one happy mailbox

Traveling the world, one snailmail at a time.

[onehappymailbox-blog]

I'm back!

Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy Happy New Year to all.

We've been traveling a lot during the last weeks of 2013 and just recently got back. I have so much stuff to work on and will keep you posted in a few days!

[onehappymailbox-blog]

JuiceBox

Maybe you are thinking, what the heck is JuiceBox? Is that some kind of a refreshment? NO!!!! Check out below for more details :) 

I recently saw JuiceBox from a fellow IG user and fell in love with their idea. So I hurriedly inquired and they got back to me very quickly.

I paid for the 3 Months plan last month and I am so lucky that they still have stock of their August and September Juicebox. They kindly fulfilled my request to receive those sets and the new one as well. 

These boxes came this morning :-) 

So I signed up around mid-September and when I inquired if I can still get the first one, they immediately got back to me and said that they can accommodate my request. So nice of them yeah! :) You can text them and email them and they will reply asap. Now that is a great start.

For their AUGUST JUICEBOX, here's what I got. You can click on the link for the details.

and not to mention, these bouquet of newly sharpened colored pencils :) (ahh, does that sound familiar?? Of course, its from You've Got Mail)

then the SEPTEMBER JUICEBOX, I've never seen a mini canvass before that's because I am not artistic ( I am a trying hard crafty person). Looking at them makes me want to summon Picasso. LOL. The easel is not included in the package. 

Lastly, the OCTOBER JUICEBOX, it's a clay edition. I am not much of a clay liker myself except when I was young wishing I have those play-dohs. Poor me. :)

This is what I did so far.. LOL A paper weight :) Sun baked coz we have no oven. How cool is that!

This is my first ever clay creation. I made it with a little bit of artsy-ness, a dash of coolness and one whole lotta love :)

[onehappymailbox-blog]

SB: Surprise Packet #1 *Kitchen*

This is a very interesting swap I joined about a few months ago. 

Description of swap: Easy, sent 3 wrapped gift u think i can use in the kitchen. Dishtowel, cleaner, dish-washing fiber, soap for dishes, cookware, magnets for refrigerator, cookie molds, etc.everything u think u can use in the kitchen

Swap partners: This time I am sending my mail to Greece. I've been paired with her in the past and its so cool so sending something again to her. On the other hand, I got my mail from the US.

So this is what I got. So nice of her to wrap it individually. 

The stuff inside

On the other hand, this is what I sent my partner. It makes me sad that the first one got lost, luckily I take pictures of what I send so I just have to make another batch with the same contents. The one wrapped is a local wooden flat spoon.  I hope that she will like it. 

All proudly Filipino, so not only am I promoting them, I am also helping other Filipino entrepreneurs.

I also included some washi for my partner. :)  

[onehappymailbox-blog]

Happy October

Happy October everyone, 2 more months to go an its already Christmas. Yay! Can't wait.

More mails, mails and mails :)

P.S. Thanks to Google for the photo

[onehappymailbox-blog]

SB: washi/deco tape samples! #2

This is my first washi sample swap and I am pretty excited :) Let me tell you more about this swap.

Description of swap: For this round you will send 4 samples each to your 4 partners. Please send at least 18 inches per sample. This should be a fun way to get a variety of tapes! Please no plain colors! 

Swap partners: I have 4 partners here and I think they are all from the US. Then those that I will send washis to are from US, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Look at the pretty and lovely washis I got from them.

Let me show them up close. 

Partner 1

Partner 2

Partner 3

and last but not the least, Partner 4 with some freebies from her. A wax seal sticker, how cool is that :)

I am so excited to use all of them :)

I can't remember the washi samples that I sent but my partners loved it and they all gave me a heart. I sent some of my mt washi and other brands as well.

For me, it doesn't matter if what I send is more than what is required as long as I am making sure the other person receiving it will be happy.

[onehappymailbox-blog]

SB: Notebook and Sweet Swap! International!

I recently made a promise to document all my mails and swaps here, so this is to kick start this resolution.

SB stands for Swap-bot, it's a wonderful website i discovered early this year and I've been an active swapper since then. To give you an idea, Swap-bot is a service and a community of creative individuals. Swap-bot facilitates internet and snail mail swaps. It removes the hassle of collecting swap participants and assigning swap partners.

Too bad, it took me until today to write about my swap and since I had so many swaps before, I can backtrack everything. Don't fret as I will document them moving forward. I will post them as I receive them and will post what I sent out as well. Sounds cool right! :)

Description of swap: Send your partner 3 notebooks of your choice, this is not profile based, and three sweets from your local shop, easy !!

Swap partner: O.H from Israel. My first time to receive anything from that country. Very nice of her to send such lovely parcel. 

This is all the contents of her parcel.

The notebooks are cute even if I am not a fan of Winnie the Pooh and I find their notebook interesting as it looks like they start backwards. Or maybe I just noticed that but I could be wrong. (PS. according to my partner, "In Hebrew we write from right to left and so its opposite to English". Thanks so much for this info)

Last but not the least, the super delicious chocolates from Israel. So milky and they remind me of Cadbury. 

And this is what I sent my partner K.C from USA. I hope that she will like it.

Some cute notebooks from my fave bookstore. Sweets I grew up eating La-la and Choco-choco (just noticed that they both rhyme).

[onehappymailbox-blog]

Papeey and Me

If this was a movie title, I'm sure it'd be a hit. LOL!

Anyways, a cute envie came and boy I was so happy to see it. You should be too so I am sharing it here. 

Very nicely done and so artistic. Wait till you see whats inside.

Lotsa cute stuff right and very personalized.

 a variety of teas

stickers

and so many cute postcards including the map of California 

illustrated postcard

and a vintage postcard. so cool!

my first time to receive a polaroid notecard :)

On the other hand, here is what I sent Papeey.

I am truly happy with this swap and hope that we can do again in the future. If you are interested, no flakers and spammers allowed. Message me > hello at(@) onehappymailbox dot(.) com

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Private Tea swap

So I've been busy with all my swapping activities and I promise to write them all here moving forward. Yes, must.write.often. :)

Anyways, our private swap was last August 15, 2013 and week ago, i got this mail and it smelled so good. Of course, i rarely smell my mails but there are times that you can't help it (raise your hands if you agree with me). So lo and behold, I am surprised to see these bunch and oh boy they all look and smell amazing. I hope my partner C.A will be happy with what I sent. C.A is from The Netherlands and they have such nice tea assortment over there. Too bad I forgot to take photos of what I have sent. Next time I will do that. Note to self, will take photos of what I send and include in every post. 

So here they are. 

The teas up close.

Lastly, let us not forget the stamp. Isn't it lovely. I don't know who the lady in the stamp is but i find her beautiful. Maybe she's the princess or the queen or part of the royal family. 

That's all for now. Have a happy mail day! 

[onehappymailbox-blog]

Of Swapping and then some

It's September and I must admit I've been lousy with my blog writing and keeping you posted with what I do here and there and during my down time. 

So, I am making a resolution to document more often my hobby, from letters, postcards, envelopes, stamps and swapping :)

This month, I am joining a brand new swap. It is called the Vegan Package Swap. You can click on their website for more information on how you can join or like their facebook. Also, for several months now, I am a part of the Tea Swap by the Tea Review Blog and its been such a wonderful experience. If you have lots of time, budget and a huge love for tea, you must join this. I am also a member of this new tea site and their website is the TeaAdvisor. The site is quite useful for tea newbies like me. I've been fairly active in Swap-bot too and it is a nice site to meet new people with whom you share the same love. Love for mails and swapping that is. 

So that's it for now. I promise to keep you posted and update this blog every now and then. No time to be lousy. :) Here is what should remind me of this agenda.

P.S Thanks to Google for the photo :)

[onehappymailbox-blog]

Sweet Parcel

This is parcel 3 of 3 that I got last June. This came from S.A of Malaysia. Very nice of her to consider my diet. I'm lacto-vegetarian by the way. 

She sent me those nice snacks from Malaysia and we ate it instantly. Did you notice those bank notes and purse with coins, I think I can use it if we ever go to Malaysia :) 

Thanks dear S.A. hope you will like the parcel that I send you soon.

[onehappymailbox-blog]

I'm back! :)

So after 3 or 4 weeks, I am finally back! It feels good to smell some fresh air, eat fresh fruits and veggies and see new sights. I took with me my penfriends and i shared my adventure to them via IG. 

Anyways, I am not yet done posting parcels I received last June. This is parcel 2 of 3 from S.dV of Netherlands. 

Look at this lovely box :) How can one resist from opening it ?!?!!

To my surprise, I saw my favorite painting :)

...and the goodies from Netherlands. I LOVED everything and the chocolates took a few seconds before they're gone. The chocolate bread spread is amazing and delish. The food stuff are so yummy and the other gifts like the tea and stationary are a lovely addition to my collection.

Thank you my dear friend. Hope you will like the gift I will send you :) 

[onehappymailbox-blog]

I'm on VACAY-SHUN

Vacation that is. Pardon my artistic play (if that is even artistic) with that word.

So we are going down south of the Philippines and it is my first time to be there. Will take lots and lots of photos, try to buy some postcards and souvenirs and other stuff in between with me when I get back.

*PS thanks to Google for the above photo.

If you are on IG (Instagram) and wants to follow me, my ID is ichbinliz

See you when I get back! :)

[onehappymailbox-blog]

L-O-V-E from L.A

Pardon for the late post but allow me to share one of the lovely parcel I got early June. This is from my kindred spirit friend C.S. 

It came as a surprise along with other parcel this June (this is 1 of 3) :) Such a beautiful letter from my dear friend. Thank you very much!

The lovely gifts inside the parcel. Bunch of goodies for someone like me who lives in a third world country.. LOL. Some I haven't even seen yet and tasted, so you can just imagine the smile on my face seeing them.

Also, I got a bunchful of teas and oh how my heart skipped a beat. Literally! I just want to stare at them and smell them like a there's no tomorrow. hahaha! anyways, I tried some of them and they're the best. Can't wait to try the rest.

and last but not the least...... TAADAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

the sweets are the best. Lollys, and chocolates galore! I felt like a kid wanting to devour these treats. OH MY GOLLY!!!! I totally love them. And yes, I didn't eat all of them. I shared some to my nephew and niece at home and my hubby of course! :)

So that's parcel 1 of 3 for June. I will post what I will send my friend C.S here in a few days maybe as I like compiling stuff for my penfriends. :) Hope she will like it.  I love you my dear C.S. Thank you for the lovely treats.

[onehappymailbox-blog]

Down Under

This cute little parcel is going Down Under. Yep, you guessed that right, this little package is going to Australia for lovely, artsy and crafty kid Vd.R. She doesn't know this so I hope she will like this surprise.

Vd R is the daughter of my hubby's cousin. Only met her this year and I was really happy to know that she loves to draw, make crafts and the usual stuff that a pre-teen kid would do ( not sure of her age but i'm guessing she's around 10). I really encourage kids to do stuff that they like, explore and to never give up learning. We'll never know what they might become when they grow-up. Hope she will like this. :-)

The parcel contains 4 washi tape, tiny elephant notebook, stickers and crafty papers. 

[onehappymailbox-blog]

Wordsmith

I have a pen-pal who is a well-known writer in their country. I won't name drop or mention the country but I am honored to be a part of A.D's postcrossing life.

This parcel is for A.D. This is our second swap and the first swap was just plain postcards. I'm glad A.D agreed with my proposal. I hope A.D will like this simple souvenir of Buri wallet, Beaded necklace, Keychain, postcards of local dances and the iconic stamps of Pope Paul VI and our former first lady, who i like very much, Imelda Marcos.

That's all for now. I've been waiting for Mr. Postman to deliver my mails this week and he's nowhere to be found. Oh well, hope he is better. :)

[onehappymailbox-blog]

Love bookstore

Since I revived this hobby, the way I look at bookstores will never be the same again. It never was actually but this time, it's much better.

I would only go to my friendly neighborhood bookstore when I need to buy stuff for the incoming school year, looking for sale, something for school project and last but not the least, when I am bored.

Now that I’ve become older and with enough funds (hey not too old and not rich...lol) I tried to revive something that I find joy in doing which is writing and making new friends. So a few years ago I joined this online site for postcard exchange and that instant rekindle that spark in me.

To date, apart from the regular postcard exchange, I have other means to meet new people from other parts of the world. I am happy with it, with the people I meet and I will always treasure them. I have so many penpals from around the world right now and I am here to keep them and always share this wonderful hobby. 

[onehappymailbox-blog]

Incredible India

So this is the last parcel from last week (3 of 3..yay!), I should be doing this real time but my work is a bit hectic so please forgive me. Will do this on a more timely manner come next week.

My new penpal M.R from India sent me this wonderful surprise. I haven't even opened it and yet I can already smell the fragrant that is India.

Big parcels make my heart skip a beat. I think you know what I mean just by looking at the photo.

So excited to open and here are my gifts from M.R all the way from India.

Inside are authentic incense from India, some religious postcards, Indian crafts, soap, keychain, tea and some Indian sweets. I LOVED everything and the letter from M.R made it extra special. Will send my parcel to you soon.

Thank you for making me get a glimpse of India through your parcel. 

Namaste.