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

Letter Writing Kits

Do You Know Of Someone Who Needs A Little Push?

I have friends and acquaintances who when the conversation rolls around to my favorite topic (letter writing) act completely befuddled!  When I mention writing a letter or talking about pen pals, they look at me with wide-eyed amazement!   It never ceases to puzzle me that many people today have never thought of writing a letter. Our fast pace, portable electronic device driven world is at a total loss when it comes to writing a letter.  Most people do not have the supplies at hand to compose a thoughtful letter, let alone a crafty, interesting letter.  I think that is how and why I began to develop the complete  Letter Writing Kits that are available at my Etsy store:  LostArtRevived.  I have several themed kits and more to come.  The "Pen Pals" kit is the most popular kit that I offer. You can find out all about it  at my store.  They make great gifts for birthdays, or for a friend who is wanting to find their way into the snail mail world.  It might just take a little push.

The craftier the better.

Crafty Snail Mailing,

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

Thank You Snail Mail

Home Made Thank You  Cards

I wanted to make some simple thank you cards...and so I did.  I just got out my ink and calligraphy pen and started.  It is that simple.  Purchase some blank cards.  Use rubber stamps,  markers, stickers, what ever you have on hand.  Or just write on it like I did.   Everyone enjoys a hand written , lovely note.

Write notes,
Write often!

Lady Pamela

Snail Mail HELPS

How about logging your letter writing?

A good friend of mine sent me her customized page for keeping track of her incoming and outgoing letters and other snail mail projects.  It is very streamlined and appealing to the eyes...not too cluttered.  I like that.  She also has a swapbot business sized card which I think is so clever.  It has a place to include the name of the swap and a little reminder to rate her !

Here it is up close.  Great Job!

Let's keep it organized, right?

Write Letters,

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Jane Austen Snail Mail!

Whoa!  And I mean...Whoa!

When was the last time you received something in the mail that your jaw just literally dropped open?  Well it happened to me, and I would like to share it with you.

First, the envelope.  It arrived in a nice puffy,a slightly heavy envelope, rather large , approx. 8.5" X 5.5" and the outside of the envelope was only the beginning! Her handwriting is to "die for"!  I loved her pink script...so charming.

The parcel contained a beautifully vintage crafted tri-fold pocket letter, but with a gorgeous cloth cover, trimmed in lace.  Isn't it lovely?

As one opens the tri-fold, the first panel on the left has a laminated picture of Jane Austen in full, glorious color!  The pockets are gorgeously cut and also covered with the fabric. More on the details of the contents of the pockets in a moment.

The center panel contained the letter sealed with  gold wax and secured with a sheer pink ribbon.

The third and final panel  had a laminated quote  (one of my favorites with letter  writing) and another pocket with Austen goodies.

Here is the  Tri-fold fully opened.

Here is the crown of this jewel...a beautiful "Crossed Letter"!!! This was the first one that I had ever received....so you can imagine how closely I examined it in all of it's glorious detail.

And it just so happened, that I had , the week before, joined a "Swap Bot"... crossed letter swa  p!  Ahh..perfect timing! This was nice to receive, so I could see how they were done, up close!  If this sort of thing interests you...then you can find a partner on Swap Bot and do some crossed letter exchanges!

Great  pen pal quote.



Oh my heart!!!  Be still!

Ahhh...Jennifer Ehle was the ONLY one that would do for THIS Mr. Darcy!

 The other pocket had these pieces of interesting Austen tidbits! (I read every word of it!)

Oh my!  A real , honest-to-goodness Janeite wrote to me and shared her world  and love of all things Austen with me.  I feel a bit intimidated (in a good way...so I should probably say..."I am challenged to greater heights!") ;-)

Wow.  I was really blown away by the beauty and the sweet surprises in all of the pockets.  It was wonderful.  It was also a fine thing to receive a letter from a Janeite from ENGLAND!  It just seems to add a layer of authenticity to say you are a Janeite from the UK.  Ok.  enough ogling and on to what I am going to send back in reply to such gorgeousness!!!!!

Well...aha.  That is another post!  So stay tune, to see what I send out to the lovely Lady Ann. Until then...

Write Letters,

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Snailmail to carry you through the winter!

Letter Writing Tales from a 1920's Home...snowed in!

I don't know about you...but I'm cold.  Really cold.  I live in an old 1920's farm house which refuses

to stay warm, even with all of our attempts!  But...with a mug of hot chocolate and some cheery stationery...I think I might actually make it through this wintery winter.

Yes...that's a RED ROOF!  Haha...the sweet little farmhouse that refuses to stay warm.

This is Expresso who is coming with me to check out the mailbox.  This is her first winter and she loves the snow!  She is such a cutie.

Here is my completely DRAB mailbox!  I am open to DIY suggestions for fixing this problem.  Send me Pins, websites, ANYTHING that will help me !  You know that a mailbox is a house for all my precious letters.  So, it goes to say...it should be GRAND!

What about this cheery , vibrant stationery that I picked up at Walmart a few years ago?  Doesn't this turn your thoughts toward spring...and hope?

Here are some other "fun" things that I have found recently that I find very motivating...all that "sparkles and shines"

Oh, and before I forget to tell you....I am going to be having a GIGANTIC  GIVE AWAY very soon.  I will be posting it on my instagram feed, but I will give you bloggers a heads up so you can have a good chance as well! You might want to just go ahead and follow me on my instragram  right now...the  tab for this is located on the upper left hand side of this site.  Here is my instagram feed: lostart_revived.  See you on instagram...soon I hope!

Write Letters,
Write Often.

Lady Pamela

!

Writing with a bit of FLOURISH.... and the Benefits of Cursive Writing II

Let's bring this back...with a flourish!!!  

Postmark 1887, I just love the parenthesis at the bottom of this.  Why did she open it through mistake?

Once, in not a so distant past...this script was STANDARD in schools across America and the United Kingdom in the late 1880's through the early 1900's!  I picked up this little gem of an envelope  at my local Stamps and Rocks Store along with several others (see the picture below).  I am fascinated with the beautiful scripts on these little pieces of history!  But I am saddened by the wholesale removal of cursive writing (of any kind) from our schools today.  It makes me spitting mad.  Ummm. ahem.  I am so sorry for that very unlady like display of passion, but we need to wake up!  There are some things worth reviving in our culture, and I want to  propose that Cursive Writing is one of them!

Here is my stack of old envelopes.  Unfortunately, it is VERY difficult to find the letters in them.  But I still love the old envelopes.    The picture there, is a postcard that I believe the sender made of herself...precursor to the "selfie"?  :-)  There was a cute  note on the back of it.

I become so inspired when I see these beautiful scripts...that I immediately long to be able to write something beautiful as well.  So out come the nibs and inks, and my trusty Spencerian Script book. This is available through (click on this: John Neal Books, for some reason my posts are not high lighting the links! ) This is probably the best place that I have found for the beginner  (and advanced) supplies.  

The book!

The Dinner!

Thankfully, I was inspired at just the right time.  Valentine's day.  My dear husband, Mr. Foster, gave me a dozen BEAUTIFUL roses, and a box of chocolates.  I wanted to do something extra special nice for him in return.  So, out came the candles...the china...and a nice steak dinner...

The Letter!

I had been practicing my Spencerian Script...however....I can see now why calligraphers avail themselves to the use of a light box!  I must see if I can commission someone to make one for me.  As you can see my script goes up hill quite a bit... I wasn't original, I just simply copied Elizabeth Barrett Browning's "How Do I Love Thee" sonnet, and added a little comment.  My dear sweet husband thought I had written it! :-)   But, after not taking credit for it... I gently directed his eyes to the rather large script of her name at the end... he seemed to love it just the same.

Did it take rather a long time to write?  Yes.  Was it worth it?  Yes.  What benefit did I derive from all the pains I took?  Well, that would be hard to state, but let me see if I can explain.  The process  of slow, methodical , purposeful , quiet, solitary, writing...is an ethereal experience.  Each and every stroke is full of brain tingling sensations! The slowness of this exercise allowed my mind to think of many things... particularly my husband, pleasant thought indeed. Nearly all of your senses are involved...touch--dipping the pen into the ink,feeling the texture of the  paper.Hearing ---the scratching that the nib makes against the paper.  And sight--- watching the strokes take place, hopefully in some beautiful form.

Perhaps the most important benefit of this ancient craft, is the sense of partaking in something that has been happening since the beginning of time, much unchanged.  What a link to the past.  If you want to read more about the benefits, read the following article, it sites a NewYorkTimes article on the benefits of cursive writing and the brain science. (Click on: article  )

I used the crow quill pen that I purchased from Speed Ball.  

Don't forget to use the wax and your favorite seal...pictured here is intertwining hearts.

And just a few days after this was written...I received this beautiful envelope and letter from Mrs. Duffy ( Letter Matters )  She is doing everything she can to keep the art of beautiful writing alive. There is a great community of calligraphers  today.  If you are interested in pursuing these groups, I would recommend:  ( Iampeth )  and ( The Flourish Forum.)  Both great places to get started.

Write Beautiful Letters.

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

A Month Of Letters...Gearing Up!

My 5 TIPS For "A Month Of  Letters" Success!

Your challenge should you choose to accept it: 

1.)This month mail at least one item every day the post runs.  Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture,ma cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch.  (This will be a total of 23 mailings)

2.)Write back to everyone who writes to you.  this can count as one of your mailed items!

******************************************************

Ok, It is really as simple as what I have copied from the web site:  A Month Of Letters .  So click on this and set up a very simple account.  There are forums, special challenges (you can earn badges!), free downloads, its just  a nice place to meet fellow letter writers! In total, you will mail out a total of 23  mailings, unless you get inspired, and send out more! Why only 23?   This is because there are four Sundays and one US holiday.  So, this challenge  really isn't too intimidating, is it?

Here is my list of TIPS to help you organize and prepare for a great experience!

1.  Gather all your supplies together in one place.  Writing paper, pens,  envelopes, 23 stamps, any enclosures , addresses, and any creative paper supplies (washi tape, markers, color pencils, stickers,etc.)--have fun with it for goodness sake!

Cute Envelopes add fun to your letter writing adventure!

Don't forget the washi tape....

You'll need these supplies if you take up one of the advanced challenges:  The Jane Austen badge!

2.  I generally sit down and write up a list of 23 people that I would like to write during the challenge.  I usually include  quite a few that I don't normally correspond with on a regular basis.

3.  I try to have a typed guide/format, so as to streamline my thinking...to keep me on track.

•  I usually type up a  general information section  (usually a bullet format) about what has been going on with me, things that I want to include in my letter,  
• Then I  have a list of questions that I would like to ask the reader.
•  the next part of the letter will be more personalized.

I hope you don't think this is cold.  This is just a visual reminder of what I want to include in my letter.  So often I sit....and think...and  I just can't remember what I want to say to an individual.  This is just a starter.  The letter can morph into what ever I feel led to write at the time of writing.

4.  This year I'm going to include in my organization ,  a calendar page with who I will be writing each day.  Just putting a name in one of the calendar squares is motivating to me.  It is already the beginning of a commitment!    

5.  Also, this year, I plan to pre- address my envelopes and place a  stamp on them.  

What about you?  Do you have any tips you would like to share about how to make LetterMo 2015 a  more successful experience?  If so, please leave a comment!   I love comments ;-).

I hope this helps you to take the challenge!  Let me know if you are "in!" or not!

Write Letters,

Write Often,

Lady Pamela

Penpaling...or Geographic mail...

Do You Have A Pen Pal?

I follow Global Pen Pals on instagram and she is looking for pen pals in every state...and then I am assuming she will be moving on to the rest of the world!

Amelia Court House  had to be added to the map...it is where I live!

I promised her a letter from the beautiful  state of Virginia quite some time ago...and part of my New Year's resolutions  was to get caught up on all of my "promises"!  So, I decided to make my letter ...uh...Virginia themed!  Hmmmm....I really seem to be doing quite a bit of  "themed" things lately.

Here's the front of the letter.  I glued the cut out map onto card stock paper and placed 3 sheets of writing paper within...then I stapled the whole thing (with a card stock backing as well) together.

I had so much to say...to a complete stranger, I wrote front and back, and really could have used some extra paper...but I made do with what I had.  Another nice thing about the map was that I could readily refer to places and she could reference the map without having to grab an atlas, or google it.  (Am I the only one that does that??)  I have a feeling I might be the odd one here.

Are you proud of your state like I am,  and are wanting to try this project?  All you need to do is to go onto google images  of your state and print one off and  follow the previous directions mentioned in this post.  Let me know if any one tries this...and send me a picture!

From God's Country;  Virginia!

Write Letters.

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Pen Pal 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