Postcrossing 50-54

It's time I catch up on the postcards I've received, which for the record has been quite a lot. The postcards featured in this post are from Russia (2), Japan, Germany, and Switzerland.

1. Moscow, Russia // This is "Summer in the Country" by Nina Panina. I just love the berries here.

2. Kyoto, Japan // Pictured is the famous Ninnaji Temple founded in 888 AD. The temple is also a UNESCO world heritage.

3. Izhevsk, Russia // This is the monument to the founder of Izhevsk arms factory, A. F. Deryabin

4. Germany // Multiple views of German sights.

5. Switzerland // The sender wrote "Well, I think Ireland is a very good starting point for further travels. If you need any ideas this card maybe has a few hints. When I was younger I travelled the whole world-- nowadays I stick a bit more to Europe. Enjoy your stay in Cork!" If a card like that doesn't warm your traveling heart what will?

Happy Postcrossing

P.S. Let me know if you'd like a postcard.

Postcrossing 43-49

Hello everyone, it's World Post Day! In order to celebrate I'm sharing more of the postcards that I have recieved including my new favorite card from Belarus along with cards from Spain, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Holland, and Finland.

1. Minsk, Belarus // The colors and the story of this card make it my all time favorite postcard. The card is vintage and the sender mentioned that this postcard "is older than our parents." On the back there was an inscription in Russian about the classic Russian Folklore "The Three Marckers of Ilya Muromets"

2. Valladolid, Spain // This is the St Gregorio Cloister National Sculpture Museum where the architecture and art is all beautiful and religious.

3. Rodenhof, Germany // Oooh Tiger cubs. How adorable and the stamp on the back was large and lovely, it has Mary holding the baby Jesus with angels and cherubs all around them.

4. Netherlands // Jos van Riswick's oil painting of "Stilleven met granaatappel" or "Still Life with Pomegranate." He paints a lot of still life fruit.

5. Holland // The sender says she lives by the sea with her family and has lots of grain.

6. Cervo, Italy // Around the area of Cervo there are very little plains and so many of the villages are built on hills by the sea.

7. Finland // What an interesting depiction of a fairy and an angel embracing. But I can see why I was sent this card since I listed fairytales and mythology as my interests. The sender sais they were going to a postcard lovers event in Finland and I hope to go to one some day too.

Happy World Post Day and Happy Postcrossing!

P.S. I've been sick, and traveling, and sick so I'm sorry that I've been gone.

Shannon

Postcrossing 34-42

Here are some of the postcrossing postcards I received from back in the states and during my first week here in Ireland. There was a great variation of countries that sent these out to me including Poland, Ukraine, Thailand, Holland, Belarus, Japan, Germany, and Finland.

1. Cracow, Poland // Here is an aerial view of The Main Market in Cracow. The principal church, clock tower, and town hall tower can all be seen in this postcard.

2. Ukraine // Japan brought Cherry Blossoms to Uzhhorod, Ukraine a hundred years ago and has since flourished and celebrated. It makes me think of the lovely Cherry Blossoms of Washington D.C.

3. Hua Hin, Thailand // This is a fishing town about 3 hours away from Bangkok that has some "great seafood."

4. Holland // I believe this is my second penguin card and I must say rows of animals are lovely. This type of postcard was great because there was a fold at the end that acted as a card that covered the back.

5. Belarus // Storks are the national bird of Belarus, so the sender chose a stork photo as the design on the card she made with Touchnote. I have yet to use this site, but I love that I received one so I know it works.

6. Kagoshima, Japan // Kagoshima lies in southern Japan with an active volcano "Sakurajima" at its back.

7. Briefzentrum, Germany // The typewriter and flowers together in a field is stunning.

8. Finland // This is a little rose fairy about to head off to a party. The text in Finnish says, "The party of the bee begins at 6:00 o'clock. That's why I have a new rose-frock and my wings are ironed. Mr. Dragonfly, hurry up and take me with you."

I'm loving my assortment of cards and if you'd like to try to join Postcrossing and send your own cards (like I got my friend here in Ireland to do) then check it out here. And as always Happy Postcrossing!

Shannon

Postcrossing Organization

I've finally reached 50 received postcards as well as 50 sent postcards! I can truly say that collecting postcards through postcrossing is a hobby of mine now. And now that I have so many cards, I've thought up of new ways to display my postcards. Hiding them away in boxes defeats the purpose of sharing the art and culture of these wonderful postcards, these postcards should be stored in a way that can be seen and celebrated.

Albums // Go for a beautiful new album with pockets to slip the cards into or even try a Vintage Album. 

Upcycle // Get Crafty and upcycle your postcards into something new like a trunk or a lamp.

Wall Art // Decorate your walls with framed postcards, line them up on photo ledges, and even hang postcards from string all around the room (this is what I do in my dorm.) [via]

Other // You can even hang them up on cork or memory boards. Let them dangle from a mobile, or if you're really thinking of a great use for them hang them in the shower curtain.

How do you organize your postcards?

Shannon

August Postcards Sent

Before heading off to Ireland I sent out a mass amount of postcards for postcrossing.com. I sent them all across the globe to Belarus, Canada, Lithuania, Poland, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, and the Ukraine.

With the cards I sent, I felt like I was sending out bits of my summer out. I had Gerred's road trip cards, Naval Academy graduation week, trips to St. Michaels and Londontown, and even the 2012 Summer Olympics. Now that I'm in Ireland I've been sending out a lot more Irish cards that are real great and I can't wait to share with you all.

Shannon

Postcrossing Cards 27-33

I've rounded up the postcards I've received lately and have decided that I'm getting a hang of postcrossing. I love sending and recieving cards and I know I'm learning a lot from the postcards I recieve from all over as well as the research I do when I want to learn more about a place from the postcard. This time I recieved cards from Germany, England, (2) Russia, Croatia, Belarus, and Brazil.

1. Stralsun, Germany // This is the new bridge that leads to the island, Rugen. In the background of the postcard is the "yard" where many ships are built.

2. London, England // This Bon Bon postcard is fabulous. I looked into Bon Bon, the character designed by Noel Tolentino and discovered her artwork cute and very mod.

3. Brest, Belarus // I love the reflection of the bridge here in the river.

4. Bibinje, Croatia // Bibinje is a small town in Croatia great for vacations and is where the sender would travel from Zagreb, Croatia for summer holidays when they were young.

5. Tsarsjoye Selo, Russia // The Catherine Palace was the Rococo summer home for the Russian tzars created by architect Bartolomeo Francesco Rasterelli in 1756.

6. Curitiba, Brasil // The Jardim Botanico de Curitiba or Botanical Garden as it is known in English is a  public garden built in 1991 in the Art Noveau style. The statue in the front is Mae, or "mother."

7. Maxim, Russia // This is Gorky's Flat Museum, which the sender says she was very hot, but had read a lot from Nizhny Novgorod formerly known as Gorky. She even mentioned she went to "Nashestifie" a rock festival in Russia.

Happy Postcrossing!

Shannon

August Sent Postcards

While a batch of postcards arrived in my mailbox I decided to send out my own batch of postcards for August. They are a collection of cards I've collected from Gerred's since passed cross-country roadtrip, Katie & Phoenix's honeymoon around Europe, and a few of my own finds while traveling around D.C. and Luray Caverns.

These postcards traveled to (1) Russia, (2) Ukraine, (3)Germany, and (1) the Netherlands. The one that says "Greetings from Virginia" was sent to a 9-year old girl in Germany who said she loved ice-cream, butterflies, Hello Kitty, fruit, sweets, frogs, rabbits, seashells, moons, and stars. So I decided to draw them for her on the back of her card.

Next time I send out cards, they'll be from Ireland I assume. If you're interested in sending postcards of your own just go to postcrossing.com and sign up.

Shannon

Postcrossing Cards 21-26

After sending out my postcards a huge rush of incoming postcards came in the mail this time from Russia, Holland, Belgium, Canada, Belarus, and Austria.

1. Moscow, Russia // The sender says she's studying and working to become a designer of footwear. Pretty cool, I think I'll have to look out for her.

2. Delfr, Holland // Delfr is a small historical town with many canals, narrow streets, small bridges and old houses. I love the outfits (especially the holland shoes) and all the color.

3. Bruges, Belgium // Cats in beer steins. How awesome is that? I just about died when this arrived in the mail. One of the interesting things about the sender though was that she likes to make lace. I wonder how you'd do that.

4. Tillsonburg, Ontario, Canada // Tillsonburg is named after the first Mayor, E. D. Tillson in 1872. This aerial view shows where the sender's office is as a legal secretary.

5. Vicebsk, Belarus // Belarus certainly looks nice and the sender even adds that she is "an optimist who likes cats."

6. Vienna, Austira // Austria looks delicious. I could go for just about all of the desserts on here.

Shannon

June Sent Postcards

I know I show the postcards that I receive from Postcrossing, but I have yet to really go in depth with the postcards I send out to postcrossers. Take a look at the postcards I sent out to Russia and Germany.

The postcards not from D.C. or Annapolis were actually picked up from Gerred when 

he and Gerome headed on a cross country roadtrip to pick up his new Kia Soul. When he was traveling he stopped in just about every state's gas station to find postcards for me to.

Aside from these postcards, I also sent out three letters to Taiwan, France, and Russia. If you'd like to send a few postcards of your own, just go to Postcrossing.

Shannon

Postcrossing Cards 16-20

Now that I can send out 7 postcards out at a time with Postcrossing, I am receiving tons of postcards rapidly. My mailbox is full and there's usually a postcard waiting for me when I come home from work with a nice design on the front. This time I was lucky to receive cards from Japan, The Netherlands, Germany, Belarus, and Taiwan.

1. Kyoto, Japan // This is an old road in southwest Kyoto that runs through the Bamboo Woods. On the back there were lots of cute glitter stickers and doodles of cats with the message "I live in Kyoto with my cat. I love cats."

2. Netherlands // The sender explained that the card represents "what we postcrossers fear most; an empty mailbox."That's definitely a true one, but I've been fortunate lately to receive postcards almost daily.

3. Belarus // One of the national dishes of Belarus is "draniki" or potato pancakes and is served best with sour cream.

4. Herdecke, Germany // Herdecke is a little town between two lakes in the Northwest of Germany. The sender of the card has a love for photography, hence the stunning photo of the raindrops.

5. Tuku, Taiwan // This postcard was really special since it was the senders first postcrossing card. She explains that in Tuku most of the people are farmers and that her grandparents grow banana and guava fruits. Yum!

Happy postcrossing!

Shannon

Postcrossing Cards 12-15

The crazy two weeks has finally past and I am slowly working back into regular life where I am figuring out job details, getting used to a busy summer to come, and of course postcrossing. The one thing I've seemed to be able to do during all our touring time is to stop to pick up a few postcards of special places around Maryland and DC to send out to other postcrossers. 

Here are the six postcards I'm sending out to Russia (3), Ukraine, Austria, and Belarus. And below are just a few of the postcards I've received since I've been home from College.

Faenza, Italy

When I go abroad, Italy is definitely going to be one of the places I'll sneak away to travel to. In this square there is a cafe with some great ice cream, as I am told.

Ukraine

This postcard never came in, but was sent about two months ago so I registered it upon the senders request. This kind of looks like The Aristocats in a much creepier way.

Puttuo, China

This is a famous Buddhist mountain that is said to bring good luck. 

Stuffegart, Germany

Look at these little gnomes or should I say "gartenzwerg" - a small dwarf with a red hat found in a garden. I just love them.

Also Check out my new stamps. I’ve got Disney Pixar (Cars, Ratatouille, Toy Story, Wall-e, Up!) and Great American Film Directors (John Ford, Frank Capra, Billy Wilder, John Huston.) I never knew that beautiful stamps cost the same as regular ones. Life is instantly better and I really love this hobby.

Happy Postcrossing!

Shannon

Postcrossing Cards 7-11

With the end of semester, I've gone from writing final papers and taking exams to packing up all my belongings. One of the last things I've had to do before booking it for the summer is , and a whole lot of checking my mailbox for the last time and changing my address for packages and postcards that are sent to me. Here are some of the postcrossing postcards I've received towards the end of this semester.

The Netherlands

These little clogs are adorable!

Ulm, Germany

I feel a little bit smarter just by looking at the German postcard. Ulm is known for it's cathedral which is known as the highest church tower in the world at 161m. It's also the native city of Albert Einstein.

Switzerland

The postcard read "Hello/gruzzi Shannon, I love this picture of the "lonely" penguin with its funny walk during country life."

The North of France

By this point you all must be aware that I am fluent in French so I was pleased to receive a postcard in French from a real French person. Ah, and can I just say that this post card is breath taking. Honestly she's a woman waiting for a train and there's a wonderful pink tint over it. The composition is to die for and I'm digging all the lines. And did I mention it was all in French?

Kazan, Russia

I honestly love the description on the back of this the most, "Kazan is majesty and luxury touched by olden times." Nothing is more majestic than Kazan.

Look how many different countries I have received postcards from! Postcrossing has definitely been the "it" thing in my mailbox this year. I absolutely love it and will continue to do Postcrossing over the summer and while I'm away in Ireland.

Happy Postcrossing!

Shannon

Postcrossing Cards 3-6

A whole slew of postcards came in this April. Half were from Gerred since he sent me one everyday during the week of my birthday and the rest were from Postcrossing. I loved receiving this months cards since they were very culturally diverse.

Vila Rica do Ouro Preto, Brazil

This postcard had so much historical and geographical information printed on the back. Vila Rica do Ouro Preto was a former colonial mining town in the mountains. The town is known for the baroque architecture where buildings are adorned in gold due to the Brazilian golden age in the 18th century.

Nowy Sacz, Poland

Cheery. The sun is cute and I like that there are a bunch of bubbles that show different party of this city in South Poland.

Ufa, Russia

The sender mentioned she liked to drink tea with milk and honey and eat pancakes. I have to say I also like this combination, but am partial to having my tea as an Arnold Palmer.

Fortaleza, Brazil

Apparently this bridge is really famous in Brazil and the sender is cool since he is majoring in English and French.

Moscow, Russia

Awhile back I sent a postcard to a lady in Russia and we decided to write letters to one another in French. I just think it's so neat that I can open up a letter from Russia written in French.

Moscow, Russia

She even sent me a post card to go along with the letter that read "C'est le parc ou mon fils aime se promener aves ses amis." Which means that her son hangs out with his friends in this Russian park.

I wrote back in French (with poor grammar.)

I sent back 4 postcards that described a little bit about Washington College's history. I mentioned that Washington College is the 7th oldest college in the nation and that it served as a hospital during the American Civil War. I also might have mentioned the Katy Perry concert in there as well.

This map shows all the postcards I've sent (8) and received (6.) Check it out, I now arc to China!

Happy Postcrossing!

Shannon

Postcrossing Cards 1-2

After sending out my five initial postcards for Postcrossing, three were able to be registered from Germany, Norway, and Russia. While waiting for the last two Russian postcards to be registered, my first two postcards came in the mail all the way from Gdansk, Poland and Blakenheim, Germany.

Gdansk (Danzig), Poland

From what my Polish correspondant told me, Gdansk is a city on the baltic coast and is the birthplace of the Solidarity Movement (the first non-communist party trade union in a Warsaw Pact country.) Her description and the postcard made me want to be sail right into the harbor and walk around the Polish town.

Also on the back of both the postcards were some pretty cool stamps. The Polish card had animals from the Zoo Wroclaw. The caption of the tiger reads Tygrys Syberyiski.

Blankenheim, Germany

This postcard is actually a beautiful hologram that switches from two romantic portraits of a woman sleeping in an fiery orange dress to a group of women looking out into the ocean from a greek classical building. 

This German stamp has a picture of a church that if I knew my Art History a bit better, I could tell you which architectural art movement it belonged to.

Here are a few of the sent (red) and received (blue) postcards I've done with Postcrossing so far. I was also able to share a correspondance in French with a woman from Russia who had finally received my Black Eyed Susan post card and can't wait to see if she'll send a postcard back.

These are the three postcards I am sending out this time, two dock shots of Annapolis and one of the Range Cafe from New Mexico (I need to get around to posting about that trip.) They'll be traveling to Israel, China, and Germany.

Can't wait to check my mailbox soon!

Shannon

Postcrossing

I've always preferred hand written letters and cards over standard e-mails and facebook comments. I like the thought and time that goes into sitting down and writing a letter and sending it out just to let someone else know that you're thinking about them. I love what how creative I can be with stationary and I love collecting post cards from my family and friends that travel around the world. So when Sarah showed me, Postcrossing, a website that allows you to receive postcards from people all around the world, I was ecstatic.

Postcrossing allows people to discuss and learn about different cultures and regions without the cost of traveling, since it's FREE.

All you have to do is request an address from the website and you are assigned a random person to write to. You pick out a cute postcard and write down a few facts about yourself (hobbys, family, school) and you're region (activities, what it's known for, recipes.) Then you mail it out and wait for a random postcard in return different than the one you just sent. Once you get one you register the card in the system and you can send out another one.

I sent out 5 (the minimum when you start) today, (1) Germany, (3) Russia, and (1) Norway. I definitely can't wait to see what comes in the mail. The extra one is to Atlanta and is not apart of postcrossing, just to a pen pal.

Shannon