Wonderful surprise

Saturday's mail brought a nice surprise...a package of mail art from Barb Nelis! (That's all the stuff she sent in the picture above.)

I say it was a surprise because I didn't know when it would arrive, and I didn't know it would be so fun. This was my first swap of any sort.

After reading about Barb's Mail Art Swap on the Passion for Letter Writing blog, I decided to participate. I sent my 10 decorated envelopes to Barb and hoped that they were good enough for the swap. I didn't think to take a photo of my entry before I shipped it off, but if I remember correctly, I sent some handmade envelopes made from magazine pages. Some were decorated with pictures that I drew. One or two were made from graph paper, and some were adhered with some cool yellow tape that looks like a tape measure.

But the package I got in the mail was much more exciting! In her note to the swappers, Barb thanks everyone for the "gifties" and notes. Now, I did send a letter to Barb, but I didn't know about "gifties." The cool package Barb sent includes some zinnia seeds, some recipe cards, some paper for crafting and some mints, as well as a personal letter from Barb. Now, I know! I'll be on the lookout for some cool stuff to include with my next submission.

Oh, yes, Barb already has another swap on the calendar! Her next deadline is Sept. 30. If you're interested in participating, I'd suggest you e-mail Barb at rubberfish@roadrunner.com for all the details. And, then, get busy decorating some envelopes!