Put A Stamp On It

In which I share some memories about letter writing (letters written in code, buried in ice cream containers!), and three of my favourite letter writing based blogs...the stationery & papery goodness has to be seen to be believed. If you're feeling nostalgic, or love washi tape, coloured pens or Paris...read on :)

Found one of my miniature envelopes from way back when...note the stamp....I must have liked baking with bananas in the early days!

I've been obsessed with letters and letter writing since I was little. I wont deny that using sweet stationery would've been a massive part of it...and you already know my love of receiving parcels in the post. So along with with the blogs, I've collected some memories to share...

My best friend and I used to write letters in code to each other, and leave them in a drop box halfway between our two houses (read: half buried ice cream container...the code being A=Z...ASIO level stuff clearly).
I've exchanged letters back and forth with my grandparents since before I could even write...and just now am I realising the absolute gift I have in that bulging manila folder of their handwritten replies.
I had a Dolly mag pen-pal...remember those?! Jenny was from Sydney and `loved elephants and sunsets'....she wrote about life in the city & it always sounded so glamorous. I was always secretly a bit miffed that my pen-pal application never got published!
My family was a host family for international students from Asia who used to bring us copious amounts of stickers and stationery...brands that hadn't yet caught on at school like Bobby & Kate...and Hello Kitty. They taught us how to use graph paper to design decorative lettering...and were 100% on board with bubble letters and dotting your i's with a heart like Stacey from the Babysitters Club. (Tangent: it was right about now I realised that being Tania with an 'i' was going to be a distinct advantage despite all personalised merchandise aiming at the Tanya with a 'y' market.) They wrote our family letters long after they grew up, graduated and got married.
I had a strange obsession with miniature envelopes and tiny little letters that probably would've gotten lost in the post if Mum hadn't insisted they travel in larger regular sized envelopes. I have a distinct memory of playing a game with my Dad...leaving teensy little letters in our postbox for him to collect even though we lived in the same house. He would write a reply and sneak it out to the same letterbox...and I would pick up the envelope with my name on it later that afternoon. How I wish I had kept those letters...

I miss those days of the excitement of checking the mail. I guess we're a bit spoiled with the constant contact of Facebook/SMS/IM & Skype...and letters are slipping off the radar. I try to remember to screenshot my favourite moments to keep (and use in Project Life!) but there's nothing tangible enough to file away in a manila folder...to get lost in on a rainy afternoon. I still write to my grandparents...although instead of pen it's a font of my handwriting...that way I can upsize it so they can still read it :)

Anyway, below are a few letter writing related finds I've come across via blogs/instagram that I thought I would share :)

Corinne from She Writes Love lives in New Zealand and is currently in the middle of a 100 day project of writing letters to strangers. You'll find most of her lovely letters/designs on her instagram feed...and at the moment she's writing gorgeous letters of encouragement to victims of human trafficking...which I think is amazing. She shops for her stationery at a lot of my favourite online stores so clearly I'm in love with her style :)

A little while ago I came across this interview on the Etsy blog with Janice MacLeod...who actually travels to places like Paris...writes and illustrates letters about her experiences in the city...and sends them to subscribers...and she makes a living doing it. I am floored that she gets to have this as a job...talking about living your creative dream :) Stunning handwriting, sketches & paintwork...imagine a full framed collection...so special. You can read more about the Paris Letters on her blog here.

This blog recommendation came from another Twitter blog reads swap :) Papered Thoughts is by an Aussie chick named Rin and I'm seriously regretting not discovering her sooner! I love the description "creative daydreamer seeks kind colourful folks to share pretty words and whimsies with" :) AND...she has an Etsy store to go with...which I literally just discovered moments ago...and I can't wait to go browse after I've finished writing to you guys!

Design Resources: Paris & Ali fonts, A Beautiful Mess app extras

Who do you still write letters to? Or do you have a stash of letters from the past?

You might also like: The Little Things & The Three of Us

Inspired ByPetit Pixel1 August 2013