Office Supplies | kimberly ah

Mar 10 2014

Japanese Calligraphy Lessons

I’ve had a phrase stuck in my head for awhile now that I’ve been wanting to write in Japanese calligraphy. The trouble is, I don’t know how to write Japanese characters and Naoto–my live-in teacher–works all the time. So when he came home from work unexpectedly early last Thursday afternoon, I jumped at the chance to break out my calligraphy supplies. Naoto was really excited. (Not really, but he was a good sport…and in the end, I think he had a good time, too.) Naoto gave me tips on making my characters look better and left me with a good reference to work from. Over the weekend, I put away the brushes and inks and instead practiced with markers. I need to focus on confidently forming the characters so that eventually I will be able to focus on controlling the brush strokes. It’s a lot harder than it looks! Naoto makes it look so easy–it’s not!! Even though my characters were far from perfect, Naoto wrote encouraging messages on my work and we have another lesson planned soon.

Tomorrow, I’ll share a little bit about our calligraphy supplies. Most of them are handed down from Naoto’s mom whose sister was a calligraphy teacher.

Tagged crafts, I *heart* Japan, Japan, office supplies

Mar 01 2014

2 Comments

crafty adventures, Letter Month, Office Supplies, snail mail, washi weekend

The End of Another Letter Month

Yesterday marked the end of Letter Month. Last year, I felt a little bit burnt out at the end. This year, I feel re-energized about letter writing. I don’t really think it’s due to Letter Month though. I think it’s mostly due to meeting so many of my letter writing friends and feeling inspired by the mail people I met at Ex Postal Facto.

In total, I sent forty-three pieces of mail–two more than I sent last year. While I did write a letter every single day, there were some days that I didn’t make it to the mail box (which is sad because we have one in our building!) because of forgetfulness (or hibernation). But the act of writing happened every day and I hope to continue that to some extent beyond Letter Month. I did spend out some stationery I’ve kind of been hoarding, but I did not expand my mail art skills at all…mainly sticking with the usual washi tape and rubber stamps… There’s always room for improvement next year!

Thanks to everyone who filled my mailbox this month!

Tagged crafts, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 25 2014

10 Comments

adventures, in my library, Office Supplies, snail mail, vintage

Spending in San Francisco

With our upcoming trip to Japan planned, I was able to restrain myself from spending too much in San Francisco. Don’t consider it saving though…consider it delayed spending. (I’m already making my wish list for Japan.)

Patrick and Co. is an old school office supply store much like Pieritz Bros in Oak Park. It is simple and charming and they had an awesome selection of pens and pencils. I’ve never owned a Palomino Blackwing pencil–which is regarded by pencil lovers as the best pencil ever–so I figured I would try out all three versions. I also picked up a Prismacolor Turquoise pencil, just because of its snappy color. And do you remember taking essay tests in the Blue Books? When I saw them on a shelf at Patrick’s I had instant flashbacks of staring at the blank pages in high school and college. I thought it might be fun to write a letter in one. Finally, I bought a bunch of postcards at Patrick’s, too…but those are traveling through the mail. I’m happy that the kind clerk at Patrick’s gave me a bag. (In San Francisco, stores charge ten cents per bag.) Those graphics–including a floppy disk!–are going straight into my San Francisco mini book! Maido is a sweet Japanese stationery shop that seems to be the go-to spot for Japanese pens and paper items in San Francisco. I’ve been coveting those Midori Cherry Blossom paper clips for a long time…and I didn’t find them the last time I was in Japan, so I bit the bullet and turned over an arm and a leg for them. Totally worth it…they will be used in my datebook and in my future Japan mini book. I also snagged those California stickers to stick on my San Francisco postcards and in my mini book. They are made by Candyspotting and ohmygoodness, they come in every state and you can customize where you put the heart! (I may have Illinois in my Candyspotting shopping cart right now!)I’ve shared my love for my Coccoina glue stick before and I’ve had my eyes peeled for the glue pot. I finally found it at Arch, an amazing art supply store (and more!). The glue pot is a bit messier than the glue stick (you apply the glue with a teeny brush) but it smells delicious and it is so fun to use! At Ex Postal Facto, I splurged on several items in the Saturday Morning Vintage booth. I was so excited to meet Xenia and to see her selections in person. As it turns out, it’s very difficult to resist old paper in person. I bought a giant book of trading stamps, some first day of issue envelopes, an Ex Postal Facto paper pack, some awesome skiing labels, lotto cards and World’s Fair tickets. I picked up this cat print at the Paper Pastries booth. Margaret had so many cute things that I’m having regrets about not shopping more. The cat print is going to hang above the desk…as soon as I decide what else I’m doing up there…(I’ve changed a few things since that post.)And finally, I got Confessions of a Yakuza in a Japan Town bookstore. I bought it for plane reading, but I was too distracted on the flight home to read it. But, it will make excellent reading for the flight to Japan. Naoto and I are obsessed with the Yakuza (Japanese “mafia”) so I figured we would both get some mileage out of this paperback.

So that was my restrained shopping in San Francisco…I think I may have one more post about San Francisco before I start obsessing about Japan again.

Tagged adventures, books, crafts, Japan, mail art, office supplies, snail mail

Feb 23 2014

2 Comments

crafty adventures, Letter Month, Office Supplies, snail mail

Letter Month, Round Up 4

We are heading into the home stretch of Letter Month! I feel–similar to last year–that I’m slacking lately. I’m sometimes barely making it by midnight, and not every letter is getting dropped in the blue box on the day it was written…but I’m staying on top of writing someone every day and returning letters within a week so I’m feeling pretty good about finishing this week strong! I have a few letters to return and I’m going to try to write a few of the people I met during Ex Postal Facto.

Are you still participating? One more week to go!

Tagged crafts, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 18 2014

Letter Month, Round Up 3

I’m back from ExPostal Facto, but I spent yesterday recovering from a red-eye flight home and a very…eventful ending to my trip…hopefully I will be back tomorrow with a recap of what was an amazing weekend of mail goodness. I need to download about a thousand pictures and call my mother today.

In the meantime, please enjoy Letter Month Round Up 3. My Valentines are all sent out and I got a healthy amount of postcards written during my trip. Sadly, all of those postcards are still in my bag. I accidentally brought them home with me. (You will understand why later…) So I’m mailing them back to a postal saint in SanFrancisco just so they have that authentic postmark.

How are your Letter Months going? We are in the home stretch, and even though I haven’t thought about what I’m mailing out today, I’m feeling pretty good about a strong finish around here!

Feb 17 2014

1 Comment

crafty adventures, holidays, Letter Month, Office Supplies, snail mail, vintage

A Presidential Valentine

In the US, we are celebrating Presidents Day today, which means banks, schools and post offices are closed and some lucky people have the day off. Sigh…I love a good pun.

I made an Abe themed Valentine for my dad this year. I started with another Paper Source 4-bar heart (the base for all easy homemade Valentines) and added the words with my vintage DYMO label maker. I love punching those letters…I don’t use that thing nearly enough. I decided to make a pun based on Honest Abe. If this Valentine was for Naoto, I would have gone the b(Abe) route…but it would be weird to call my dad a babe.

I topped off the Valentine with my inspiration for the Valentine–this button from La Familia Green. (They make the cutest buttons–I have my eye on the coffee and donut one for perhaps a future Valentine.) I taped it on with a little piece of washi tape. Simple and sweet.

From my land to yours…Happy Presidents Day!

Tagged crafts, holidays, mail art, office supplies, parents, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 14 2014

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crafty adventures, holidays, Letter Month, Office Supplies, snail mail

2014 “Cat Lady” Valentines

Even though I gave up making my own Christmas cards last year, I’m still going strong in the Valentine-making department. Last year, I did mostly store-bought cards with handmade garlands but this year, I made my cards again.

I love a good pun, and I wanted to use my cat template, so I came up with these cat-themed cards for my cat-fan friends. Each one ended up being a little bit different because I was spending out some Valentine papers from yesteryear. I started with a good pun–You’re the cat’s meow!–and typed it up on Paper Source 4-bar heart cards. Then I stamped on a cat and a heart. I had tiny hearts punched out of leftover paper that I glued on, along with vintage red sequins (using my favorite glue pen). Each card ended up being a little bit different (and each card had varying amounts of Presley fur and coffee spills.)

The non-cat people got the same heart cards stamped with something tea or coffee related…slightly less exciting than cat puns.

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope your day is filled with love and pink mail!

Tagged celebrations, crafts, diy, holidays, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 12 2014

3 Comments

adventures, Office Supplies, snail mail

Whirlwind of Preparations

Tomorrow morning, I’m leaving for San Francisco! That means today will be a whirlwind of preparations. I’m happy to report that I finished three loads of laundry before nine this morning, and I think I have enough clothes to cover the next four days. (What is it about packing for trips that makes you realize how dull your wardrobe is?)

Most importantly, my calling cards are made, the treats for my friends are packaged (more on that tomorrow) and my address book is updated for postcard writing…the important stuff, you know…

Today I am packing my bag, packing up my mail supplies (while referring to this post) and I’m working on updating my calendar with information I’ll need while I’m gone.

Oh, and I’m cleaning up the apartment a bit…just in case Naoto and Presley throw a party while I’m gone.

If you will be at Ex Postal Facto, let me know so I can look for you during the events!

Tagged adventures, crafts, diy, mail art, office supplies, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 09 2014

2 Comments

crafty adventures, Letter Month, Office Supplies, snail mail

Letter Month, Round-Up 2

Welcome to the second installment of Letter Month mailings (Monday-Saturday). Even though I’ve sent out a total of fifteen pieces, I’m a little behind on sending out all of my Valentines. I’m hoping to get them all finished today so they have a chance of getting to their destinations before the fourteenth. And because a Letter Month post wouldn’t be complete without an appearance from Presley, here she is crushing some Valentines. Between Naoto spilling coffee on my cards and Presley crushing them, working at the dining room table has turned out to be a big mistake. Apologies in advance to Cath and Melissa for the kitty imprints on your letters.

How’s Letter Month going in your mailbox?

To see last week’s round-up, go here.

Tagged crafts, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 05 2014

12 Comments

adventures, crafty adventures, Office Supplies, snail mail

Calling Cards for ExPostalFacto

Next week I’m heading to San Francisco for Ex Postal Facto, a mail art show and conference. I am super-excited about the trip, mainly because I get to meet–in person–many of the ladies I’ve been corresponding with through the mail.

I decided, since I will be meeting new people, too, that I needed some simple calling cards. I was going to order some from MOO (I’ve used them before–they’re great!) but I’m a huge fan of creative and complicated calling cards (I have a Pinterest board dedicated to them!), so I decided I should raise the bar and try something fun.

I bought some plain business cards from Paper Source and played around with a few ideas. My original plan was to type directly on the cards, but I had mixed results due to the tiny card not staying securely in the typewriter. I was disappointed to have to resort to labels, but then I had the idea to turn the calling card into a mini “envelope”. Anne sent me a big bag of used flag postage with my Christmas card so I decided to put them to good use on the calling cards. (Thanks, Anne!) And, since an envelope isn’t an envelope without a little washi tape, I added a strip of skinny airmail washi at the top.

As far as the labels, I used my Royal Safari typewriter to type out the information, toggling between red and black ink (just for fun…or to complicate things.) After going back and forth about it, I decided not to include my address on the cards. It feels weird not to include it, since it is a mail conference, but it’s better to be safe than to have some stalker climbing on your balcony, right? Instead, I included my name, web address, Twitter & Instagram handle and phone number (the blurred part).

So far, assembly is slow, but I have a week–I can do this!

Have you seen any interesting calling cards lately?