Summer Sale!

Hurry on over to my store to catch the Summer Sale!  Check out new listings and all the Letter Writing Kits available.  This is a great time to stock up for Birthday gifts or other events!

Nurse Mail

Put it on your calendar....

I have been busy around here.  Ask my husband.  Ask my kids.  I have been locking myself up in my room, and well....writing letters!  I have fallen behind on mail....and the crazy thing is, I don't know how it happened!   But I am almost caught up!  (relief!)  Moral to this story, don't get behind.  It makes one miserable to do so.

But did you know that National Nurse Week was May 6-12?  Of course I have a natural interest in this as I am a RN.  And I believe that Mrs. Murphy Of Mrs. Murphy's Mailbox Magic (one of the blogs I follow) is a nurse as well.  So I guess we can all give ourselves a pat on the back.    But this letter below went to a niece of mine.

This envelope (very flimsy one, not sturdy enough to receive the water colors) was inspired by some vintage stamps....don't you love the 4 cent stamp?  I love all of them.  Nurses today do not have a "capping" ceremony...I'm pretty sure  that my class was one of the last.  In fact...I think that only the OLD nurses still wore caps when I first received my cap.  But my fellow nursing students  and I couldn't WAIT to plop our caps on with a million pins and head to our clinical rotations.  Ha, ha.  I think mine got tangled up in an IV line on the first day.  Well, no matter what nurses ware today, they are special in my book.  Thank you for all you do!

Happy Snail Mailing,

Pam

The Nurse ;-)

*Available In The Shop!*

Pen Pals Letter Writing Kit

What's Happening In My Mailbox!

The Goings On of a Snail Mailer

I received this letter  recently and noticed that there were not cancellation marks on the stamp.

A young friend of mine made this  gorgeous origami flower with a jewel center--it arrived in perfect condition.  I think that it was saved from going through the machines and someone lovingly directed it to me.  OK...I like to think that, but hey--maybe!  Anyways, thank you, USPS for a job well done!

Some Great mail that needs my attention.

I love this New York Stamp, and look at that great 2 cent stamp with the light house. I love the art of postal arrangement, I'm still learning about it.  Some people just have a knack for it...I need to work at it.  I guess it starts with a wide assortment of postage stamps at the ready.  Do you work at making a beautiful arrangement of stamps on your letters? 

This sweet letter came from Spain!  I loved the fruit slice garland and the package of goodies.  Really cheerful  mail.  Now all I need is some quiet time  so that I can get busy  and write some letters.  What about you?  Are you behind on letter writing or on top of things?  

The craftier, the better!

Happy Snailmailing,

Pam

Let Me Tell You About A Letter In My Mail Box!

Make a Snail Mail Statement, with your Original Work!

Have you ever thought of making your own art work into a postcard to send out?  This particular artwork was by Gilbert B.  Battung,  He sent it to me some time ago.  I wrote him to ask him about his process and if he had any more postcards that he had designed.  I never heard back from him but I wanted to share it with you.    It is his little say about meaningful communication.  I like it!

If you have ever designed your own postcard,  what was your process, and did you have them printed off?

Write Letters (or postcards)
Write Often.

Lady Pamela

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

More Outgoing Snail Mail!

How is everyone doing with their summer schedules?  I hope it includes some crafty snailmail! Here is a few that I sent out recently.  My schedule changes so much in the summer from my school year schedule that I sometimes think I'm not nearly productive as the fall, winter and spring.  Ha, ha.  Routine is good!  But, I'm going to try to  turn that around for this summer.  What about you?

Write Letters,
Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Vintage Unused Stamps

Edelweiss Post

Do you like interesting stamps?  I do and I especially  have a hankering for older stamps!  Edelweiss Post (Etsy) is a great place to purchase  interesting unused stamps .   I went ahead and placed a small order...here is what I received in the mail.   I love everything about the front of this envelope...the stamps, the rubber stamp markings, and the beautiful calligraphy!

The back side didn't disappoint either.

Isn't it clever to use an old book page (in German, of course) and pen a bit of a note?  How personable...great customer service!

And here is my tiny order...aren't the stamps lovely?  "Letters Lift Spirits".   I couldn't have said it better myself.  Thank you Edelweiss Post for making my tiny order so special!

Write letters,

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Snailmail and Water Colored Envelopes

I got inspired by some art on Pinterest...

I love watercolors.  I want to be able to spend more time on this pursuit.   Here is how I am teaching myself with the help of pinterest artists.

Pinterest is my "go-to" place for water color inspiration!  My method is a simple, tried and true process  used through the ages for instructing artists.  Simply put:  Imitate other works (with credit to the artist, of course!).  I have found  wonderful watercolor artists that have pinned their works , so that is my starting place.  I also try to  watch video  tutorials when I can.    I absolutely love  Cindy at Yapping Cat  Studio's ( yappingcatstudio)  style.   I love how she letters her words with a brush, and her folksy feel.    This  envelope was on her website ....I just had to try it.  It encouraged me to think of original designs for future projects.  I like the splash of color  with this basic monochrome scheme.    She is so talented.    I hope you will visit her site, maybe you too will be inspired.

When I  contacted Cindy of yappingcatstudio to get her permission to post this copy of her work  gave me the history of the original envelope.:  

     

     I had wanted to send a thank you to a friend and wanted the envelope to be really pretty.  I had       taken several photos of her home, her yard etc.  Blue is her favorite color, the cat's  name is Jasper (just one of her 3 orange tabbies) and the flowers were in her yard.  

Wow.  How about  THAT for customizing an envelope????

Cindy was really sweet and encouraging of my watercolor endeavor. I plan on sending this to my sister who is also interested in watercolor.  We are trying to keep each other inspired!  How about you?  Have you been trying anything new in the creative realm?  

Write Letters,

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Black and White...LOVE!!!

Color Coding...

If you are a stamp lover, like I am then you will find that lately there has been quite a bit of excitement going on!  Only recently has the "Vintage Rose" been available at post offices around me. Finally!  They are gorgeous...and I plan to use them with my Black and White mailings.  I try to color coordinate my envelopes, down to the stamp, do you?

Beautiful!  

What about you...have you picked up any of these?  What are your favorite stamps?

Write Letters,

Write often.

Lady Pamela

Stationery Scandals: Whimsy Theme DIY

DIY :  Stationery on the Whimsy Theme...

So...where do I start with my ideas for stationery?  Well, sometimes I look over my scrapbooking paper and find something I really want to use as a focal point, then work around that.  Other times, like this set, I like to use a rubber stamp set as my inspiration.  Then I settle on a color theme and from there the ball just keeps rolling!

I adore this rubber stamp set, actually it is two.  Most of it you could draw free hand, but I did use the rubberstamps, at least faintly and then just filled it in freehand, as it was not stamping well.  I used a red gel pen to fill in on the red.  I went with a black and red theme and used my coordinating washi tapes.  I also had some black cut outs from another project that was left over that worked well here.    The tag picked up on the lady bug off the envelope.  I was glad I could find a country sticker in the black and red colors.  

I had to turn my postage stamp around to fit the envelope and not run into my stamp image.  I might have to place the postage stamp on the envelope FIRST, then work around it, instead of vice versa. Again, this postage stamp is picking up the black and red theme.  

I can't wait to send out a letter using this stationery!  Oh, in case you are wondering about why I am only including 2 stationery sheets  with each set, it is because they are 8 1/2 X 11 inches, so fairly large for a lengthy letter.  FUN!

Write Letters.

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

DIY...Let's Make An Accordian Letter!!

Have you ever sent an Accordian Letter?  Sometimes they are called "Folio" letters too.  Either is fine. This was my first attempt, and I had quite a good time with the project.

I  went with the nostalgic, retro look.

This is two pieces of Kraft card stock that are scored and then joined together with washi tape .  I filled my pages up with  envelopes/pockets,  I have seen this project also called the "pocket mailer".

The possibilites are endless...

Do you need to share any secrets?

Journal cards, banners, confetti...status cards, tea...hmmm...again...the possibilites are endless!

But certainly, don't forget the letter!  I folded my letter and put it in the blue pocket bag.  This was such fun, I know I will be making more of these to share,  How about you?  Email me pictures of your  "Accordian Mail" and I will share it on the blog.

Happy Snail Mailing!

Pam

*Available In The Shop*

Retro Letter Writing Kit

My Winter Stash...what's in yours?

I keep themed stashes of Stationery.  This helps with keeping stationery embellishments somewhat streamlined, and hopefully helps keep time from being wasted when working on a project.  This is my winter stash.

I keep it all in a clear plastic labeled container...but it is hard to see everything...you sort of have to rummage around to find things  or...

Go ahead and lay it all out so you can see what you have available.  Then let your creativity lead you.

One way to get some inspiration is to organize items by a color theme.  I love GOLD this time of year...

And don't you love this Kraft and red theme?   The possibilities are all there, ready to be unleashed!

I usually keep these winter themes going  through the end of December...but who says you can't keep going with them?  Have fun with your stashes and USE them.  They do no one any good staying in the bottom of a box!

Write Letters,

Write Often!

Lady Pamela

Out Going!

Here is my most recent outgoing!  I have a few techniques going on here...

First, this is a vellum envelope.  I call this "inside out art".  

I like the cool stamp too... This was my last one on the sheet.  :-(

A side and B side.  The number "5" is significant... silver metallic wax seal

Home made Kraft envelope with Washi tape, word stickers, moon jelly markers, and a bit of glitz and glamour,,,the crystal stickers, and  rubber stamps.  I always get a bit afraid  (when I don't pay the extra to have them hand stamped) that it will get stuck in the mail sorting machine and get all torn up..then  I envision  the tattered remains delivered  to the recipient in a clear postal baggie. All for the glitz and Glam factor...

A side and B side

Home made envelope (manila craft paper) with scrapbook paper cut outs, word stickers, vintage stickers...

 This is also another home made envelope, vintage collage, mod podge, washi tape, rubber stamping, word stickers.

A side and B side.

That's it for now!  Hope you are enjoying your letter writing adventure...remember, make it FUN!


His sayings are generally like women's letters; all the pith is in the postscript--William Hazlitt

Write Letters,

Write Often,

Lady Pamela