Arctic Exploration

This wonderful set of stamps in booklet was issued by the Sweden's postal service in 1989 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of arctic exploration. What a nice set! Thanks to Daphne of Singapore for the swap.

EUROPA CEPT

This time we take a look at EUROPA CEPT (European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations) stamps. First issued in 1956, EUROPA CEPT stamps have been issued annually by most of the European countries under a predetermined common theme. For example, the common theme for year 2009 is 'Astronomy' while the common theme for this year is 'Children Books'. Here are two sets of EUROPA CEPT 2009 stamps I received as part of round robin and private swap:

The miniature sheet from France

The stamps set from Finland

La Poste

La Poste is the postal service for France, and it is known for issuing beautiful and innovative stamps.

1) Voyage of the letter
This cute stamps set depict how a letter travel from the sender to the receiver. From writing the letter, putting the letter into the letter box, the letter traveling to the designed country, the postman delivering the letter, the joyous face of the receiver when receiving the letter, and lastly, the pleasure of reading the long letter, these six stamps was issued way back in 1997. Thanks to Hai Huang from China for the swap.

2) Puppet dolls
Issued in 2009, this cute miniature sheet features some well known puppet dolls, including Bella.

3) Chocolate
France may be better known for its status as the Romantic Country and croissant, but it is certainly ahead in terms of stamps innovation.

"La Poste, the French Post Office, issued a limited edition set of postage stamps on May 25, 2009. These stamps were issued to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the arrival of cocoa beans at the City of Bayonne in France in 1609. These stamps show scenes that depict France’s fascinating manufacturing history of chocolate.

Besides the fact that the design of the stamps are superb; they have an added delightful feature. The stamps sport the wonderful aroma of dark French chocolate! It is reported that the scent is expected to last for 2 years. These postage stamps look so much like the real thing that you will certainly be tempted to take a bite! These stamps have been such hot sellers in France that some post offices have experienced lines running outside of post offices with people scrambling to get their hands on these treats. La Poste even built a temporary post office to launch these postage stamps. There are ten stamps in the set with different noteworthy scenes shown." - http://stampcenter.com/blog/2009/08/10/french-chocolate-postage-stamps-a-pure-delight-to-your-senses/

Thanks a lot to Christine for the generous tag.

China literature and ancient academies

Here are two wonderful sets from China as part of the swap with Yunyun:
1) Ancient academies
It portrays four famous academies in ancient China. There are details on their constructions, periods, and famous patrons.

2) Poems of Tang Dynasty
This miniature sheet shows some of the poems written during the Tang Dynasty. Tang Dynasty is well known as the golden period of Chinese literature as there are many great poets born during that period. Their contributions to Chinese literature are immense; their works continue to leave current generations in awe.

Finland

My first update in months come in the form of a fantastic miniature sheet from Finland. This fairies miniature sheet is issued this year. Thanks to Matteo of Italy for the swap.
Thanks to Matteo of Italy for the swap.

Bolivia

About a week ago, I have received a postcard of Bolivia from my pen friend, Amanda.
They are also my first postcard and stamps from Bolivia. Thank you very much.

Israel

Malaysia and Israel do not establish any diplomatic relationship, but still it does not stop postcards from traveling between the two countries.

A great multiviews card and stamps from Israel. They are my first.

Japan

One of the country I hope to visit in the future is Japan. Although the country is more known for Toyota or bullet trains, I'm more interested in Mount Fuji or cherry blossom. Here are some covers and postcards of Japan. Japan stamps are definitely one of my favorites.

Covers:

Some of the beautiful covers I received through Postcrossing Forum's Philatelic RR and stamps tag. Thanks a lot to Midori

A great cover from Sumie.

Postcards:
A postcard of Studio Ghibli's popular Japanese anime, Spirited Away.

A postcard of Mount Fuji in the midst of spring as indicated by the cherry blossom. The stamps are cool too. Thank you to Sari.

Pixar animations' postcards

As a kid growing up from the last decade of the 20th century to the early years of the 21 st century, I truly adore Pixar animations. 'Toy Story series', 'Finding Nemo', and so on instantly sprang into my mind. Here are some postcards, which are part of 'The Art of Pixar: 100 Collectible Postcards'. I received some of the lovely postcards from Ashley of Malaysia through tag:

The family of Toy Story 2

I definitely remember this scene:)

This should be from Finding Nemo.

Thank you very much!

New Zealand

I have also received an envelope from my pen pal of New Zealand. Aside from an interesting letter, it is a surprise to receive two mint stamps too, one of them which happened to be the Year of The Ox stamp:

The cute envelope. Note that the postage rate of this letter from New Zealand to Malaysia - NZD 2.30! It's quite expensive!

On the left: A mint self-adhesive stamp with the face value of NZD 45 cent
On the right: A mint Year of the Ox stamp with the face value of NZD 50 cent, issued in 2009
It's my first cover from New Zealand. Thank you very much, Geena.

Covers with art stamps

I have finally back home and there are heaps of cards and envelopes waiting for me to update. Among those capture my attention instantly are two great covers with art related stamps. Both covers of the Postcrossing Forum's Philatelic RR - Group 287:

A cover from Paul of Netherlands showing the stamps of the great painter, Rembrandt. Thank you very much.

A very beautiful cover from Lamberto of Italy. Thank you very much too.