Incoming Autumn mail (late post)

My Happy Mail Box!

I am sorry to be so behind on posting incoming mail.  But here are two of my most recent.

This cute little Halloween Letter made it to me rather late because it was sent to my old address.

But, because we live in the most efficient  postal  country in the world...it was delivered to me after a little visit at my former home in the country.   Laura is a Pinterest folllower, and if my stats tell me ANYTHING....there are a lot of you out there! ;-)   Laura is a calligrapher...and her work is beautiful! Thank you so much, Laura, I will be writing you soon!

The beautiful autumn themed envelope was from my dear friend , Elaine!  She is one of my super talented card making whizzes!  I absolutely love to be on the receiving end of one of her beautiful cards.  She has recently started selling her cards locally at a local book shop.  She should do very well!

My Incoming Mail Pile

Is in sorry need of

me to start

writing

back.

!

Pam


Pen Pal Kit

Catching Up!!!! Outgoing SnailMail

Do You Remember This?

Yes, this pile was mine.  I had let so much  beautiful mail pile up over a period of time.  So, how does one "catch up"?  Well, it is done one letter at a time!

Here is a picture of a recent batch of outgoing.  

I not only have mail from my Lost Art Revived crowd that I write to, but also to my Jane Austen Letter Writing Society!  Sometimes it gets a  little hairy!

I love the new wedding postage.  I think they look so vintage.  Charming!

Hope this posts inspires you to get after that pile of mail that has  been accumulating!  Remember, it is "one letter at a time!"

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam

*Available In MY Shop!!*

Pen Pals Letter Set Kit

Incoming Snail Mail, and Louvre Art

Mail Art in Progress...

I've had some lovely incoming mail lately!  It was time to get working on some return mail!

Here is some Mona Lisa mail that I sent out to Patti.  I used some collage techniques on this envelope.

Kim is getting this letter from me.  It is another piece I cut out of my Louvre book of art.  I don't remember who the artist is...but I do like this painting.   I tried to pick up on the pale pink of the bow in the stamps.  

Still a lot more outgoing to get working on!  What are you working on?  Let me know!

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam

The Real Life Of A Letter Writer

Real or Perceived?

This my dear friends, is REAL.  I am terribly behind....AGAIN on letter writing.  I could give you all the sad details, you could hear me bemoan my bad habits,  but short and sweet, I over commit, then become mentally exhausted,  my creativity is drained, then you guessed  it, no letters are being written.  But life seems to get one corrected  in one way or another.  My life's correction came by means of my husband being  very sick.  Changes needed to be made in my life so I can focus on him, and so I did.  Not only does he benefit but I've noticed a huge change in myself, more relaxed, rested...and I've noticed that I can look with REAL interest in that pile of letters.  

Perhaps that is the REAL reason letter writing has been on the decline the world over?  Are we all just too busy with life that we are mentally drained and can not focus on the quiet , thoughtful repose of letter writing?  It seems to be  a definite link for me.

Now, not to get too serious here....I thought I would interject my perceived  (Romantic) ideas about letter writing. We have 4 desks in our home, two of them being mine.  This desk sits in my bedroom.  It is very small so in order for it to be productive, it must stay clean.  Ha, ha,  That is a difficult task for me, but I do tend to keep it neat.  This is my "Pinterest"  perception, in other words, what I want you to think goes on all the time.

And here is my my REAL  "work horse desk".  I love the fact that I have a large area to spread out and get...messy.  But I first must get it clean, so that I can think.  But, it doesn't stay that way for long.

Before you know it , it looks more like this.  I really do get messy, but there is a method to my madness...most of the time.

Sheryl sends me the most gorgeous cards made from her own photographs.  She uses Shutterfly, but I'm sure there are others as well.  It's a great idea if you are a  photographer like she is.  

Finally,  I wanted to share with you the little Pen Pal Information sheet that Sheryl sent in her last letter.  Isn't it great?  I love the homey hand- made feel.  It is so simple yet it covers all the major questions.  I have made some copies of this and have started sending them out.  I plans on using the completed forms  putting them in a binder.  On the back side I hope to put a log showing when I sent or received from this pen pal.  It should be very helpful.  I hope that those who I send it out to WILL send it back, completed.  

Must get back to Letter Writing.  If you have written...I am getting to yours.  I have already written 7 letters and hope to get at least that many over the weekend.  Thank you for your patience.  

Clean that desk, and get writing!

Pam

More Incoming Snail Mail!

My mail box has been quite happy as of late, and what makes me even happier is that I get to respond to each of these wonderful letters!  When you have more than one or two to answer, how do you approach it?  I keep saying that I am going to write one letter each day...but by the end of the day, I seem to be out of mental steam.  Does that happen to you?  It is next to impossible for me to  write when my brain is tired.  But, I think that I am going to give myself a little push to do some writing in the evening.  We'll see what happens!

I got a pumpkin!  I got a pumpkin!   It is from Limner herself---why, I got one of her FANTASTIC  Halloween  mailart letters!  Haha, and it spooked me as it arrived, eerily in my mailbox on Oct. 31st itself!  Check out her amazing art work and blog here.


Ok, can't spend too much time on the computer, I need to get started on some letter writing.

Have a great weekend!

Put a smile on someone day today,
Happy Snailmailing!

Pam

Tuesday Tea Time and Letters... in Pink!

Join me today for a pot of tea and  pick up your pen to write a letter.  What tea are you going to select?  I'm going to make a pot of Raspberry Pineapple Luau.!

Hoping to  get some nice letters off today!

Here's a few of my recent incoming:

I'll stay busy for the next month with getting my letters out for Lettermo.  

Write Letters,

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Letter Writing, Correspondence , Organization 101

Let's Get Organized!

Do you find that it is difficult to keep track of your correspondence?  I have found several letters that I have not replied to, much to my chagrin!  My goal is to find any unanswered letter and get off a good reply, and hopefully be restored to their good graces, before 2015 hits!   But what can I do to keep track of my letter writing and be more responsible?  I am a PAPER person.  Is that any wonder?  I love letter writing, post cards, swaps...I love tangible things.  Sure.  I use my iphone for some items...but I am finding that it JUST DOESN'T WORK for me.  So I decided to go real old school,,, a ledger. Yep, it isn't pretty, but maybe I can pretty it up  sometime.  

Right now I have divided up my ledger into the following categories:  General:  Incoming/Outgoing.  I have devised a rather primitive key...

Lots of incoming on this page...mainly CC (Christmas Cards!)

This is my PostCrossing category.  It is nice to see what cards I have sent and received.  Also helps to see if I have registered the cards.

I recently joined Swap Bot!  I am working on getting a good rating score, so I need to be extra diligent on following through on my swaps.  So far...so good.

Another category I have started is my 50 State Post Card exchange for my Geography class. I have received a few cards, but haven't sent any because I still have not received the list of addresses.  I have contacted the coordinator , but to no avail.  I will persist!  

There are other systems out there, one that Mrs Murphy's Mailbox Magic had that utilized a card file system, but I can not find it on her site anymore,  perhaps you can find it elsewhere.  It might be a system that suits you better than a ledger system. Or computer systems...excel?  Use what works!  I will try to give you an update from time to time.  Of course systems only work , if they are used.  What do you use to keep track of your pen pals, and other letter writing correspondence?

Write Letters,

Write Often....and stay organized! ;-)

Lady Pamela

1/2/15  Update on Mr. Ledger...He got prettied up!  Quite an improvement, wouldn't you say?

Rainbow letters...pop goes your mail!

Letters are paper packages made of Love...

I wanted to make some "Happy Mail"...so that begins with the envelopes, right?   I decided to make mine with some scrap book paper.  It sort of looks like a rainbow doesn't it?

Once I had  the envelopes made, I  went ahead with the next step and lined them. Then... I put them away for awhile,  not really having time to write the letters that needed to go in them.  So these pretty envelopes stayed on my desk for a couple of weeks!

Epistolary debt began to mount...so it was time to get to writing the letters that would find a home in the rainbow envelopes.

Do you write short or long letters?  I normally determine the length at the outset.  If it is to be a shorter letter, then it will be 2 or 3 pages.  Longer letters are about 5 pages for me on average.    But, I have written much longer letters.  What is the longest letter you have ever written?  (In case you are wondering , page 4 is
behind the page 3!)

Group one outgoing...

Group 2

My daughter found two sets of Creative Memories Stickers -- she got each set  for about $.10 each.  They were such cute stickers...perfect inspiration for my Rainbow mail!  (Thank you Beth Nell!)  And, yes Beth --one of these is for you!

Getting creative on the backside!

A bit of free hand with my White Gelly marker...

Clothes on  lines swaying in the breeze...I like this.  

Washi tape and sticker... A friendly mail box full of  mail love...

More washi , gelly pens, stickers...

I liked the hot pink on this turquoise...

I absolutely love the circle stickers found in the office supplies...a very versatile sticker.

Purple horizon in the light house stamp...

Don't forget the finishing touches...a wax seal is so...well...special!

This batch is ready to go out... and ready to be trucked to its destination...

I snapped this the other day when he whizzed past me , and I was wondering what sort of mail he was carrying...any Happy Mail?   any "Good" mail?  Could one of my letters be on board?  Where was it headed?  The entire postal process is so mysterious!

I still have about 5 letters to write...what about you?

Write Letters,

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Epistolary Debt...Oh, what should one do?

"A reply should promptly follow the receipt of a letter, it cannot be civilly delayed for any great length of time. "  Youth's Educator For Home and Society --1896

"Politeness is as much concerned in answering letters within a reasonable time, as it is in returning a bow, immediately."~Lord Chesterfield

To acknowledge the receipt of letters is always proper, to remove doubts of their miscarriage."  ~George Washington

"Then there's the joy of getting your desk clean, and knowing that all your letters are answered, and you can see the wood on it again."~Lady Bird Johnson

I keep a small wicker basket for all incoming letters that need a reply on my desk.  That little basket has recently been crammed, pitifully, with correspondence which languishes without a response.  Day after day, I survey this dear little desk and I see the basket...THAT basket! Oh, what to do??  Oh yes, I have plenty of excuses...the holidays were so busy....my entire household was sick (including me!) for nearly a month...But  these excuses just seem to  ring hollow.  I suppose that most avid letter-writers find themselves in this predicament at one time or another so maybe you can relate.  But back  to the question of  what can one do when they find themselves in this unfortunate situation?  I am reminded of Elisabeth Elliot's old radio broadcast and she would often quote  "...just do the next thing!"  She applied this to many situations.  I think this ultra simple but yet profound  advice could be helpful here.  Let's just do the next thing...sit down and write!   We might not be able to knock it all out in one sitting, but like eating an elephant, we can do it one bite at a time.