How To Send A LOVE LETTER

Valentine's Day Is Just Around The Corner!

 No more excuses!  Write that LOVE LETTER that you always wanted to send! Now On Sale in my Etsy Store !

Can you believe that  all of this is in that box?  If you order before Feb. 1, You will receive a stamp pad and a valentine stamp for free.

Remember...no more excuses!

Send More Love Letters!

*Available In The Shop*

Romance Letter Writing Kit

Happy Mail...Pretty in Pink!

Happy Mail on the pink theme...

Do you know of someone who needs a "Pink"lift?  why not put together  Some Pink Happy Mail!!  

1.  Grab a few things that have pink as their predominant color.

2.  Head on over to your paper stash.  Do you have some pretty pink scrapbooking paper?  Perfect!  Ok, find that hot pink gel pen of yours and sit down at your desk.  Think about your friend, and write down some thoughts that will lift her spirits...quickly before they vanish from your head!

3.  Find a  medium sized padded envelope (new or recycled)...Pop your items and letter in and mail it off!

Happy Mail...EVERYDAY...Happy Mail....EVERYDAY...Happy Mail...EVERYDAY...Happy Mail

Write Letters,

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Lonely Mailboxes

So you think you haven't had mail for awhile...

I don't know, but every time I see this little mailbox...I feel sad .  It has obviously been abandoned for some time.  Then I came up with the idea that this poor little mailbox needed a love letter .

This involved me doing something I have never done before with my letter writing.  I wrote a love letter to a complete stranger.  The concept is simple and you can read about it here at by just clicking the following link.

 The World Needs More Love Letters  .  

So, I got busy and started my love letter.

 

Spring had sprung from the time the first photo had been made of this mailbox...and now to my dismay, I noticed that it was overgrown with poison ivy for which I am horribly allergic.  I came prepared with  a small pair of clippers but no gloves  and cleared the way for someone to use the box...and yes, I now have poison ivy.

But this lonely mailbox is no longer lonely.  It has a letter in it for someone out there to find.  How about you .  Have you ever written a letter and left it for someone unknown to you?  

Write Letters,

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

P.S.  This just came in from Dora of PeppyLady (see her comment below) the following is the link:

Kindred Spirit Mailbox   

You need to go out and watch the video, short article too!  Amazing!

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

Pink Overload...Begins!

Warning...lots of Pink coming your way.  I make no bones about it.  I am a sucker for pink.  So...I am always picking up "pink" supplies when I can find them.  

Here are a few things I found at Dollar Tree on a recent trip ...lots of pinks and reds going on here.  Great frugal finds.  

Are you making your Valentines, or buying them?

Write Letters,

Write Often.

Lady Pamela

Happy Mail...it's just Minty!

Do you enjoy  making others smile?  It's really not hard to do.  Gather your supplies together,,,a little whimsy...flowers are nice too...pretty papers, packages and of course, all of it  tied up with a string.  

Then sit down, and slow yourself down mentally.  Think about that person. Get your ink and pen out and some paper.   Can you think of some uplifting things they would want to hear?  How about an incident that you thought was funny?  The whole point of "Happy Mail" is to bring the person up, not down.  You can do it, and you will be glad you did!

"This is not a letter but my arms around you for a brief moment."

Katherine  Mansfield

Write letters,

Write often.

Lady Pamela

Letters as History...

Treasures In My Mother's Cedar Chest

About a year and a half ago my twin sister and I were visiting my widowed mother who lives in Texas. One morning while eating our breakfast, out of the blue, my twin sister says..."mom, what's in that cedar chest  in your bedroom?  Can we take a look?" As a child the only memories I had of the contents of my mother's chest was of her wedding veil that she took out from time to time to let us inspect.   My mother, always indulging the "Twins" in their escapades, willingly obliged my twin's request.  So we all got up and walked into her bedroom and proceeded on a lovely adventure...

My lovely mother standing by the "mysterious" cedar chest.

There were some photos and other memorabilia from her high school days... but underneath all of that were piles and piles of...

my parent's year of love letters!  Oh...my heart started to pound with excitement! Epistolary Paradise!

Don't you just love the way these dear, sweet letters are bundled together?  I just love the rick rack! I just can't seem to envision printed emails being bundled together would have the same effect.  Do you?

The vast majority of the letters were from my father...a few survived that were written by my mother.

I would say that there were about 6 months of letters that were written when my father was stationed in the navy at Point Mugu in California after they were engaged...  He wrote EVERY day!

Here is some of the cool Navy stationery that he bought for his letter writing endeavors.  He made reference to the stationery...he would ask..."Do you like it?"  He was very concerned about  pleasing her even down to the details of the paper he wrote on.  My father (a south paw...a lefty) had beautiful cursive penmanship.

Here is the happy couple...He was a handsome sailor and a Yankee from Illinois... and she was (and still is) a beautiful southern belle from Memphis Tennessee (17 years old, mind you!).

The letters were a crucial aspect to securing affections even when separated by distance. Would an email or a text have had the same result?  Think of it.  These letters were carefully crafted, lovingly poured over in thoughts, passions, and hoping and praying that they "pleased" her down to the paper he selected! They were written (not typed) and therefore had a more intimate feel.  When received, she held in her hands something HE had held in his hands...it was tangible, physical, something to excite the senses.  Who knows, maybe they even had a faint odor of his Old Spice aftershave lingering on them. Can you save your texts or emails?  Do they have a sweet , lingering smell of your beloved?  Oh, I suppose you can print them off and save them...but is it the same?  Texts and emails by comparison are cold and impersonal, and do not seem to represent the intimacy of a passionate relationship.  No, my friends...letters...love letters are in a totally different category, a completely different league.

Here is an iconic photo of my mother after she had their first baby...my older sister.  She was back home living with her parents because my father was stationed in Hawaii.  Military regulations made my mother stay behind until my sister was old enough to travel by ship.  Again...they are separated by distance and continuing their love letters.  

Here is moi,enjoying myself immensely along with my mother and my twin sister sitting at the breakfast table enjoying  a walk down  memory lane (for my mother) and learning a whole new side about my father for me.   This scene would  never have  happened if  letters had not been written and exchanged.  This scene would not have happened if those letters had  not been treasured and saved for the future.  Folks, we are depriving future generations of personal history by not writing letters, long, thoughtful, insightful , and  sometimes funny letters. My parent's history is my history. Would my children or their children ever know this love-sick sailor, their grandfather, if he had not taken the time to write my mother?  Sadly no.   Someone has said,  "Oh what a lot we have lost when we stopped writing letters!!!!" 

Let's not forget letters are history, family history.  Why not start some family history today?  Write your mom or grandmother, sister, brother or cousin.  Ask questions about their lives,memories and dreams.  You will be glad you did...and subsequent generations will be glad as well.

Write letters.

Write often.

Lady Pamela