Posts tagged Vintage Wedding Stamps
Five 2019 Stamp Releases that I'm Very Excited About

Interested in the 2019 USPS forever stamp lineup? Details are here!

On November 20th, USPS issued a press release detailing the 2019 Forever Stamp Lineup. Here are five sets that I’m particularly excited about, and why.

All images sourced from the United States Postal Service.


Wild and Scenic Rivers

What they are: “This issuance celebrates Wild and Scenic Rivers — exceptional American streams that run freely through natural landscapes without man-made alterations. The pane of a dozen different designs features photographs that represent the more than 200 rivers or river segments designated within the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.” - USPS

Why I love them: I do SO many nature-themed wedding sets for brides. I always love being able to pull in an at-price current stamp that helps to tie in vintage ones. I’m particularly excited about this set because it features 12 stamps that are ALL gorgeous in their own right. Bravo, USPS on pulling some beautiful images across the sheet. (clapping emoji hands here)

 

Image Credit/Source: USPS Press Release

 

Walt Whitman

What they are: “With this stamp, the 32nd in the Literary Arts series, the Postal Service honors poet Walt Whitman (1819–1892) on the bicentennial of his birth. The stamp features a portrait of Whitman based on a photograph taken by Frank Pearsall in 1869. In the background, a hermit thrush sitting on the branch of a lilac bush recalls “When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom'd,” an elegy for President Abraham Lincoln written by Whitman soon after Lincoln's assassination on April 14, 1865.” - USPS

Why I love them: First, this is a 3-ounce stamp (currently worth $0.92, though rates are scheduled to go up early in 2019), which is awesome because with everyone getting super creative with their mailings/wedding suites (read: lots of inserts, wax seals, etc.) I am running out of ways to get more and more postage on heavy/irregular sized envelopes. Second, the GORGEOUS lavender hue will pair so nicely with so many existing vintage stamps — I’m excited to have more violets in my lineups!

 

Image Credit/Source: USPS Press Release

 

Frogs

What they are: “In 2019, the Postal Service issues Frogs, four new stamps in a booklet of 20, featuring digital illustrations of four North American frogs: the Pacific tree frog, the northern leopard frog, the American green tree frog and the squirrel tree frog.” - USPS

Why I love them: Say what you will about amphibians, these bright green stamps will add such a fun pop to your correspondence. With an extensive vintage hoard of green stamps, the sky is the limit on pairing these with some gorgeous green hues. I can’t wait to pair these with some of those vintage low-value greens that I love using so much.

 

Image Credit/Source: USPS Press Release

 

California Dogface Butterfly

What they are: “The California dogface graces the seventh non-machineable butterfly stamp for use on irregularly sized envelopes, such as square greeting cards, invitations or announcements.” - USPS

Why I love them: I’m all about the butterfly stamps. This will mean that eventually those beautiful blue butterflies will go away (OMG, please no!), but it’s time for something new, and these open up some new possibilities with different color schemes… pinks, yellows, oranges… I’m loving the idea of shifting away from a heavy blue phase. Though, I still love the idea of having a little something old and blue on the outside of a wedding invitation.

 

Image Credit/Source: USPS Press Release

 

Coral Reefs

What they are: “Four new postcard stamps celebrate the beauty and wonder of coral reefs. Each stamp depicts a type of stony coral, along with associated reef fish, in a highly stylized manner: elkhorn coral, shown with two French angelfish; brain coral, with a spotted moray eel; staghorn coral, with bluestriped grunts; pillar coral, with a coney grouper and neon gobies.” - USPS

Why I love them: OK, so these might be a little too bright for most of my brides, but the more I look at these, the most I love them. These are postcard stamps, so they are currently worth $0.35. I feel like there are some fun tropical weddings that could pull these into some fun response envelope designs. Thoughts?

Image Credit/Source: USPS Press Release

Image Credit/Source: USPS Press Release


My Paper People Series | Happy Menocal

I had such grand plans when I decided to start this blog project (isn't that the case for like 99% of all blogs - most of which are total flops?), in fact, I sat down and came up with enough ideas to do two blog posts a week for the whole rest of this year .. there were grand plans to go on and on about vintage stamps, and vintage wedding postage, and themed stamp collections, etc., etc... I have no shortage of ideas, but I do seem to have a shortage of free time.

... But, I digress ...

Here I am, with another blog post to kick off a new (realistically not so regular... let's just be honest, shall we?) series called "My Paper People", because stamps need beautiful paper to go on, and as such I work with a lot of beautiful-paper-making people.

Happy Menocal Paper Suite with Magnolia Postage Vintage Stamps

Happy Menocal Studio is based in Brooklyn and is a team of creative geniuses who create whimsical, gorgeous, drool-worthy paper suites (along with other fun projects) for all manner of celebration and heraldry. The team is led by Happy Menocal, and I love working with them because they are responsive, have a 6th sense for beautiful design and color combinations, and they genuinely love the work they do.

Happy Menocal 11.PNG

I first came across Happy Menocal a number of years ago when I realized that Paperless Post had a real paper arm to go alongside their paperless one. I did all of my wedding save the dates and invitations through Paperless Post, and the ease of pushing out a custom paper invitation (along with the seemingly endless selection of options) helped me come to the conclusion that all parties, events, announcements, and general correspondence truly require gorgeous paper, with curated vintage stamps, of course. 

 

Happy Menocal Paperless Post Samples

 
 

 

If you go to paperless post and search for Happy Menocal Studio's designs (or click here)... there are a cool 95 options to select from.

But Happy and her team don't only supply Paperless post with paper/paperless options, they also work with clients to create stunning... and I mean REALLY stunning ... paper suites and custom emblems (and more!) for all sorts of things (weddings, parties, events, announcements, etc.). Talk about the perfect team for a passion project!

 
 

When I reached out to the team and they graciously agreed to collaborate, I almost cried when the box of paper (samples pictured in shots below) rolled into my mailbox. Had I died and gone to paper heaven? I think I had... I have... Yep, I'm there. 

I'll wrap this up by saying that Happy and her team are one of my favorite groups of paper people, and I offer up the following as proof that beautiful paper and vintage stamps were meant to be together.

Who wouldn't treasure a wedding invitation and outer envelope with vintage wedding postage like this for years to come?