Reasons to send a letter...

Since today is the start to Letter Writing Month, what better way to start it off than with a list of ideas to help you get started writing!

1. write a thank you note
2. write a letter to your future self
3. send a letter with a fun activity in it
4. send a text through the mail... a one sentence note
5. don't forget... kids love mail too
6. send a letter in multiple parts... they have to wait for the next part
7. write down your favorite quote and give it to a stranger
8. write a note to your letter carrier
9. draw your self portrait and send it to your friend
10. decorate the envelope... go crazy!
11. send an apology that you have been putting off
12. send your favorite celebrity some fan mail
13. send a letter to a friend to let them know you've been thinking of them
14. send a letter to your mom or dad
15. send a letter to your child, or any child for that matter
16. send a card to a new parent
17. send a get wall card for someone under the weather or recently had surgery
18. send a "thinking of you" card to someone experiencing a loss in their life
19. write your pen pal a letter
20. find a recipe in a magazine? cut it out and send it to a friend you know will enjoy it
21. make sure to send those birthday and anniversary cards

do you have any other tips and ticks to get people encouraged to write letters? If so, I would love to hear about them in the comments!

xo,
e

Valentines,VA Postmark

I wanted to share all the letters I received from my trip to Valentines, VA! It is so fun to have a mailbox filled with all the pink and red envelopes!

I just love the heart shaped postmark on every envelope along with the hand stamped heart Kathy

(the postmaster) stamps onto every envelope! It truly makes the mail that much more special!

I can't wait to head back to Valentines, VA next year!

Happy Groundhog Day!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!

This summer, my family and I took a little road trip up to Boston and then over to Pittsburgh! On the way to Pittsburgh we stopped in Punxsutawney, PA to see the home of the famous Punxsy Phil!

We stopped by the gift shop first (DUH!) and I picked up a few groundhog themed things (stationery, a rubber stamp and some postcards, to name a few). Then we walked over to Phil's home in the center of town. He lives in his burrow outside the library when he isn't predicting the weather. After seeing him sleep we took a little drive to see where the famous prediction event happens! Gobbler's Knob! It was neat to see all this in person, since I see it on TV every year.

Once we were done at Gobbler's Knob we drove around trying to find the various Phil statues throughout town. This post office Phil was my FAVORITE! He is so cute in his little mail outfit!

So, what will the groundhog predict this year? More Winter or is Spring around the corner...

If you would like a chance to win a postcard that I picked up in the gift shop of post office Phil, comment on my post and I will draw one lucky winner!

dear reader.

A pen pal sent me this article: Ace Hotel Hires Writers to Craft Letters to Guests.

Image from: acehotel.com

The Ace Hotel New York  is located in Midtown Manhattan in a historic, turn-of-the-century building. The Ace Hotel provides a modern twist on old-time classics and continues to refresh the hotel room experience.

The Ace Hotel in NYC and writer Alexander Chee recently collaborated to surprise guests with letters. The initiative is titled Dear Reader. One writer each month will be invited for a sleepover at the Ace Hotel New York. During the writer's stay they will craft an open letter to an imagined audience of hotel guests. On a surprise date each month, the letters will be laid bedside in each room (hand stamped and numbered) to be found and read.

Keep being amazing Ace Hotel!

mail tag. halloween edition.

Time to start thinking about writing those Halloween letters if you haven't started already!

Today I wanted to post some Halloween inspired "Mail Tag" questions to include in your next spooky letter to your penpal:

• Favorite Halloween candy?

• Favorite costume you wore as a kid?

• Do you still dress up?

• Do you buy your pumpkins from a store or a pumpkin patch?

• Favorite scary movie?

• Ghosts or Goblins?

• Do you have any Halloween traditions?

• Worst Halloween candy?

Do you have any other questions you think would be good to include in a Halloween inspired "Mail Tag"? If so, I would love to hear them!

national postal worker day.

HAPPY NATIONAL POSTAL WORKER DAY!
Thank you for delivering happy mail to our mailboxes all year long!

Image from: pretendingtofarm.typepad.com

Today is a day to appreciate and thank the men and women that work consistently to help is send and receive all of our happy mail and packages! Take an extra minute today to say thank you to your postal worker and let them know how much they are appreciated.

Postal Service employees may accept the following items:
• Snacks and beverages that are not part of a meal
• Items with little intrinsic value (greeting card, pen, coffee mug, etc.)
• Perishable items ( flowers, chocolates, cookies, etc.)
• Items with a value of $20 or less

Postal Service employees may not accept cash-in any amount or form
(bills, checks, money orders)

Ways to show your appreciation to your postman:
• A nice little card thanking them for their hard work
• Bottle of water (After all, it is pretty hot in July)
• Giftcard (Starbucks, 7-11, WaWa, etc.)
• Homemade Cookies
• Etc.

"See the mailman dressed in blue, will he bring a letter to you? He works when it rains and when it snows, he even works when the wind blows."

stamps in season.

I picked up a copy of the 2014 Spring Edition Stamps in Season at my local Post Office the other day! It is the first edition of a new quarterly digest of the latest stamps from the U.S. Postal Service®.

The page spreads are nicely designed with photographs of the new stamps in their full sheets and in use on envelopes. It also contains tips for sending better mail! You can sign up online to receive this quarterly digest in the mail too if you don't have time to pick one up from your local Post Office.

Some of the tips included in this edition of Stamps in Season are:
• Wedding Mail Timeline and Checklist (Blog Post Coming Soon!)

• How to keep a Pen Pal
     1. Send a letter to a friend, asking him or her to write back
     2. Watch your mailbox
     3. When a letter arrives, write back within a week or two
     4. Repeat steps 2-4

• International Mail Tips
     • Use a Global Forever® rate stamp to send a First-Class 1-ounce letter to any country in the world
     • When writing the address, note that some countries place the postal code before the city or town, and include the country name in English and all caps on the last line by itself
     • To make sure the receiving country doesn't have any specific requirements, visit usps.com/ship/international-how-to.htm

• Tips for sending Letters & Postcards
     Letter:
          • Must be Rectangular
          • .007"-.25" Thick
          • Min. Envelope Size: 5" x 3.5"
          • Max. Envelope Size: 11.5" x 6.125"

     Postcard:

          • Must be Rectangular

          • .007"-.016" Thick

          • Min. Postcard Size: 4.25" x 3.5"

          • Max. Postcard Size: 6" x 4.25"

• Stay in touch with USPS:

     Facebook:
          facebook.com/USPSstamps
     Twitter:
          twitter.com/USPSstamps
     Pinterest:
          pinterest.com/USPSstamps
     Instagram:
          instagram.com/USpostalservice

Sign up here to get each edition of Stamps in Season or pick up a copy at your local Post Office!

we all scream for icecream letterset download.

If you were icecream, you would be my favorite flavor.

©2014 postmarked with love

©2014 postmarked with love

Download this delicious icecream letterset here. Enjoy!

ted talk: hannah brencher

A friend recently shared this Ted Talk video with me and it was to good not to share.

Image from: ted.com

"Hannah Brencher's mother always wrote her letters. So when she felt herself bottom into depression after college, she did what felt natural - she wrote love letters and left them for strangers to find. The act has become a global initiative, The World Needs More Love Letters, which rushes handwritten letters to those in need of a boost."

Do you want to help be a part of the More Love Letters Movement?

image from: moreloveletters.com

You can sign up to participate and read all about the movement that Hannah Brencher started here!

happy easter.

Wishing a very Happy Easter to all my letter writing peeps!

happy national stationery week.

It is National Stationery Week! 

Celebrate the written word and all things stationery! You can never have too much stationery-it's today's must have fashion accessory!

Read more about National Stationery Week here.

valentines, va.

This past Saturday I took a little road trip to Valentines, VA! I have been planning this little road trip for almost a year now and was really excited! The town of Valentines isn't even really a town but more of a community within Brunswick County. There is one building offering up expressions of love. The Valentines, VA Post Office!

Outside of the Post Office from the street.

The front porch and Post Office sign.

The Post Office is combined inside this tiny building with Wright's General Merchandise. The two have shared this small space since 1935. When you step inside you step back in time. Coca-Colas sold in glass bottles, an old stove and rocking chairs. The Post Office dates back to William H. Valentine, the town's namesake who served as the first postmaster from 1887-1911.

Mr. Wright bought the store took over as postmaster in 1951. He unknowingly started what would become a sensation! Embracing the town's name, he began rubber-stamping the mail with an emblem-featuring a heart and dogwood blossoms-that he designed himself.

Finishing up stuffing some of my letters!

My mom and I patiently waiting our turn!

The mail ladies working hard!

Sorting all my of valentines!

While we were there we overheard that there is a possibility this gem of a Post Office could be closing down. To hear that breaks my heart. Kathy did say that if it does not close, than most likely the hours would be reduced. I hope that the Postal Service realizes what a gem this place is and keeps it open.

I have found my new yearly tradition for my Valentines! If you would like your valentine's day cards postmarked from Valentines, VA next year than mail your pre-stamped cards in a larger envelope to:

Valentine VA US Post Office

23 Manning Drive

Valentine, VA 23887

Read more about this great Post Office here.

Post Office Contact Information here.

month of letters 2014.

Today marks day one of A Month of Letters!

Are you participating? I participated last year and am looking forward to taking on the task of a letter a day again this year! If you haven't signed up yet, it is not to late. Sign up here!

You can even download participant stickers here, to put on your letters to let everyone know that you are participating! 

sent with love.

I am finally getting caught up on all of my letter writing. Here are some of the letters I sent out this week!

Getting to use some of my global stamps I got for Christmas to two of my international Penpals! Yuko in Japan and Helen in the United Kingdom.

A letter to my new penpal Lynsey!

And letters to Lisa and Dawn!

I hope all of these letters find you well ladies! xo

received with love.

I received two letters in one day this week! I love when that happens.

A letter from my friend Jenn in Chicago!

A letter from my new penpal Tiffany!

Be looking for letters in your mailboxes soon ladies! xo

mail tag.

Have you heard of mail tag? Do you participate in mail tag with your penpals?
I read about it on Papered Thoughts and thought it was such a neat idea and wanted to start participating in it with my penpals. I know I get stumped with things to ask, so I thought it would be a good idea to do a post that included some ideas.

Mail tag is an exchange of postal correspondence between two people. One person mails requests to their penpal, who then answers those and sends back their own mail tag. Ask as few or as many things in each request that you want!

Don't know where to start? Here are some ideas to get you started!

• What is your favorite quote?

• What would your last meal be?

• What is your current nail polish color?

• What are four things on your bucket list?

• What is in your purse?

• If you could have dinner with any five people, who would they be?

• What is your first job?

• What is your favorite book?

• What is your favorite childhood memory?

• Summer or Winter?

• Do you believe in ghosts?

• Who inspires you?

• A list of things that make you feel cozy?

• A receipt.

• A business card.

• Two things you were grateful for this week

• Favorite Game (Board, Card, Etc.)

• The meaning of your name.

• What is your favorite go to junk food?

• What is your favorite drink?

• What is your favorite recipe?


Here is a handy cheat sheet from Goodnight Little Spoon if you are looking for even more inspiration!

tag, you're it!