Cherry Blossom Centennial Stamps

Just in time for spring, the U.S. Postal Service is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the city of Japan giving 3,020 cherry trees to the city of Washington, D.C. as a sign of friendship.  The cherry trees were planted along the Tidal Basin by First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, in 1912 and the release of the stamp on March 24th coincides with the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.  Artist Paul Rogers created the lovely stamp below to commemorate the occasion.  

Image credit to the U.S. Postal Service and Paul Rogers

Digital Postage

As a devoted letter-writer and someone who greatly appreciates beautiful postage stamps, the thought of letter-writing becoming a lost art really saddens me.  I've posted before about how I love to find vintage stamps to use on letters and I am always curious about the forthcoming USPS stamp designs (in 2011, I am looking forward to the April release of the "Go Green" stamps, the May release of the "Garden of Love" stamps and the August release of the Pixar stamps). 

Pixar stamps available on August 19th

However, I will admit that I read about a cool replacement for postage stamps today that still encourages the sending of "snail mail" but makes it more convenient.  On Friday, people in Denmark will be able to text the word "PORTO" to 1900 and will receive a confirmation text with a string of numbers and letters that can be written on a letter as a form of payment.  This service is presently only available for domestic mail and will not replace postage stamps entirely, but it certainly will make it easier to spontaneously send someone a note or mail a bill.  Apparently Germany already offers this service and Sweden may soon follow suit.

Speaking of "snail mail", I LOVE this personalized stationery from minted and I just ordered these random postcards that I think are hilarious.  I don't actually have anyone to blackmail, but I couldn't resist.  Now I just need to come up with something witty to say!

Danish Postage Stamps (image courtesy of Springwise)

Vintage Postage Stamps

I am a dedicated letter writer.  I love to receive a handwritten note and thus I assume that others enjoy reading my notes when they arrive in the mailbox.  Whether this is true or not, I don’t know, but either way it isn’t likely to stop me from writing!  In addition to seeking out new stationery lines, creative one-off cards from websites like Etsy or making my own cards, I enjoy spicing up the presentation of a letter by using vintage postage stamps to mail.  I aspire to learn calligraphy one day, but until then I’ll stick to seeking out beautiful postage stamps that are both functional and lovely. 

My first vintage postage stamps were a gift from my Dad who has a stamp collection with many duplicates that he kindly gave to me - thank you, Dad!

I have also found Etsy to be an invaluable resource for vintage postage stamps, particularly if you’d like them to already be grouped by color schemes or other themes.  For example, I have purchased these stamps from Lucky Little Dot, treasurefox and Verde Studio. 

Special stamps seem especially fitting for the holidays:
 

And perhaps for sending someone a special valentine?