Just in time for Valentine's Day

The U.S. Postal Service has released this year's "Love" stamps, and the whole sheet of stamps is as great as the individual stamps are!

The stamps are called "Love: Forever Hearts" and feature an intricate design that winds the word "Forever" into the shape of a heart. The stamps come in two designs, one is a red heart on a white background, and the other is identical but reversed, white on a red background. When alternated on the full sheet, the stamps combine to create a delightful checkerboard or patchwork pattern!

Artist Jessica Hische created the lettering that forms the heart, first drawing her design by hand and then finishing the stamp art digitally. The stamps were dedicated in Richmond, the capital of the state with the slogan, “Virginia is for Lovers.” The first-day-of-issuance ceremony was Thursday, Jan. 22 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. 

There are nine philatelic products for this stamp issue:
* Framed art
* Press sheet with die-cut
* Press sheet without die-cut
* Pane of 20 stamps and Digital Color Postmark Keepsake 
* First Day Cover
* Digital Postmark
* Ceremony Program
* Stamp Deck Card
* Stamp Deck Card with Digital Color Postmark

If your local post office doesn't have the Love stamps, order them online at www.usps.com.