The Early Postal System and First Stamp

The very first stamp, the penny black, was issued on May 6, 1840 in Great Britain. The invention of the postage stamp is attributed to Sir Rowland Hill. The idea of a stamp as a prepaid method for sending mail is actually older than that: “Cavallini" were used as soon as 1819 by the Sardinian post. Before 1840, the recipient had to bear the cost of postage: the recipient was thus showing he/she valued the letter sent to him or her. Transportation was likely not very reliable as well for somebody willing to agree to pay upfront for shipping. Calculation of the cost of postage was complicated: weight was taken into account of course, so was the precise distance between sender and receiver. It is said that Rowland Hill witnessed the following scene : a servant receives a letter from her lover, the postman gives it to her but after inspecting it for a few seconds she refuses to pay the tax. Mr Hill then offers to pay for the letter but she refuses. The servant lets Mr Hill on her little secret: her lover scribbles a few light signs on the letter and by looking at them, she knows the global situation of her fiancé. Hill wants to do the following to reform the postal system: · Make the sender pay for sending mail.· Lower the cost for sending letters to promote their use.· Simplify prices. A single price to be paid for sending letter in the country. The first measure enables makes it so that the post is always paid for its service. The second also has for purpose to stimulate commerce. The last measure is necessary if we want the sender to know easily the amount to be paid. All this prompted the creation of the postage stamp : a convenient way to prepay a letter without having to go each time to the post office. On May 6 1840, the public had the choice between the Penny Black Stamp and the "Mulready" prepaid envelope. The stamp is preferred by the public, envelopes being still foreign to people at the time as the common practice was to fold the letters and seal them.

How to Choose the Right Rubber Stamps

Years ago there was only one option for rubber stamps and the crafter. The typical wood mounted rubber stamp. Many of the old rubber stamps also came with handles like business stamps today, while others had simple pegs. Thanks to the growth of this hobby, you can now buy many different types of stamps ranging from mounted, unmounted, clear acrylic, foam, individually, or by the sheet. Just a quick check online will show many companies who sell stamps in all of the above types. You might wonder what the best type of stamp to buy is. While it would be wonderful to be able to give a black and white answer, each type has applications that they perform better than the others. We'd like to take the mystery out of what type of stamp to use, when, and how to use it.Not that long ago, foam stamps were intended to be used by children. While that may have been true many years ago, high quality foam stamps can be purchased these days. Foam stamps are a fantastic choice when you're going to be stamping on fabric or walls. Beyond being inexpensive, they have a very deep image that is perfect for stamping on rough surfaces. Will you be stamping fabric, denim, walls, plaster, or tin? Foam stamps are probably your best option.Twenty years ago, if you told someone that you had an entire closet filled with rubber stamps, they would've thought you were a crazy fanatic. These days, it is not uncommon at all to have stamps filling up cabinets and closets, a fact that has created a huge demand for stamp storage units. Because mounted rubber stamps, with a wood mount, are bulky and take up a lot of space, some crafters like the idea of buying unmounted rubber stamps. Most of the time, you can buy them in a full sheet at a time and save a bundle, or you may want to buy them individually. Unmounted stamps can be backed with anything from magnets to static cling foam, and can be mounted on the medium of choice. Some prefer using traditional rubber stamps that have been trimmed close to the design and then placed on a static cling foam that can be mounted easily on acrylic blocks. While cost per stamp is usually the biggest concern, another immediate advantage of unmounted stamps is the inexpensive shipping, because you're not paying to ship the wood mount. Beware of buying bargain bags since these are usually of very low quality and the designs are very poor.Acrylic rubber stamps are the newest stamps on the block. Either someone loves them or they hate them. Clear stamps have a fanatical following one day and every one dislikes them the next day. When you've spent a long amount of time on a scrapbook page and you want to make some final touches with a stamp, the last thing you want to do is ruin all the work you've done by having a smudge or putting something in the wrong place. Because clear stamps are placed on a clear acrylic block, you can see that you get good ink coverage of your stamp and precise placement. You can even double stamp by placing stamped images on top of each other. Keep in mind when looking for clear acrylic stamps that not all are created equal. If you've ever bought cheap clear stamps, you were probably extremely disappointed. Inexpensive, cheap acrylic stamps usually show themselves by attracting lots of dirt, and they usually tear easily. The best clear acrylic stamps made in the U.S.A. are manufactured by Stewart Superior. The proprietary photopolymer this company uses has the perfect amount of stickiness and is very durable. Sometimes when clear acrylic stamps are placed in the sun, they do discolor, but it does not affect in any way the stamped image.The classic wooded mounted rubber stamp doesn't need any introduction. While the selection available used to be limited to your local craft and hobby store, hundreds stores now sell unique mounted rubber stamps online. Natural rubber creates the clearest, most detailed image of all the stamp types. You should not get a smudged image (common with clear acrylic stamps) with a natural rubber stamp because the rubber pores soak up ink better than the clear polymer.So which is best? Foam, unmounted, clear, or mounted, we will have to leave the choice up to you. The truth is, they all have their place for certain projects. If your next project is going to be on fabric, or you want to stamp baby room walls, we'd recommend you find some high-quality, foam stamps. Buy a few of each design and if one gets damaged, you can just quickly go to another one. Are you working on a long scrapbook album that's taken hours of work? Want to put some final touches with stamps? I strongly encourage you to buy some clear acrylic stamps. There are some fantastic designs out there that you can use. By using clear acrylic stamps, you can be assured that you won't mess up the hours and hours of work you already put into the project. Are you making cards, scrapbook pages, gift boxes, or patterned paper? Wood mounted rubber stamps or unmounted stamps, mounted your preference, are still your best bet in the end. It's not so much what kind of stamp you have, but what kind of application you're going to be using it with. We hope that after reading this information, you now know exactly what you need to get started on your next project. Go ahead, get started stamping today!

Four Easy Ideas To Kick Off Your Own Rubber Stamping Business

If you are like me and you love to use rubber stamps, ink and paper to create gorgeous cards, gifts and scrapbook pages, then you have probably at one time or another considered using your love for the craft to start a home business. And why not? Not only can you enjoy creating and getting your hands "dirty" in all that ink but you can support your craft with some added income too.Here are four quick and easy ways to turn your rubber stamping hobby into a fun home business. There are many more but this is just a little kick start for you.Make Cards and scrapbook pages for others - this is, by far, that fastest and easiest way to generate a little extra cash from your love of stamping. Start by creating a nice portfolio of your work. Get a binder with high quality page protectors and create some sample cards and gorgeous scrapbook page samples for various occasions with different designs so your potential clients can see your creativity. Or get specific and target brides or new moms to be and create your portfolio of cards geared toward those niches. Carry your portfolio everywhere and market yourself locally. You'll be surprised how many people are looking for unique cards but don't make them themselves because of the time involved.Join a rubber stamping company - there are several fantastic rubber stamping direct sales companies out there where you can purchase a starter kit and earn money by selling their products through home shows. The nice thing about this option is that you have built in training and often will get marketing and advertising advice from the company you join. Some ofStart a rubber stamping birthday party and event business - This is an easy business to kick off too, although it might take some time to build at first because you have to get the word out and then wait for birthday or events to come up. Create a "stamp camp" of several different projects that pre-teen and teen girls would enjoy (scrapbooking is extremely popular with teen girls) and then take it on the road. Offer to entertain the kids at birthday parties (and other events) with your crafting camps and charge per person for your services.Sell your projects on the Internet - Craft your cards and scrap pages and sell them directly on ebay or create your own website for selling. Make sure you check with the rubber stamp manufacturers to insure that you are not violating any copyrights when you use their images to sell your cards. Take some high quality photos to show off your work or work directly with your customers via your own website to do customized and special project work. The possibilities really are endless.That is just a brief list of ways to make money with your rubber stamping addiction. If you love to scrapbook too the possibilities of adding scrapbooking services to your portfolio of work can really increase your reach as well. Be bold and get your work into the hands of your potential clients. Before you know it, you'll be in business!
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Clear Stamps And Scrapbooking: Clearly A Winning Combination

The unique qualities of clear acrylic stamps make them a perfect choice for scrapbooking. Stamping on scrapbook pages has always been a challenge. Placing the stamp and avoiding excess ink are a few of the concerns that keep most scrapbookers from trying stamping techniques on their page layouts, but now with the availability of clear acrylic stamps, anyone can get fantastic results from stamps on their scrapbooking pages.Clear acrylic stamps, also called polymer stamps, are different from traditional wood block or foam-backed rubber stamps. They are more economical because they are not pre-mounted. Clear stamps are naturally tacky and stick to an acrylic block. They are easily removed allowing you to reuse the block again and again. You simply purchase unmounted clear stamps from any manufacturer, and these work with any clear acrylic mount. Buy a larger mount first that can be used with both small and large stamps. These stamps are also much easier to store, and because they are acrylic, they are lightweight and easy to transport to scrapbooking crops or classes.Using clear stamps with scrapbooking couldn't be easier. Choose from words, designs and image clear stamps, and peel and stick them to an acrylic block. Now you're ready to start stamping. Because the block and stamp are transparent, you can see exactly where you want to place the imprint. No more misaligned prints! You will have precise placement every time and no more guesswork or stamping mistakes.Another unique feature of clear acrylic stamps is the ability to mix and match them. With wood and rubber stamps you have to realign your stamps to use more than one stamp together. It takes at least 2 stamping imprints to achieve the same results with one acrylic block. While you can use your clear art stamps individually, the ability to peel and stick to a large acrylic block makes it easy to stamp entire phrases or scenes with one stamp. Just choose your stamps and arrange them all on one clear mount. They can even be from different stamp manufacturers. It's even possible to cut portions of one stamp apart and arrange them in a different pattern for stamping or use only a part of the stamp. Clear art stamps offer much more versatility and functionality than rubber stamps.Because new stamps tend to resist ink, many scrapbookers recommend conditioning your clear stamps before you use them the first time. Some use a fine grit sandpaper and others prefer a pink eraser. Simply, scuffthe surface of a brand new stamp. This will help it to hold ink more effectively. After stamping with ink, clean it with mild soap and water or rubbing alcohol. Avoid oil-based cleaners, acetone and bleach because these can damage and break down your stamp. Some scrapbookers have difficulty getting a crisp image from clear polymer stamps. To improve the quality of the ink impression, try using a cushioned-surface under your scrapbooking paper. A soft mouse pad works well for this purpose. Using this cushioning effect may take a bit of practice, but the results will be worth it.Be sure to store your clear stamps in a dark place away from sunlight or indoor lighting. Light can discolor and harden them prematurely. Some inks can stain them, but this won't affect their use. Because they are polymer based, one downside is that they do not last as long as rubber stamps will, but with proper care and storage, you will get years of scrapbooking with quality images from your clear stamps.

Using Rubber Stamps With Venetian Plaster

Creating your own stenciling effect is easily done with rubber stamps and Venetian plaster. By pressing the rubber stamps into wet plaster it can really help to leave an excellent impression. This type of design stands out on the wall and it also helps to create shadows which can look mysterious and enchanting.
Creating the Right Designs for Your Home
There are hundreds of stencils you can choose from with rubber stamps which makes it easy to find something to suit your tastes. You can find them either at a specialty store, a craft store or even on the Internet. Really when attempting to decorate the walls in this manner, you will need a stamp which is fairly large in size. If you want something inviting and homely then plant designs tend to be quite good such as leaves, flower heads and fern. However if you cannot make up your mind then you can easily make a little collage of all different designs.
With most paint types they need no preparation, but with high or semi-gloss type walls you will need to add a water based primer. You can start by using a flat, wide scraper and smooth down an even amount of joint compound. Usually a 1/8 thick on a 3x3 foot section of the wall is about right. If you use a thicker compound then it is possible that you will cause the impression to look a little blurry.
When you have covered the chosen area with the compound you then simply place the rubber stamp wherever you want it. You will normally have around thirty minutes maximum to place all of the rubber stamps onto the wall before it dries. If you ensure that the stamps face different ways each time you do them then you will end up with an effect which looks like wallpaper. Many people prefer this and luckily enough if you do not get the desired effect straight away you can always start again as it does take thirty minutes to dry and that is plenty of time to redo the design.
It is always better to do sections of 3x3 foot before moving on. This will ensure that you get the desired results and it breaks it down into an easy to manage area too. Finish off by letting the compound dry thoroughly and then cure it for up to 48 hours before you paint over it. Water based primer will allow you to seal the compound and then you can successfully paint over it. Always be careful not to let the paint fill the design as that could cause it to lose some of its shape and effect. Again work in small 3x3 foot sections and once you have finished painting the walls, let them dry thoroughly before enjoying your handy work.
Adam Peters use to write on tuscan decor and similar subjects for http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com Read additional info on Venetian plaster technique or how to apply venetian
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Coordinated Stamp Pads for your Rubber Stamps

It wasn't too long after I began stamping that I realized how difficult it was to find great stamp pads, in a large array of coordinated colors, within my local area's offering of craft and hobby shops. Boy was I surprised at how poor the selection was when I did decide to wander out to look for stamp pads. While it wasn't that hard to find specialty stamp pads like metallics and chalkers, finding dye or pigment based stamp pads in anything but the primary colors turned out to be a much bigger chore...until I discovered these fantastic sources that are only a few clicks away:Sea Shells - Fantastic stamp pads with names like Tropical Raspberry and Conch Shell are just a few of the great offerings by this fantastic stamp pad company. (If you're not familiar with where to purchase these products, simply type in the names of the companies mentioned in this article in your favorite internet search engine). Affordable reinkers can also be purchased at reasonable prices for existing stamp pads which gives you the convenience of being able to control how juicy or dry your stamp pads remain.Ranger Rick - If their stamp pad selection wasn't already fantastic, Ranger Rick just added a whole new dimension to stamping with their new line of scented ink pads. I love the Hot Cocoa, Pumpkin Pie, and Sugar Plum stamp pads for truly fantastic holiday cards that have brilliant colors and a memorable scent!Versa Craft - In the search to find unique stamp pads, Versa Craft takes the cake in my opinion. I love their fantastic colors, like Pale Lilac and Bubblegum which can be purchased at very affordable prices. There are twenty-two coordinated colors to choose from. Create your own brilliant stamp pad colors by blending reinkers on empty stamp pads (these can be purchased online or at your local craft store).Brilliance Dew Drops - These stamp pads are sure to brighten up all of your scrapbooking, cardmaking, and paper craft projects. These twenty-four colored ink pads pack brilliance and beauty in a small, attractive container shaped like a dew drop. Don't plan on spending a fortune either, since I had no trouble locating their entire selection of stamp pads for under three dollars each. Having stamp pads in coordinated colors makes cardmaking and scrapbooking more fun and ensures that your projects, layouts, and cards have are special, lifelong works of art too! You'll be pleased to know that many of these companies also offer other coordinated products such as ribbon, card stock, buttons, and brads. The stores we found these products at had reasonable shipping prices and good return policies. No need to worry about any extra expenses or losing your order in the mail. The best thing about buying these great products online is that you can shop in your pajamas, from the comfort of your home, at any time of the day or night, and you will be stamping with these great stamp pads in no time at all!

Cost Of Postage Stamps

The US postal service delivers about 500 million pieces of mail everyday, which shows that the usage of stamps is quite high. Either this could be due to the lower stamp prices or people are still used to writing letters. The costs of stamps are mainly determined due to the popularity and are produced largely.
Every year millions of letters are stuffed and mechanically hauled in service trucks, which take them to special sorting centers. From there the letters are put on mail airplanes, which in turn transport them into the delivery vans of local postal carriers. This long drawn procedure being ancient is suspected of being the cause of stagnant costs of postage stamps. Apart from being ancient, this procedure is ineffective as well. The industry professionals have been requesting immediate measures to bring more efficiency in this area. This would result in escalating the cost of postage stamps, which will affect the postal system drastically. The postage companies in the US have devised a way to remove strain on the existing postage cost of postage stamps systems. They propose to carry this out by increasing both qualification and number of the postal workers or improving transportation technology.
Postal companies in the US are striving to offer better postage services by improving the quality of the current postage system, which will result in improved cost of postage stamp.
Communication experts have stated that the cost of postage stamps is high. They believe that other modes of communicating, like email, would be better than postal services. This would result in the reduction of post stamps.
As a result, this section stated that with the rise in the cost of postage stamps people will prefer to use electronic mail as well as other web communication tools
The cost of postage stamp is generally affected by the postal system and other related systems. Queries regarding the cost of postage stamps can be found online or in postal offices.
Postage provides detailed information on Postage, Postage Stamps, Postage Meters, Postage Rates and more. Postage is affiliated with Postage Meter Tape.
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Decorative Concrete a Stunning Backdrop for Quaint Rosemary Beach

Decorative concrete is in the news everywhere these days. Varieties of decorative concrete are used everywhere from private homes to public squares. Its use involves many types and styles including overlays, stamped concrete, polished concrete and the use of a variety of colors and textures.

One quaint town along the famous and well-traveled scenic Route 30 along the Gulf coast of Florida, Rosemary Beach, has literally been built around the idea of a Caribbean village with a town square. The atmosphere in this town that reflects and is inspired by the qualities of the town of St. Augustine, the West Indies and other classic Pan-Caribbean areas.

If you have never traveled to the Caribbean or to Rosemary Beach, they are both inspiring. The streets in both places are actually mainly for pedestrians. In Rosemary Beach, they are composed of bricks, cobblestone and stamped concrete, surrounded by the walls of homes and businesses that reflect the hues and the textures of the Caribbean. Each street/pedestrian path leads to the beach at one end and the public square at the other end.

The interior that surrounds the public square, frames it with concrete finished to resemble the stucco textures and colors of the Caribbean. The pillars that help create the atmosphere of an easygoing Caribbean beach town rise up and melt into graceful arches which give one an easygoing, calm feeling.

The public square is the hub of all activity for the town. With its interactive fountain, grassy areas and Dutch West Indian architecture, it is filled with shops and businesses. The square draws you into its ambience and atmosphere with its cool decorative concrete turned cool earth toned stucco shop fronts.

The design and artful West Indian atmosphere of Rosemary Beach could not have been achieved without the use of decorative concrete. By using concrete creatively, the seaside town – especially its public square – is a work of art that is both stunning and durable. What is even better about the way that the concrete was used is that when it is time to spruce things up over the years, there are many finishes that will do the job without having to destroy and rebuild or re-pour.

Rosemary Beach is a tiny, seaside town centered around a public square and built artistically to resemble the Caribbean by using various methods and forms of decorative concrete. Your project might be much larger, such as a hotel/conference center or smaller, such as a private home. Regardless of size and scope, decorative concrete can be poured, shaped, stamped, polished and molded to turn your finished project into whatever your vision is. The ideas are virtually limitless. They can be created as far as your imagination can travel.

The Popularity On Postage Stamp Collecting

You may be wondering, "Why do people collect stamps?" Initially, British children saw collecting as a fun game, since stamps were inexpensive to buy and had vivid pictures. These days many people are prompted to collect because a relative passed down the tradition or bought them a souvenir sheet of stamps. Today over 20 million Americans engage in postage stamp collecting, making it one of the most popular type of compilations.

In 1840, Britain introduced the "Penny Black" as the first adhesive postage stamp. Little did they realize that this would set off a postage stamp collecting craze among the youth, otherwise known as "Timbromania" (meaning "stamp madness".) As these little hobbyists aged, they proudly passed their stamp collections down to the next generation and thus a market was born.

The US caught on to this Timbromania in the 1930s, when the first souvenir sheet was printed and the 65-cent "Graf Zeppelin" portrayed a German blimp. During the Great Depression, many stamps were incinerated since few families could afford a book of stamps during this time period, since the cost of one would also pay for a family of four to eat for one week!

It became the misprints that became the most coveted in the world of collecting postage stamps. Most serious collectors will try to seek out a rare stamp resulting from a printing error. For instance, the "Inverted Jenny" is a US postage one from 1918 featuring a photo of a Curtiss JN-4 airplane where the plane was mistakenly printed upside-down!

Only 100 were ever printed and a block of four just sold at an auction for $2.7 Million! The US-made "Benjamin Franklin Z Grill" ones were made with a waffle pattern embossed into the paper supposedly to prevent the ink from running. Only two were printed before they realized this process was impractical. Now one stamp could get as much as $3 Million!

Internationally, collecting postage stamps often equates with big bucks. For example, the "Treskilling Yellow" one from Sweden was misprinted in the wrong color, placing its value at over $2 Million. Historically, Britain's "Penny Black" (the first official adhesive stamp) sold for $200 in the year 2000, and unused went for as much as $3,000!

Or imagine owning the "British Guiana Magenta," a rare stamp with a face value of one cent but an estimated value of $935,000! There is much controversy surrounding this one.

Since there is only one known copy in existence, some say that it was an altered 4-cent one, however these claims were disproved. Others speculate that another copy was discovered but was purchased by Arthur Hind, who owned the original and who quietly destroyed the copy so he wouldn't lose the value. In 1999 a forged copy was found in Bremen, Germany.

Postage stamp collecting is a fun and relatively inexpensive way to collect historical artwork. You may begin by browsing a catalog such as Scott catalog (for US postage stamps), or check out KenmoreStamp.com and MysticStamp.com for stamps online.

If you're looking to seriously collecting stamps as an investment, you should begin your quest at the National Philatelic Society.

Mike Selvon has some great stamp collecting articles for the hobbyist, where you can find out more on postage stamp collecting. We appreciate your feedback at our stamp collecting values blog.

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Customize your Correspondence using Photo Stamps

Photo Stamps are a new and exciting way to turn your favorite photos into real useable U.S. postage! Creating photo stamps is easy, all you have to do is upload your favorite photo to one of the many of the websites offering these services and use their online editing interface to move, zoom or rotate to perfect you stamp. Many of the custom photo stamps websites also allow you to choose a border in a color that will match your photo perfectly. The stamps come in a variety of postage rates to meet all your mailing needs ranging from postcard rates of twenty four cents to thirty nine cents for regular first class to up to four dollars for packages. Photo stamps can be ordered in just a sheet with twenty stamps to large roll of hundreds for bulk mailing. They can be ordered and delivered to you and there are also special packages that allow the consumer to print his or her own stamps with a photo.

No matter what you are mailing there is a way for you to add a little extra something special to every envelope that is sent out. One widely popular use for photo stamps are for wedding invitations and the thank you cards after the wedding takes place. A wonderful idea is to use one of the wedding photos of the couple showing their rings or just a close-up of the bride in groom in their gown and tux. Another of the more popular ideas is using your favorite snap shot of your new baby to send out birth announcements. Holidays are another fun and exciting was to use photo stamps. Christmas cards are just that much more special with a family picture as the stamp.

One question that consumers typically have when using photo stamps is how the United States Postal Service can allow users to print their own stamps without encountering fraud and counterfeiting. The postal service has developed a system known as information based indicia that prints a specially designed two dimensional bar code on the printed stamps between the border and the photographs. The bar code contains, among other pieces of information, the date that the photo stamps were printed, the serial number of the software package that was used to print the stamps, and other encoded pieces of information that make it all but impossible to print counterfeit photo stamps. Special electronic detection equipment at the postal service delivery centers read the information based indicia bar code and can easily report when photo stamps are created fraudulently. In addition to the machine readable two dimensional information based indicia bar code, the stamps also contain human readable elements that are used to ensure that the they were created legitimately. All in all, information based indicia based photo stamps are highly successful at preventing counterfeit and fraud. The technology took several years to develop and then was beta tested for more than a year to ensure that the system performed as expected. Of course, given the relatively inexpensive price tag associated with sending postage, it is unlikely that counterfeiters would spend a great deal of time trying to circumvent information based indicia security. There are certainly more lucrative ways for counterfeiters to ply their trade.

Photo stamps are a great way to personalize your letters, cards, and other postal correspondence. By giving customers the ability to create their own custom, legally valid stamps while maintaining the security and integrity of the system, the US Postal Service has created a product that has been very successful and is likely to become even more so as more people become aware of the possibility of using photo stamps.

Wedding Postage Stamp Ideas

Imagine the smile that will cross your mother-in-law's face when she sees you and your fiancee's own smiling faces beaming back up at her from the corner of the wedding invitation. Now that's a personal invitation! It's no wonder that personalized postage stamps have become so popular. If you'd like to create your own custom postage stamps we have reviews of several sites at which you can do so here at CustomPostagePros.com, but before you check out those articles, I have a few suggestions that might help you come up with the perfect idea for a wedding postage stamp.

Of course, the standard portrait that I just mentioned is one fine option. They're going to want to come to the wedding to see you two enter bliss together, so it makes sense to give them an up close and personal preview of your happiness. What if you took it a step further though? If you had planned well enough or were plain lucky enough to get a photograph taken as the proposal on bended knee was taking place, how wonderful would that be as a postage stamp? You could even put the photo within a heart-shaped border with a cute caption like "She said YES!" or something along those lines. I know I'd break into a broad grin if I saw that on an invitation from two of my good friends.

Another idea is to incorporate the wedding postage stamp with the rest of your wedding invitation. So if you haven't decided all the details of your invitation yet I'd hold off on creating your customized postage stamp just yet. Even if you decide to go with one of the above options you could still do it such that the border color and font of the text on the stamp matched the theme of your invitation and wedding.

Another option for the photo postage stamp would be a view of where the actual wedding is going to take place. Then the stamp ends up being like a small window into the future that your guests will be arriving into, and opening up the invitation will serve as their tickets and itinerary for the event. Whatever you do decide, I think you can see that the opportunity that the websites where you can create your own wedding postage stamps give you is hard to pass up. Adding this little personalized postage stamp to your invitations may not be missed if it's not there, but if it is it will bring with it that extra touch of joy to your special day.