Celebrate Summer with Five Colorful Stamps

When temperatures rise, we find time to relax and have fun in beautiful places all over the country. Keep in touch with friends and loved ones this summer by sending postcards, letters, or care packages from wherever you end up! Here are a few of our current favorite stamps that capture that special feeling of summer.

Lowriders

Low and slow: that’s the lowrider automobile. When in motion, it appears to glide over the road surface, only to suddenly levitate and bounce up and down. With these stamps, we celebrate the lowrider culture that is rooted in the working-class Mexican American/Chicano communities throughout the American Southwest.

What precisely is a lowrider car? Customization is key. Most basically, the vehicle has been outfitted with smaller-than-factory wheels — or “rims,” preferably with wire spokes — reducing its height from the ground. At its most spectacular, the car boasts a dazzling paint job and a luxurious interior featuring, for example, crushed velvet upholstery and a welded-chain steering wheel.

If you find yourself in the nation's capital this summer, stop by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to see a gorgeous lowrider exhibit that has stopped many visitors in their tracks.

North American Soccer

This summer, soccer fever will sweep the country as players and fans enjoy the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The U.S. is home to tens of millions of soccer fans, and that number is only expected to grow. Soccer has become especially popular with younger Americans, with millions playing at the youth level and more than 800,000 participating in high school.

With the United States as a co-host, the FIFA World Cup could again reshape the future of soccer in the country. The tournament kicked off in Mexico on June 11 and will conclude with the final in New Jersey on July 19. The United States will host 78 FIFA World Cup matches in 11 different locations: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Bay Area, and Seattle. The FIFA World Cup is the biggest stage in the world, and representing their country is often cited as the highlight of players’ careers. Be sure to grab a pane of soccer stamps to commemorate the occasion.

A Day at the Beach

A day at the beach is one of summer’s greatest pleasures — and now four stamps from the U.S. Postal Service let you send a little seaside charm through the mail. Issued in booklets of 20, these stamps celebrate the simple joys of a coastal escape.

Art director Derry Noyes says these stamps were inspired by her annual summertime trips to beaches in New England. “These little snapshots are reminiscent of those experiences,” she says, “a break from busy lives and demands throughout the year.”

Noyes says she was drawn to the vitality and “fresh, bold, spontaneity” that Gregory Manchess brings to the oil-on-board art. “He captures the essence of the subject, even at a very small scale,” she says. “Greg has managed to make these scenes instantly recognizable with just the right amount of visual information.”

Sunflowers

The sunflower (Helianthus annuus) takes its scientific name from the Greek word helios, meaning “sun,” and anthus, meaning “flower.” Its blossoms resemble miniature suns, with bright golden petals aptly called “rays.”

Once they are fully grown, the plants settle into an eastward orientation, much like beachgoers on a sunny summer morning.

Using photographic references, illustrator Nancy Stahl sketched the initial sunflower image in ink, then used a vector drawing application to apply final color. “I always try my best to make my drawings approachable, interesting takes on what often are familiar subjects,” says Stahl. “I was fascinated by the underside of the sunflower’s bloom — how the stem is topped off with an almost petal-like double ring of small green leaves. The Fibonacci pattern made by the seeds at the center on the front side was mesmerizing once I dove into it.”

Summer Sunset (Nonprofit)

Summer Sunset, a nondenominated, nonprofit-price stamp intended for bulk mailings by authorized nonprofit organizations, features a colorful evening view over water.

The stamp is an oil painting of a sunset in Menemsha, a fishing village in the town of Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. In the summer, people gather to watch the sunset over the water. It's tradition for the crowd to break into applause once the sun sets beyond the horizon.

Art director Derry Noyes says finding the perfect art for a nonprofit stamp can be a challenge. 

“Landscapes and sunsets seem to fall neatly into this category as possible subject matter,” Noyes says. “Sunsets are universally appealing. We all gravitate to their beauty and the changing colors of the sky. A postage stamp that celebrates looking out over a body of water at the end of a summer day seems to fit well for a nonprofit organization.”

Noyes has been going to Martha’s Vineyard for most of her life. She saw local artist Rachael Cassiani’s work at a gallery there and thought it would be great for a nonprofit stamp.