Postcard Making!

So, I have been signing up for A LOT of postcard swaps with Swap-Bot lately. Too many. I look forward to my lunch break every day so that I can go to the post office and send out my latest batch of postcards. I can only imagine the pile of postcards my boyfriend has to deal with arriving at my apartment...

And the fellow at the post office isn't helping. He keeps talking about what a soft spot he has for postcards, and how he would like to receive more of them. Maybe I should somehow find out his address and send him some on my next vacation...

Anyhow, I received the names for my latest swap and looked up their profiles to see if they have any specific postcards they prefer. One of my latest partners collects map postcards from the Canadian provinces and territories, and has Nunavut on her list of territories she is missing. Since Iqaluit is the largest community in Nunavut with roughly 6,000 people, I figure I am the best chance she has of getting such a postcard from Nunavut.

There's only one problem - I have been all over Iqaluit, and spoken to people all over town - some who have lived here for 24 years - and they don't sell such a postcard in Nunavut. So now I am late for my swap, and they don't sell the postcard I need ANYWHERE.

So I decided to make one. I realized I have map-making software on my laptop here, and all this Nunavut data. So I made a postcard-sized map image of Nunavut that I'm going to glue to a 25cent store-bought postcard. I added a Nunavut flag image I found on the internet, and some images I shot of plants up here, and I think it turned out pretty well. The only downside is that we have cheap paper, so the printout will look a little crappy. I hope she likes it!

Also, on a completely separate note, I love this dress from Shabby Apple and want to make my own version of it.

Swapping Postcards

A while ago, a friend of mine introduced me to Swap-bot. It's a fun little website where you can host swaps to send items to randomly chosen partners through snail mail.

I joined in the hopes of finding another outlet for my creativity - I wanted to use up supplies I had around the house in things I would never have done for myself, and also I wanted to try new crafts. However, I almost immediately went to work on Baffin Island for the summer where I have no access to my crafting supplies (or, for that matter, a post office).

A couple of weeks ago I started working out of Iqaluit, the largest community on the island - a government town of roughly 5,000 people. And, of course, it has a post office.

Since I'm still away from my crafting supplies, I have really gotten into an easy and common swap: the postcard. I think the idea of sending people postcards from a rarely visited part of the world really appeals to me - some people collect them, and I think it would be a really fun addition.

I've actually learned a lot in the process about Baffin Island. One of the most interesting things is the existence of Mt. Asgard, where the base jumping scene from the beginning of James Bond's "The Spy Who Loved Me" was filmed(You can watch the video here). It's supposed to take place in the Alps. I love that they couldn't find anywhere in the alps as spectacular as what they found in the middle of Baffin Island.

I also love how cheesy that James Bond video is...