In less than one week, I will be able to have my first real doughnut in over 3 years. Seems longer. It's a long story and I promised no diet content, so let's just say that I'm devoting an upcoming long weekend to transitioning back to eating gluten (only possible because I voluntarily went off of it and became intolerant as a result - I'm going to pay, big time, for the pleasure of eating real bread again).
I've missed doughnuts, plus I think they're cute, so when I spotted these "Doughnotes" cards, I knew I had to have them. However, I wasn't entirely sure about how flimsy the glassine (wax paper) envelopes appeared.
I'm a blogger, so naturally, I decided to perform an experiment & then write about it. I put a call out on IG and Facebook and asked for a guinea pig and got two takers. I picked out a couple of cards and wrote greetings to my two friends, then got ready to mail. I immediately knew that I didn't like the idea of a transparent envelope when it came to the back of the cards, so I inserted a piece of blank paper behind the doughnut. I sealed these two envelopes with cute polka-dot washi tape (see end of post for the even better option I found last weekend), added some fun postage and popped them in the mail.
Days went by, too many it seemed, but there may have been a holiday in there somewhere. In truth, I think they took one day longer to process, then I received pictures from my friends. The envelopes had arrived! One was a little more rumpled than the other, but they were otherwise intact!
Verdict: the labels are tiny but they do coordinate with the bakery theme. I'm not sure that I'd risk mailing one overseas (but I'm up for it if there is another guinea pig out there*). They are good for short missives, as long as you don't mind writing around the hole in the middle. The best part, I would think, is seeing a doughnut in your mailbox.
I recently sent another card out, this time just as a regular greeting (no test). The only difference is that, this time, I had SPRINKLE tape to close the envelope.
Doesn't that just complete the picture?! (Sorry for the poor-quality pic.) Unfortunately, I can't link to the product, as I've not been able to find it online from a source I can recommend. It's from Scotch, in their Magic line; I found it at Office Max in with all of the washi tape. (It's like regular tape, but with a pattern printed on it: it is not washi.)
Update: this particular mailing didn't fare so well. It reached its destination, but the envelope was crumpled and torn.
*Seriously. I'll mail one overseas or to Canada to see what happens. All I would ask is that you don't show my return address if you post pics, and that you send me a pic of it when it arrives to possibly share here. Comment or email me at mel.writes.letters at gmail dot com.
This is what I hope to be the first in a series of posts sharing my vintage postage stamp collection. Up first are some of the stamps I'm classifying under "girl power" - stamps featuring strong female role models, both real and fictional. (Gee, I hope I'm not setting myself up by announcing a series, and multi-part topics!) On to the pictures! See accompanying text for more details. Read to the end for a mini giveaway!!
I think it was the Amelia Earhart stamp (1963) that got me going on the girl power category. I've seen them going for $1 each, but since I buy stamps to use, I searched until I found a full sheet at a more reasonable price per stamp.
I had a pretty shitty education, especially when it came to history, so I only learned about Sybil Ludington (1975) in the last few years. (You should definitely go read up on her, but in brief, at 16, she performed a ride similar to that of Paul Revere, only twice the distance.) Imagine my surprise when I stumbled across postage stamps in her honor! I had to buy them!!
I enjoy combining several stamps on an envelope, but am not always able to keep with a theme as wonderfully as shown on this page. This is a birthday card sent to a friend who participated in the Rosie the RiveterGuinness World Record a few weeks ago. Yes, I bought an entire sheet of stamps (Celebrating the Century, 1940s (1998)) for the Rosie stamp, but there were some other goodies on the sheet.
One thing you need to be prepared for when sending stamp collages is that the recipient won't notice. (Happened for the Rosie card, but then the recipient was inundated with birthday cards because she is beloved.) Update: birthday gal did notice. My bad.
This card hasn't been mailed yet, but I have already written a note on the back of the envelope ("check out the stamps!") and informed the recipient's father (my brother) to tell his kids (my niece & nephew to look at the stamps. I think niece will love the Prinecess Leia stamp (2007). Since the value is 41¢, an 8¢ Sybil stamp put it at the current 49¢ rate and continued the theme! (Nephew's card has a Luke stamp (they dressed as Leia & Luke when they were little and are still fans).)
This might be the best or the worst time to buy the 2007 Star Wars stamps. I had to be patient to find some that were reasonably priced (I have 1 sheet to save and 1 to use) - some sellers are charging exorbitant rates - but I'm so glad I got them.
Quick notes about gathering stamps for mailing (a little different from regular stamp collecting)
It's fun, but can be a little addictive. I recommend getting a 3-ring binder and a bunch of sheet protectors to help sort and protect your growing collection. In a future post, I'll share images of my set-up.
If you're shopping online (e.g. eBay), make doubly sure the listing says "unused" or something similar. MNH means "mint, never hinged," and that's usually what I go for, just to be safe. Hinged stamps are mailable but have to be separated from their hinges and I'm not up for that.
You can use any non-postmarked stamp issued by the USPS (can't tell you about other countries). I recommend a good glue stick in case the gummed ones don't want to stick to your envelope. (You cannot tape down stamps, except perhaps along an edge, but don't quote me there.)
A great way to start is with a "lot" like this one, which gives you enough stamps to mail 20 1-oz. letters for less than face value (FV). The challenge here, of course, is that you have no control over what you get, but the price is hard to beat and you have to start somewhere. I have no affiliation, except as a satisfied customer.
Don't feel like you must have a theme, or even use all vintage stamps. I have a sheet each of all the stamps currently available at the USPS in denominations up to 20¢, plus a few of some of the other values. Many people use one "spotlight" stamp and finish up with new stamps.
Use a calculator before you buy. I recently put together a spreadsheet to see what I paid per stamp v. the FV. I did pretty well a lot of the time, but my first few purchases were rather tragic. I was so excited to get Edgar Allen Poe stamps, for example, that I paid over $1 each (42¢ FV). I think I paid 20¢ each for some not-great quality 1¢ stamps (Washington Irving).
What's this about a giveaway? [Update: we have a winner!]
To celebrate my second-ever commenter (LOL), I'm giving away some Girl Power stamps. There will be several of the Sybil stamps, some Amelias, and maybe some others, all unused (sadly, the Leia and Rosie stamps are not included). While I love and am slightly addicted to Instagram, I'm not requiring shares or tagging of unsuspecting friends. All I ask is that you comment, either here or on the IG post that brought you here, and tell me what you'd put on a postage stamp if you were in charge of the post office for a day.
Open to anyone, anywhere, until Tuesday, 24 November, 2015. Please feel free to share, repost or tag, but it's not required. Make sure I have a way to contact you to get your snail mail addy if you win.
I like fountain pens, but often find that the choices in ink cartridges are too limited, and because I like switching colors, I'd need several pens unless I want to be cleaning them out all of the time. I found a solution that, while it may not get me into the pen snob club, makes it pretty easy to have a bunch of fountain pens with practically any color of ink I want at a pretty affordable cost! And, unlike the cheap calligraphy set of my teens that I tried journaling with (in turquoise ink, naturally), my fingers are free of ink stains. I'm sure this isn't a secret to the fountain pen community at large, but it was news to me, and I wanted to share.
It all started with a bottle of ink. I stumbled across a particularly cool ink on Instagram, and started looking around for it. I finally found some on Goulet Pens, and ordered the only bottle they had in stock (4.5 oz). Several of these bottles come with a free pen, "converted to eyedropper." I had no idea what this meant, but figured it to be a bonus since I was getting it anyway.
I also ordered a basic fountain pen (Platinum Preppy, about $4 USD), thinking it was the same brand as some calligraphy pens I had, so I could use the converters* that came with them. I think my favorite part about this site is their massive selection of ink samples. Almost every in-stock ink is available in sample size, so you can try it out before committing to a bottle.
The order arrived promptly, and I soon discovered that the converters I had wouldn't fit the new pen I'd ordered, because they were totally different brands (I should have confirmed). I was so eager to try out this ink that I got it and no way to use it. Then I took a good look at the freebie pen, remembered the "eyedropper" thing and did some looking around online.
I was saved! I could use my new ink, because "converted to eyedropper" meant that the pen was temporarily sealed with an O-ring and silicone grease, so I could take an eyedropper (built into this particular bottle) and fill the entire body with ink.
I had a worthless (to me, at the time) Platinum Preppy pen, but learned that for about $3.50, I could buy enough materials to convert four pens, so of course I ordered what I needed, plus three more pens. I have enough of the grease left to last a loooooong time, so converting future pens will cost roughly 25¢.
Goulet Pens sells the Platinum Preppy fountain pens, markers and highlighters as-is, or already converted for an extra $2 each, but for $3.50, you can convert four if you don't mind getting a little grease on your fingers.
Now for the big test: do I like writing with these pens? I mean, they cost about $4. "Good" pens start in the $25-30 range and go up into the hundreds. Guess what? I really do like writing with these, and I don't care that they're cheap. I do better with some inks than with others: I dearly love the J. Herbin inks I've tried; others have been hit or miss.
I have mostly medium nibs right now, but see that some inks might do better with fine, so I've ordered a couple to try out, plus a couple of the markers. Imagine making your own markers! I'll report back on my experience with those. What I need to do now is label each pen so I can keep the ink and nib combo straight.
Here's how!
You need:
Platinum Preppy fountain pen** or marker, found at Goulet Pens or JetPens
I'm embedding the video that I followed and recommend that you watch it, but it's pretty basic. Put the O-ring over the threads, down to where the nib would screw on snugly, then smear some of the grease around the threads. This makes it pretty waterproof but allows you to open it again. (Do not use silicone caulk! That will permanently seal your pen.) Use an eyedropper or pipette to fill the clear body of the pen, then screw on the nib. Done!
*A small, refillable tool that you can fill with any ink and use in place of a plastic cartridge.
**Note about prices: Jet Pens sells the fountain pens for $3 each and has free shipping at $25. I love them and can't recommend them highly enough. However, they don't sell the silicone grease, O-rings or ink samples, so I got my first few pens from Goulet at $3.95 each after calculating shipping, etc. .
That title might be a little extreme, but on Friday I did mail out some letters in envelopes I'm not terribly excited about or proud of. I keep buying new craft supplies and just play with them. Nothing wrong with that, in the least, but this time, maybe, I should have looked up some directions or something.
I hope my pen pals are still excited about getting letters, even though the envelopes are kind of hideous.
They didn't start out ugly. These are all PaperSource #10 envelopes in Curry. I just love deed-style envelopes (open on the short end) and theirs come in gorgeous colors and are nice and sturdy.
I got these spray inks and had a vision of lightly flecked colors across the edges of the envelopes. It's not quite how they turned out, but I just kept going, thinking I might end up with a tie-dye kind of thing. Not so much, but at least they're BRIGHT.
I added some washi tape here & there (mostly on the left edge that isn't shown above). Then I discovered that I didn't have a pen that really made the addresses stand out, so I had to use labels on a couple.
Basically, they're a hot mess that I hope actually arrive at their destinations. I also hope that the fun postage stamps and the letters will make up for the chaos on the outside.
There are too many individual stamps to list here, but you can always leave a comment if you want details.
"Let me know if you don't receive this" is one of my favorite rubber stamps to use for the first time I'm writing to someone. It's quirky and a little Discordian. Kind of like me.
I also received some mail! I had to cover most of the blue envelope, but my address was written in calligraphy and there are little flower stickers all over the back.
The big envelope is from someone with a way better & bigger rubber stamp collection than me! Seriously, @fairyartmother is a snail mail and mixed media artist that I was matched with for a swap recently and we agreed to continue exchanging letters. Gotta say, I get a kick out of being referred to as "the Mel..".
Thanks, pen pals, for bringing light to dreary days.
I've loved Peanuts (especially Snoopy) since I was tiny. The theme for my third birthday party was Snoopy and Snoopy's Christmas is still my favorite Giftmas song. Thirteen years ago, my husband and I rescued a litter of kittens and named them all after Peanuts characters. We kept Charlie and Linus (who turned out to be a girl and was later renamed), Our Charlie is, really, the Charlie Brown-iest kitty of all (kind of clumsy, not the brightest, but exceedingly sweet).
Still, when The Peanuts Movie was announced, I was a little skeptical. Getting nostalgic has been a letdown for me lately. I was pretty sure they were going to shit all over my childhood and modernize Charlie, Snoopy and the gang - they'd all have cell phones and be even meaner. We went to see it yesterday afternoon, because we'd heard that the Schultz family was involved in the production
My fears were unfounded. It's not exactly the Peanuts of my childhood, but I think it's better. It's subtly a kinder, gentler Peanuts. There was an entire school class seated behind us and they were entranced (seriously, we hardly knew they were there). Thanks to the enduring charm of the franchise, they'd probably all seen A Charlie Brown Christmas or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown so it wasn't entirely new. I recommend this movie to anyone who isn't a curmudgeon & who can sit still for 92 minutes (plus the inevitable, probably terrible, trailers). Also, you need to be able to handle a change in the animation style. Listen for old friends - Snoopy, Woodstock & the "adults" are from the original recordings - and new (all the kids are played by kids!).
Oh yeah, the Pen Pal thing. I almost forgot (not really). No spoilers, I promise, but on the last day of school, the kids chose partners for a summer pen pal project. I was pretty excited about it, envisioning real life parents using that as an introduction to letter-writing. No letters were actually written (it's a summer activity), but good old Chuck's partner promises to write over the summer.
And now there are these stamps, so letter writing geeks who have a soft spot for the Peanuts gang can have some fun with that. I don't really do Giftmas in the normal way (I'm not religious) but I've loved A Charlie Brown Christmas since I first saw it and I still watch it almost every year, even though I fast-forward through Linus's recitation near the end. I'm a little bummed that there are only two stamps showing a mail box, but I plan to buy a few more sheets and save those for non-holiday mailings.
These have inspired me to send Giftmas cards this year, something I haven't done in absolutely ages.
Although I've had pen pals at one time or another since my teens, I'm still a newb when it comes to more formal/organized correspondence. For anyone who is thinking about getting into it, I'm going to share some of what I've learned in the last couple of months. For anyone who has been doing this for a while, I'd love some input!
The initiator usually writes first. Makes sense, but when I first started seeking out new pen pals, I wasn't sure what was what. You want a pen pal, so you post on a site or do a #penpalswanted "ad" on Instagram (IG), and if someone reaches out, you send the first letter, unless they want to go first. I'm intrigued by ads I see on IG from people who are only interested in exchanging letters if the other party writes first. (Surprise (not): I ignore those.)
Protect your pal's privacy.
Obscuring our addresses
If you're planning to post pics of incoming or outgoing mail online, take a few moments to obscure your pal's full name and address. I often photograph outgoing mail before I address it (with sticky notes in place showing the recipient's initials). There are apps that allow you to apply digital stickers or blur out parts of images. You can also just lay physical objects over those parts of the envelopes. I've used gum packages, candy, pens...all kinds of things.
Goodies are a nice addition, but are not required.
Washi tape sample sharing cards
Including little treats is something you'll see being done by a lot of folks posting snail mail images. Not all connections work out (see #4), so unless it's an assigned exchange, which might be a one-time thing, I like to wait until I've received at least one response before sending extras. If you've signed up for a swap, then naturally, you have to send goodies. But you can just send newsy letters and anyone who has a problem with that has, well, a problem.
Remember it's voluntary. If you're not "feeling it," you don't have to keep up a correspondence. I haven't had to back out of anything yet, but several people I've started writing to have never responded. I've never suspected that it was because I didn't send gifts with my first letter. I figured that my letter just didn't do it for them and have moved on. No hard feelings.
No proselytizing. I haven't actually ever had this happen, but I've been assured that it does happen. Don't preach unless you've established that you're preaching to the proverbial choir. Surely you have more to talk about that whatever dogma you practice.
Protect your privacy. Your mileage may vary. I may have a blog and several social media accounts, but I'm also quite private. I put my return mailing address on the back of envelopes and use a PO box, on the off chance that someone posts a picture of the reverse side. I also include one of these with the first letter I send to a new pal:
Image-sharing Insert.
The image-sharing insert has multiple functions. It gives all my contact info. in one place. It assures my pal that I won't be sharing their personal info. online and asks them to do the same for me. Finally, the last section is a mini questionnaire that I ask them to fill out and return with their next letter. If they love postage stamps, then I can take time (if I have it) to find a fun combo for my letter to them. If they hate washi tape (I know! Who hates washi tape?) then I can send something different. And so on. If you'd like an editable copy, email me. I have InDesign or OpenOffice, which should work in MS Word.
What's up this week? I have a new pen pal to write to and four letters to respond to. My pen is going to be very busy.
Upcoming topics: I know this is a brand-new blog and not likely to have readers for a while. If you have stopped by, thank you! I have several topics planned and feedback is welcome: pen pal organization - keeping track; grown-up merit badges; vintage stamps (ongoing, because I'm slightly addicted); finding pen pals; converting cheap fountain pens & testing fun inks; and more, but I'm drawing a blank.
When I decided to start expanding my circle of pen pals, one of the sites I found was the International Geek Girls Pen Pal Club (IGGPPC). One of the many features of the site is a swap forum, where users can organize swaps on all kinds of topics. While I've had abysmal luck in the past with swaps, I've tried a few since I joined and have had great experiences so far. One of the first swaps I joined was All Hallow's Read.
It started with this guy, Neil Gaiman:
The "rules" of All Hallow's Read are that you get a spooky/scary/etc. book that you like and give it to someone. Pretty basic. The IGGPPC swap organizer just took it a step further by letting people partner up with someone who wanted to exchange spooky books. I took a chance and ordered the book I planned to send, even before I had a partner assigned to me:
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.
After chatting with my partner, it seemed like she'd be okay with the above, so I wrapped it up and added some goodies (like the bookmark peeking out, above) and sent it off:
In addition to the book (wrapped): striped tape, mix CD, some goofy plastic skeletons & a small candle I made. Plus, naturally, a letter. I also included my pen pal intro card/quiz.
On Friday, I visited the Post Office and found a very decorated package waiting for me!
Hallowe'en Party, by Agatha Christie
This is a book that I've read, but I'm certainly not sorry to see it again! It's great because I grew up on mysteries and started reading Agatha Christie when I was quite young, but someone managed to miss this one until I was an adult. It's not spooky/creepy, but it is chilling (the book starts at a Halloween party, where a child is murdered), which totally works for the theme!
