But even though I consider myself an interwebs search jedi, I wasn’t finding enough face value (or cheap enough), unused stamps, even on eBay. This how-to from 100 Layer Cake was helpful, but didn’t quite get me there. And then I stumbled on the vintage stamp secret! Search by sheet. There are zillions of stamps on eBay, but it’s significantly easier and faster to search by sheet. Stamps used to come in sheets of 50, 40, or sometimes 20. So if you’re buying nearly face-value, intact sheets, they’ll be unused and you’ll have lots to pick from. Jackpot.

Then you’ll see that many or most have “Scott Numbers” listed. For those of you who aren’t stamp geeks, that’s the catalog number. When you find a design you like (even if it’s not at a price you like), go to the main stamp sheet page here and then plug in its Scott number and search. Bingo. You’ll usually get lots of results with varying prices and are almost sure to find a deal. (For instance, here are a bunch of listings that vary widely in price for one of my fave stamps, botanical congress.) Just one warning: Once you figure out how to find them, it’s hard to stop. If you’re on a vintage stamp quest, I hope this helps!

Cute dogs AND typefaces? Be still my heart.  Via fineline design.

Found via swissmiss.

Map of the world made from a stamp from each country. Awesome!

Hey I’m back! Do you ever go through those phases where you’re not feeling so inspired and the whole interwebs seems yawn? Maybe I was just a little burnt out. Anyhow, I’m mad crazy for rainbows so this print from 20×200/Jessica Eaton has brought me out of hiding! (Apropos.) She used hundreds of lens filters to make this rainbow in a window. Love it.

I may have done a little oohing and aahing when I spotted these Alphabet Drawers from Kent and London. When I first glanced at the photos I thought it was some kind of vintage printing block, and it turns out that was the inspiration. They’re a mix of so many of my favorite things: typography, vintage, wood, little card-catalog type cabinets… Sigh. If I had £2700 plus the cash to ship it from England, you bet I’d be snapping one of these babies up.

Spotted at WhyMeDesign.

Score a geeky friend of your own in Lauren’s Etsy shop.

Update: Added two more fab cards today (5.21), Howdy and Knock, Knock!

Taking a quick time-out from your regularly scheduled programming to pimp my shop, because I’m really excited about my new “Hello, Pattern” card line, which sets sail today with “Ahoy!” (Lame pun intended. Sorry.) More patterns and quirky greetings going up all week, and I’ll also be offering sets of 6 different “hello” styles. Fun!

Rubik’s cube + typeface + rubber stamps = a whole lot of awesome! Check it out at Creative Review (via notcot).

I’ve been meaning to do Illustration Friday forever, but I hadn’t gotten around to it. It figures that the first one to strike my fancy is “contagious!” I know a million people are probably doing pigs (hat tip to swine flu) but that’s where I went too.

This was a quickie, but I think it’s fun. Enjoy!