Sent from Disneyland Podcast

I am a big podcast person and especially love those that teach me something. I came across a fun one I thought you all would like because it has to do with vintage mail: Sent from Disneyland.

The host Clocky McDowell chooses a few vintage Disneyland postcards per episode, describes the front, reads the message on the back, and talks about what that day was like in the park. Usually his postcards are on the older side, from the first few decades of Disneyland, which opened in the mid-1950s. Clocky goes into detail about the scene on the front and its relevance to the park and the history. It’s super fun and I always learn something interesting. No matter your feelings about Disney, you get a taste of what life, travel and entertainment was like in the past.

Definitely recommend this podcast! And if you join the patreon group, he’ll actually send you a card from within the parks.

p.s. Because he gets stamps from me, Clocky made me the official stamp sponsor, so you’ll hear my name in the ad section. However I’m not receiving anything in exchange for this post. I’m truly a fan!

These Brush-Tip Pens Have Lasted Three Years!

I was cleaning up my desk this weekend and taking stock of all the pens and pencils I’ve bought since I started Enfield Post almost five years ago. I found a few remaining from a set I bought in the beginning of my venture and thought it was significant that they still write beautifully and haven’t run out of ink! These are the Pentel Brush Tip pens, which are my favorite pens to use when addressing envelopes. They’re available on amazon, and have almost 2,300 five star reviews. Hard to beat that! I think I’ll get the jewel tones next.

The Art of Disney Series

From 2004-2008, USPS released a series of five sheets in the series The Art of Disney. Each sheet has a theme (romance, friendship, magic, imagination and characters) and features four different designs with a recognizable Disney character pairing. All five of the sheets include a Mickey.

These stamps are a higher value, but none are FOREVER stamps (even though the FOREVER program started in 2007). They are cheerful, fun, delightful, and, according to this 2008 press release, the most popular USPS Stamp series of all time.

These stamps are available now in my Etsy shop.

18c Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) was one of the most important female poets of her time. She wrote poetry and plays throughout her life, and won a number of important awards, including the Pultizer in 1923. She was rebellious and rarely played by anyone’s rules, and was a prominent figure in the Greenwich village bohemian scene.

My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night; but ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -- it gives a lovely light!

First Fig, Edna St. Vincent Millay, 1920

This 18c stamp was issued in 1981 in Austerlitz, NY, Millay’s home for the last 25 years of her life. The print method is lithography and engraving, and just under 100,000,000 were printed. It is the 7th and last stamp issued in the American Poets series, which began in 1970.

Pink and Green Botanical Postage

I was delighted to be contacted by Kelsey at Grey and Cake to curate a set of postage for one of her brides. They were on the hunt for pink and green botanicals. Because they needed a decent amount of postage on the main envelope, and we were running out of room with the number of vintage stamps that would require, they opted to go with the current $1 stamp from USPS and add what they needed in vintage. I love doing combos like this because in many cases it makes vintage stamps for affordable and therefore more doable. You can see the exact combinations for the Main and RSVP envelopes below.

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Scottish Wedding Save the Date Postage

I was delighted to be contacted by a bride getting married in Scotland in the coming months. She’s based in the US, hence her need for US postage, and will be bringing a few friends and family members to this intimate event. I pulled images of all the stamps that she might be interested in, with an emphasis on greens and darker colors, that would complement her venue, an old Scottish estate. She is sending a standard 1oz envelope but because of the wax seal she will be using, she needs 75 cents of postage. I was honored to play a small role in this sure to be stunning event! Stamps listed below, and envelope calligraphy is by Nob Hill Jane (she won’t be using mauve, that’s just my stying).

Blue and Green Wedding Postage

I was contacted months ago by a mother of the bride asking for blue and green postage for her daughter’s New England wedding. We went through many iterations to come up with the perfect set that incorporated places and colors important to their big event. It was a fun way to do it because we had so much time and there was no rush element to putting this set together, which there often is! We landed on a set that incorporated a few high value stamps I’m especially fond of, including the 33c Bartram Magnolia and the 62c Dragonfly. Everything is listed below.

Interested in using vintage postage for your event invitations? Send me and email gracie @ enfieldpost.com

1985 Horses

USPS has printed plenty of images of horses, but all are tied to horse racing or replications of paintings except this series. The four horses pictured here are all breeds specific to the United States, bred from the imports that began arriving to the Americas in the 1500s with Spanish colonists. I used a few from this series for two curated sets within the past week: the two with green lawns for a Kentucky wedding postage set, and the Quarter Horse for a southwestern custom postage set.

These stamps are slightly larger than those printed at the time, measuring 1.5 inches wide and 1.25 inches tall. They were issued in Lexington, KY and 37 million were originally printed.

Repositionable Glue Sticks Are Perfect for Vintage Postage

There are myriad reasons why you should use glue sticks when using vintage postage, and I won’t get into those right now, but just trust me when I say it’s the best way. I have started exclusively using repositionable glue sticks for postage I adhere to envelopes. It’s a type of glue stick made by Elmer’s that is slow drying, so it gives you ample time to try and retry to glue your stamps straight. How perfect for vintage postage!

The consistency is a bit more like rubber cement, a bit slimier. This means that you get “glue fingers” a lot faster, but that’s fine, and to me, worth it. I definitely recommend you check these out if you do a lot of gluing!.

Find them here.

Graduation Announcement Postage Sets

While I mostly curate postage sets for weddings and rehearsal dinners, I occasionally get a chance to do a set for a different event. This week, it was for graduation announcements for a future Harvard graduate. I worked with Anne Elizabeth Studio on these, and tried to incorporate muted, gentle tones with nods to Massachusetts. List of full stamps below. I styled these on one of my own envelopes with calligraphy by Kristen Henderson who works here in Charlotte.

Interested in postage for your invitations? email me gracie @ enfieldpost.com

Triangles from 1997

These stamps from 1997 are the first triangle stamps issued by USPS! They were issued to celebrate the Pacific ‘97 Stamp Exhibition and feature a stagecoach and a clipper ship, both of which are associated with mail delivery service in California. They are bright colors and so fun to configure with other postage stamps.

Historic Preservation 8c

These 1971 stamps were issued attached in a large sheet. They are beige with black ink and oversized (most stamps at the time were 1.5 x 1 inches, these are 2 inches on the long side). They honor a movement that was gaining true momentum at the time, which was to put committees and regulations in place regarding keeping our national treasures (not lands, but buildings, properties, and cultural symbols) safe and protected.

  • Cable Car - The cable car system that runs through San Francisco’s hilly streets began in 1873. It still operates on 10 miles of track.

  • Ship - This stamp depicts a 19th century whaling vessel that is still docked in Mystic, CT.

  • Mission - The San Xavier del Bac Mission has been in existence since 1797. Sitting right outside of Tucson, it is still a pilgrimage site today.

  • House - The Decatur House is one of the oldest surviving buildings in Washington, D.C. Built in 1818 and named for its original owner, it now serves as the National Center for White House History.

Postage Stamp Puzzles

I am a lifelong puzzle person and the pandemic has only enhanced my love. My dad, who instilled this passion in me, lives here in town and so we have a puzzle exchange where we each buy them and trade them around. Double the puzzles, double the fun. We typically go for 1,000 piece puzzles and like interesting designs. Over the pandemic we collected a few stamp puzzles, all made by White Mountain company, which seems to have an exclusive contract with USPS. There are plenty of other puzzles with international stamps or with fake stamps made by graphic designers. Take a look at this list, half of which I already own.

Bought this one today! Click image to learn more.

Bought this one today! Click image to learn more.

The colors in this image are a little more intense than it is in real life. Yes I own it. Yes me and my dad did it. Yes we agreed it’s harder than you think it would be! Click image to learn more.

The colors in this image are a little more intense than it is in real life. Yes I own it. Yes me and my dad did it. Yes we agreed it’s harder than you think it would be! Click image to learn more.

How fun is this one? Most all of these stamps have passed through my hands before except maybe PTA? Never loved that stamp LOL. Click image to learn more.

How fun is this one? Most all of these stamps have passed through my hands before except maybe PTA? Never loved that stamp LOL. Click image to learn more.

Of course I own this one. Of course i do. Click image to learn more.

Of course I own this one. Of course i do. Click image to learn more.

A 500 piece puzzle! And very sweet design. Love it! Click image to learn more.

A 500 piece puzzle! And very sweet design. Love it! Click image to learn more.

Another USPS puzzle! I love seeing the sheer variety of stamp designs USPS has come up with. Click image to learn more.

Another USPS puzzle! I love seeing the sheer variety of stamp designs USPS has come up with. Click image to learn more.

All international stamps in a gorgeous rainbow arrangement. Click image to learn more.

All international stamps in a gorgeous rainbow arrangement. Click image to learn more.

Have literally held this one in my hand at a store and put it back for a different one. Regret is painted all over my face as I type this caption. Maybe I’ll get it next. Click image to learn more.

Have literally held this one in my hand at a store and put it back for a different one. Regret is painted all over my face as I type this caption. Maybe I’ll get it next. Click image to learn more.

Baby Shower Postage

Happy to be sharing this postage set for a baby shower for my nephew, who is coming soon! I’m so excited to help shower my sister in law this weekend. The theme is “the adventure begins” and the invite had a plane on it, so I went heavy with the Air Mail stamps. Everything listed and linked below.

Interested in custom postage pets for your invitations? Please email me gracie @ enfieldpost.com

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!


Happy saint Patrick’s day! Here’s the first Irish postage stamp from 1922. Today I am sharing fun information on the stamps and postal system of Ireland.

Ireland was under British rule when stamps began in the 1840s and only printed their own once they gained independence. Irish stamps all say Eire on them which is Gaelic for Ireland. All stamps have to have their country of origin printed on them except the UK which can just have a pic of the monarch. They started the whole thing so that’s the privilege they’re holding on to, which is fine.

Fun facts:

1. the Irish postal system is called An Post.

2. It costs €1.10 for a standard domestic stamp.

3. The postal service collects a €160 fee per household for television license, which is exactly what it sounds like, a license to own a TV.

Hopper Stamps: A Twofer!

I am delighted to finally be offering the 2011 Edward Hopper (1882–1967) Forever Stamp. This design, based on Hopper's ca. 1930 painting The Long Leg, captures serenity like no other stamp. The setting is summer in Provincetown, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. This stamp is part of the American Treasures series, which began in 2001 to honor “fine works by skilled hands, from Amish quilts to idyllic paintings by American masters.” The series includes work by other important painters as well as blankets by Southwestern Native Americans, Gees Bend Quilts, and a stained glass window by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

The original painting is in the collection of the Huntington Gardens and Museum in Huntington, California.

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This 32 cent stamp based on Edward Hopper's painting Nighthawks was included in the 1998 sheet Four Centuries of American Art. This fantastic sheet captures work from the 1600s to the mid-twentieth century, all made in America. The painting was created in 1942 and is in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. The painting is inspired by a cafe at an intersection on Greenwich Avenue in New York City Hopper is known for capturing loneliness, quiet and isolation in his work and said about this work: “unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city.”

Saying Thanks

I spent the morning writing thank you notes for my family’s generous celebrations of my birthday last week. I’m using notecards designed by my husband a few years ago (he’s an architect but I make him play artist sometimes) and of course the Thank You stamps from USPS. I love those stamps and I’m willing to bet they will be sorely missed when they’re gone. They go very well with vintage stamps and the gold foil on them is a great bonus. Definitely hoarding a few sheets of these for later use.

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Look at These Cool Bubble Mailers!

I use bubble mailers constantly to ship my orders out, and every now and then I try to switch it up. I was perusing the options this weekend and thought you might like to see what I was considering. Take a look!

I typically stick to a turquoise 6 x 10 bubble mailer, but I found these and they were a good deal. I got them!

I typically stick to a turquoise 6 x 10 bubble mailer, but I found these and they were a good deal. I got them!

These are so fun, and also a great deal! $10 for 50 at the moment. You can’t lose with these. I’ll be getting them next!

These are so fun, and also a great deal! $10 for 50 at the moment. You can’t lose with these. I’ll be getting them next!

These are so fun and summery! Also very cheerful. Lots of cheer.

These are so fun and summery! Also very cheerful. Lots of cheer.

How cool are these peach mod mailers? I’m really into them.

How cool are these peach mod mailers? I’m really into them.

Iridescent Mailers are a great way to not lose your mail, right? This is a 50 pack with half in size 4x8 inches and half in size 6x10 inches. These are so fun!

Iridescent Mailers are a great way to not lose your mail, right? This is a 50 pack with half in size 4x8 inches and half in size 6x10 inches. These are so fun!

I can’t write this post without including my favorite old standby. These are my go-to 6 x 10 bubble mailer forever! Love the color and a great quality product.

I can’t write this post without including my favorite old standby. These are my go-to 6 x 10 bubble mailer forever! Love the color and a great quality product.