Tag: snail mail

  • Gratitude

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    It's been a long time since I've made anything with my hands. So long in fact, that I can't remember the last thing I made. Terrible for someone who professes to be a maker! I've been caught up in getting ready for the launch of my second collection of poetry, Pas De Deux which happened last week and haven't had any time for craft. Shocking!

    Today is a public holiday and there's nowhere I have to be so I am using this little window of time to get a few things made. The first is some thank you cards to send out the lovely people who helped make my book launch such a success.

    I went through my card making stash this morning and found these strips of eco dyed paper which I am turning into some concertina style cards. I"d chucked them in the drawer straight after dyeing so they needed a lot of ironing to get out all the creases. I know – ironing paper seems like a bizarre thing to do. The first time I ironed paper I was freaking out, afraid that I would scorch the paper or set it on fire. But no, neither of those things happened. Before you all go out and iron paper you need to know that I'm talking about heavy duty watercolour paper here, not your standard printer paper. I'm not sure how that would cope with being ironed.

    I'm really chuffed with the vintage toast rack I picked up at a local market bazaar shop. It's prefect for holding pieces of eco dyed paper that are drying out or books that are waiting be bound.

    What are you doing this long weekend with your extra time? Making something I hope!

  • Snail Mail

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    I'm an old fashioned gal at heart. I like reading books and making things with my hands. I prefer walking to driving a car. And I'd much rather get mail in the letterbox than an email in my inbox. 

    I found all these packets of letter writing paper and matching envelopes in my desk drawer. I bought them years ago when the girls were into writing letters to their friends. There's something magical about opening the letter box and seeing a letter inside addressed to you. Especially if the envelope has been written by hand and isn't a bill!

    My mum was chatting to one of my girls the other day and she said when she moved to Melbourne in the late 1960s there were two mail deliveries a day. Now we're lucky to get two mail deliveries a week. Oh, how times have changed. Luckily you can still send letters and buy gorgeous stamps to put on the envelopes. I went into the post office and asked to see their range. At the moment they have a beautiful bird emblems series of stamps with a bird for each state of Australia. I bought up big and got the three birds they had left. I loved the stamps so much I'm thinking of buying a first day cover for them.

    Writing letters to friends on beautiful stationery feels like a way we can connect with each other right now even though we're all social distancing. I miss my beautiful friends but when I picture their faces as they open their mailboxes to see a letter from me, I feel all happy inside and like we're not so far apart after all.