I was listening to Craftcast, a crafty podcast, last week while working on an illustration project. Allison Arden, the girl being interviewed, mentioned that she was able to mail an orange via USPS – with no packaging at all. I couldn’t believe it. So I had to try it out for myself!
So, I Sharpied-up an apple with my mom’s name and address, and I stuck 3 stamps on it, because according to the girl on the blogcast, it only took 3 stamps. On the other side, I wrote “have a nice day!” and drew flowers, hearts, etc!
Well today, 3 days later, my mom told me that she got my apple! She said, “It had no return address on it, but I thought, ‘Only Heather could have sent this!'” (I guess that’s a reference to my silliness :-P)
However, she did say that it had a “postage owed” stamp on it – she had to pay $1.71! So apparently the full cost would be $3.06. So next time I will buy some dollar stamps :)
I am very excited and can’t wait to send some happy day apples to my niece, nephews, siblings, and friends! What a fun surprise to get in the mail! :)
So here’s a quick summary on how to mail your OWN “have a nice day” apple :)
- Using a Sharpie marker, write the name and address
- Affix stamps right onto the apple – around $3 worth (if it’s not enough, the recipient will be asked to pay it)
- Draw something cute on the other side
- Drop it in the post office box (I dropped it into the one right inside of USPS)
- Note: According to Allison Arden, it is “at your own risk” – if the fruit rots or is otherwise a nuisance, they can throw it away
- Note: You can also try this with oranges and baby pumpkins (Halloween surprise!)