My Etsy Shop has been reopened

I finally took the plunge and reopened my poor Etsy shop, after I got some stock together.

The shop is at stitchymel.etsy.com & you can get updates on Instagram account @epicmel.shop (there is already a coupon code* over there and I'll be putting together some kind of follower contest soon). To get started, I'm focusing on my love of snail mail, but may expand into other areas in the future.

I'm most excited about the note card packages. Since decorating the envelopes is my love, that's where I decided to focus, and naturally had to include coordinating vintage postage! Each envelope also comes with a flat note card with the option to have it blank or with a design stamped on it.

I only do these envelopes in limited runs. At this time, there are three each of four designs available. I'm working on some other ideas and don't know when I'll repeat the themes.

*I'm new to the coupon thing, so I messed up and put in a minimum ($9) when I meant it to be for any amount, but I'll refund the difference for smaller orders.

US Postal Rate Decrease Plus Reminder About Buying Stamps Online

In case you missed it, the US Postal Service has lowered the rate for mailing just about everything. Obviously, this means that it will cost less to buy certain stamps, which is a good thing, but it also means that stamps you paid more for are worth less now than they were on April 9th.

What it meant to me, however, was that all of the "forever-type" stamps - those without a denomination printed on them - had to be relabeled in my album so I didn't accidentally put too little postage on a letter and cause it to be returned or its recipient to pay postage due. This is going to be more relevant to people who combine postage to make up rates, like I enjoy doing. One envelope that I prepared over the weekend - with three Forever stamps on it - needed an extra 6¢ to make up for the change. (I had the new rate correct, but neglected to account for the change in the stamps' value.)

Anything with a denomination or face value (FV) printed on it will not be affected. A 10¢ stamp is still a 10¢ stamp. But anything that has "Forever" or a purpose on it has changed: Here is what was in my album that needed to be re-labeled, with the image I had in parenthesis. Check the USPS site for additional information.

• Forever stamps were 49¢ and are now 47¢. 
• The stamp for an additional ounce (or special handling fee (like for a square envelope)) was 22¢ & is now 21¢ (penguin).
• Postcard stamps were 35¢ and are now 34¢ (coastal birds).
• The stamp for square/non-machinable envelopes was 71¢ and is now 68¢ (yellow butterfly).
• The 3-oz. letter stamp was 93¢ and is now 89¢ (Flannery O'Conner).
• Global/International stamps were $1.20 and are now $1.15 (moon).

Buying Stamps Online?

I also wanted to throw out a caution to anyone who buys, or is thinking about buying, stamps on sites like eBay: Check the USPS site before you buy anywhere else! I am constantly seeing stamps that are still available in the USPS online shop being sold on eBay for 2 or more times their FV. A sheet of 1¢ stamps, for example, is a whopping 20¢ through the post office, but people are selling them for a couple of bucks. Why pay $2.50 for a $1 stamp or $4 for a $2 one? (The USPS also sells stamps on eBay, but for their actual face value, plus shipping.)

Pen Pal Log Update

Hello, friends. I'm going to do two posts, back-to-back rather than combine into one. First up is a quick update for the pen pal/mail log files I shared some time ago (part 1, part 2).

It's been a long time coming, but I finally got full-size (8½x11") pages done for the to-do list (letters to write) & mail log (individual pen pal sheet). Sorry it took so long!

I realize that the half-size log pages I shared previously might not be helpful for a lot of people. This size will be a lot more practical, and easier to implement, if you need such a thing. See links above for how I organize my log.

To Do list (letters to write)

• On Drive
• On DropBox

Mail page (individual pen pal log sheet)

• On Drive
• On Dropbox

Reclaiming Stamps Tutorial 2 - Self-adhesive

Some weeks ago, in my first Free Stamps Tutorial, I shared how I went about reclaiming unused gummed (vintage) postage stamps if you mess up addressing an envelope. I promised to write up something for modern, self-adhesive stamps at some point in the future. Well, the future is here!!

Disclaimer: as always, I'm not an expert. I'm also not a "real" stamp collector, in that I'm generally interested in reclaiming unused stamps to put back in my collection, although I'm starting to use canceled stamps as part of collages. To separate stamps in order to store them in albums probably requires special steps and gloves or something like that, so if that's your goal, I advise seeking out advice from professionals. 

First, let me show you why you can't just use the soak-in-warm-water method for newer stamps. This was a stamp that I cut off one of my turquoise envelopes that I messed up.

Not only did some of the dye from the paper leach onto the stamp, if you look closely, you can see that it's wrinkled and messy. It is probably still usable, but certainly not pretty.

I tried a couple different methods with the stamps I had saved. None worked, so I had to wait until I had more stamps. I received an envelope with a stamp that I really wanted to keep and display (it was sent for that purpose), so I decided to try something besides the non-effective water methods and hit the search tools.

I landed on the American Philatelic Society's Tips and Links page, and followed the link in the "Soaking Self-Adhesives" section to a PDF about the magic of  removing self-adhesive stamps from envelopes. I recommend that you read the article, but here is my experience.

Materials: The article recommends one of two products: an adhesive remover called "Bestine," which I could not find locally, or a 100% natural citrus oil product. I was able to find "Pure Citrus," the exact product recommended, in the air freshener section at Home Depot for $4.97, so I'm basing this entry on using that. You want one labeled 100% natural, containing just orange oil. (OdoBan makes an air freshener/adhesive remover (right on the label) that's 99.5% natural and costs $1 or so less. It may be perfectly fine, but I went with the 100%.)

In addition to the Pure Citrus, you need some paper towels and cotton swabs. I suggest having a piece of parchment paper handy as well.

Instructions

1. For plain paper envelopes*, cut out the stamp, leaving a little border of paper. 
2. Spray a little of the oil into a small dish (disposable plastic cup, etc., is great, but regular dishes will wash up fine with soap & hot water). 
3. Put the stamp face down on a couple of layers of folded paper toweling.
4. Dip one of the swabs into the oil and rub it over the paper until it's lightly saturated. Wait a few seconds. The stamp should easily peel away from the paper. If it doesn't, just add a little more, wait, then try again. You can also spray directly onto the back of the piece, but when I did it in a dish, the next stamp was saturated (it's fine, but I wanted to avoid that). 
5. There will be some adhesive remaining on the stamp. The article suggests rubbing a little talc on it, but we didn't have any, so I took another swab with a little oil on it, and gently rubbed the back of the stamp. Most or all of the adhesive came away.
6. Let it air dry for a few minutes, then store in a folded piece of parchment, keeping the stamps separate. After a while, you'll know if any adhesive remains and you can store those stamps in a glassine envelope or folded parchment paper until ready to glue onto envelopes and use.**

*If the envelope is thick, you can work on the stamp where it is, face-up, but slowly. Don't soak the whole thing, just wet an edge with the oil, get the edge up, then gently rub the swab between the stamp and paper, pushing towards where they meet, peeling slowly until it comes away. Then, follow steps 5 & 6, above.

**If the stamps are from another country, you can always keep them just to look at if they're awesome - like this one - or share with a collector.

Seriously, isn't this stamp awesome?! I couldn't tell until I saw it close up that they were indoors, in a blanket fort, which is even cooler than outdoors in a tent, which is what I originally thought. Because I've decided that this older child is reading a ghost story to the younger one, it's going to look wonderful next to my Haunted Canada stamps...as soon as I figure out how and where to display them! They're really about storytelling and pretend, but hey, I used my imagination to create a back story!

The little flecks are from the envelope, which was very heavy-duty, with a gold foil pattern.