A year of mail

My creative goal for 2015 was to write 52 postcards/letters, one for each week. I have learned that there are plenty of occasions just waiting for a card. Birthday cards, Congratulations you are married-cards, You are having a baby!, Your baby is so cute!, Penpal-letters, Summer vacation in Czech Republic-mail, Mothers day-card, How are you friend?, more Birthday cards, Thank you for your hospitality, Thank you for your gift, You moved and now I miss you-letter... and to top it all: The Christmas card. We definitely both sent and received most mail in December, and it was really lovely to see pictures of friends and family who live far away (and some who live quite close as well). But it would be sweet if more mail happened in other months as well.

Some of my favorite mail this year has been a wedding invitation, a Japanese illstrated book, a vintage napkin from an American friend and vintage family Easter cards.

So, I made my goal. At least 52 pieces of mail from me to destinations all over the world were sent in 2015, yay! I did not however make many envelope liners. Neither did I write really long letters. So if anyone is up for the challenge, I got a lot of pretty stationary for Christmas, and I promise to reply to all mail you send!

PS. My Christmas mail goal for 2016 is to feature a real picture of my husband and I. Also, to start a little earlier than December 1st...

52 Postcards for 2015

One of my goals for 2015 is to send a letter or postcard every week. Last year I sent lots of mail, most of it wedding related, and I miss putting stamps on envelopes and writing to my friends and family, so this little project will make sure I get it done. 

So far I have sent a few birthday cards, but there doesnt really have to be an occasion to send mail, right? I also hope to practice writing some actual letters. And now that I know how to make an envelope liner, I should do that more often as well. 

Would you like to receive mail from me? Just comment on this post with your address (unless you know I already have it) and you will get something pretty in your mailbox some time this year! Writing back is no requirement, but it would make me happy.

PS. If you prefer vintage letters (in Spanish) you can get yours from Etsy seller Blue Grizzle Paper.

How to use vintage stamps

One of the blogs I have been reading for a while is Oh So Beautiful Paper. You can probably guess what they write about: anything paper, cards and stationary. And it really is beautiful. That is also where I got the idea of using vintage stamps for our wedding invitations. At first I didn´t think it would be possible, since I had only seen American vintage stamps, but after some research I realized that was not the case, and I was very happy. Mike had to tell me to stop buying stamps after a while. Perhaps he was worried I would get addicted....

I have had a couple of these butterfly stamps in my wallet for years, not wanting to use them, just looking at them once in a while. Now I bought a few more, and a couple of people got them on their envelope. 

I bought whole sheets (50 stamps) of the white flower and the church stamps. Most envelopes got two church stamps, one flower and one other random stamp to make it add up to the 10 kr value it needed.

I was a little worried that the mail would get there, but to my knowledge, all the letters arrived, so this is great way to add some extra personality to your correspondence! 

Resources: 

For American stamps, check Etsy shops like Verde Studio or Love the Postage. There are plenty of others, just search for "unused postage". You can also buy unused stamps on eBay.

For Norwegian "postfriske frimerker", I used QXL.no. It is an auction site, so you can get lucky and get a really good deal, spending less on postage than if you bought brand new ones from the post office! It is a lot harder to find cute ones here than on Etsy, so plan to spend some time searching.

Envelope liner DIY

I got the question of how I made the envelope liners for our wedding invitations, and thought maybe some others would be interested as well. It is a very simple way of making your mail fancy and extra special.


What you need:

- The envelope you want to line
- Paper for lining
- Paper or cardboard for template
- Ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Glue

STEP 1: Measure your envelope. Subtract a few millimeters from each side, and keep in mind angles like the one above. You can let the liner stick half way down the envelope like I did, or line the whole thing. This isnt really necessary, and if your liner is expensive, this will cut the costs.

STEP 2: Make a template on sturdy paper or cardboard. Be more accurate than the drawing above suggests. (It´s not my actual template - I cheated a little bit)

STEP 3: Make sure your template fits the way you want inside your envelope. Here the sides are slightly more angled than the envelope, which you may or may not believe was done on purpose.

STEP 4: Cut as many liners as you need, with the help of your template and a good pair of scissors. You can also use a paper cutter if you have one. 

STEP 5: Glue your liner to your envelope. To avoid wobbly paper, let it dry under a stack of books or something, to keep it nice and good looking.

Voilá! You have a pretty lined envelope! 

Wedding invitations DIY

I love paper. And envelopes. I have a whole suitcase full of decorative paper, cutouts from magazines, scrapbook paper bought on travels and much more. Naturally, when it came to our wedding invitations, I was quite excited to send out pretty mail.

After reading a few wedding/illustrator blogs I had a good idea of what I wanted, and kraft paper was a non-negotiable. It doesn´t hurt that it is recycled, which makes it almost second hand, or what?

I have surprised myself a little with this project. Originally I planned to go to Oslo to score the PERFECT paper for envelope liners, but ended up using something I have had for many years, but found too pretty to use. I calculated and thought I would have enough, but my math didn´t add up right, and I ran out. Luckily the store still had the same paper, probably 9 years later!

Kraft paper, illustration, typography, pretty patterns and vintage stamps. Could my heart be happier?

For the layout I used Indesign, as it is the program I know best. You can recreate something similar in Word, as I did for the sketch, or use Photoshop or whatever you prefer. The fonts are free and found online.

In total, the only really new thing I bought was three sheets of light A4 cardstock and some washi tape. The rest was new/recycled, vintage, or stuff I had at home!

My total spent for around 60 invitations: 650 kr, plus 500 kr for postage.

Sources: 
- Kraft paper and envelopes: Green Earth Supplies
- Envelope liners: Norway Designs in Oslo. You can find the same styles online by searching for florentine paper
- Illustration: Angie Thompson
- Vintage stamps: Auctions at QXL
- Embroidery thread: From my grandma´s sewing kit
- Monogram paper: Norli at Arkaden in Skien
- Washi tape: WeXStore

Thank you Mr. Postman

The prettiest tulips were delivered on the door the other day, 

such a nice surprise! 

And the interior magazine Bolig Pluss is a prize I won at Ginas blog Gledene i livet! It is weekend, and I am thrilled that many of my close friends who have been here, there and everywhere the past weeks, are back in town. This weekend we plan to go skiing for the first time this season. 

Finally winter!? 

For auld lang syne, my dear

Paper scrap ribbon and bows - genius!

Im still working on the Christmas cards. 

Ive got one more day, right, so why be done before I have to?

At least I made it to the post office today with the ones who need to travel far, and if I am very lucky, it will reach my dear friends far away before the new year is upon us. 

I wonder if I will ever throw scrap paper away again... 

Soundtrack: Beta Radio "Auld lang syne"

Ribbon, Paper, Scissor

Pretty ribbon, pretty paper, add a pair of scissors and glue = some of my favorite things.

 Here are the supplies for this year´s Christmas cards. 

I think I have to leave the mess on my kitchen table as a constant reminder to get it done... 

Yesterday´s advent workshop was good, but as far as effectivity goes it was more like the humble start of a lot of crafting. The goal for today is to have at least one card written and ready for the mailbox tomorrow so it can find the way to a friend far away.

Friends around the world

Excited for 2012 and this wonderful calendar from Lyndee

Fun vintage buttons from Erika 

Pretty tea bags, pretty earrings and the cutest card from Irene

I dont have an uncle in America, but I have some dear friends, and these are some wonderful gifts that came in the mail this week. I love mail!

Words on paper

Christmas is THE season for letters and cards. I am at my parents house for the holidays and I read greetings from people I never have met and get excited about postcards from distant relatives. Keeping in touch is important, and for some people that means summing up the year in a letter and send it in time (or at least almost...) for Christmas. So, thats what I am working on now. Slow and steady wins the race, and if you dont get a card before Christmas, you can look forward to one in the next week or so.

Yesterday I found an old hat box filled with letters from years back, and it was a pleasure to look through postcards and letters sent from all over the world to my address, whether it was in Gvarv, Langevågen, Bergen, Los Angeles or Oslo. Thank you friends for all the mail you have sent! The envelope in the picture is from Irene, and I love the quote!

The postal service

I love mail!

Lately Ive not been the best pen pal, but I plan for that to change.

Here are some vintage post cards I found yesterday that inspired me.

If anyone wants to send me a letter you can do that to this address:

Ragnhild Ferstad

Industrigata 43

3730 Skien

Norway

And if you leave me a comment with your address, one of the above might end up in your mailbox!