Riddle Me Mail - March
[ A behind-the-scenes look and some things we discovered along the way. ]

BEHIND-THE-SCENES:

Thrift shop treasure.
Scrap paper chart.
Collage in progress.
Riddle Me Mail is a new adventure for me . . . and you!

Each month my goal is for more people to get more mail. With each riddle and letter I try to tell a story—one that I hope you'll find interesting. The art panel, quizzical, and calendar are designed to pique your curiosity and encourage you to try, discover, or explore something new.

If you have any suggestions or comments about what's included (or not!), I'd love to know what you're thinking.

Please write or email me with your ideas and I'll get back to you.

If you write me a letter or send a card (address below), I'll send one back.

And thanks for being part of Riddle Me Mail, it wouldn't be the same without you.
Christine Richards
P.O. Bo 5290
Portland, ME 04101
Picture
panel card

The Botanical Print

Botanical prints look a bit like fine stationery to me, so when I decided on the crocus theme for March, it was the botanical print that influenced me most.

The panel card design came first (above), followed by the mailing label (below).
Botanical Print Mailing Label
mailing label
Years ago I found the book, "A Year In My Garden," at a local thrift shop. It's a journal book for the gardener, designed to record planting dates, when things bloom, pests, and other notes. Though the notes in the book I found are sparse, I bought it thinking I could somehow, some day use the writing in a design project.

This is the project.

Tucked inside the book between pages with little or no entries, I found a slip of paper. Dog-eared, crimped, and folded, it was a handwritten chart citing dates across five years when the crocus, forsythia, and apple blossoms came out.

I scanned and cropped the chart and placed the writing on top of the bulbs. It was only after everything had been printed, that I realized I had placed the writing differently on the two pieces.

Scroll back up and take a look. What do you think? Which do you prefer?

Know someone who would enjoy Riddle Me Mail?
Tell them about it!

MAPLE SYRUP
It takes an average of
40 gallons of sap to make
one gallon of maple syrup.
• Maine Maple Sunday is held the fourth Sunday in March. Local farmers and sugar shacks open their doors for demonstrations and free tastings: syrup drizzled over snow, shaved ice, and pancakes.

• Sapcicles
When the sap is flowing, a broken branch may release sap that freezes as it drips. Icicles form and hang from the tree.

I've spotted three sapcicles this spring. Oh, if only I could reach one!

• Squirrels will tap for sap by gouging a hole in the tree bark then drinking and licking the sap that flows from the tree.

• A tablespoon of maple syrup has just about 50 calories and is cholesterol free.
Assembly line for mailing.
Ready to ship!