Butterflies fluttering all the way to Nantucket

I came across Michelle quite early on in her IG letter writing career – which is fantastic, since she was still looking for new penpals and I fit the bill. So far, all the mail I’ve seen from her is stunning, and totally imbued with her own style. If you’re looking for some more happy mail inspiration, I’d go follow her right this moment.

I apologize for the pictures below, they were taken on a cloudy day when the sun refused to come out and give them some bright life.

Butterflies very much became the theme for this letter, combined with earthy hues – greens and soft light browns and beige. While the card looked small to write in at first, and I considered glueing in an extra sheet of paper (I’m a very verbose and rambly writer – and talker, for that matter) I actually ended up fitting everything in quite nicely.

As for goodies I included some of my Project life cards, a mail tag, chalkboard labels, a temporary tattoo and a 3D butterfly embellishment. I also threw in a news paper clipping on stuff that had been recently happening at my university for an added local touch.

I put the card into the envelope, then wrapped the goodies in a green bit of yarn, before sticking all of it in a see through bag, in order to make the parcel fun right from the moment of picking it up. The address went on the inside envelope.

I tried sticking some vintage stamps onto it, but the gumming wouldn’t stick to the cellophane bag and I had to abandon that plan, instead covering the letter in lower denomination stamps with ‘sticker backing’. Lesson learnt!

May the postman deliver ever in your favour,
x Alex.

Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt 2015: Outgoing

It’s the day after reveal day! Which means I’d like to share the packagee I sent out with you guys.

I had so much fun participating in this year’s Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt and putting together a little package of goodness. For other people’s reveals, take a look at the #SPSH2015 hashtag on Instagram!

I’ve split my reveal into two posts – one containing my own outgoing parcel and one with the incoming parcel. For my incoming, please take a look over here!

My outgoing was heading to head honcho Fab herself, and I’m really hoping she liked it! I should probably warn you right now that this is a very long and picture heavy post, but I had too much fun putting the package together to rein myself in.

One of the things Fab had stated that she liked was teal, so I focused on that for the decoration of the different parcels mixing it up with some bright green and my own favourite neutrals. And a lot of string, you know how I love to wrap things in string.

The first thing I decided I was going to include from the list was the Bad Day Survival Kit – I’ve always liked putting together small packages like this for my friends. This time it was a little harder, since I didn’t really know what Fab likes to do on a bad day. So instead I reverted back to what I like to do to make a bad day better: I like to hide away in my room with a good, preferably funny movie, some home made cookies and a warm cup of tea.

I designed a handful of mini-zines with some of my favourite funny movies that are profoundly quotable. The zines all contained why I thought the movie was a good bet, and some fun subtitled screen caps and quotes.

And of course tea for two, since most bad days are better with friends.

The next thing to get gathered and packed up was the Postal Freaks Kit, or in this particular case an Airmail themed letter writing kit.

I included some air mail envelopes, address labels and stickers, and a sheet of Royal Mail air mail labels. I’d also saved an old cover for first class stamps, and turned that into a small booklet where I told her a little about Royal Mail and some of my opinions relating to it, with two small unused vintage definitive stamps.

I wrapped it up in double string, so that she should have enough of it to do the same for two parcels going into those envelopes. By now, you probably know how much I love to have everything be matching a theme…

My third component was Something that represents me.

I decided to include some pretty stationery with to do lists printed onto them. I’m crazy when it comes to lists, I keep making them all the time. It’s the only way I get anything done, and if I don’t have a to do list I forget half the things I need to get done. If I’ve just written my list, I don’t even necessarily have to look at it to remember – something about writing it makes it stick for me.

I also threw in a “Choose Happiness” journal card, since I feel this represents me more and more. I’m less willing to accept anything but happiness, and I make conscious choices to bring more of it into my life. On the back is a quote that’s helped me through inevitable rough spots in life: “In the end, everything will be okay. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”

For the Something oddly shaped prompt I included an embroidered patch that I’d made.

Since I know Fab likes letters, I went with that theme. The patches are really versatile, and can be either sown onto any fabric, or just attached with a safety pin. One girl I talked to said she was going to put hers as a charm on her Midori closing strap.

My final thing of the list was Something old-fashioned. I got too excited wrapping it up before I’d taken pictures, but I included two envelopes with bits and bobs. On one I’d stamped “Actually Old”, in that one I’d added a number of vintage cigarette cards depicting a variety of different things – including some really old-school inventions. On the other I’d stamped “Fake Old”, and in that were some bits of reproduced vintage ephemera.

Lastly, there was The Gift, selected especially for her with listed preferences in mind. I looked through a number of local shops, but nothing really stood out to me, and the few things that did were out of my budget. Coming up on the final day for send off, I was actually getting a little nervous. In the end, I decided to put together a filofax decoration kit with a bunch of things from my stash – not a bought gift, I admit, but one that was far more personalized to her listed preferences and definitely over the spending limit.

Fab had stated that she like pale yellow and teal, so I scoured my collection for things in those colours. She also said she was using a filofax, and after some stalking I found out it was a pocket size. I’ve seen some people use PL cards as dashboards in those on IG – I only use larger planner sizes, so I couldn’t test it out.

In the kit I included: PL Journalling cards, Washi tape samples, Sticky notes, some of them from Knock Knock, a variety of die cuts for decorating purposes, some paper clips and a PL folder.

And that was it!

My the postman deliver ever in your favour,
x Alex.

Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt 2015: Incoming

It’s reveal day! And I was lucky enough to receive my package just before the big day, and it was looking gorgeous.

A few times now, Fab of wreckthisgirl fame has organized the Secret Penpal Scavenger Hunt. This time around I was lucky enough to both know about it and have some extra time on my hands to participate.

I’ve split my reveal into two posts – one containing my own outgoing and one with the incoming parcel. My outgoing post will be published tomorrow!

Now let’s get on to the fun part. My no-longer-secret penpal was Lorraine Bell, a mixed media artist from Florida. She sent me a ton of goodies, and I’m so happy about the box I received! Everything was elegantly wrapped in cute kraft based paper bags or fabric pouches.

There was also this large tissue paper wrapped package.

Having fulfilled my photo-taking duties I felt free to dig into each of the small packages, all of which were filled with some lovely surprises.

I first opened the big tissue wrapped package – unlike when I was a kid, I don’t always feel obliged to keep the biggest gifts for last. The package contained Souvenirs from where she lives and it was a lovely little set of things – a cap, a shot glass, some post cards and a mickey mouse key ring.

Next up was the Gift just for me, and Lorraine managed to grab just the right IKEA tags. I’ve been wanting to get more of them, and these were exactly the ones I didn’t already have.

For the prompt Something that represents me she sent some stickers and cards with her art on it. Isn’t it all so colourful and lovely? The paper clip has such a fun texture to it.

Lorraine also threw in some of her favourite candies. I’ve never tried this type before, but I’m excited to do so later. I always think it’s a blast to try the candy from other countries, and this seems to be an old classic type.

Next I reached for the canvas pouch, curious about what the Some quirky things tag might be referring to. Inside was a fun mix of things: Matroschka doll pen, glittery nail polish, target dollar spot page flags (yes!), thin duct tape, and a stamp.

There was also this unlabelled muslin bag which had been sown together. Those who know me know I’m a curious and stubborn person by nature. The bag itself was lovely, and I didn’t want to cut it open, but I don’t have access to a seam ripper in my university halls. So I grabbed a scissor and a needle and started at it. My flatmate spent the entire time laughing at me, but I was very satisfied when I got the bag open! Inside was a package of mixed media paper bases, a notebook, some ribbon and perhaps most fun of all, a vintage grapho analysis book. I’m definitely looking forward to reading about the study of handwriting.

Last, but the very opposite of least, was the Some mailing supplies bag. I know you shouldn’t play favourites, but I loved absolutely everything in here – it was perfectly collected just for me. Four for you, Lorraine! Inside were cards, vintage stamps, sticky note labels, personalized tags, chalkboard labels, and my personal favourite super cute library style card holders.

Thank you so much Lorraine for your package, it was a blast to have you as my secret penpal. The gifts you sent me were wonderful, and I’m sure I’ll find a lot of use for them – if I can bring myself to stop hoarding, that is! 😉

Lastly, here are some pictures of my favourites in the package,just because I got all excited opening it!

And a close-up of that Hungarian vintage stamp, just because it’s so gorgeous!

Winter mail to Canada

I got a penpal request from this lovely lady on Instagram a while back, and her starter was in the giant pile of mail waiting for me when I got back from Christmas break. Now that I’ve received her reply (and thus know she received this) I can share! I wanted to make her a little booklet letter, inspired as I was by the lovely mixed media booklet that she’d sent me.

For the front of the booklet I used a vintage repro winter card with a snowman, as we’d finally been getting some snow around here when I put this little thing together. The colour scheme was a little all over the place, but with a focus on icy blues and cold greens, with lots and lots of gold pens and washi. Overall this booklet is a lot ‘rougher’ than the other ones I’ve made, and it was fun playing around with that style.

As always when I make a booklet, I try to make it feel interesting by having mismatched levels and things that overlap – generally speaking, no two corners should match! Below are some of the pages from the booklet.

As a final small touch, I played around a little with the envelope. Instead of a normal envelope (or my usual candy bags) I put all the details straight onto the booklet and stuck it into a see-through bag. Nothing but the stamps on the outside!

May the postman deliver ever in your favour,
x Alex.

Valentines for Valerie

Generally speaking, I’m not that much for Valentines.

I don’t know why. I like to think I’m a fairly romantic person, but there’s just something about the mandated expression of affection that just doesn’t quite sit right with me.

That said, I’m all for showing some love and affection, and any excuse is a good one, non? Since the timing was right, I decided to make my next letter to Valerie a Valentine’s love letter.

Moving out of my childhood home this Christmas had it’s upsides – digging through all those old drawers and boxes helped me find some cute letter sets that I got when I was about 10. Among them, were these purple heart shaped papers with matching envelopes, which seemed very appropriate.

As my fondness for gold still seems to be on the rise, I used some gold twine to wrap the various bits and bobs into a little parcel.

May the mail man deliver ever in your favour,

Alex xx

All the Colours of the Rainbow

I’m a big fan of colour schemes. Picking a few colours that match well and letting those drive any creative endeavour that I engage in. However, sometimes you just want to use all the bright colours you can lay your hands on. It was a pretty gloomy day, and I was feeling rather under the weather. So I made some rainbow mail, hoping it would cheer me and Amanda up in equal measure.

My mail tag answers for her are enclosed in the small orange booklet, and my questions for her cover both of the pages of the green taped card. Oh the fun things that come out of these questions!

I really loved playing around with patters as well as colours for this one. Since all the component parts are very blocky in terms of colour, I think it just draws more attention to the brightness of it all.

I also made some stickers (the red bikes) using a stamp and some labelling paper I was given at work half a lifetime ago. My new stamps are the perfect size for it.

May the mailman deliver ever in your favour,
Alex.

Origami fox mail

Right before Christmas me and some friends took a trip to the local IKEA. One of the lucky finds was this origami fox wrapping paper. Isn’t it super cute? Unfortunately I didn’t have time to do much wrapping of gifts before I flew back to Sweden, and the roll didn’t fit into my suitcase. But the almost waxy nature of the paper makes it perfect for envelopes!

I got to know Joeylyn from The Postal Society and this is the first letter I’m sending her. she’s a big fan of retro and vintage stuff, so I focused on that.

I stamped the contents onto the envelopes with some stamps I got from my sister for Christmas. I love them, I keep wanting to use them on everything!

The ephemera envelope contains the various bits of paper and the stamped bicycle stickers I made. I also had this Paris themed magnet with the Eiffel Tower on it, which I hope she’ll enjoy.

The washi samples are from some of my recent acquisitions, and went really well with the theme. Finally I wrapped it all up in string.

I brought my wax seals with me back to England and I was quite excited to put them to good use again. Some bakers twine around the envelope and a wax seal later, it ended up looking like this:

Despite the misspelled Philippines, I’m really happy with it.

May the mail man deliver ever in your favour,
Alex.

Snail Mail Circus

One of the best snail mail websites, in my humble opinion, is The Postal Society. It’s more interactive than I’ve found many others to be, and it’s quite easy to get involved with. It also has some of my favourite happy mail people. If you want to get in touch me on there, this is my profile.

Katrina is one of the people I’ve met on PS, and this is my starter for her.

Since I’ve been on a blue and red binge lately, and recently received some gold pens and glitter tape from my sister, I figured it was time for a circus themed letter with lots of stripes.

As you can see above, the inside of the letter is mostly blue/black/gold. Maybe not the most circusy thing you’ve ever seen. But when you fold up the letter, you get a little carousel horse decoration.

The tuck-ins for this one were quite fun too, I think. There’s a fortune teller fish, which is a small plastic fish which you put in your hand and depending on how it folds itself it’s supposed to say something about you. A temporary tattoo – “Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt” – in a sort of circus font. And lastly some washi tape samples, including my beloved cat tape.

Added in a mail tag envelope and wrapped it all up in bakers twine, and then it was ready to be sent of to the Philippines!

Next stop: Poland.

I’ve been getting most of my new penpals from instagram, and I think it’s a great way to communicate and connect with the larger snail mail community – besides, there’s so much inspiration to be found there!

Since I’ve just been told that my letter has arrived safely, I can now share it with the rest of you without spoiling the surprise! This letter went out to Justyna from Poland.

It was one of those letters where I looked into my washitape box, picked one, and the rest of the theme came from that. I’d only recently got the coffee and cake washi tape, and was really excited to use it. I also shared some samples with my new penfriend.

I’ve been wrapping a lot of my recent mail in string, and I really like how it makes the whole thing feel like a little bundle of happiness. I’m probably going to need to invest in some more bakers twine…

Here’s a little zoom in on some of the letter details. The time tape note is from a smashbook tape I got a long time ago and haven’t used because I liked it so much – but no more of that! These things are meant to be enjoyed, not saved for eternity for the sake of itself.

I kept the envelope simple, but really liked the look of it in the end. More postage was obviously necessary, but I didn’t have any lying around at the time.

Some Christmas love to Poland

This year I was looking forward to sending off some Christmas letters and cards, since I’m usually not the best at it. A combination of moving houses, exams and family obligations all worked against me, but I did manage to get a few small parcels off. One of them was this letter to Maria in Poland.

Since Maria’s birthday is in mid December, the parcel is a mix of Christmassy and Birthday things. I included some balloons and a small birthday card, but kept the rest along a vintage Christmas theme.

I really love the way kraft paper can look when contrasted with white and another focal colour.

This letter included both some ephemera and some labels that I made using the Sizzix BigShot (that thing is amazing). I also found a bare chipboard letter which I coloured green using some stamping ink – using that rather than paint makes it a little more rugged and with slightly more colour shifts. The letter also ends up with a completely different texture than when painted, less smooth.