 An abomination The dreaded pen cancel. How many of you have received an envelope with an ugly mark scribbled across the stamp instead of a classic cancellation ... like the "Thinking of You" one pictured above? If you're not familiar with pen cancels, I've recreated the look below. Don't worry, I didn't use a real marker, it's computer generated.  Graham Beck of Exploring Stamps has a name for it, and it's perfect for sharing on Halloween:
PG | Philatelic Gore October is Stamp Collecting Month and before it ends, a good time to share Graham's Exploring Stamps website and YouTube channel ... where you'll find his video on pen cancellations (go to the 2:14 minute mark to see PG | Philatelic Gore, it's funny). Graham is a stamp collector who (in pre-pandemic times) will pull a stamp from his collection and travel to the country of origin to get the story behind the stamp. It's a great way to learn more about the world ... and a great example of how finding inspiration in one thing can lead to so much more. I hope you'll watch the video to get the full story of what he does.
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 Buttoned Up
When I pulled out my sewing supplies last Saturday, they were a jumbled mess of fabric, thread, tools, scissors, and pins randomly packed in boxes and bins. Embarrassing, really. So with a button-load of patience, I focused and was able to stack and separate the good from the bad. Toss things that were broken, and put like items together in proper order. But I couldn't part with the buttons. They're colorful. Cheerful even. Like little gems. And with some of them, I remember the piece of clothing they were once stitched to. Like that yellow button in the middle. It was from a wrap-around skirt I had in high school. A floral Madras print. It was comfortable, and I thought, very stylish. When I wore it down to its last fiber, I cut off the buttons and saved them. The button jar is a small jar. I keep it and most of the buttons because I think I might use them again. Maybe, maybe not. Is there something you collect or save that you can't part with? What is it? |
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