Daily Mail: Incoming

A letter from my penpal Kendra from California.

A postcrossing card from China
Note: This is yesterday's mail. Somehow, my post didn't post.
I was half hoping for mail in either my post office box or my home box, but nothing. If might have something to do with the fact that i checked it at 8 am before I went to work as the postmistress was putting mail in the boxes.

Thrift Store Stationery Finds

To the left is a nice pansy print. The paper is thin so using a fountain pen is out of the question. Total of 24 sheets and 12 envelopes. Bought for $1.25. On the right, are printed handmade envelopes. The gold color is metallic. The only down side is there are no flaps, they open at the side. Total of 10 envelopes. Bought for $2 from A Thousand Villages on clearance.
I do not collect stationery so I'll use them. I'm thinking of making some kraft paper stationery to go with the envelopes decorated with metallic sliver marker or gold.

Daily Mail: Incoming

 A Postcrossing card from Thailand and a sneak peak at my first fountain pen, top left.

Check out the stamps. I love the first one.

Another Sent Postcard

This is another postcard that I've sent recently through Prostcrossing.com.

It pretty much sums up Pennsylvania.

Daily Mail: Incoming

 A Postcrossing card from Colorado.

This sunny view of a Colorado valley farm of course came on a damp, overcast, snowy, cold day yesterday. This gem came from Troy of Penpal from Northeastern Colorado. Thanks for brightening my day!

Daily Mail: Outgoing

A postcard going to a friend whom I've worked with. I decided to show her some mail love since she got me started in this whole thing.

 An outgoing postcrossing card, one of my favorites featuring covered bridges in my area.

A letter to Troy of Penpal from Northeastern Colorado in response to a postcard he sent me. Thanks!

A Good Idea

I was thinking the other day how nice it would be to have a P.O. Box. That I'd stroll into the post office gather my great mail goodies and be the envy of the other post office goers. I'm really not one that thinks it's all the dangerous to have your mailing address publicly known, besides, I can go through the phone book and pick out addresses at random and find out where they were located. My decision of getting a post office box was based on a few things. One, my mail man I think gets overwhelmed with the size of some packages that I receive. Two, who doesn't like picking mail up at the post office? And three, I always wanted one. Here's my new address:
Rachel Bouc
P.O. Box 393
Revere, PA 18953
If you all ready have sent me something to my old address, don't worry, I will get it.

P.S. I just realized that I wont be able to get to my box until Monday due to the strange hours I work. By the time I drive past the post office it's closed. Hopefully I'll have some goodies waiting for me on Monday.

The After Christmas Thank You Note

If you haven't already considered writing out thank you notes to all of those that made your day merry and bright, I urge you to do so. Not only because it's nice getting things in the mail but because it's a nice to show our appreciation of one's thoughtfulness. Not only can you write thank you notes to people who gave you physical gifts but to those who attended your Christmas dinner.
Start your thank you note with the date written out fully: December 24, 2010
The a greeting: Dear Aunt May,
Express your gratitude: Thank you for the pink fuzzy slippers.
Discuss the use: It gets very chilly in the winter here, a these nice slippers will surely be used. They're so cozy I wish I could wear them everywhere.
If you do not like the item don't lie. Find something that's nice about them and leave it at that.
If it's money allude to how you're going to spend it but don't itemize: It will be a great help when I purchase my new toaster.
Mention the past and allude to the future: It was great to see you at Christmas! I'll be looking forward to seeing you at New Year's!
Thank them again: Thanks again for the slippers.
Regards: Love,
Signature: Rachel
Your note should look like this:

December 25, 2010

Dear Aunt May,

Thank you so much for the pair of pink fuzzy slippers. They'll be perfect for the when they house gets cold. They'll surely keep my piggies toasty! It was great seeing you at Christmas and I'll be looking forward to seeing you in the new year! Thanks again for the slippers.

Lots of love,

Rachel

For more help click here.

What type of letter writer are you?

I'd have to say, I'm a very prompt letter writer. It might be just because I get very excited when I get a letter in the mail, but people who write to me will most likely receive a reply within a few days. I do try to read and reread the letter as not to make a too hasty reply. But I'm happily saying that I have three people that I'm in the process of writing to; Mother Earth News magazine because I simply just love it, Reanna; currently she's at home for the holidays and will actually get to see he tomorrow; and Ilona from the Missive Maven blog. How do you curb your excitement when receiving a letter?

Daily Mail: Postcard from the UK

I actually got some good mail today! Besides the book that I got from paperbackswap.com and the recipe card postcard, I got this very lovely postcard from the UK. I just love this type of architecture.

New Craft: Paper Engraving

I've been wanting to do this for a while now and finally found a nice kit to do it with.

You might not be able to see it very clearly, but this is an engraved butterfly design. The kit I bought was from Michael's Martha Stewart collection and is originally $20 but they always have good coupons so I bought it for $10!
It comes with two stencils; one with border designs and small figures, and one with bigger designs; a double sided stylus, 5 notecards with envelopes, and 2 sheets on wax paper. This is a great quick and easy way to personalize stationery. I just need to track down some medium weight paper sheets so I can make my own letter sets.

Daily Mail

The sole piece of mail today from a swap-bot swap.

January 2011 Stamps

Next month's stamps are...
The king and queen of hearts! My postal clerk thought it was funny that I didn't want evergreen or liberty bell stamps. My correspondents deserve good looking stamps!

Postcard from Holland

This beautiful postcard is from Holland. Holland, if you didn't know already, is known for their flowers mainly tulips.

Letter from Reanna

The penpal that I correspond with most is my co-worker, Reanna. When you work the 4-8 cashier shift you need to talk to someone. Her and I quickly became friends. Back in October, when I started to write letters again, I asked her for her mailing address at college.
Although her letters are short and sweet, they give me a nice break in the day to think "Not everyone writes long letters like you do". Most of the time her letters are one page of plain computer paper, and sort of cold feeling. Needless to say, her Christmas present will be assorted sheets of stationery.
For a few weeks she's home on break and working with me again which will be welcomed but I sort of will miss looking forward to receiving a letter.

This letter was in my mailbox today from Reanna.

The Letter Opener

Call me ridiculous. Call me strange. Call me whatever you like this is my letter opener. I wouldn't trade it for any other letter opener in the world. It's so beautiful and ornate. There are a few blemishes and sticky stuff from trying to pry open well taped packages.
It goes through tops of envelopes like no tomorrow.
It was the only thing that I had requested from a yard sale that I helped put together. For years it sat in the bottom of one of my junk drawers waiting to me used. Over the years I didn't really get any personal mail except for the occasional greeting card for Christmas or my birthday, but it laid unused for years. It was forgotten until I started complaining about how I should get a letter opener and it dawned on my that I already had one! Immediatly, I dug it out and put it to good use.
Now, it sits proudly on my desk just waiting; waiting to slay another envelope.
This beauty deserves a named. Any ideas?

Postcard from Germany

I received this postcard from Germany sometime last month. It's one of my favorites. However, it somehow ended up not in my mailbox but on the ground outside crinkled by dew.

Postcrossing

I send therefore I receive.

Besides swap-bot, which I will detail in a later post, Postcrossing is my favorite place to send and receive mail with. You simply sign up making sure you have your mailing address right don't forget to double check just in case. You wouldn't want your postcards going to the neighbor's house!
Once you've signed up, click send a postcard on the left sidebar. This will give you an address to the next person in line to receive some mail. If you're more into letter writing they encourage writing letters as well. Personally I do prefer letters but I love seeing all of the pictures on the postcards.
When I first started to do Postcrossing I would send a postcard with a little greeting and my address in case the recipient would want to write  me back. Now, I just about the postcard and why I chose it. What's really nice is that sometimes I'll get postcards written in German, my second language and sometimes I'll write my postcards in German to a German speaker. It helps me gain confidence to the language.
If you want to join, click on the hightlighted links or go to my right side bar and click on "Postcrossing".
Happy Postcrossing everyone!

Back Logged

It's not that I've been getting a large amount of mail lately. Actually, it's just been one or two letters. Yesterday I received a letter from my penpal Kate who lives in Massachusetts and is really my only regular penpal besides a co-worker who is currently in college and writes short disorganized letters. Recently, I haven't gotten anything from Postcrossing because there are a few postcards that I've sent that haven't been marked received, one which I sent inside the US. I love sending postcards almost as much as letters. As they say. A picture is worth a thousand words. I'll have to take pictures of some of my favorites!
For right now I'll leave you with the image of this beautiful postcard from Iceland and on the back the message is written in German.

Mail Me Letters!

If you like letters as much as I do, please send me a postcard or letter, anything really! A link to my address is to the left sidebar. I'll try to respond to any letters written.

Where to Get Letter Sets?

You don't notice them until you start looking. Trust me. You'll find them in the most unlikely of places. Here's a few places to look.
Walmart-in the section with the cards
Borders-you can find really nice Paperchase brand letter sets. They're normally located at the back of the store
Barnes and Noble- they have a nice set with 100 sheets and 50 envelopes for $15. I'm not sure about the quality
Hallmark Stores-they carry two different folios only with 40 sheets and 20 envelopes for about $10. Only one of these I found nice enough to purchase
Dollar Tree- these sets, if you can find them, are nice but with thin paper
Target- I found one very pink set for around $7. The only down side is that it only has 20 sheets and 20 envelopes
Anyone else know of any other brick and mortar store that has letter sets and are a national chain?

Neglect?

So I had taken the plunge to start my own mail themed blog and what do I do? I neglect it of course! I've been busy writing letters and sending postcards. And I'm certain my mail man hates me, well, at least I keep him employed.
My recent letters have gone out to Sammie from Box 332 blog who is certain that I might think she is a stalker and creep, which is quiet the opposite. Another went to Angela in Spain. A postcard was also sent to Russia yesterday from Postcrossing. Her name was so long as well as her address that I actually had to print out her address! I'm someone the prefers to write everything out.
So, hopefully more from me soon and maybe a blog facelift.

Why Letters? Why Now?

Letter writing is being considered as a lost art overlooked because of e-mail, instant messaging, and text messages. I, and a few others that I've found out, have rediscovered the magic of writing and receiving handwritten letters. It's magic that only costs 45 cents.
Recently I started writing letters again. Since the beginning of the month I've sent:
9 letters
8 postcards
I've received:
2 letters
1 postcard

This seems to be a pretty outcome.
I hope this blog inspires you to starting writing letters!