Fruity Boxes and Stamp Swap

I love, love, love late June in the Northwest because this is when my garden favorites are ripening and blooming: strawberries, raspberries, cherries, snap peas, snow peas, carrots, rhubarb, fushias, california poppies, asiatic lilies, lavender, feverfew and more I can’t name.

We’ve been picking berries in our garden, went to a u-pick last week, and have bought many pints at the farmer’s markets. All of these berries have left me with a tall stack of little green containers on my kitchen counter. Normally, I would just compost the little cardboard boxes with the rest of my kitchen scraps, but this year something was calling to me. “Wouldn’t I make the perfect little holder for something?” I heard yesterday morning (my mother says she has never seen anyone with more containers than me).

Since the mod podge was still handy, I pulled out some more textured paper and some stamps. I tore the paper into strips, layering paper on both sides of the container.

Next I started laying on the stamps, overlaying, working to cover up all the corners and edges. When I was done, I painted the whole thing with a generous coat of mod podge, which was starting to give me a headache (note to  self: open the front door next time). When I checked on it this morning, the container was glossy and fully sealed. I have plans for many more, using more stringent selection criteria on the stamps. You see, I have a bit of a stamp stash, so I can afford to be judicious in my choices.

There is a long story behind this duffel bag, and if you really want me to tell you sometime, just ask, but suffice it to say that the stamps were collected by several Rotary clubs in New Hampshire. This is actually, just a small portion of the stamps they passed on to my mother-in-law. I took roughly half of her lot home two summers ago, and have given away a few large bags to various classrooms. The problem is the pile isn’t getting any smaller, and even if I covered ever single berry box we eat this summer, I will still have more left over than I will ever need.

This is where you, the readers come in. I’m offering to fill a business envelope with 1oz of stamps from every corner of the globe for you. What is $0.39 between friends? If you would like more, this can be arranged. Just leave your name in the comments and I’ll contact you for your address.