Have you ever joined a mail swap or parcel swap?
If yes, bear with a moment (or skip ahead). If not, let me tell you all about the joy of the mail swap!
Someone picks a theme and sets some guidelines (number of partners, mailing deadlines, mail or parcel, type of contents, value of contents, surprise or not...) then welcomes sign-ups and assigns partners. You create beautiful mail and send it off to your partner(s) and in return, you receive mail from your partner(s). In the case of a parcel swap, this is usually a single parcel with a set value. With a mail swap, you send cards/letters to multiple partners and in return your mailbox fills with beautiful mail from here, there and everywhere.
I love a good mail swap! It's a fun way to bring cheer to your mailbox, inspires you to try something new while stretching your artistic muscles, and broadens your world a little bit by connecting you to likeminded strangers across the globe.
Sounds like fun, right? So, when I got the itch to send a little pretty mail, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to organize a mail swap. So, I've teamed up with fellow snail mail lovers Andrea of Q&A Letterbox and Ashley of The Anthropology of Giving for The Pretty Postal Floral Swap...
The Pretty Postal Floral Swap is for snail mail lovers and flower lovers alike!
This May, we're inviting you to create a beautiful bouquet of mail! Send out a bundle of pretty floral post then watch as your mailbox fills with beautiful blooms from other mail artists.
The key to this swap is the envelope - we want to spread cheer all along the postal route. Use your favourite materials and techniques to create unique floral envelopes - calligraphy, pretty paper, embellishments, paint, collage, hand drawn details, etc etc. Add a handmade floral card (or a store-bought one if you prefer) and little goodie of some kind (stickers, washi tape sampler, tea...) and send them off!
Interested?
Sign-ups are from May 8-15th.
Partners will be assigned May 17-18th.
Mailing deadline is May 31st.
You will be grouped with 3-5 partners and must send a piece of pretty mail to each partner by the deadline.
Swap is open worldwide to anyone over the age of 18 and is free to join.
Full details and rules can be found here.
To sign-up, you can email your name and postal address to: prettypostalswaps@gmail.com
Can't wait to see your pretty floral mail!