Wednesday on Instagram

Today on Instagram I'm sharing the postcard collection of Becky in Arizona. Shown here is a fantastic message in a bottle postcard, hand made by Marianne and daughter Abby in Maine and actually mailed in the bottle. If there's anything the BPS project has taught me, it's to never underestimate what postal services all over the world will send! To see the rest of Becky's postcards, you can follow me on Instagram here — or you can just do a quick search under #benevolentpostcardsociety if you prefer not to follow me directly (it's set up as my personal Instagram account). Hope you enjoy them. 

The BPS on Instagram

I'm very excited to tell you about the BPS on Instagram! Every week I'll be sharing the collection of an individual BPS member, so you'll be able to see the amazing variety of postcards we all sent to each other over the duration of the project. Today I'm kicking things off with all the postcards sent to Rachael in California. You can follow me on Instagram here — or you can just do a quick search under #benevolentpostcardsociety or #bps if you prefer not to follow me directly (it's set up as my personal Instagram account). Hope to see you there!

(photo by me on instagram)

Brazil Postcard Exchange Update

A quick note for BPS members participating in the Brazil postcard exchange with Hane — she's had a bit of a setback as she didn't get the financial support she'd hoped for, but this month Hane's changing to a new (and better!) job and will be looking into starting the exchange at her new workplace once she's settled in. I'll update you again once I have more news, too.


(vintage brazil postcard via miludica on flickr)

BPS Badges

You might recall that my fab designer pal Clare designed some gorgeous BPS badges for members to display on their sites — and then I promptly forgot to upload jpg versions here so we could all actually use them. D'oh. Well, at long last here they are, over in the right sidebar — just drag and drop. The large ones are 250 x 250 and the small ones are 125 x 125 — please let me know if you need another size. So horribly sorry for this being so late!!

Postcards

I've been doing another batch of postcard scanning for the BPS book, and just had to share this lovely one by BPS member Mari, commemorating the project. So wonderful.

Thank You.

I'm continuing to work through the postcard packages as they arrive, but I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for the lovely cards and notes that many of you have included, too — I can't tell you how much I appreciate them. So thoughtful and so wonderful to discover, tucked in with your postcards! And a very special thanks to Fernanda, for sending me a beautiful illustrated book, simply because, she says, it reminded her of me. It's gestures of kindness like these that make all the hard work on the BPS worthwhile. Thank you.

xo

(photo by Kelli Trontell via creature comforts)

Brazilian Postcard Exchange!

Calling all BPS members! Would you be interested in becoming a pen pal? Fellow BPS member Hane teaches at an English school in Brazil, and she thought it would be fun for her students to practice their writing skills by having a pen friend who writes in English. If you're interested in exchanging postcards (or cards or letters) with Hane's students, let me know!


(pennant letter kit available from briones+co stationery)

A Sad Day

My brother Greg's sweet little cat Pi passed away yesterday after a too short life — she'll be greatly missed.


(photo by odnelem on flickr, via we heart it)

Little Zosienka

Lovely BPS member Zosienka has just opened her own Etsy shop! Called Little Zosienka, it features limited edition prints and unique badges of Zosienka's dreamlike artwork. Shown above are her Bear and Goose badges, which, she writes, " ... are from a series called 'Saint Gall'. Saint Gallus is the patron saint of birds, geese & poultry. His character is often represented with the image of a bear offering him a log of wood." Have a look at more of her work here.

What's New

I'm busily sorting out all your BPS renewal emails now, getting things ready for the revised database launching in June. If for some reason you haven't yet let me know that you're planning to continue with the BPS, now's the time to send me a quick email before I finalize everything on Monday!


(photo from vt wonen via delight by design)

How Does Your Garden Grow?

In some ways the BPS project is rather like having a garden — continual tending is required, but the resulting blooms are a rich reward. To keep up with the growth, I've now got a lovely group of BPS volunteer members (assistant gardeners, if you will) who are helping out tremendously by generously sending extra postcards when needed — thanks so much again to all who answered the call!

With the volunteers taking care of extra mailings, I can now focus more on something I've had an eye on for a while — weeding. In any project like this, there will inevitably be a few people who (for one reason or another) neglect to do their share. It really makes me sad to hear about the disappointment of BPS members who, while diligently sending out postcards each month, don't receive a postcard in return — sometimes several postcards. We've lost a few people who've become disillusioned about this, and though the wonderful volunteers are now helping out here, the key to sorting this out is — weeding.

So — do please keep letting me know if by the end of the month you haven't received a postcard. This is the only way I can flag any repeat offenders and learn if there's a problem (and not just an occasional postcard lost in the post). I want to make sure that each BPS member is a happily participating member — this project is, after all, about giving. Let's make sure that we're sharing the love!

xo


(lovely photograph from souvenirs, via we heart it)

Valentine Card Swap

Want to share the love in February? Lovely BPS member Carina is organizing a fun Valentine Card Swap through her great blog — crow and canary! If you'd like to participate, you'll need to sign up by midnight (PST) January 29. Find out all about the details here.

Big Hearts Wanted

Are you extra generous? Do you love to help out and make someone happy? I'm looking for BPS members who would be willing to be on call to send an extra postcard or two occasionally when the postal service fails to deliver — or to cover when the occasional glitch happens (such as when someone leaves the BPS but doesn't tell us until a month or so later). If you're interested, email me and let me know. Thanks so much — I know that somebody will heart you for it!

xo


(lovely photo by Kristi on Beauty in Everything)

Grand Opening!

I'm happy to tell you about the grand opening of lovely BPS member Hedy's new online shop — Tuulikki Titine! Not only will you find these super cute hand made owls there, but also lovely jewelry, fun little bags — and she's doing a postcard service, too! Do go and check it out — you'll love it. Hedy also has a great blog, too!

Vote for Stitchface!

The utterly charming Stitchface, one of the cutest Etsy shops ever, has been nominated for a Poppy Award on the influential PoppyTalk blog! If you'd like to support Danielle, a fellow BPS member (and one of the most fun people I know), head over here to cast your vote before midnight on January 26.

P.S. Shown above is the Check Jackalope — visit Stitchface to see more wonderful little creatures, too!

Member Giveaway!

Lovely BPS member Rachel currently has not one but TWO giveaways on her Number 8 blog! The first is a fantastic box of vintage paper ephemera that includes "everything from antique magazine pages, music sheets, children's illustrations, fake money and monopoly cards, cigar bands, stamps, joss paper and much much more" — perfect for making your own postcards.

The second giveaway is your choice of one of two lovely 8 1/2" x 11" giclee seashell photo prints — one of a grouping of seashells printed on luster paper, the other a beautiful piece of coral on matte finish paper.

Hurry over here before January 18 for a chance to win!

Why Wear Anything Else?

Interested in helping out a fellow BPS member? Samantha in Istanbul, Turkey is a finalist in a design competition and needs your votes! Last year she designed a shoe for Fluevog that was eventually made into a real shoe named the Zaza (after her). This time around, she's in the running for a competition to design the ad for the Zaza. The winner is determined by the number of votes their design receives, so Samantha needs as many votes as she can get to win. Help her win by voting for her beautifully illustrated ad, called Why Wear Anything Else?, here. You can vote once a day until December 22.

Good luck Samantha!!!

Looking Ahead

One of the interesting discoveries that I've made about the BPS project is that, besides being about generosity, it's also about commitment — being able to make time to find or create a postcard and mail it off at a certain date. Not everyone is able to do this, for various reasons — and sometimes it's only when you're involved that you realize it's not for you. We've had a few people drop out of the BPS so far — one due to a serious illness (we're sending our good wishes for a speedy recovery to Edward in Tennessee), many due to moves and needing time to deal with the upheavals a move brings. It's life, and, while I'm sorry to see people go, is understandable.

Lately, though, I've found myself doing a lot of follow up emails for members who are waiting on postcards that were mailed in October and November. And though many were simply mailed late (such as those delayed due to the database issues in November) or went missing in the mail, I fear that some were just forgotten about altogether. With this in mind, please let me know if you feel you can no longer commit yourself to the monthly BPS mailings. I'm totally fine with that — after all, it's supposed to be fun and not a chore! — and you will still be a cherished member whether you contribute to two months or to all twelve. I also have a growing waiting list of people who'd love to become a member, so if you can't continue don't worry — there's someone who's ready and willing to become one in your place!

I hope this doesn't sound too grumpy, but it's disheartening to hear about the lack of postcards for so many members. Here's hoping that we can get this sorted out so that the lack of postcards is minimized. In the meantime, I continue to be amazed at the generosity, creativity and big hearted spirit of the BPS members. You are all so wonderful and it's truly a privilege to know you.

Lori
xo


(photo via perfect bound on flickr)

A New BPS Button

My pal Clare — a brilliant designer and a BPS member — designed these cool BPS badges just for fun on his lunch break the other day, and I just had to share them with you. I'll post downloadable versions that you can add to your own blog/website soon, too!

Another Project ...

Thought you might be interested to know that I've just launched my own online shop! It's called the automatism atelier, and it's where I'll be selling my limited edition fine art prints, one of a kind mixed media collage work and more. To celebrate I'm having a giveaway on my automatism blog, where you'll have a chance to win one of four different letterpress prints in my Veggie collage series! The prints measure 4" x 6" which is, as you know, postcard sized. Shown above is Mr. Onions — but be sure to go and meet Miss Cabbage, Sir Potato, and Lady Asparagus, too! Contest closes at midnight on Wednesday, October 7 2009.