pen pal letters

hey!! long time no post :( life has been a little crazy. ok, very crazy. but i am back with a fun way to stay connected in this time of social distancing. 

PEN PAL LETTERS!!!

how fun. i love writing letters to friends, acquaintances, & even people i have never met before. over the past couple of years my letter writing process, for lack of a better term, has changed significantly. at this point, i know exactly how i want to do them & thought i would share!!

let's start off with supplies. i have a few suggestions, but they fit my vintage/nature/cute aesthetic. 

1. hobby lobby  - i get A LOT here! paper, envelopes, sacks, cording, & more! i especially love that they carry the tim holtz line. it is an excellent option for easy ephemera.
2. romwe or shein - an unexpected place! most people know them for their trendy clothes & inexpensive options, but they also have a wide variety of fun stationery. i have purchased stickers, postcards, swatch cards, washi tape, & bookmarks. they were all excellent quality. 

3. sugarboo&co or archer paper goods- small, local shops are great! you can find lovely, unique little stationery pieces. these two have shops in my area, but they also take online orders!

4. etsy - after a little searching, it is easy to find some paper goodies within some shops. 

5. amazon - but who's surprised? amazon has everything, including really sweet stationery!!

now that you have some suggestions, i am going to kick of a rundown of my letters. first up, the envelope. a good quality envelope is essential when you are packing extra items in with a note. my favorite one is the a7 paper studio envelope in kraft. you can buy a pack of 50 for $9.99. with the frequent sales, i usually pay less than that. 

i stick to just envelopes because i prefer cardstock for the note portion. i also pick these up at hobby lobby. they are sturdy, have pretty designs, and are an inexpensive option. i am currently using the paper studio's mirabelle & pretty petals cardstock, each are $9.99 (mine was purchased prior to the price change). unfortunately, i beleve mirabelle has been discontinued, but they do have a good selection of other packs. the 4.5x6.5inch works well with the envelopes, so i rarely stray to other cards. 

next up is the less important, but equally fun pieces. i like to include quotes, postcards, bookmarks, & stickers to jazz up my letters. it is fun getting goodies, they act as great pick-me-ups. 

for my quotes i use sugarboo & co's encouragement ($18) & love note ($16) books. they are on the pricier side, but i find that they have been amazing. the pages are perforated, making it easy to tear out for a letter & have 150 pages each! they have lasted me a while! i also use sadie robertson's scripture cards, the pack has 32 cards for $6

next up is postcards. i have a few different packs, but the ones below are by far my favorite! they are the classic architecture postcards from romwe & are only $2.45 for 32 cards. i also purchased some sweet bookmarks from romwe. they are the flower print bookmarks & have 30 for $1.45.

then we have ephemera!! love. i have been into the tim holtz idea-ology packs lately. i believe both hobby lobby and joann's carry them, so i am unsure where i picked up mine. over time i have use the ephemera keepsakes ($5.29), die cut embellishments ($4.49), botanical layers ($6.99), & remnants layers ($6.99).

my favorite piece of stationery are next up: stickers & washi tape. 

i will try to link the ones below as best as i can. they are a selection from a number of different packs. we can start with stickers. there are the botanical stamp patterns, vintage pattern, travel stamp patterns, flower print faux wax seals, & fruit print. all of the packs were $1.45 for 40-50 stickers. for washi tape i use the romwe memo cards in kraft as swatch cards, each box has 100 for $1.45.  the rolls pictured are from the solid color packs ($1.45) & two other packs i cannot locate. 

we are almost to the finish line!! to collect most of the goodies, i used little sacks and envelopes. my top pick is a vellum sack, but i also use the kraft mini sacks ($2.99) & mini envelopes by the paper studio at hobby lobby. i was not able to produce links for two of the three, but the picture should give you a good idea. 

once i have everything selected, i fill the sack and make a little stack of the goodies, with my note at the bottom. i use a piece of cording to tie them into a little pack before sticking them in the envelope. i like to address and stamp my envlope before filling it, i think it is easier. 

ta-da! & there you go, a cute pen pal letter! of course, it is up you what goes in - i am here for inspiration. if it looks like a lot, it is. they do all fit in the envelope, but i would not send this much to preserve my stock. it can get pricey! for the sake of this post & showing you all the options, i pulled everything out. some other ideas not pictured are: dried flowers, a tea bag, ribbon or fabric scraps, tickets, doodles, & really anything you want to add! get creative!

if you made it this far, thank you for reading! let me know if you have any questions :).