysvalloista lähettä kolme isoa pussillista ja yhden pitkän patukan purkkaa!! Vaihdossa ei tarvinnut lähettää läheskään näin paljon purkkaa, joten oli suuri yllätys! Nyt minulla on purkkaa varmaan koko ensi vuodeksi :D

Mail from Japan!!

This was my first time after a loooooong time to receive mail from the country of raising sun; Japan! I used to have a penpal there when I was still in the middle school..now I had a private post card swap with Erika! She sent me five amazing postcards!! 

Close-ups of the cards:

I really like all of them, thank you, Erika!

Japanese post stamps. 

Chritsmas Mail

MERRY CHRISTMAS ALL THE READERS  

:*:・(￣∀￣)・:*:

Some X'mas cards I've forgotten to show her on my blog:

For swaps and Postcrossing. 

The funny thing is, that when I assigned the partners for the Christmas card swap I hosted a while ago, I faced some serious misfortune. Can you guess who my partner was?? MY OWN ROOM MATE! =D I recently introduced her to Swap-pot and this is what happens... omg. It's not fun at all!! well I sent the card to her as I was expected to..I gave her two Christmas cards this year :D

These are my favorite Christmas cards I sent this year. 

I guess I've sent this card for someone as I've taken a picture of it, but I don't remember anymore who I sent it and why :D 

Incoming cards from the "Small Christmas/holiday-card" -swap:

LOADS OF INCOMING MAIL!!! O__O ^0^

kkkk so many packets and letters from all over the world were waiting for me today as I got home from my school dormitory ^,^

(Take note of my uber hyber cool Chrtismas editions on the photos xD)

First one is~ from Germany. My first time receiving something from there!

The packet from Germany contained loads of letter paper in a neat packet!! 

Post stamps from Germany.

Moooooooore letter papers and other stationery from U.K.:

(I received this packet already a couple of weeks ago but I've forgotten to post about it.)

The next packet is from France and it contained a dress(I traded one of my own dresses with a French girl). I took a photo of the packet because it's so cute~ Hello Kitty style (•ˆ⌣ˆ‎​​​​•)

(she also sent me two special Japanese candies ^,^ They were yummy!)

French postal paid sticker. I think it's adorable with the paper planes. 

Stickers from "Not Your Normal Sticker Swap #3".

Then, a couple of cards!

From my penpal Joycelyn in Singapore.

Singaporean stamps ^_^

Retro-themed postcard from Israel. (She especially picked this card for me as I like retro and vintage ^,^) It was very exciting to receive a card from Israel as it was my first time and Israel seems to me very different country compared to Finland.

Stamp from Israel.

Letter from my penpal Emily in the States. The small white-black photo is an actual photograph of Manhattan. I really like it and the Christmas card she wrote her news onto. 

Lastly, this what my Korean Penpal Student partner in Indonesia sent for me:

Letter plus two postcards of Indonesia as she read my blog and noticed I hadn't got any cards from her country yet!! It was so kind of her to sent the cards, so thoughtful *_* Thank you so much!

Close-up of the cards. Really like them!

I'll have a little tough time translating what she wrote haha... she is already so good in Korean *o* I'm sure I'll gain motivation and improve my Korean by writing with her and helping each other!!

That's all for now. Quite a lot of mail, right?! 

Ramble about FLAKERS, the group of people I hate the most in my otherwise peaceful life!!

I'm so sick of people who join Swap-bot and various swaps and then decides to send nothing for their partner; flakes on them. Swap-bot is supposed to be fun for EVERYONE, but those selfish people ruin the fun for so many of us. 

I hosted a swap "Memo Sheets and Letter Papers -swap" a while ago. The idea of the swap was to send different stationery to your partner. As a good host, before assigning the partners, I looked through their profiles. Every participants had excellent profiles. So I assigned the partners and let the fun begin. It was fun while it lasted. I got to know that there are three(!!!!!) suspicious persons/flakers. One of them is now fully suspended from Swap-bot, other one is partially suspended and the third, I don't know why she hasn't sent off her swap yet(the deadline was a couple of days ago) although I left her a comment on her profile and reminded her of the upcoming deadline.

Swap-bot is supposed to be a fulfilling experience and a peaceful place for us mail lovers. I personally can not understand what goes on on the flakers' mind!!? Why to ruin the fun for others? Don't they have any feelings, what do they think when they join countless of swaps, not intending to send stuff for any of them? Do they feel bad afterwards? Or are they just pleased with themselves for committing a perfect crime and getting a great haul of free stuff? I really would like to know what kind of persons flakers are in real life, as I know the majority of the Swap-bot users are mothers and wives. I don't really see how a stealing mom is a good role model to her children, or how can her husband let the illegal action of his wife slide? 

The flakers do not seem to understand that first joining a swap, then receiving something from her own partner without sending something to other is a crime, it's stealing from others, it doesn't matter if it happens on the Internet or not. Stealing is always stealing, no matter what!! Mailing and buying stuff for the swaps is not cheap, so it feels very awful to notice you're not going to get anything in return.

To tell a bit more about my swap, I kindly angeled(=sent the swap instead of her flaker partner) for one of the participants and I'm hoping someone else could angel as well as I do not have resources to angel anymore. 

Until this experience I liked to host swaps as I was able to share my ideas with others and be creative, but now I am afraid to host any swaps, I don't want to take the risk of letting a sneaky person get in and ruin all the fun for others!. Also, I'm on the alert whether to join any swaps or not -- especially if the swap is large and many participants are in as= more people in swap, more possibles a nasty flaker (or two!) is lurking in the corner waiting for FREE STUFF FROM ME!!

Flakers, get off of my Internet!

Two Packets Heading To ASIA^^ // Kaksi pakettia matkalla kohti Aasiaa

Two packets, both to Asia!!

 I'm already mentally preparing myself for the trip to the post office next week haha.. it will cost a fortune for sure to send these packets (￣□￣;)!!  I am trying not to cry like a river lol 

Kaksi pakettia lähtee ensi viikolla kohti Aasiaa ja yritän jo etukäteen valmistautua henkisesti siihen järkytykseen, joka koittaa astuessani Postiin ja nähdessäni pakettien painon ja HINNAN!!! 

Väliin tälläinen retorinen kysymys että miksi Posti riistää meitä ahkeria Postin palveluiden käyttäjiä kiskurihinnoin!! Olen miettinyt tätä usesti, että olisi mukavaa, että me "kanta-asiakkaat" saisimme jotain extra-etuja, esim. sellainen kuponki mitä saa partureissa ja  pizzerioissa, joihin voi kerätä leimoja ja kun on 10 leimaa niin saa vaikka ilmaisen postilähetyksen:D Tai bonus-korttijärjestelmä kanta-asiakkaille, jolla saisi alennuksia tai plussaa niinkuin K-kaupassa ja S-marketissa:D Minä ainakin hankkisin sellaisen kortin lompakon täytteeksi heti!! Tälläisellä korttijärjestelmällä tai kupongeilla myös Posti hyötyisi, sillä sitten ihmiset saattaisivat käyttää niiden palveluita enemmän kun on jotain 'hyötyäkin' siitä! Niinkuin minä menen aina K-kauppaan plussa(vai onko se bonus..aina menee sekaisin)kortti kauniissa kädessä kun huomaan sillä olevan hyviä alennuksia..!

Menin sivuraiteille, mutta keskitytääpäs nyt taas tämän päivän viralliseen aiheeseen, eli minun Aasianpostipaketteihin.

This packet contains a letter and a small Christmas present to my Singaporean penpal Joycelyn. I guess it will be a very late X-mas present though..but better late than never right^^

 I made the envelope myself once again:)

Yllä oleva paketti sisältää pienen (myöhäisen) joululahjan singaporelaiselle kirjekaverilleni. 

Askartelin kirjekuoren itse^^

The second packet is for I and Naomi's private swap. She lives in Malaysia and it will be my first time sending something else than a simple post card to that country. I hope she'll like what I chose for her. The swap requires to send 50-100g chocolate bar and profile based items worth $5. But as Finland is such an expensive country, I could hardly get anything by that sum! 5 dollars is equivalent to ~3,80 euros... In the end I spent about 10 euros, yet I still couldn't buy a lot(partially because of the high prices but also because I live in the middle of nowhere)..

Toinen paketti menee Malesiaan yksityisswappiparilleni. Se on minun eka kerta kun lähetän jotakin muuta kuin pelkän kortin Malesiaan, toivon että paketti ei eksy matkalla ja että parini pitää siitä, mitä lähetän hänelle. Swapin ideana on lähettää 50-100g suklaapatukka ja 5 dollarin edestä muita juttuja. Viisi dollariahan on euroissa ihan naurettavan pieni summa, että ei sillä olisi meinannut saada mitään täältä kalliista Suomesta, niin ajattelin lähettää viidellä eurolla. Mutta viisi euroakin on pieni raha täällä!!!Loppupelissä swappiin meni melkein 10 euroa, enkä silti saanut ostettua oikeastaan mitään kunnollista(johtuen kalliista hintatasosta, mutta myös siitäkin, että asun keskellä peltoa ja erämetsää)..=(´Д｀)ノ  Suurin osa on herkkuja/teetä, joita hän kyllä onneksi toivoikin! 

Post stamps

Just some stamps I've forgotten to show here on my blog~

These are two old(1970) Soviet Union stamps that I bought. 

Russian stamps. 

U.S.A. stamps. These are my favorite stamps I've got from the States. 

Fish/Tortoise/bug stamps from Singapore.

Lastly.. this is a stamp I wish to receive someday!!

Titanic stamp from Canada! I really like Titanic, not just the movie..I like to read the the passengers' stories etc. and all in all I think this subject is very interesting. This stamp would be perfect for my collection^^ 

A Lot of Out-Going Mail

First letter is for my "Cute Paper Exchange" -swap partner in the States. 

I made the envelope myself, what do you think about it? I guess I should have used the word "take" instead of "deliver" for the text on the envelope, it sounds better.. oh well what's done is done. 

Simple looking mail.. For my "Memo Sheets & Letter Papers", "Not Your Normal Sticker Swap #3" and "Korean Student Penpal" -swap partners(I'm hosting all the three swaps ^0^). I also sent letters for my penpals in the States and Scotland:)

This is what I sent for my "Korean Student Penpal" partner in the States. I wrote an introducing letter and send some sticker flakes and then I folded them. The paper I used for folding the origami is from Ponyo on The Cliff(I guess..I am not sure anymore..^^;;) -movie(because my partner said she likes Studio Ghibli movies)

I tried to attach some nice stickers onto the outgoing mail but look what happened σ(ＴεＴ；It was nearly impossible to get the stickers off the sheet without tearing them :(

Lastly, two little packets for my "Send Me Bubble Gum!" -partners in United Kingdom and Canada.

I really like this envelope :)

I bought my first washi-tape(the green/white lined one) a few weeks ago and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT ♡♥(。´▽`。)♥♡ ! Before deco-tapes were my favorites but...it changed to washi-tape!!  I don't know..wahi tapes are more useful for mail art thingys , and they look more "adult-like"(?haha) when deco-tapes are just too damn cute :3 Nevertheless, I still love deco-tape, but I love washi tape a little bit more (─‿‿─) I've already used the first small washi roll I purchased bohoo...I must buy mooore soon =D