What's in YOUR mailbox?

I'm not one to make a big deal about my own good fortune, but the mail I have been receiving lately is so outstanding that I feel the need to gloat share just a little.

First, I received some postcard love from Lee (who lives in Canada), over at Defining Me, in exchange for one my stitched postcards:

In the front is an original postcard, with many fabulous layers of collage and paint, while in the back is a postcard print, which Lee used for writing her  message to me.  Many thanks to Lee for sharing her personal style and her art with me!

Christel (who lives in the Netherlands) and I also decided to do a swap.  When I found her blog, I discovered that #1) I couldn't read a word of it, and #2) she had done one of the projects from Jason Thompson's Playing with Books--so she is a kindred spirit in any language!

Here is what Christel shared with me, in exchange for a stitched postcard:

She included mail art envelopes, interesting papers, and stickers for me to use in my own art journaling and projects.  Many thanks to Christel for sharing her mail art, and giving me some new "raw materials"!

Recently, I discovered the blog of F.M. (who lives in Germany), over at La Wendula.  She creates the most wonderful collages, finds amazing historical papers and ephemera for her work, and hosts a frequent paper swap that I am going to participate in this September. 

In a recent post, she created a "Nonsense book" from vintage library cards she received from a friend who works in a library.  When I commented on how great they looked, and how difficult they are to come by here in the U.S., she was kind enough to send me a stack of them!  I love that generosity of spirit that "shares the wealth" with like-minded individuals.  Now I have to find something fun and interesting to send her way in return!

And finally (Can you believe there's more!  I told you, it's been an amazing couple of weeks for mail!), I visited the blog of Karenann, a collage artist (who lives in Arizona) who makes the most wonderful Rolodex card collages.  I bought an "old-school" Rolodex a couple of months ago, and have begun dabbling in some collages, but was having trouble cutting out the indentations where the card fits into the Rolodex itself.  In a comment to Karenann's blog, I asked her what her technique is for getting such neat cuts.  She didn't just answer me; check out what she sent:

In a beautifully decorated envelope, she sent me a six page letter, describing not only how she cuts the holes in her cards, but also her preferences for adhesives, tips for caring for scissors and punches, and tricks for punching through papers of varying thicknesses and painting on glossy surfaces.  Additionally, she sent me a Rolodex card to use as a template for punching holes AND an original piece of Rolodex art that she created just for me!  I can't even tell you what an unexpected treat her package was for me.

I've said it before, the very best thing about maintaining a blog is the relationships that develop as people come to visit mine or I go to visit theirs.  Having mail arrive at  my house from Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, and the other side of the US would be highly unlikely if I didn't have this online artistic community to enjoy.  So in the spirit of gloating sharing, I ask you:

What's in YOUR mailbox?