Mail Call #4

Well, it's been pretty silent around here lately--blog-wise, that is.  It's been a busy couple of weeks  months!  Just stopping by today to say hello after all this time and share some pics of mail I had scheduled to post about months ago.  Just for fun.  A small step towards posting again, I hope . . .

I sent this card when I was at my parents' house in April . . .

It was for my friend Katie.  She is the type of person one might send a "holla" card to on her birthday.  :)  I had every member of the family write Katie a little note--that's why it shows "Sawatzky/Carlson" on the return address.

This was for our little Texas neighbor friend Izzy.  We were sorry we couldn't see her in person this year on her birthday!

Not only am I hoping to get back to the blog soon, but I am also hoping to get back to sending mail soon.  Lots of stuff to catch up on.  We are back in Texas after being away for a year, and it's really good to be back in the great state and also fun to have made some special friendships--and hopefully pen pals!--in Maryland.  :)  I've spent the past several days unpacking boxes of paper and stamps and craft stuff, and I am just itching to write . . . off to do that now . . . and maybe unpack some more boxes as well.

Hope you've had a great summer!

some mail and something amazing . . .

Happy Friday!

This post is a little late in coming, but I had to pull it together in time to share something amazing I saw today on the LWA blog . . .

See the envelopes above?  They are mailable Moleskine cashier notebooks!!   Moleskine calls them "Postal Notebooks."  I can't believe my eyes--it's the marriage of two of my most favorite things--Moleskines and envelopes!   Once again, the LWA keeps me up-to-date on all that's wonderful in the postal world.  Check out their post here and watch the cutest video (in French!) about the notebooks.  These are SUCH a great idea!!

I think the Note Cards (at the bottom of the photo above) are equally exciting.  They come with envelopes like regular greeting cards, but they have 4 inner pages for writing your message--a great design for long-winded types like me.

I can't wait to send Moleskines through the mail!  I am so excited.

On to the mail I actually have sent . . .

This was for my friend Kelley.  I got her a greeting card at Paper Source that said "Freak Out and Throw Stuff" (a parody of the popular "Keep Calm and Carry On").  Kelley has had a crazy year and has handled it with much grace, but I thought the card was funny and kind of fitting.

I attempted to address the envelope with calligraphy, but I messed up.  So I just had to make her an envelope.  This was funny because she kind of makes fun of me for my obsession with envelope making (even though she would totally be a sucker for it if she gave in).

This happy mail was for my sister Libby.  Several weeks ago, I joined her in her teenage obsession with The Hunger Games, and we have kept a running commentary about it ever since.  When I first texted her to ask if she had read the books, her reply was, "Are you kidding?  I AM KATNISS!" so I thought it fitting to address this letter to "The Mockingjay."  :)

I also sent a card to Jeff's grandma this past week in honor of her oldest son's birthday.  He died of cancer in 2010, and I wanted her to know we were remembering him on his birthday and thinking of her.  I want to do this type of thing more often, especially for the older members of our family.  If you think about it, our grandparents carry a lot of burdens almost entirely alone.  I want mine and Jeff's to know that we care about the people and things that are special to them.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.  I am spending mine with my family, and I think there will be envelope making and letter writing involved.  See you next week!

Mail Call

Thank you to everyone who read about our friend Lindsey on Wednesday.  That post went right to the top of the "popular" posts sidebar on the blog, and I am so happy about that because it means that lots of people were reading about her and remembering her on her birthday.   Her story is one that I wish everyone could know, and her family is amazing.  Hopefully someday I can tell you more about them.

Today I just wanted to share some more pictures of the mail I have sent the past couple of weeks.  I am having fun documenting the outgoing mail, even if taking pictures of it before sending seems to slow me down by a day (trying to get good light, waiting for the boys to nap, fidgeting with the layout of the photo . . . ).

In this stack we have 2 birthday cards and a just because card (the 3 red envelopes).  I wish I had taken a picture of the cards before I put them in the envelopes.  One of them made me laugh out loud in Target.  The greeting cards are made from "Awkward Family Photos."  I don't like things that appear to have been staged in order to be funny, but some of these look pretty legit and are hilarious.  You should definitely check them out next time you are in Target.

The top envelope is made from some beautiful wrapping paper that my new typewriter (!) came packaged in.  The typewriter case was wrapped like a gift, and there was a typed note inside thanking me for my purchase.  I was sooo excited, partly because I was getting a typewriter, partly because it was packaged so lovely, and partly because I had just gotten a little letter from Donovan Beeson of the Letter Writers Alliance (I bought the typewriter from the LWA shop).  I just had to write her a typed thank you in reply, and I used that awesome wrapping paper to make the envelope.  :)

Here are a couple of birthday thank yous I sent out (chipping away at that list slowly).  That cute little bow stamp in the bottom photo is from Fifteen/Eleven.  I just love how small and simple it is.  It happens to be perfect for envelope flaps.

And here is a shot of the birthday package we sent to Lindsey's family before it was all boxed up.

It included note cards and stickers, a mini tea set, 2 pairs of purply socks, 2 little packages of heart confetti (the one-inch size, to make it easier to pick up if scattered/tossed), pretty purple nail polish, purple balloons, a card from me, and little notes from Caroline and Linc.

It's been a busy couple of weeks, and April is just beginning!  I think I have a "send ____ card" note on almost every day in my planner for April.  Are more people born in April than in any other month?  I think maybe so.

I am also still sending letters out from that little offer I made in February.  I haven't forgotten you!  :)

outgoing mail . . . and an update on the calligraphy project

Because I am trying to be more regular with postal correspondence, I thought I might share a picture here every week or two to show what I have mailed or am about to mail.

I love seeing pictures of mail and also like having a record of what I have sent . . . since I probably won't see it again (hey, I put a lot of work into those envelopes, so humor me).  :)

I really like how people post pictures to the Letter Writers Alliance Flickr group of their incoming and outgoing mail.  I also love the project 52 Weeks of Mail on Facebook and am tempted to join!

For those of you who commented on this post, I just wanted to let you know I have started to send letters out (see pic above).  Don't expect any killer calligraphy, though.  I realized that focusing on the handwriting practice was going to keep me from actually getting anything sent out, so I decided to start by sending mail with or without calligraphy (it varies from note to note) and later send out some awesome envelopes once I am a little better at addressing them.  Baby steps.  But hey, I am on a roll, friends, so keep an eye on your mailbox.  And it's never to late to leave a comment on the calligraphy post or on this one to get your very own letter.  I love sending mail.

In case you are interested, clockwise from top left . . .
envelope made from a vintage wall paper scrap; hand stamped hello postcard; envelope made from an Anthropologie catalogue page; hand stamped postcard with my very own grandpa's famous (in my family) saying--I may write more about this someday because it is priceless; envelope made from my calligraphy practice paper; envelope made from a flowery magazine page; watercolor postcard that I painted and attempted to write calligraphy on but just turned it into quirky cursive instead; hand stamped bear+heart postcard; envelope made from a J. Crew catalogue page

*Gina, somehow your postcard is missing from this pic!  I will send you another and be sure to take a pic next time.  :)

And I will leave you with another view--showing some of them stamped and ready to go (if anyone comes across some non-flowery postcard stamps, I would really like to know).  That top letter is for my baby sixteen-year-old sister Libby, who I sometimes affectionately address as Ellie May.  I am told she reads this blog, but she has yet to show her face, er, comment.  This is a test to see if she might come out of hiding . . .

P. S.  If you would like some envelope making info, I wrote a little bit about my favorite tools for making them right here.

P. P. S. Write back soon.  xo