Postcards for the Grandchildren
Beautiful Cards? Nah, Let's go with Snarky!
Snarky Grandma's Little Stinker Postcard
Grandma loves you, you little Stinker on a blue and green mandala design card for Valentine's Day and all occasions.
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Saturday, August 20, 2022
World Ocean Day Postcard
Sometimes I design a postcard for a day of the year event we've all heard of. And then I wonder what the day is about and why it was created in the first place, which means I have a research project on my hands. Back in 1992, the great nation of Canada proposed a World Ocean Day at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Eleven years later, this started to become a reality when a website was created to support organizers in as many as fifteen countries. A total of 25 events were held at aquariums, zoos and museums and a multi-year campaign was launched to create action around World Ocean Day. These efforts resulted in a petition being circulated and four years later, in 2008, the United Nations officially recognized June 8 as World Ocean Day.
30 X 30
Today the World Ocean Day website states its goal as being to protect thirty percent of all land and water on the Earth by the year 2030. This will be done by putting pressure on government agencies all over the world to create regulations and laws in furtherance of protection of nature in all forms. The catch phrase is 30 X 30. If you go to the website you will find there are more petitions for you to sign.
As I write this blog post in 2022, I am wondering how we are going to change laws in towns, cities and countries all across the world by 2030 after taking so many years to start a website and get signatures on a petition. We have eight years left, to accomplish the rest of the work--and the rest of the work would be the hard part. But my blog is just about pretty and interesting and novel postcards, so let's stick to that. Being a fan of nature, I have designed quite a few ocean themed cards.
Krill Postcard
Fish in Hawaii on a Pacific Ocean Postcard
Thanks for reading!
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Find the Perfect Rhino for your Postcard Collection
Rhinoceros for Postcrossing and Collecting
My postcard-collecting readers always expect a wide ranging selection of postcards on the given topic, which today is the mighty rhinoceros. Postcards may show stunningly beautiful original art created by my fellow Zazzlers--or they may show vintage, cute, funny, clever treatments. Often postcards will show the subject alongside pets! Would you believe I found nothing showing a cat with a rhinoceros, much less a rhino with a dog. But vintage postcards of the rhinoceros, vintage we got! So today let's get started in the 1500s, when in the thick of Portuguese exploration of the seas and the coasts, a rhinoceros was brought from India to Lisbon.
Earliest Rhino Image in Europe
Our first postcard shows a magnified section from Printmaker Albrecht Dürer's The Rhinoceros. The detail incorporated is stunning, though it may not be entirely accurate. Dürer never saw the animal; he created his extremely famous woodcut from a few words of description accompanying an anonymous sketch. Durer's original woodcut includes the verbiage sent to him by another printer, which reads, in heavy stylized German script, something to the effect of In the year 1515 on 1 May was brought to our King of Portugal to Lisbon such a living animal from India called a rhinoceros...It has the color of a toad and is covered and well protected with thick scales, and in size it is as large as an elephant. The woodcut then goes on to say that this herbivore is a vicious and deadly enemy of the elephant, providing gory detail about what happens when the two animals meet. I am not at all sure any of this is true. National Geographic Wild says the Rhino is not usually aggressive, but naturally the rhino will most certainly defend against an elephant when need be. Nonetheless, the goal of the artist was to imaginatively elaborate through woodblock texture, the strength of the armor of this magnificent animal. In fact Dürer adds a completely nonexistent horn to the back of his rhinoceros. The mythical dorsal horn is shown on another version of Dürer's print down at the end of this blog post.
Rhinoceros on a postcard as depicted in the days of Queen Victoria
Cigar merchants may have been unaware of any such tensions between the elephant and the rhinoceros, when they created an attractive piece of rhino memorabilia. Known popularly as Love on the Nile, the vintage cigar box label dates from the Victorian era. Along the banks of the Nile, with the pyramids in the background, Mr. Rhino holds a beautiful bouquet of flowers and is courting Miss Elephant. Again, quite a bit of artistic license is taken. If you are curious about whether any species of rhinoceros ever inhabited the northern reaches of the Nile, you could always check a historical range map.
More realistic Depiction of Rhinoceros
A renowned Swiss naturalist known for his lovely lithographs of mammals, birds and reptiles, Karl Joseph Brodtman was highly skilled at capturing the beauty of animals and did so with a high degree of scientific accuracy. As such we find that his Indian Rhinoceros sketch made in 1827 is very true to life.
Rhinos on the Brink
Some ten thousand rhinos were lost to poaching in the past decade, meaning that rhinos are truly in danger of extinction. Quite a few conservation-minded postcards at Zazzle reflect this grim reality. Poachers kill the rhinos, cut off the horns and sell the horns as medicine. In parts of Asia, there is a huge demand for this part of the rhino's head, as people mistakenly believe that the horn is effective as part of traditional Chinese medicine. Rhinoceros horns are made of keratin, which is exactly what fingernails and hair are made of. There are no special or magical ingredients in the horn of a rhino.
Here are some eye-catching rhino conservation postcards bringing attention to the poaching problem, one of which points to a website where you can find more information and learn how you can help. Ironically most of the rhino poaching in Africa occurs inside of a national park! A rhino with a beautiful horn and some birds hitching a ride on his back is shown below on a postcard for that particular national preserve---South Africa's famous Kruger National Park.
The Rhinoceros and Biodiversity
Being one of Africa's Big Five, the rhinoceros holds a special place in the amazing array of animal life we currently enjoy in our world. This lovely purple postcard shows the rhinoceros along with just a few of the thousands of creatures making up the world of wildlife. With its aged and worn look, this attractive purple grid of animals would be warmly received by any animal-loving postcard collector, or anyone interested in conservation.
Cute Baby Rhinos and Fun Rhinoceros Puns on Postcards
On a lighter note, the rhinoceros can be adorably cute, particularly the baby of the species. Here's a young rhino with cute fingernails and a tiny white horn, trying to hold her balance. She reminds me of a four month old baby learning to sit up.
Here's a fun rhino postcard perfect to send to a grandchild who loves rainbows! You will find it comes in several colors, but my favorite is the Rhinbow Rainbow on the Hot Pink.
Rhinoceros in Art
There are a number of beautiful original art rhinoceros postcards on Zazzle. I love this touching evening scene of mother rhino and rhinoceros baby. I can just imagine a jeep full of safari riders enjoying sundowners while appreciating this rare and tender sight. This night scene postcard leaves room; you can personalize this Rhino POD Postcard with your own message.
Rhino Postcard Variety and Another Woodcut View of The Rhinoceros
As you can see, there are plenty of options for postcard collectors looking for rhinoceros postcards, and for that matter, those working to assemble a postcard collection of Africa's Big Five. It used to be that hunters would go to Africa hoping to bring home the head of an elephant, a lion, a leopard, a buffalo and a rhinoceros. Now more people go to Africa armed with cameras, and they are still looking for the Big Five. If you can't get to Africa or to India just now, get yourself some postcards of rhinos and other charismatic megafauna. And keep a few on hand. You never know. When you draw your next Postcrossing address--your Postcard collecting friend may want to receive a wonderful postcard of a rhino!
If Zazzle should send me a penny or two when someone buys something I have carefully chosen to display on this blog, the price stays the same. The card costs nothing extra. For the reader, my quest to find and post some nice cards in which you might be interested, adds no cost.
Friday, July 22, 2022
Zodiac Signs on a Postcard
Zodiac Signs on Postcards
Sending a postcard for a birthday?
Zodiac sign postcards come in all types, from vintage styles to symbols, to animals, all kinds of beautiful original art, even flowers, cartoons and rainbows.
All the signs
Some cards feature all the signs of the zodiac, such as this reimagined version of a vintage drawing by by Louis-Félix de La Rue. If you look carefully, you will see a pictorial representation of every sign from Virgo to Leo.
Each sign of the Zodiac
Each and every zodiac sign has multiple beautiful, creative, colorful, artistic or just plain fun postcard options available. It was difficult choosing which cards to show you here. Below you will find a lovely postcard for each astrology sign.
Sagittarius on a Postcard
Ruled by Jupiter and the Archer, Sagittarius often loves purple; with a spontaneous and restless heart. November 22 to December 21. This card shows a beautiful feminine archer, in a colorful floral forest setting.
Capricorn on a Postcard
Ambitious and ruled by Saturn, Capricorn is hard-working and builds life on a solid foundation. December 22 to January 19. The traditional symbol of the goat appears before a textured blue sky with the Latin name of the sign.
Aquarius on a Postcard
Contemplative, eccentric and different from the crowd. Hungry for knowledge and deeply focused. January 20 to February 18. The symbol is composed of two waves, shown here again a circle with sun and mood in the corners, along with the the word Air, the element that widens our lungs and gives us freedom.
Pisces on a Postcard
Getting along great with Virgo and Taurus, Pisces is ruled by Neptune and Jupiter. Its colors are sea green and various shades of purple such as lilac, violet and mauve as shown here on this postcard showing compassionate, wise, artistic mermaids. February 19 to March 20.
Aries on a Postcard
Enthusiastic for life. Daring, adventurous and unafraid. March 21 to April 19. Flowers on this postcard are shown with the symbol for the Aries Ram along with the key words Courageous, Determined, Competitive and Passionate.
Taurus on a Postcard
Warm, gentle, and resistant to change, able to persevere and stay on a path. April 20 to May 20. This Taurus bull on this postcard is framed in a way reminiscent of a Tarot card and is part of a set of twelve beautiful coordinating cards, one for each astrological sign.
Gemini on a Postcard
Intense curiosity and terrific communicator with a quick wit. May 21 to June 20. While the Unicorn may not be the typical symbol of Gemini, Twin is the key here, with two cute cartoon unicorns having fun together.
Cancer on a Postcard
Water sign ruled by the Moon, those born under Cancer the crab are said to be emotional and sensitive. Cancer is often at loggerheads with Capricorn. June 21 to July 22. She is shown here as the Cancer Moon Child Fairy Goddess.
Leo on a Postcard
Creative and loyal with an innate confidence. Leo is a Fire sign with Lion as mascot. July 23 to August 22. Warm Charming, Loyal, Entertaining ang Generous, says this black starry sky card with a bright orange lion.
Virgo on a Postcard
Tenacious and smart, able to impose order on the most chaotic settings and situations. Virgo the mutable earth sign is ruled by Mercury. August 23 to September 22. Rainbow and Virgo symbol on a black card.
Libra on a Postcard
A good negotiator who can be indecisive, constantly evaluating all the options and new information. This air sign is for people born September 23 to October 22. Simple black and white postcard shows Libra, the scales of balance and the zodiac symbol for Libra.
Scorpio on a Postcard
Scorpio gets what it wants, intense and passionate, dominating the surroundings and irresistibly emotional. October 23 to November 21. With a nod to the fact that all the Zodiac sings have their origins in the stars in the sky, this postcard shows the green scorpion against the celestial backdrop with a map of other nearby constellations.
A Cat for Every Zodiac Sign
If nothing above strikes your fancy, check around for more of the numerous imaginative options. Or maybe your intended recipient would prefer this cat zodiac postcard showing every sign from Pisces to Aquarius. Adorable!
Millions of Postcards Sent
Just through one service, Postcrossing. com, 67 million postcards have been received to date, with 334 thousand postcards traveling as I pen this blog. Yesterday I took receipt of my first card from Australia, and just this morning, I sent one off to Malaysia. Sharing postcards, whether they show Zodiac signs or lemons or angels or lighthouses or anything else, is a super fun way to appreciate a little bit more about the world. Try it out!
If Zazzle should send me a penny or two when someone buys something I have carefully chosen to display on this blog, the price stays the same. The card costs nothing extra. For the reader, my quest to find and post some nice cards in which you might be interested, adds no cost.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Starfish Postcards
Starfish on a Postcard
Having such an iconic shape, sea stars make lovely postcards, be they realistic, funny, antique, or hand-drawn. In searching for good examples for this blog post, I even found a Starfish Independence Day Card to share with you, among several awesome vintage or vintage-inspired cards. Pick up a few starfish postcards. They are particularly great for penpals and postcrossing in the summertime.
Say Happy Summer with a Starfish Postcard
On this summery blue postcard full of fish and ocean waves, you can send your own message. Click through and you will find a personalize button. With that, you can type in your own greeting.
Underwater Bliss
Do you just wish you were underwater looking at the splendor of the warm Caribbean seas? You can order this one and hang it on your fridge as a reminder to plan your next island vacation.
Upload your own photo to this pretty starfish postcard
The starfish, sea urchins and glittering seashells are beautiful as they perfectly frame this postcard. The orange and teal aqua beach theme postcard offers a replaceable template for a photo of your own family. Personalize your correspondence with this lovely elegant sea-themed card. It's a simple matter to pop in your own family picture, or a special photo of of your baby or grandbaby. Order a few and send them to friends and relatives at the holidays.
Scientific Starfish Cross-Section Postcard
This informative and educational starfish postcard was hand-colored with watercolor in modern times. The bones of this starfish postcard are taken from a vintage mid-1920s scientific diagram of a cross-section of one arm of a starfish. There is so much detail about starfish particulars, from the vesicles and the liver, to the snapping claws to the tube feet. Fascinating!
The Grouchy Starfish Smirk
Postcrossers often ask that the sender choose a funny card. Here is one that will satisfy the wishes of the postcard collector who wants something amusing and something colorful from the ocean.
A Steampunk Starfish Postcard
Unusual black and white beach theme on this postcard places a starfish seashell ensemble in a birdcage for a cool look. What can you call this? Gothic? Grunge? Modern Vintage? The designer thought it was reminiscent of the french botanical tradition. It's all overlaid on a dictionary page, for that literary touch so often found in french vintage postcards.
Sea Star Photo Postcard
Diving back down to the real world of the undersea, we find this hyper realistic photo of Pisaster Ochraceus & Ochre Sea Star. Wikipedia gives us the deets on this keystone species. Pisaster ochraceus is generally known as the purple sea star, ochre sea star, or ochre starfish. It's a common starfish found among the waters of the Pacific Ocean and an important indicator for the health of the intertidal zone.
Other Sea Creatures on a Postcard
I have not had a chance to identify the ocean organisms on this lovely antique historical card which may be based on scientific illustrations from 1900 or so. The designer calls them Ascidiae, which would include the sessile sea squirts. Some of these look more like Faberge eggs. Nature has so much beauty to offer us.
Fourth of July Starfish
It's nearly Independence Day in the US as I write this blog post, so I will close with wishing you a happy celebration with the Red White and Blue. The adorable yellow starfish holds an American flag and looks up a towering fish dressed like Uncle Sam. Cute!
Whether you are sending starfish postcards, or planning a mini fish art gallery for your wall, happy postcrossing, happy postcard collecting, and I hope you are off to a great summer!
If Zazzle should send me a penny or two when someone buys something I have carefully chosen to display on this blog, the price stays the same. The card costs nothing extra. For the reader, my quest to find and post some nice cards in which you might be interested, adds no cost.
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Cactus on a Postcard
Cactus and Succulents on Postcards
Beautiful Cards
I've been searching Zazzle for all the usual suspects, this time regarding the enticing topic of Cactus. I have found so many to share with you. If you look you will find so many more; just click on any of the cactus postcards shown here to get in and begin your search for the perfect personalizable POD cactus postcard. I've chosen one or two funny cactus postcards, cactus postcards with a cat, vintage cactus postcards, surface design cactus and original art cactus, including one night time view. I thought I would even throw in a cactus card you can make yourself from your own photo of a cactus, just in case you have been to the desert recently with a camera!
Botanical Illustration of Cactus on a Postcard
So many kinds of cactus are beautifully depicted on this lovely Kakteen chart postcard. The art is from the Botanik section of the 1839 German Encyclopedia known as Meyers Konversations-Lexicon.
Funny cactus postcard
This cactus is not feeling too cuddly today. This is just as well as this guy looks a lot like the Saguaro cactus, the towering majestic succulent seen in Arizona and Mexico and parts of southeastern California. They can grow as high as fifty feet tall, keeping themselves well-protected with long and sharp needles. You don't want to be touching those spines; they are are not only sharp, they also leak an irritating sap which will bother the eyes and mouth tissues of any wanna-be cactus hugger. The Saguaro Cactus on this postcard is definitely not a hugger!
The Antidote
Perhaps you just can't resist! Maybe you gotta be hugging a Saguaro Cactus for some reason. After you tangle with that toxic stuff and start to feel slightly miserable, there may be help nearby. You could head over to the Mojave Desert where some of the largest barrel cacti are found. That healthy barrel cactus pulp full of Vitamins A and C can be used on the skin as an analgesic.
The barrel cactus comes in another genus which grows in the Chihuahua Desert. We see that one here on this postcard showing a lovely white flower blooming on the Echinocactus Hexaedrophorus. This is another vintage illustration, a Walter Fitch lithograph as seen in 1847 in a London publication called Curtis's Botanical Magazine.
The words on the card, by the way, are in a personalizable field. Click through if you would rather have this postcard printed with your own name or message instead of the scientific name of this beauty.
Put your own cactus on this postcard
Sure, you could personalize the words in the lovely vintage cactus postcard above. For that matter, you could click on the postcard below and look for the Personalize This Template button. It's over on the right hand side, under the blue edit bar. Once you click there you will see a place to add your own words. Just under that, you can upload your own cactus image or a picture of your garden, or your favorite flower, or anything you like. On this card, the best option will be a square photo. If you make your own cactus card, or your own garden card, I would love to see it!
Nude Woman and a Cactus
This risk-taking lady looks pretty close to the spiny blue cactus seen in this original art cactus postcard. She probably ought to spend more time reading cactus blogs and save herself some trouble and heartache.
Getting Close to a Cactus
Maybe it is okay to get so close to a cactus if you're dressed right. This cute little guy is surely equipped with some protective gear in the form of that striped fur. He looks like he might be an Antelope Squirrel, and as such would feed on the seeds and the fruits of the Barrel Cactus and also the Prickly Pear. The Antelope Squirrel probably has less to fear from the spines of the Cholla and other cacti, and is more likely to be harmed by the hawk, the snake, the bobcat, and the coyote.
A Coyote and a Cactus
Speaking of the coyote, the Antelope Squirrel really does need to watch out for those and here's the proof! This pretty blue and black postcard shows a coyote in the desert at night. You probably never expected to learn so much about natural biodiversity by reading my little postcard blog, but nature is my thing, so that's what I write about. And now you can identify exactly which kind of cactus you are looking at and you can pinpoint his location. He's howling in front of the full moon next to a Saguaro Cactus which means he's in Arizona, or Mexico or California.
Red Flower on Cactus Postcard
I'm including this postcard because it's so pretty. While I am trying to find out where this vintage beauty comes from it's not turning up easily. If you know, let me know. I would love to hear from you.
Cactus and Aloe on Surface Pattern
The first card here shows Aloe and Saguaro, and the second shows Prickly Pear. Both are super pretty as a surface pattern!
Closing up with a Cat on a Cactus Postcard
For my cat-loving readers, here's an adorable green cat who looks just like a cactus! I love the pink flower, which is positioned to look just like a hair bow. Could you get any more cute?
Thanks for joining me on this cactus postcard journey. We've been through a large range of possible cactus postcards, from original art, to priceless historical vintage botanical illustrations, to cute photos, to wildlife. I've learned it's not just a cactus....it's always a certain kind of cactus. There's a story behind each variety of these interesting succulents, a scientific name, a range of which part of the world where it's found. Each variety of cactus has its own list of benefits, its hazards, its habits, it's synchronicities, its own spot on an endangered list, or not. It's a wild world out there. Let's go out and enjoy it! And send some postcards along the way.
If Zazzle should send me a penny or two when someone buys something I have carefully chosen to display on this blog, the price stays the same. The card costs nothing extra. For the reader, my quest to find and post some nice cards in which you might be interested, adds no cost.
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Rhinoceros for Postcrossing and Collecting My postcard-collecting readers always expect a wide ranging selection of postcards on the given t...
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Lemons on postcards you can personalize We see them everywhere, but what do we really know about lemons? Do we even know where the lemon c...
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Angels Appear A wide array of angels appears on postcards because people love angels and find them comforting. They are commonly found becau...
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Zodiac Signs on Postcards Sending a postcard for a birthday? Zodiac sign postcards come in all types, from vintage styles to symbols, to an...
