No Time To Stamp?

One of the most often asked questions I get is, “How do you mail that?” The card I posted yesterday prompted many more similar emails, so I thought I’d show you all how I handle mailing bulkier cards. I love to make cards with dimension and I never hesitate to do so based on the issue of mailing, I just bite the bullet and pay the extra postage. If that goes against your grain, then you can save those bulkier cards for occasions where you will be present to deliver the card, such as a wedding or party you may be attending.

Here is a close-up view of yesterday’s card so you can see the type of bulk I am referring to; however, many of you, and I on occasion, make cards much bulkier than this:

Merely putting this in an envelope and mailing would probably mean that it gets to the recipient in a somewhat damaged state, due to the lumps and bumps in the envelope. To avoid those lumps and bumps, a trick I learned from Linda Bullard quite a while back, was to crimp a 1/4 sheet of cardstock and place it in front of the card in the envelope to act as a corrugated cushion, and it works amazingly well. This is very suitable on cards with a low to average amount of dimension added.

The cost to mail the above card in this fashion would be $0.59. I use my 2 small kitchen scales to weigh my envelopes and small packages. The small scale goes up to 1 pound and the larger scale goes up to about 7 pounds, and they ARE amazingly accurate when compared to the scales at the Post Office, so I’m sticking with them — no high tech digital postal scales for me — LOL!!!

Another option if your card is a bit too bulky for the above crimped cushioning, is to go to a purchased bubble wrap envelope as shown below.

When inserting a card in this type of envelope, I like to wrap it in tissue for an extra layer ofprotection and also so that when the recipientpulls it out, it’sjust a bit nicer to have tounwrap the tissue thanto pull a card out of this unattractive envelope. We put so much time and effort into our cards, let’s try to present them in an attractive fashion, even though that can be difficult when dealing with postal issues. The cost to mail the above card in this bubble wrap envelope would be $0.59, plus the cost of the envelope. I get my bubble wrap envelopes from Wal-Mart and this size runs about 45 cents. (Editing to add: Please read the 6th comment down by Karen Witter for a source for white padded envelopes which would be more attractive than the one shown, and at a decent price — Thanks Karen!)

Another option which does a great job of protecting the card and which I really prefer to the above bubble wrap envelope, is to put the card into a clear box, and then wrap the clear box in brown postal wrap.

I love these clear boxes and I was turned on to them a year or so ago by Val Stangle. They come in a variety of sizes and are great for enclosing gift sets or, as here, for protection while mailing. Even though the outer wrapper is standard brown wrap, oh, what a pretty box/sight when the brown wrap is removed!!!! These boxes make a lovely presentation. I get these boxes from clearbags.com and I keep a good supply on hand in a variety of sizes. This is the smallest size I purchase and it is 1/2″ thick, item FB6, at a cost of $0.32 per box before shipping, handling, etc. This box will hold several cards, depending on how bulky they are. The cost to mail the above card in this fashion is $1.34.

And last, but not least, is the most expensive option, which is reserved for extremely bulky cards, but I have been known to use this option — a USPS Priority Box, called a video mailer.

Now, of course, the card shown above would not require this type of mailing, but I have both sent and received some cards that do. When using this type of box, again, I wrap my card in tissue paper, place it in the box and nicely fill all empty space in the box with gently crumpled tissue paper, again, making sure that this highly unattractive box at least has a pleasantly presented surprise inside!!! As long as this box weighs less than 1 pound, the cost is$4.80.

So, that’s it — that’s how I mail my cards!!! Hope this was helpful to someone!!!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to look, and I hope you are having a wonderful, summer week. I have taken some much needed time off this week and have been enjoying the pleasant temps and warm breezes on my front porch with visitors!!! Hope to visit with YOU again soon!!!

Oh, before I go — check this out!!! My friend, Julie Koerber, is in theTop 10 in the Paper Crafts Gallery Idol contest. She created a gorgeous card using a vintage Santa image. Take a look, and if you like it, take a moment to cast a vote for Julie. Instructions are posted along with her card here. Voting runs until noon MST on Thursday, July 31. Julie’s work is FABULOUS all the time and she is certainly a winner in my book!!! Thanks!!!