Happy Christmas (FOR REAL!)

Sorry this is a few days late and un-scanned! The scanner is currently unavailable to me, so instead I am taking pictures of cards. But at any rate, here are some awesome Christmas cards, and I hope you all had an awesome Christmas and Boxing Day!!

xoxox and much love and Christmas wishes!

I feel it in my fingers...

...I feel it in my toes. Christmas is all around us! And so the feeling grows... Yes, I have been watching "Love Actually" quite a lot. It's an awesome Christmas movie--all about love. Bottom line: Christmas is all about love. So this is me spreading the Christmas love.

Most beautiful photo ever? I think so. Advertisements are incredibly clever these days--they even make your heart melt.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Sorry I haven't been very good about this lately. Finals were a killer--but now I am back in the motherland for Christmas so life is well again! And to celebrate, I have some amazing cards for you. They really are genius--I got them in London via Japan from this shop called Muji. Definitely check them out, they don't just make cards and they're so minimalist and awesome!

They look like this on the outside ...

...and this on the inside!!! How awesome is that? Also, this Christmas tree is about a foot tall. Pretty special, eh?

The snowflake's a fav--I love all things red and I love snow, so it works out pretty sweet. :)

Merry Christmas from Babar

Babar is pretty epic in his own right, but Babar as flying Santa Claus? Is there anything more awesome in this world?

Happy Early Christmas! I like to send multiple Christmas cards to people, and so I will try and keep them coming as fluently and frequently as possible. :)

First Wave

Christmas is one of my favourite times of year, most because it is an excuse to buy/send/receive a profuse amount of cards. This year more than ever I have been on a card sending tirade. Since you know, Christmas, for me anyways, is all about love. And spreading the love via mail. Here is just the beginning of the Christmas wave:

For the romantic in all of us.

For the child in all of us.

For the Scrooge in all of us.

For the dreamer in all of us.

Aww.

Got this in the mail before Thanksgiving but I didn't have time to scan it before I went galavanting off to NYC! I think it's very cute. It's from a company called La Familia Green, based in Chicago, and all their cards are made eco-friendly. Very environmentally conscience. ;) They have some very cute cards on their site, you should check it out, and perhaps order a card or two or ten? I don't know about anyone else, but once I get buying cards it's impossible to stop--as I so painfully learned in NYC after 50$ at a card shop in Greenwich Village.

She sent this with the card too, to commemorate our going to New York. It really is a beautiful city. Sigh. Wish I was still there--the winter has set in in Ohio (it was surprisingly, pleasantly warm up until this last week) and there really isn't anything beautiful, not even some delicious tidbits of food, to soften the blow. Sigh.

Oh, well--Christmas is just around the bend and that means Christmas cards. Keep your eyes open for any cute ones.

It doesn't look like much, but ...

... I have a pen pal! This is pretty exciting for me. I mean, everyone has pen pals when they're seven years old and forced to practice writing in the third grade, but I think this is way cooler because now I can actually write grammatically correct sentences. My pen pal is from Germany and he is learning English, so I feel really special that I get to help him. However, with finals and all, I am becoming terrible at sending cards (and updating this blog! :S) so finding time to write an entire letter is getting more and more difficult. But I shall not let annotated bibliographies, French exams, or acts of Shakespeare stop me, for the act of sending letters and cards, this act of love, must not die! (I feel like that was definitely something out of my Shakespeare class speaking right there ... haha). Plus, I just bought some really cute stationary in New York.

Anyways, it's almost Christmas--and, in the wise words of Billy Mack of Love Actually, "I realized that Christmas is ... is the time to be with the people you love." So send someone a card. It'll make them smile. :)

If you believe...

"Love comes to those who still hope even though they've been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they've been betrayed, to those who still love even though they've been hurt before."

--Unknown

The frog will turn into the prince!!! I hope! We all hope! I bought this card six months ago and just sent it last week, to a very deserving best friend in need of hope (remember, everyone: credendo vides--by believing, one sees). It's a gorgeous little letterpress card, expensive, but adorable. And completely uplifting--because according to this card, life can turn out like a Disney movie!! :)

Ben and Jerry's

This just came from Vermont. Doesn't it look very Vermont-y to you? My friend goes to Middlebury College, where they get free Ben n Jerry's ice cream all the time. Which makes me extremely jealous, because I am pretty sure that Ben n Jerry's is the best ice cream ever. My personal favourite is Mint Chocolate Cookie--once, I will not lie, I ate an entire tub. In one sitting. So this card is especially beautiful--because it came from the land of Ben n Jerry's. And even though I'm not exactly sure what else they have in Middlebury, VT--at least they have that. And that's something to write home about, definitely. ;)

Ah, Life.

Now, what is the meaning of life? Who bloody knows. But... at least on the great and vast journey, cards can impart some excellent tidbits of wisdom to help you along with the lumps and bumps. And for the most part, they're moderately hilarious and wholeheartedly true.

True? Yes. Very much so.
I wish I had a smock for all the things life threw at me. That way I wouldn't spill cafeteria-produced chicken à la king on my new skirts or beer on my cashmere sweaters.

Can you relate? Can't we all. Sigh. ;)

So true.

Another relic brought from England to America, then on to Canada. It's currently in transit. I thought about sending First Class Priority Express with a tracking number, just because it's that beautiful. It was only the charge of $17 that deterred me.

Interestingly enough, I sent this card to my best friend, who is a guy. While on the whole he might like woman, he, like so many others (me included), cannot resist the suave-beautiful-badassness of Daniel Craig.

The Thank You Card

Remember that EPIC birthday card I made for my friend's birthday card? Well, what better way is there to express gratitude than sending a card in return!!! That's right, folks ... there is no better way!

This card is by "Uncooked" which is pretty awesome. Their tag line is "exactly what you may or may not be thinking" and on their website, their "whom we are" section literally says: "one day while sitting in a pile of deviled eggs learning how to speak rusty portuguese, we had a thought. maybe all these eggs and all this portuguese is bad for our heads. maybe our heads should be doing something grander. something more purposeful, that didn't involve getting hors d'oevers all over our supple skin. we quickly applied several coats of balm to our lips and began thinking of what to do with our heads. and somewhere between selling used braces to the less fortunate and constructing the world's first and largest land submarine, the first collection of uncooked cards was hatched."

Need I say more? Please do check them out. :) I will try and post more frequently (and with greater randomness ... as inspired by uncooked cards.)

Happy Hallowe'en

Hallowe'en is wonderful because not only do you get to dress up in crazy costumes (this year I was an ent. Yea, like from Lord of the Rings. It was completely nerdy and AWESOME! Especially since I spent hours sewing the costume, haha) and be whatever you want, you also get to send awesome cards to go along with it!

I bought these cards in England! Why is it that that country has so many wonderful things? Cards, boys, accents, Susan Boyle? Sigh. One day I'll go live there!! :)

Technically not for Hallowe'en but funny all the same. Good old New Yorker cartoons. :) Hope it was a good one for everyone!

Recipe for Happiness ...

I wholeheartedly agree with this card. Cakes are truly the recipe for happiness. It was cute to get this one because not only are my friend and I sharing the asian love, we also both love to eat! (Cake in particular)... I thought it was pretty wonderful, complete with some little rhinestones on the cupcake she's holding (aww). And so true--when in doubt, eat cake! Haha.

This card's from good old fashioned Papyrus. I can guarantee you if you've ever bought a card, you've bought one from Papyrus. They're huge and absolutely fabulous and for a company that seriously mass produces cards, they do very well. And plus, their tag line is "Papyrus believes that life is a celebration", so I think that is pretty cute. You should check them out. They've got some great stuff for any occasion--especially when spreading the fatty love from one best friend to another! :)

My Spiritual Home

I am sorry that of late I have not been spreading the card-love with the infrequency of my posts, but I have a very valid reason: I have been away for a week in England! My mother lives there, so going there (although this sounds very jaded) is nothing really new or special for me, but this time it was different. I brought a friend along, and we went traipsing across the English countryside--including a stop in Oxford. And so it was that I found my spiritual home, or at any rate, my spiritual college. I literally fell in love with the place, and it actually pains me that I don't go to college there. It's so wonderfully historic--J.R.R. Tolkien (I adore Lord of the Rings, this was huge for me) and C.S. Lewis both taught there, Lewis Carroll went to school at Christ Church College--I was drooling as we strolled around the streets, and especially being a history major, I became insanely jealous of everyone who went there. Not to mention that they have the cutest card shops (definitely check out Blackwell's Poster Shop if you go). Heaven, much?

I picked up this postcard. Very touristy, I know, but I still enjoy it--it gives you an idea of how gorgeous the place is. I sent it to a friend in Vermont because I know he would love it too--just the right balance of pretentiousness and history, and still small enough to be sweet and cozy. Also, the students' rooms are absolutely beautiful--some are old and some are new, but they are huge and gorgeous, with big windows and cute little chairs and some even have dining tables!?! Are you jealous yet?

These got from Alice's Shop in Oxford. The real Alice (Alice Liddell) lived in Oxford, she was the daughter of the Dean of Christ Church College! Isn't that so cool? The shop I bought these in is where she used to buy her barley sugar sweets over 140 years ago, but now it's just filled with Alice paraphernalia, which is cool too! ;) I think these are wonderful, and because I am selfish and can't bear to part with them, they now live on my wall with my vast collection of postcards and pictures! I hope this makes you want to go galavant off to Oxford--drop me a line if you do, I will definitely hide in your suitcase!

Happy Birthday!!!!!

About a week ago it was one of my best friend's 20th birthday! To keep things interesting (and extra special--I mean a birthday card should be far more exciting than just any old card!), I made her this card because she was scared of turning the big 2-0 so all these pictures and random magazine clippings are "Twenty Things to Look Forward to in the Next Twenty Years Because You're Turning Twenty". I thought that was cute ... You can see numbers 1-19 in these photos... but I'll leave number 20 up to your imagination. ;)

Another brilliant Edward Monkton card--no matter the occasion, he always comes through. This card was quite giant, but I stuck so much stuff in it I still had to paste in extra bits of paper to act as flip-outs. It was a pretty epic card, if I do say so myself.

1. Keeping it blonde! Always and forever!

2. Having a really cute dog.

3. Finding a wonderful, well-dressed man.

4. Who thinks ...

... and isn't afraid to act on it. (Image from leloveimage.blogspot.com)

5. Owning many, fabulous and expensive bags.

6. Having a gorgeous apartment in one (or five) amazing cities around the world.

7. Living in New York--going to cute bakeries, skating in Central Park, doing things When Harry Met Sally style.

8. Being swept up, off your feet and away by love.

9. Looking fabulous in reading glasses.

10. Eating many, many birthday cupcakes in the future.

11. Changing the world. (You can't see the picture, but it is there!)

12. Wearing glamorous cocktail dresses to high-society functions.

13. Traveling the world, galavanting from one exotic place to the next.

14. Always having fresh flowers to smell.

15. Going on a spiritual pilgrimage on camel to see the Dalai Lama.

16. Buying adorable china to have in the adorable apartment!

17. Going green, saving the trees!

18. Baking (and eating) bushels of delicious Christmas cookies.

19. Always having some wonderful and awesome friends to keep it crazy with.

And this is just a little something I found highly appropriate (after I edited the speech bubble just a tad). Is this not every single girl's birthday wish?

HAPPY TWENTIETH!!! Hope all your big dreams come true, and that the giant hat of cleverness serves you well.

Sealed with love ... :)

Cards = Love

He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven

Had I the heaven's embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths,

Of night and light and the half-light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

--William Butler Yeats

Give someone your dreams. Or, at the very least, give them a card. Because to me, cards equal love--even if they are cliché and overused and you can buy them in one million tacky different formats--because to me, when you lick that envelope and seal it (with love)--you're sending off a little bit of yourself to someone else. And I think that's just about as good as sending off your dreams.

Here are some cards about love--I know they come by the hundreds and thousands, but these are just a few of my favourites. :)