Sunday 28 August 2011

Guess what's in the folder.

Hi.

Last Saturday was a good day. For a start I wore a stripey dress and yellow shoes [BTW:  these facts are not at all pertinent to the story ... but hey, I'm just setting the scene for you ... ], the sun was shining and James and I went out for lunch [goat's cheese bruschetta - in case you're wondering] in a little local town which has plenty of tea shops ... and almost as many charity shops. One in particular stands out as it sells mainly retro and vintage items rather than the usual tat ornaments made last year and biographies no one ever reads.

So far so good ... but wait ... it gets better. Bearing in mind how much I adore, crave, seek-out and obsess over retro prints .... and keeping in mind too just how much I have always loved stationary ... just imagine how I felt when my eyes alighted on the shelf where these beauties stood:

Two A4 ring-binders with the most incredible textured plastic covers, in amazing designs:

So far so amazing, yes? But then ...

... then, drawn nearer by their sheer magnificence I reached out to touch them and peer inside. Which is when 'amazing' turned into 'amazing-er'.

And here's why:
They house a stamp collection.

Stamps! STAMPS!

Lots and lots of them:
Stamps arranged by country of origin:

Pretty stamps:

Stylish stamps:

Wonderfully illustrated stamps:

Stripey stamps:

Weirdly hot stamps:
Apologies to any Belgian readers for checking out your ... whoever he might be!

And if all this wasn't enough for one woman to take ... alongside the pages of organised stamps were several envelopes stuffed with assorted unsorted extras:
And packets of stamp sets ... and several postcards from a 'Ken' who, it turns out, was no great travel writer!

They're not all mine. We bought them between us. And I can feel doubly delighted at the fact that while all the postal-pretties came to live with us, the money we paid went to the British Red Cross, which feels so much more rewarding than if I'd bought them from ebay.

James is going to go through them and point out the ones he would prefer not to see end up on a layout or collage ... and he harbours dreams of researching them and finding our fortune therein.

But the rest ...

.... the rest is fair game and postal-themed projects look like they're here to stay!

---------------------------

Thanks for dropping by to see my latest treasures.

Soon.

Julie :-)

19 comments:

  1. Stamps on graph paper!!! What a score!!! The binders are lovely too... can't help but try to imagine its owner and the history behind it all :) TFS!

    ReplyDelete
  2. wow what a treasure!! and these stamps will look so much more prettier on your projects too!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bet you were delighted!! We too had some great charity shop finds in the clothes and shoes variety. Looking forward to seeing the projects!

    ReplyDelete
  4. ooh how very exciting! good job i wasn't there too we'd have been sharpening our elbows!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. If postal projects are here to stay I'll have to start saving my stamps instead of sending them to the charity shop!

    I know we've talked about this furniture thing before - um, we have that chest of drawers too :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, what a great find! Did you squeal with delight? I would have! Make sure you get the zebra one to use on a layout! Or a badge maybe? X

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great find. Did you get them from guisborough? I love it there! We found a solid silver pear on a necklace from red cross shop there, and if it is there, i am sure i know the shop you're talking about with the vintage / retro clothing ! X

    ReplyDelete
  8. Whoop whoop - I've got some of them and now you have more than me again!!! (I have been using the little darlings on pages again) At the bottom of my stamp box I found two perforation gauges. E-mail me your address if you would like me to send you one.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Obviously you were destined to find them!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love stamps! My husband collected them as a boy and I managed to get him to give me his very large binder and box of loose ones. I've still been imagining what I'm going to do with them, as a collection is beautiful in itself.

    Have Fun!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just meant for you! You must have been so excited - I'm squealing from here!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a brilliant find! Makes me wish I hadn't taken my son's stamp collection to the charity shop about 7 years ago (before I started scrapbooking!).

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hulloo. Just found you and now I am thinking of stampy cardy makey ideas instead of getting ready for work and making sure the Smalls have brushed their teeth. Darn you and your charity shop haul! Ax

    ReplyDelete
  14. Strangely I have blogged about a find of hidden a box of stamps too. Amanda sent me over and I recognised a stamp in your collection I have as well. What a coincidence. Apart from lYouts and a collage I need ideas...

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for leaving me a comment, asking me a question, sharing your own story or just randomly saying hello.