This little tiny poster of love is coming to market this week. I have been a bit overwhelmed by the public relations by the US Postal Service along with phone calls from the local press, the regional press and sneaking around on the various stamp forums to see if anyone out there likes this little snip of cut paper to put on your envelope. Before I go any further, let me link you to some of the cool things out there.

First off, there is this sweet, sweet article by Hilary Oswald on the stamp. I have the most fun talking with Hilary about the stamp and inevitably, about a lot of stuff--and she took all of our verbal scraps and wrote this touching article that made me tear up (just a little). I was so thrilled to see her energy in the piece--which captured my thinking and emotions around getting this amazing project with such a kind >> generous art director, Antonio Alcala. I am not one to squeal, but it was close with this article (plus, look at what a bang up job they did with the layout of the article). Love all around!

Heart with a History by Hilary Oswald

There is a lovely overview on the stamp here:
Cut Paper Heart

And should you want to buy a sheet or a commemorative goody to fill those needs:
USPS Celebration of Love! Please note that they have First Day of Issue programs, Covers, sheets of stamps, big collectible sheets of stamps..it is quite impressive. All are ready to buy in advance of the 21st. and will not be shipped out until then.

The first day of issue is going to be celebrated at the Time Warner Building in NYC. For more information and the invitation>>

Cut Paper Heart Press Sheet with die cuts.

From USPSStamps.com

The Cut Paper Heart stamp adds another romantic entry to the beautiful Love stamp series.

This fanciful stamp takes its inspiration from the folk traditions of papercutting. Its digital illustration depicts a large white heart enclosing a smaller pink heart with a saw-toothed edge along its left-hand side. Surrounding the central hearts are pink swirls, with smaller hearts imbedded in the design and a ragged-edge motif that echoes the edging on the small pink heart. The hearts and swirls are contained within a red square that has “pinked” edges, as if cut with pinking shears. A white border frames the entire design.

The stamp art is reminiscent of liebesbriefe — ornately cut and painted love letters that are a form of scherenschnitte, the papercutting tradition brought to America in the 18th and 19th centuries by German immigrants. Not intended only for February 14, these early precursors to valentines carried declarations of love and sometimes proposals of marriage. The stamp art is a stunning digital interpretation of these traditional love-letter decorations.

Like the liebesbriefe, the Cut Paper Heart stamps are not just for use on Valentine’s Day, but say “love” all year round.

___

Also: Here is another really nice article on the stamp>>