A Graduation Gift!

Well, well, well... time passes by too quickly. I graduated high school  one month ago and found myself a full-time job at a daycare. I haven't stopped writing letters, but I did miss a few weeks. I'm still on track to 52 letters though, thanks to my excitement at the beginning of the year. Last month, I also created my first hand-lettered gift for my friend's graduation. It's a simple, but thoughtful way to share some handmade love! 

There are so many great quotes for graduation, but I chose one from Saint Francis de Sales for my project/gift:

"The same everlasting Father who cares for  today will care for you tomorrow and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering or give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings."

I used a set of Tombow Dual Brush Pens for this particular project. I used the thinner blue pen for most of the words, while switching it up with the brush side for the purple and red. It's not perfect with alignment, but I really love how it turned out! 

Do you use calligraphy? Have you created any hand lettering projects?

-Miss K

Weeks 16 to 20: 52 Letters in a Year

Hello, my readers! It's been a while since my last "52 Letters in a Year" post so I'm back with weeks sixteen through twenty. I've still been writing one letter every week, but I did miss three weeks during finals studying and testing. I also haven't taken pictures of every letter so I'll only be showing what I can. :)

Week 16:
I didn't get any letters written during Week 16, but my 5th grade teacher replied. :) It was so great to finally get a reply from one of my teachers. I wrote to her back in January and although it took her a few months, she did write back!  

The wonderful reply ☺

Week 17:
I wrote one letter during Week 17 to a friend who lives in the same town. We've exchanged a few letters during my 52 letter challenge even though we live just 3 miles away. You can write to someone no matter how far or close the distance is you. I also got a reply from my pen pal in Missouri. Along with the letter, she included some lovely goodies. 

The envelope's back had some washi tape and a 
brightly stamped bird. 

This is one of my favorite theme's from this
pen pal! The green flowers with the music is
great.  

Inside the music envelope, there was a large piece
of the music paper, a playlist card with similar 
blank cards, washi tape samples, stickers, flowered
paper, and a couple holy cards

Week 18-19:
I didn't get any letters written during weeks 18 or 19, but I did get one reply from a friend. That brings the total replies up to 17. 

Week 20:
Last week, I wrote back to my pen pal. I actually started the letter at the beginning of May and didn't finish until last week. I can't post too many pictures because my pen pal hasn't received it yet so I'll save those for next week. For now, here's a sneak peak:

A piece of a brown paper bag for the base, with
green paper for the address. Spring themed 
washi tape for the border. 

Has your May been too busy to write, or has it been relaxing? 

-Miss K

Week 15: 52 Letters in a Year (An Easter Package)

I've been busy writing lots of letters and mailed out letter number 27 on Saturday. A couple weeks ago, I wrote my first all cursive letter. I usually print, but I've been trying to write in cursive more often, so I decided a letter to my pen pal would be the perfect occasion to use cursive. I also included a few goodies in this package to make it Easter themed. 

Week 15:
I used graph paper for this letter because not only does it look nice, but it helps with the spacing of each word and letter. I'm not very good at writing straight unless there are lines, so graph paper is a great option to keep things straight. 

The letter and some mail tag questions (and yes, I did write
this letter in March, but it took me a month to send it)

A pouch made by my sister with mail fabric

A St. Rose of Lima holy card, Easter at Ephesus music
CD, and a bracelet with different Saint images

A Classical music playlist for Spring!

This package was a lot of fun to put together and only required a small bubbled envelope to send. My pen pal loved it and I've already gotten a reply back, but that will be shared in the next post. :)

Have you been busy writing any letters? What is your favorite type of music or songs for Spring?   

-Miss K

Week 13 and 14: 52 Letters in a Year (Another Birthday!)

I am a couple weeks behind in sharing my recent mail, but I'm going to start with week thirteen. This week features two more unique birthday cards made by me. I don't think I've ever sent this many birthday cards in a row. My great aunt's birthday was a few weeks ago and a friend's birthday was last week. I also got a few more replies, bringing the number of replies up to Fourteen!

Week 13:
A few weeks ago, I sent my great aunt a birthday card. Since I was sending out a birthday card almost every week, I decided to find out her birthday, and it just happened to be March 25. I quickly made another birthday card for her. My little sister also colored her a coloring page. 

I used calligraphy on this card too.

A birthday envelope: "Sending birthday wishes to"

My sister's birthday coloring page

Week 14:
My friend who lives out in Wyoming turned 18 last week, so I made sure to send her a birthday card and a letter. I followed the same technique as above, only I used a different color card stock.  

I like the look of the slanted words on this one!

I drew some balloons on the front of the envelope
and wrote "Happy Birthday" on the back.

More Replies:
It has been so much fun to see the replies arrive in the mailbox! I enjoy all of the different cards and envelopes, including the pink one (below) from a friend. My great aunt has been the quickest one to respond each time and makes her own card every time (also seen below). 

Have you sent any mail this year? Have you written anything lately?  

-Miss K

Weeks 10, 11, & 12: 52 Letters in a Year

I've managed to let the last two weeks slip by without posting my letters. I've been busy writing, though, with 22 letters sent out into the snail mail world. I also received a few replies so I'll share those at the end. My letters for the last weeks include one to an aunt, one to a friend, one to a pen pal, and a birthday card. Later this week, I'll be sharing another birthday card for my great aunt's birthday. March seems to be the month for birthdays!

Week 10:
Two weeks ago, I wrote to my aunt who lives in Washington. It was fun writing to her because I've only met her twice and it has been a while since I saw her. I kept it simple by using a piece of blue copy paper and adding a flower in the top corner. I colored a flower from an adult coloring book and glued it to a piece of scrapbook paper. Those adult coloring books work great for adding to letters! 

The corner decoration

A spring themed envelope to match

Week 11, Letter 1:
This week I sent another birthday card to a friend. I like making each birthday card unique, so this one was a little different than the last one. I also used a spring themed envelope since her birthday was the day before Spring. 

I used a "Happy birthday" stamp and some
washi tape to decorate

Isn't this a pretty envelope?

Week 11, Letter 2:

At the end of last week, I decided I wanted to write another letter. I used a piece of pink copy paper and added washi tape to the edges. To make it Spring themed, I added some blue scrapbook paper to the corners. Then, I added a sunflower sticker and an owl stamp to finish it.  

Homemade stationery paper is the best!

A butterfly envelope made by Esteban

Week 12:

The theme of all these letters is Spring! I've only used graph paper for math so I experimented with it for this letter. I really like how it looks so I may write more on graph paper. Some leftover scrapbook paper, flowered washi tape, and a bird sticker finished up the theme on this one! 

The graph paper letter

A simple envelope made using a Spirograph

The Replies:

I have four replies to share from the last few weeks. It really is exciting when a reply lands in the mailbox! Enjoy the pictures: 

A big thank you to Michelle Houts, the creator
of this challenge, for sending me a reply!

Another card from a friend

The second reply from my great aunt

My pen pal's letter with a mail tag, stickers, 
pressed flowers, and a postcard

Which letter/card and envelope was your favorite? Has spring weather arrived in your state? 

-Miss K