happy mail

A Shovel and Bucket are 13 Ounces or Less

06.02.10

It’s beginning to feel like summertime here. So to celebrate, today I am going to the post office and mailing a shovel to a little girl I know. My local post office is starting to know what to expect from me, and all of the workers have a great sense of humor. But if they look at me strange, I’ll just explain that tomorrow, I will mail a bucket.

If you decide to give this a try, you can print postage at home and just drop your shovel in a mailbox, but it’s so much more fun handing it to a postal worker and waiting for them to say, um, I guess there’s nothing liquid, perishable, or potentially hazardous?

UPDATE: Just as a little FYI, the shovel was $1.22 to mail. Not bad. And the postal worker didn’t even flinch when he had to find a place for the postage sticker. The bucket goes out tomorrow.

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and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or see it all right here):

find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details

{ 18 comments }

DIY Ribbon Sticks are Thirteen Ounces or Less

05.12.10

I love May. I’d love to spend the entire month outside. In honor of May I thought we’d do a project that is reminiscent of May poles and of frolicking in the spring sunshine. We put together some DIY ribbon sticks.

When I first saw these clear tubes from Garnish, I was giddy with the possibilities. So I ordered a few.

Then I pulled out some leftover craft supplies: a few jewelry fasteners, leftover ribbon, one-foot wooden dowels, and some tacks I found out in the shed.

I started putting it all together. Ribbons sewn to fasteners and fasteners nailed to dowels. (If you don’t want to sew, tying knots works just as well). My fasteners allowed for three ribbons on each stick, which I thought was just right.
We did some test frolicking. The best ribbons are definitely the light, silky ones. (And as a side note, I decided to do this tutorial during my all-things-wedding weeks, because I can’t help think that a bunch of little girls frolicking with ribbon sticks would totally add to the scenery of any wedding. Or picnic. Or backyard barbeque. Or school yard. Or anything.)

Then we packaged up our creations in our tubes and added some labels (available for free here). We’re excited to spread some May sunshine. We’re off to the post office to see how the mail clerk likes them, but more importantly, the little girls who will be receiving them in the mail.

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and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or see it all right here):

find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details

{ 18 comments }

Bubble Wrap Hopscotch Is 13 Ounces or Less

05.06.10

My brother and SIL are the coolest. For my kids’ birthdays this year they sent this.
Bubble wrap hopscotch. And what do you do when you receive a package of bubble wrap hopscotch in the mail? There is only one thing you can do. Tear it right out of the package and get hopping.

So save your bubble wrap, because this is such a great thing to get in the mail. Writing the numbers is easy, just make sure you’re writing on the bubblewrap’s smooth side.
You might want to make a set for yourself.
Then just package it up and send it off. Ours looked a little like a bubble wrap sandwich.
Incase you’re interested in the rules, here are the official hopscotch rules, according to my playground experience:

1. Lay out numbers as shown.
2. Toss the marker on square one.
3. Skip square one and hop on all the other numbers, using only one foot for single squares, both feet for doubles. Then turn and hop back, stopping one square before the marker (you must balance on one foot if it is a single square), and bend over and pick up your marker. Then finish hopping home.
4. If you over throw the marker or lose balance then you end your turn. Continue with remaining numbers (2, 3, 4, 5…) until done.

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and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or follow my 13 oz or less Pinterest board, or see it all right here):

find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details

{ 53 comments }

Fan Mail Is 13 Ounces or Less

03.25.10

Don’t you think everybody should get their own fan club? Really, on some days, wouldn’t it be great to have your own cheering section? Or maybe…to open your mailbox and find fan mail?

You might want to try sending some fan mail this week. We thought we’d send some, and had a lot of fun doing it. Incase you want that fan mail to take the form of a foam finger, like ours, here’s the how-to. And if you have no occasion to make a foam finger today, trust me, there is going to come a time when you are going to want to make your own. And when that day comes, you will know how.

This has to be one of my favorite projects yet. We started with some leftover foam we’d bought at the fabric store. Thinner is better. We snipped out the appripriate shape, a front and a back.

We used a permanent fabric glue, Gem Tac or Liquid Stitch both work, and glued the front and back pieces together, then let them dry.

Next we pulled out our acrylic paint and mixed up some pink, fabric paint works too.

We made a few discoveries about working with the medium of raw cushion. It has to be damp to be painted. Aren’t you glad you have me to fill your mind with such important details? So we got the whole cushion wet and squeezed it out so it was just damp, painted onto the surface, then squeezed it out again.

I was very pleased the ty-died effect. You like?

Then, while the finger was still wet, we painted on our special message. If you’re planning to mail, remember to give this days to dry. You want it to be fully dry before you fold it over on itself.

And finally, the result. This goes out to all my readers, the very coolest readers and dearest friends in the world! I’m your fan.

and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or see it all right here):

find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details

{ 27 comments }

A Bottle of Goodies is 13 Ounces or Less

03.18.10

Thanks to all the Idea Room readers who stopped in yesterday. If you’re just joining, today’s post is from a series I’ve started on GiversLog that has become my personal favorite. I’ve been mailing gifts that are 13 ounces or less. And thanks to a few brilliant readers, we’ve come up with some fun things. Like today’s idea. I know it is going to have you running to your recycling bin and pulling out any waterbottles you can find.

This idea came from the lovely Miss Cocoa of Chocolate on my Cranium (can you guess what Cocoa and I have in common? A complete and shameless love of chocolate, maybe?) When I first started this series, Cocoa told me about how she did this. After my friend heard about it, she suggested a bottle exchange. Such brilliance. We exchanged a few emails and agreed we’d send anything that could fit in a water bottle. So first, here’s what I mailed.

Have you ever tried a kneedable eraser? I love the things.

I used free printable labels from here and here.

And now, here is the happy mail I got in return. (Thanks, Sherry, you rock!)

Notice any similarities? We were both all grins when we opened our mailboxes. It turns out we both like turquoise, just a little.

and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or see it all right here):

find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details

{ 53 comments }

Bouncy Balls are 13 Ounces or Less

02.25.10

We had a lot of fun with our latest package.

We couldn’t resist trying to bounce the whole package once it was all wrapped up.

It’s pretty sturdy, incase the postal workers aren’t able to resist.

We’ve been having a lot of fun with this series. And I’m really excited about the next couple ideas we have coming up. Stay tuned.

and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or see it all right here):

find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details

{ 22 comments }

Sticky Notes are 13 Ounces or Less

02.18.10

One stack of rainbow sticky notes, all packaged up and ready to brighten the mailbox of my little sister (shh, don’t tell).

and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or see it all right here):

find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details

{ 11 comments }

Junior Mints are 13 ounces or less

02.05.10

I was looking for a the perfect Valentine to mail and I found it. Look at these! Did you know Junior Mints come heart shaped in February? This alone is cause to celebrate. (They would go perfect with a sappy love movie, any recommendations?) Plus it could get messy mailing Junior Mints in the summer. So I’d better mail them while I can. I’m off to the post office!
Check out 13 ounces or less on flickr for more mailable fun.

Coming next week:
My biggest giveaway. ever.
Kuddos to a couple men who gave really great gifts.
One more freebie.
And much more Valentine fun.

Wow. It will really be a good week. Can’t wait to see you then.

and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or see it all right here):

find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details

{ 16 comments }

Mailing a Frisbee, and 13 ounces or less on flickr

01.27.10

My friends. I thought I’d better bring this idea to your attention. I know you really wouldn’t want to miss this, am I right? Last week Courtney stopped by and told me she had mailed a frisbee. That’s right, a bare frisbee and a label (Courtney, you are brilliant.) Naturally I couldn’t wait to try it myself. I have mine all ready and am headed to the post office this morning.

here it is with the mail, all set to go

(UPDATE: Mailed this off for $1.73. Not bad. More about this in Friday’s post.)

and incase you’d like to see a little more, here is my favorite fun mail inspiration from the archives (or see it all right here):

find postage rates for happy mail right here along with other mailing details

{ 48 comments }

Mini M+Ms are 13 ounces or less

01.20.10

Here she is, my first official mailing of 13 ounces or less. I thought mini m+ms should go out with a mini garland (i did a paper version of this one by PurlBee). I packed it, wrapped it, and mailed it off for $1.57. It’s so cheerful looking, don’t you think?

mmm, chocolatejust enough space
even the scraps are cheerfulpacked and ready