Sinterkerst voor Bianca

For Bianca I've made a Sinterkerst mail! Over here we have a commercial from a telecom provider that always makes me laugh. It's about some rich people who got poor but still want to live rich. So they just celebrate Sinterklaas, Christmas (kerst) and New Years eve all in one! That's so funny I thought I'd make a combined mail for Bianca. She had sent me this really cute pink and green box some time ago with this really cute crocheted hedgehog. And since it's the end of the year, why not make a bit of an effort. New Years resolutions are for the new year.

The mail consisted of two packages. A Sinterklaas package and a Christmas package. Two mails in one! And a letter, since what is mail without a letter.

This was in the Sinterklaas package. Lots of Sinterklaas crafty stuff. A traditional chocolate letter with the letter B from Bianca. Some red and white ribbon, red and white hearts, labels, stickers (inside the envie), a dress up Sinterklaas and a note from Sinterklaas (no not really ofcourse, but during this time of year we send notes to one another in name of Sinterklaas, like you do with Santa).

The dress up Sinterklaas was maybe a bit childlike but it's kinda funny! Well I think anyway.

Then I've wrapped the chocolate letter and the other stuff into two presents which I then wrapped into another piece of wrapping paper. Unwrapping is just so cool! Just like when you are a kid, when you get a bit anxious to see what is inside on your birthday or at the night when all the presents arrive at Sinterklaas!

Inside the Christmas present were these white bags with red labels on them made with my really cool Motex letter writer thing. It said: a white Christmas, a vintage Christmas, a red Christmas, a chique (really fancy French word for classy) Christmas and a colourful Christmas.

These white bags were so fitting! Glad I ordered those! Inside was a lot of Christmas stuff!

A red Christmas.

A chique Christmas.

A vintage Christmas.

A white Christmas.

A colourful Christmas.

My origami stars came out great! I've made them when I was lying sick on the couch, gave me something to do besides social media :-)

Sintmail!!!

For the Sinterklaas swap thing I got sent these two envelopes! They arrived on different days as well!

Inside the packages were another two envelopes which said: do not open until the 5th of December! In case I would forget and "by accident" open it earlier :-)
This what was inside the two envelopes, a handmade Sinterklaas book, some presents, and a vintage card. The book of Sinterklaas was full of colouring pages and stuff for the kids. Well I do hope it was for the kids anyway.
Inside a small package were these three geisha beads. Kinda cool!

This was what was in the other presents and some stuff that came from the Sinterklaas book. Some Sinterklaas napkins, a puzzle, some stickers, a tin and two cards.

I thought the tin and the beads were colourful! Tins can be used for loads of stuff! Kinda have a thing for small tins, can't help it. The (self printed) vintage card got a bit wrinkled through the mail, but vintage is cool anyway. Inside the tin were a few instructions for Sinterklaas craft stuff. Some crochet (a "must try" for 2014) and a origami manual I couldn't  read since the resolution of the image was to low.

And then this unexpected parcel arrived! It really must be Sinterklaas!

It was from a snailmail swapsite i've joined in the summer. I had sent someone something, but that person never registered it. So that was the end of it for me. But somehow my name showed up on the mailing list and a Janet send me this! An unexpected surprise! Inside this mailbox was a letter, a recipe (I'm going to try that next year!), chocolate coins and some small wrapped things. I liked this one, lucky hangers from Sinterklaas en Zwarte Piet! And Amerigo (the white horse of Sinterklaas) and his staff!

You gotta love the old Sinterklaas! These are prints of real stamps by the way.

Unexpected but really good fun! There was also a block of sticky notes inside and dress up dolls, the kids loved it!

Sinterklaas mail

I joined in the fun to make a Sinterklaas mail with a bunch of snailmail lovers. I think there were about 32 people or so who participated. We were randomly matched to someone, and someone else would send you something in return. It was supposed to be a creative mail with a little present inside. I got matched with Marjolijn (whom I don't know by the way).
In case you don't know who Sinterklaas is: he's Saint Nicolas (Santa Claus is based on him, yes he's an icon!) He freed slaves and he gave presents to kids, well this is the story in a nutshell. We celebrate this every year. He always arrives on an old fashioned steam boat all the way from Spain with his pete's (the former slaves) about three weeks before the 5th of December. In the evenings, kids put their shoe in front of the fireplace, and hopefully Sinterklaas will come by at night through the chimney and leaves a present or candy. Well, only if you have been a good boy or girl. At the 5th of December he arrives at night and leaves lots of presents! Most of the time they will magically appear somewhere, like in front of the frontdoor, or on the attic, or in the garage, etc. And then he goes of again, back to Spain.
Well, to cut a history story short, this is what I've sent her.

Yes, it was mail from the Good Holy man himself!

This is what was inside! Two presents, a "zwarte pieten muts" (a typical hat of the black pete's) and a book.

This was all in the book I've made. I had found an old book with vintage pictures and poems about Sinterklaas at the thrift shop. My boyfriend thought it was such a waste to start tearing pictures out of that book, but I've bought it especially for a Sinterklaas mail! So sod it! A picture of Sinterklaas arriving on the front. Inside some pages with fitted the Sinterklaas theme.

This is what was all inside the book, a letter M (in style of a tradional chocolate letter), a mini pom pom (from the wool that I had left from my knitting adventure) labels, some cute hearts, 3D Sinterklaas stickers, a letter (on Sinterklaas stationary) and a tiny box of chocolate (which was the small present).

I love these vintage pictures of Sinterklaas from which I made labels. Nowadays he looks a lot more friendly though.

In the big present was this, a flip-flop desktop mini kit! I've found it at the craftfair! And after some negotiating with the guy who sold it, I got a really good deal as well! (It's such a sport to negotiate) (my boyfriend is always really ashamed of me when I do, but then again he's happy when we get a good deal on something) Well the desktop mini kit is for scrap booking but also really cool for use in snailmail! With stickers, ribbon, paper, tags and labels and all sorts of cut outs. The cover of the mini kit can stand up right and can also be used as a photoframe!

Sintmail from bianca

I've received a Sinterklaas bag (de zak van Sinterklaas) through mail from Bianca! How funny is that! I think the postman thought it would never fit in my mailbox so he crushed the whole thing a little, I should have a word with this postmen guy some time soon I think!

Bianca has sewn typical Sinterklaas wrapping paper on top of the bag! And even used special postage stamps for this occasion, they smell of the traditional pepper nuts we eat during this season! Although yet again the postman was a bit to enthusiastic with stamping these stamps.

Since it was just for a little fun, Bianca has put this inside. Chocolate coins! Who doesn't love them! traditional pepper-nuts, some cards, a little note, some stickers (which were wrinkled due to our postman) and some tiny pressies!

Tadaa! And the pressies were: an eraser in shape of a cupcake (immidiately my daughter was nagging me for it, well okay I thought, but in hindsight, a cupcake eraser would look kinda cool on my desk), colourful handkerchiefs and some Sinterklaas labels.