Week 9: 52 Letters in a Year

Welcome to March! February seemed to fly by and here we are, already in the ninth week of 2021. This week has been another great week because I received two replies again! One was from my pen pal in Florida and the other was from my senior pen pal who lives in an assisted living. 

Week 9:
This week I sent a birthday card and a letter to a friend. Instead of relying on my brother to make some envelope art, I created my own! I made the card with card stock and added a strip of purple scrapbook paper to the bottom. For the envelope, I drew the balloon with the address using colored pencils. The little balloons were drawn with Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pens (my favorite pens. EVER.). 

I tried out some calligraphy with this card too!

The matching envelope 

Bonus:
As I mentioned above, two of my pen pals sent me a reply this week. My pen pal in Florida always makes the cutest cards. Here's the one that arrived in my mailbox this week: 

Have you ever sent birthday mail? Has anyone sent you special mail for your birthday?  

-Miss K

Weeks Six, Seven, and Eight: 52 Letters in a Year (Plus a Few Replies!)

I've missed the last two weeks of posting, but I've been busy writing letters! I've already written more than eight letters, but I'm still trying to send one every week. For week six, I sent two Valentine's Day cards, for week seven I sent a handmaid card to a friend, and this week's letter went to my great aunt. I wasn't sure if I'd get any replies, but after writing fourteen letters, I finally got three replies!  

Week 6:
Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the Valentine cards that I made for my pen pals. :( I was so excited to seal the envelope and get them in the mail! I made a card out of red card stock and wrote "Happy St. Valentine's Day" in cursive. You'll just have to imagine there's a picture. :) I did however take pictures of the matching envelopes. 

I had some blue and pink scrap paper, so I
just torn the edges and glued them to the 
envelope, with a green square for the address

I used the same process here, except I used
purple for the address

Week 7:
Last week, I made a card for a friend that I haven't seen since August. I cut a few inches off of a piece of orange card stock, folded it in half, and the card was made. It's that easy! I'm learning calligraphy so I tried it on the card and for the first time on the envelope. To finish it off, I added a 3D flower sticker on the card. 

I kept it simple, but I like how it looks!

I used leftover purple paper and a piece of 
butterfly scrapbook paper on the envelope

Week 8:

The lucky recipient of this week's letter was my great aunt. I wrote to her during week four and she was the first to respond! I decided to make another card for letter by using green card stock and butterfly scrapbook paper. My brother created the master art on the envelope. 

Isn't this color scheme just great? 

The wonderful envelope!

I hope you're enjoying these pictures as I write all 52 letters! Butterflies seem to be the star of the envelopes and cards this week. Time has sure flown this year with March arriving next week, and I'll be back sharing week nine's letter.  

What is your favorite type of butterfly?  

-Miss K

Week 5: Thank a Mailman Day

Happy February! I hope you are all having a great start to the 2021 year. In January, I wrote 10 letters so I think I'll be successful in finishing this challenge. Today is the last day of week 5 so it's time to mail out that letter, if you haven't already! This week's letter went to my fabulous mailman because Thursday was "Thank a Mailman Day". The mail carriers do a lot of work that goes unnoticed so it would be the perfect week to thank him or her. Of course, I'll give you some history about the mail system before I share my pictures. :)

Important Dates:

1775: Benjamin Franklin became the first Postmaster General 

1847: Postage stamps created

1860: Start of the Pony Express

1963: Zip code created

1992: Self adhesive stamps came into use

2007: Forever stamp introduced

Before the introduction of prepaid stamps, the postage could be paid by the sender or it was left for the recipient to pay. This eventually led to a more efficient system of requiring a prepaid stamp before the mail could be sent. 

Week 5:

I didn't get a picture of the actual letter, but there are some pictures of the envelope and a couple drawings. 

A mail themed envelope, but all the credit goes to
my older brother. Thanks Esteban!

A mail truck drawing drawn by my younger
brother, Superman

A drawing of letters and envelopes drawn by
my younger sister, Nancy

Bonus Fact:

Those mail trucks driving around town are cool, right? But how cool would it be to have your mail delivered by mule, yes MULE? In the Grand Canyon, there is a very small village called Supai, with a a population of about 208 people. For six days a week, the mailman loads their mail onto a "train" of mules to deliver their mail, mostly supplies and food. The current mailman, Hank Delaney, has been delivering mail by mule since 1999 to the village of Supai. It is a three hour trip from the top of the canyon down to the village, which totals to around a 3,000 foot drop. 

The train of mules! (credit)

Further Reading/Sources:

https://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-history/

https://www.si.edu/stories/mules-still-deliver-mail-grand-canyon

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." -USPS Unofficial Motto

Have you ever celebrated "Thank a Mailman Day"? What is your favorite item that you've ever received in the mail?   

-Miss K

Week 4: 52 Letters in a Year

Hello, my friends! We're already into the fourth week of 2021, which means it's time to send out letter number four. However, this week I wrote three letters: one to my 4th grade teacher, one to my 9th grade band teacher, and one to my great aunt. I haven't seen many of the people on my list in a long time, so is very exciting to write to them. 

 

Week 4, Letter One:
The first letter I wrote was to my 4th grade teacher, who I haven't seen since 2010. Her favorite color is blue so I decided to create a blue and yellow theme, with a bit of brown. Once again, I tore up some pieces from a brown paper bag and layered the blue and yellow scrapbook pieces on top. 

For the letter, I used yellow copy paper
and torn scrapbook paper

My favorite envelope so far! It's made with 
yellow construction paper, blue scrapbook 
paper, and pieces of a brown paper bag

Week 4, Letter Two:
The second letter was sent to my 9th grade band teacher. I just used a piece of plain notebook paper for the letter and decorated the header. The envelope was a lot of fun to make too. I drew some music notes around the border to match the letter's header. 

The letter's heading because I forgot to take
a picture of the whole letter

The musical envelope!

Each note got its own border

Week 4, Letter Three:

The last letter for this week was sent to my great aunt. I wrote this one a few days ago, and decided to use stationery paper that I already had on hand. 

This stationery set came with envelopes so 
I just added some star stickers to decorate it

The back of the envelope with its matching
stationery paper

And there you have it: three envelopes and three letters to get your creativity flowing! 

Which envelope is your favorite?  

-Miss K

It's National Handwriting Day!

 Greetings, fellow writers! Tomorrow is an exciting day because it is National Handwriting Day. Yup, there IS a day for that and it's celebrated every year on January 23rd. To keep handwriting alive, here are some ideas on how to celebrate.

But first, you need some history because who doesn't love history? 

History:

National Handwriting Day was founded in 1977 by the Writing Instrument Manufactures Association (WIMA). January 23rd was the chosen day because that is John Hancock's birthday. He was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence and has the largest signature out of all fifty-six delegates who signed.

 After the long seventeen days of writing the document (thanks to Benjamin Franklin), Hancock received the honor of signing first. His signature is almost five inches long! There are various stories as to why he signed so big, but they all state that he wanted people to be able to read it without spectacles. 

The large John Hancock signature

How to Celebrate:

The main goal of National Handwriting Day is to bring back the use of handwriting, so doing anything with a pen (or any writing utensil) and paper will work for celebrating. 

• Write a letter to a friend

• Start a journal 

• Learn calligraphy

• Write your grocery list or to do list by hand

• Write a short story without a computer

• Practice your handwriting

Jane Austen's beautiful quill pen writing (credit)

"Handwriting is a true art form and one of the few ways we can uniquely express ourselves. There's something poetic about grasping a writing instrument and feeling it hit the paper as your thoughts flow through your fingers and pour into words." -Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association

What is your favorite way to use your handwriting?  

-Miss K