Jane Austen Letter Writing Society

The Society Has Arrived!

I have GREAT news!  After literally more than two years of thoughts and ramblings in my head about starting a letter writing society that would be inspired by Jane Austen, it is finally a reality.  

I have always held a great admiration for the Jane Austen novels and movies based on her books.  I am a total, hopeless romantic.  I also enjoy Jane Austen's humor, wit, and her great perception and insight of human character. She was also a prolific letter writer although approximately only 160 of her letters survive today.  And did I mention the elegance of her writing?  It is precise, the vocabulary is rich, and the descriptions of everyday life--explicit.  

Periodically I have posted Austen themed mail on this blog.  I have also met fellow Janeites in the snail mail world at large from Swap Bot, A Month Of Letters, and even Etsy to name a few.  I also have a Jane Austen Letter Writing Society page right here on my blog.  It was really just a discussion forum to keep those interested in such a society informed on my progress or lack of progress, as was generally the case. I wondered if I could find a place on this blog to host my Letter Writing Society.  But the scope of Lost Art of Letter Writing Revived is rather broad, covering  just about anything in the snail mail genre.  The more I considered this, the more I realized that the Society needed a place of its own where it would not get lost in the hustle and bustle here.  

What is the Jane Austen Letter Writing Society--besides being a mouthful?  Ha ha.  It is a place where those with a heart and yearning for letter writing from an era long gone.  It is a place of exploration and fun.  It is a Pen Friend matching service, and a place for readership participation.  To be a part of the society one need not go far, it is "in the neighborhood" so to speak,   You can be a part of this unique letter writing experience by hopping over to the Society's home.   It is also listed in my blog list on the left.  

So Lady Pamela will pull up her skirts and amble her way over to the JaneAustenLetterWritingSociety.blogspot.com and take up permanent residence there.  Pam, the Crafty Snail Mailer will continue on here.

Write Letters.

Write Often.

Pam

Little Golden Books...and Snail Mail!

The Literary Connection...in Snail Mail

I picked up this charming book at the book store  recently.  I love the vintage Golden Books and have many happy memories of reading them by the hours to my children.  This book is one for us older folks who could learn a few lessons from these little books!

I particularly enjoyed the lesson learned in this book!

I remember reading this one particularly...having a large family...we were always having babies!

Oh the lessons...yes, have a good cry, then get some sleep!

But what do Golden Books have to do with Letter Writing?  Well, I have just launched a new blog called :   The Charlotte Mason Library .  It is a place where I am trying to downsize my enormous library (I actually have a small ware house full of books besides every nook and cranny of my home!) .  So if you are in the market to build up your home library with family friendly books...you might want to stop by.

Well...in the process, I have  come across some books in pretty sad condition.  Loose spines, no covers...etc.  Soooooo....I decided to turn this little book into (turn your head if this is too painful for you!) envelopes!

And yes, this was hard for me to do...but I felt like it was just going to be discarded otherwise.  So the first step was to tear the pages out.

Then I glued the pages together to make one large sheet to work with.

When I had all of my pages glued together, I got out my envelope   making templates and started to make my envelopes.

I decided to line the two envelopes ( yes!  only two large envelopes!) with another "falling apart "book.  LOL...do you like the title of this chapter?  A Literary Wife?  Oh and just a note.  The elmers super sticky glue sticks work great!  Also...don't you like how I have to show off my cute "Eiffel Tower" scissors?   

But I had quite a bit of my paper left over.  I looked high and low and could not find my tiny envelope template.  So what do you do when you can't find one?  You make your own, of course!  So I took apart this envelope and used it as my template.

Here I go...and yes.  I made the same boo boo that I ALWAYS make when making envelopes.  They are UPSIDE DOWN.  ugh.

 But, I managed to get two cute, upside down mini envelopes, and with some paper left over for collage projects.

Here is the finished project.  I didn't garner lots of envelopes, but  what I did get, is cute.  I hope they bring back fond memories  and a smile on the faces of those that receive them.  So why don't you try an envelope making project?  You'll have a great time, like I did.

Write Letters.
Write Often.

Lady Pamela