<p>No doubt many of you have already purchased a sheet (or several!) of the marvelous Thinking of You stamps. These were officially released last Friday by the USPS — all in preparation for this year&#8217;s <a href="https://www.thinkingofyouweekusa.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Thinking of You Week ">Thinking of You Week</a> September 18 to 24. Colorful, engaging and oh so heartwarming, the words comprising the border are actually stickers to accessorize all those loving letters and cards.</p>



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<p>The Thinking of You Commemorative Forever Stamps First Day of Issue Dedication Ceremony (as it was officially titled) was in downtown Cleveland, at The Great American Stamp Show — ;and I received an invitation! So, I brought my daughter Veronica to help, and the video of the ceremony (also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1Ch7y6J50st6WPa6qT5eJA" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="posted on my brand new YouTube site">posted on my brand new YouTube </a>channel) is below. </p>



<p>Before diving in however, I want to note that The Great American Stamp Show had quite a lot for this paper nerd to nerd out on there! Stamp nerds and paper nerds *need* to meet in the middle somehow, as our obsessions are definitely adjacent. </p>



<p>The pics below were shot in an area devoted to penguins on stamps. Join that group and you&#8217;re an official POSSUM — that is, a Penguins on Stamps Study Unit Member. There are currently 125 members — and this is the fastest growing unit in <a href="https://americantopical.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="The American Topical Association">The American Topical Association</a>. </p>



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<p>So, what&#8217;s the American Topical Association, you ask? Essentially, it&#8217;s stamp enthusiasts who collect stamps devoted to a specific topic. During the ceremony, I learned that people in this space collect many of the icons featured on this release — ;e.g., cupcakes, suns, butterflies, rainbows, cats — ;so you know this population was excited to get their hands on it! Meanwhile, there were several competitive exhibits around the show.</p>



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<p>The ceremony was standing room only, and you will see that when everyone stood near the beginning, my view was not so great. But I hope you stick it out and give it a watch anyway. Not only is it interesting to see just how a stamp is introduced, but hearing speakers from <em>this</em> domain talking about the power of snail mail was refreshing and inspiring. </p>


<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U562DzDEkF4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>



<p>I did make a few highlight excerpts as well. Here is the big reveal!</p>



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<iframe title="USPS Thinking of You Stamp" width="1140" height="641" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TyZ1NUhHmmM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p>Here is Cara Greene, Controller and Vice President, USPS, sharing her thoughts after that big reveal. </p>


<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HViGDVid5lU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>



<p>Here is Jennifer Miller, Executive Director of the American Topical Association. </p>


<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HViGDVid5lU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p><div class="inline-post clearfix"><div class="see-also byline">See also</div><div id="block-wrap-80321" class="block-wrap-native block-wrap block-wrap-23 block-css-80321 block-wrap-classic columns__m--1 elements-design-3 block-ani block-skin-0 tipi-box block-wrap-thumbnail ppl-m-1 clearfix" data-id="80321" data-base="0"><div class="tipi-row-inner-style clearfix"><div class="tipi-row-inner-box contents sticky--wrap"><div class="block block-23 clearfix"><article class="tipi-xs-12 clearfix with-fi ani-base tipi-xs-typo split-1 split-design-1 loop-0 preview-thumbnail preview-23 elements-design-3 post-10006290 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-favorites tag-boxed-notecards tag-boxed-notes tag-notecards tag-sarah-schwartz tag-snail-mail tag-snail-mail-revolution tag-stationery tag-stationery-blog tag-stationery-design tag-stationery-designer tag-support-the-usps tag-thank-you-cards tag-the-paper-chronicles tag-the-paper-fold tag-the-paper-nerd tag-usps" style="--animation-order:0"><div class="preview-mini-wrap clearfix"><div class="mask"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/drop-a-line-anytime/" class="mask-img"><img width="100" height="100" src="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1 100w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=254%2C254&;ssl=1 254w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=351%2C351&;ssl=1 351w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=546%2C546&;ssl=1 546w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=861%2C861&;ssl=1 861w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=24%2C24&;ssl=1 24w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=48%2C48&;ssl=1 48w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=96%2C96&;ssl=1 96w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=150%2C150&;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=300%2C300&;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?resize=50%2C50&;ssl=1 50w, https://i0.wp.com/thepapernerd.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Garden-Gems.jpg?zoom=2&;resize=100%2C100&;ssl=1 200w" sizes="(max-width: 100px) 100vw, 100px" /></a></div><div class="meta"><div class="byline byline-2 byline-cats-design-4"><div class="byline-part cats"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/category/favorites/" style="color:#b79b0d" class="cat">Favorites</a></div></div><div class="title-wrap"><h3 class="title"><a href="https://thepapernerd.com/drop-a-line-anytime/">Drop A Line, Anytime</a></h3></div><div class="byline byline-3"><span class="byline-part date"><i class="tipi-i-calendar" aria-hidden="true"></i> <time class="entry-date published dateCreated flipboard-date" datetime="2020-10-08T15:16:10+00:00">October 8, 2020</time></span><span class="byline-part likes-count"><a href="#" class="tipi-like-count " data-pid="10006290"><span class="likes-heart"><i class="tipi-i-heart-o" aria-hidden="true"></i><i class="tipi-i-heart" aria-hidden="true"></i></span><span class="tipi-value">0</span></a></span></div></div></div></article></div></div></div></div></div></tipimidc>



<p>And here is Greg Breeding — the USPS Art Director who designed this special sheet. </p>


<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5DozX8_1bu0" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>



<p>And now I have something really special for you folks. Meet 14-year-old &#8220;grand finale&#8221; <a href="https://greatermoundcity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/topical_times-c_esbeck.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Christina Esbeck">Christina Esbeck</a>, who has been collecting cupcake stamps since age 6. She was understandably excited about this release — ;and had a few thoughts to share!</p>


<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rDLy56RRfHc" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>



<p>I am so grateful to have had this experience, and I can&#8217;t wait to start using my sheet. Enormous thanks to the Greeting Card Association and the United States Postal Service for letting V + I take part.</p>



<p>Meanwhile, I compiled a bevy of <a href="https://www.nxtbook.com/greatamericanmediaservices/STAT/summer-2023/index.php#/p/28" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Thinking of You options in the Summer Stationery Trends">Thinking of You card options in the Summer Stationery Trends</a>. And, if you are a retailer or maker wanting to celebrate, the incredible GCA Thinking of You Committee has generated a <a href="https://indd.adobe.com/view/d9cfa2d1-ddf9-46ac-89bc-714bfbd6ec5c" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Media Kit">Media Kit</a> as well as a <a href="https://www.thinkingofyouweekusa.com/toolkit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="Toolkit">Toolkit</a>. So score some of these sensational stamps already, and start planning a most prolific, profound week of correspondence next month! </p>



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