FinnBadger (15)

I love this Polar Bear, drawn by FinnBadger. While I always draw too many details, this illustration shows that 'less is more'.
The Polar Bear traveled from the USA to, yes, to where? To obtain a great and matching United Nations stamp.

And inside the envelope a matching card, which in real is shining bright:



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

FinnBadger (14)

A Puffin? Yes, FinnBadger has seen it well: I love, love, love these birds! (and all birds, animals :-) )

In the envelope a pretty piece of blue - gold - brown art:


Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

FinnBadger (13)

From Canada, via the USA, this great map envelope arrived. Created by FinnBadger.

Inside a restaurant's paper, and the ones who know me, immediately will see which words made FinnBadger think of me (thus add it to his mail) :-)



Also inside the envelope a regular postcard. Usually I don't post official postcards on this blog, but it is a nice and matching illustration, and the Bear increases my alibi to post FinnBadger's mail art here :-)



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

FinnBadger (12)

Usually, if I post regular cards, I do so on an other location.
But these Dragons came in such an amazing mail art envelope, that I decided to use them as an alibi to post the envelope here on the Real Weird Animals blog.



And notice the stamps! Issued in honour of 150 years of Canada, the complete serie contains ten different stamps, depicting ten unforgettable moments from the past 50 years.

Created by FinnBadger from the USA, who managed to send it via Canada! That amazing journey is worth noting, too!

Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

FinnBadger (10,11)

Almost three months ago already, on the 1st of May, I received a wonderful Smurf envelope, followed by a Dragon envelope on the 3rd of May.
I think FinnBadger knows well how to cause a broad smile on my face. Together with Platypus and Echidna, and Birds, both Smurfs and Dragons make my day when they arrive via mail art at my place.

I was even more amazed when I saw the Smurf stamp. First I thought it an artistamp, but looking close it turns out to be a real (read: officially issued) stamp, issued by the United Nations Postal Administration.

The Dragon is a favourite of mine, too, having been born in the Year of the Dragon.
This one pictured is a funny one, friendly as almost all dragons are, funny because she or he's fond of tacos. Surprisingly not liking the spicy salsa...
Great matching stamps, too, which make me remember the months I spent in Central America, some decades ago (tamales.. qué sabrosos!)



Inside one of the envelopes this great collage. I happened to have seen and heard the talented Gorilla in the week preceding receiving this collage!



Also this wonderful collage arrived. Amazing how two faces can make one new face.



The back side of the Dragon envelope:



FinnBadger added some leaflets of the artists Dino Nemec and Patrick Wayner, showing more animals:




Check Dino Nemec's website for more beautiful animal art; more information about Patrick Wayner and his art you can find here and here.

Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

FinnBadger (9)

Great colourful envelope and matching stamps arrived from FinnBadger from the USA.

Inside there were these Bird Blot artistamps:



(for the one horizontal stamp, hereby the same stamps from an other point of view: )



And a pretty postcard showing the Scarlet Tanager, a songbird I never had heard of until now. The funny thing, I learned from Wikipedia, is that this cousin of the Cardinal bird in Dutch isn't named (literally translated) 'Scarlet Tanager', but 'Black-winged Tanager' instead.
Food for thought: the question 'Is the bird red or black?' reminds me of an other issue: ' Is the glass half empty or half full?' :-)



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

FinnBadger (7)

Received these familiar Fish a week ago or two or so. The movie Finding Nemo was released in 2003 and I loved and still love to see it (being a fan of Crush' wise words, too). And recently we saw Finding Dory in cinema.

I was wondering who the sender would be. At first sight I couldn's open it, and I thought it had to be like that: both sides glued together.

However, tonight I did a new try to open it. And I succeeded. And oh, ay... Not only familiar Fish but also a familiar mail artist!..
I should have recognized the handwriting!



On the back side great matching (new) stamps showing Shell-Fish / Sea Snails.
And the Octopus.

So there was an inside, and inside I found this card, with at the back side a kind message.



Thank you very much, FinnBadger!

Katerina Nikoltsou (27)

Spring has started and tomorrow will be Easter. So a good time to show Katerina's bunny here!



Along with the Rabbit an original artistamp arrived. It shows an interesting Bird, apparently created by bird lovers and bird drawers FinnBadger and Stripygoose:



And two contributions to my 'what or whom is she staring at?' mail art project:



Here you see some details, showing a who-hoo-Owl. The complete picture I'll show at the WOWISSA-blog.



The mail came in this nice envelope, showing an other Greek Owl:



And a Greek sports winner:



Thank you very much, Katerina, and Happy Easter!

FinnBadger (6)

The year 2017 just has begun. And within a few days the Year of the Rooster will begin.

FinnBadger created this wonderful and cute design which combines the two years: the number 2017 and the young Bird, dreaming of, and/or becoming a Rooster.



More great Birds, and Year of the Rooster stamps, on the envelope.

Thank you very much, FinnBadger, and Happy New Years to you, too!

FinnBadger (5)

This year is the Year of the Monkey, and, already at the start of this Chinese New Year, I received this cheerful Monkey from FinnBadger.

On the back there was this perfect matching postmark, along with a postage stamp themed 'Year of the Monkey':



It took me some time to find the Monkey on the stamp, but here she or he is:



The Monkeys came in this larger envelope. I am not sure if FinnBadger has surrounded the Monkeys by this envelope, or that USPS was so kind to protect the Monkey postmark against more ink. Anyway: thank you very much, FinnBadger!

FinnBadger (4)

At first sight FinnBadger startled me by sending this 'envelope'. Well, first I didn't know who the sender was, which is not that frightening, but the thing that scared me was the idea that a bad odour of rotten Scandinavian fish would come out, into my nose, as soon as I would open this plastic bag envelope. So after hesitating for some time I had a try. Fortunately my worries had been in vain. A sweet smell proofed that these Scandinavian swimmers must have been born in a candy factory instead of a Swedish lake or Norwegian river.



Luckily for me there were no candies inside (I am not that fond of candies) but something far more beautiful: a nice letter and a great two-sided piece of colour test print (aka color bar) art.
The green side shows (sweet smelling) underwater life: a Jellyfish, Mermaids, Sea Horses, Molluscs (among them a Sea Snail) and various sea weeds. A clever piece of recycling art, and FinnBadger even recycled received stickers.



The back side (also sweet smelling) shows this intriguing colour test print (or: color bar) flower:



Thank you very much, FinnBadger (and indirectly Eva for the Mermaids and Molluscs :-) )!

Snail Mail Snails - 2015

Today is 21-12, which means the last '21st' of this year. Time flies...
Also 21-12 usually means the shortest day and longest night of any year.

About one year ago I sent Mail Snails to several mail art friends to wish them a Happy 2015.
I've sent these on postcards, to keep it that way or to colour, and to keep or to send it to whoever they wanted to send it to.

To my surprise I received some of them in return, via snail mail or email, and I love the way all artists added their 'handwriting' to the Snail Mail Snails!
Also a few mail artists, who hadn't received an original card, printed the snail and coloured and sent them.
Thank you very much, all of you!

The one above not only was coloured by FinnBadger, but also has been turned into an envelope. Which I think so suitable: FinnBadger has a mail art blog on Envelopes!

Here some other great contributions:


From Bruno Chiarlone


From Suus in Mokum


From Ana Marta Austin


From Dean (here in process)


From Katerina Nikoltsou


From Richard C.

Thank you very much!

P.S. I've received a few more coloured Mail Snails, but in the past year some of them crawled away to some hidden place. I'll post them as soon as I'll have found them back...