snail mail | kimberly ah

Apr 11 2013

The Latest in Letter Writing

I wrote two and a half letters at the Letter Writers Alliance/Pieritz Bros letter social last weekend. Two went out in Monday’s mail and the other is waiting to be finished. The social was FUN but as usual I forgot to take pictures–I was too busy typing and listening to stories about old typewriters. But Pieritz is the perfect setting for a letter social: a selection of office supplies close at hand, a collection of vintage typewriters throughout the store and an enthusiastic shop owner who is interested in all things paper, pen and type. (If you’d like to read more about Pieritz, The Well-Appointed Desk paid them a visit here.) I monopolized Donovan’s Sans Serif typewriter (AKA the Cold War typewriter). I didn’t mean to linger, but the machine types like a dream, plus I love the purply-blue ink!

Donovan, as usual, made some “commemorative” stationery to use during the social. I always bring my own paper with the intention of using it, but I love sending a letter that shows it was written during the social. The Pieritz Bros stationery was an especially good one–I love those stamp illustrations!

In other news, Naoto had his endoscopy today to see how things were healing & he looks good to start eating a FULL range of foods next week! We are over the moon about the good news, and counting the days until next Wednesday when the ban is lifted. Now we are in full party planning mode for the eating celebration next weekend…

Yay for good mail and good news.

Tagged adventures, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail

Apr 09 2013

10 Comments

crafty adventures, little red toolbox, Office Supplies

My Little Red Toolbox | StazOn Ink

My Little Red Toolbox is back–this time with the one ink I cannot live without–StazOn ink. StazOn is a fast-drying solvent ink and it works on plastic, metal, glass, ceramic, laminated paper, coated paper and leather. Overkill for regular paper and envelopes? Maybe, but I stamp on glossy things like shimmery envelopes, labels, photos and washi tape all the time, and who needs a variety of black inks lying around? (Not me.) StazOn dries almost instantly, which helps when I stamp my return address on a stack of mail and it doesn’t smear all over the other envelopes.

I bought these notarial seals at Pieritz Bros during the letter social last weekend. They are shiny and gold. Normal ink pads would take a lifetime to dry, or never dry on them. The StazOn ink dries almost immediately so I can use my homemade seals (created with this By Pigeon stamp) right after I stamp them. Instant gratification.

I have StazOn inks in Blazing Red (such a solid, true red) and Teal Blue (a perfect peacock blue), but the black one gets the most use by far. The only downside with StazOn is that it stains your stamps, so if you frequently use different colored ink pads, you’ll need the StazOn cleaner on hand to keep your stamps ink-free.

We’re only about halfway through the Little Red Toolbox, so look for another post soon!

*For more about my little red toolbox, go here.

Tagged crafts, diy, little red toolbox, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail

Apr 04 2013

5 Comments

adventures, crafty adventures, Office Supplies, snail mail

Packing for a Letter Social

On Saturday, the Letter Writers Alliance is hosting yet another letter social and this time, it’s right in my neighborhood (sort of) at Pieritz Brothers in Oak Park! I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I lived a mere three blocks from Pieritz for two years (eleven years ago!) and I’ve only been in the store a handful of times. It is a Chicagoland treasure, and I plan to make up for my absence this year!

I’m packing my letter writing bag for the social and I thought I’d share what supplies I bring along to a letter social. Of course, you really just need a pen and paper and a letter recipient in mind, but I like to bring a few extras to spice up the mail experience.

Every time I go, I take a slightly different variety of things. For instance, in March, since the social happened just before St. Patrick’s Day, I brought a bunch of green stuff–shamrock stickers, tapes, pens and labels. This month, I’m going with more of a spring variety. I keep everything in separate little bags so I can take out what I need as I work and I’m not spreading out all over the table and taking up too much space. I have my pencil bag, a pouch for supplies and an air mail pouch for my stationery and letters.

In my pencil bag, I always carry a few different pen styles. This time, I have my favorite Pilot Frixions, my Pilot Varsity and a Le Pen or two. I’m very moody about what I write with, so I like to have a few options to choose from. I also carry a tiny stapler and tiny scissors along with a tape runner and a glue pen in the bag just in case I want to add mail art bits to the envelope.

In my little red cat pouch, I carry a small variety of rubber stamps, washi tapes and one ink pad. I usually have a color scheme to work from–this time it’s mainly pinks and blues and yellows for spring.

Finally, in my Air Mail pouch, I carry the rest of the mail essentials: letters to be returned, postage stamps, labels and stickers, my Letter Ledger (to track my outgoing letters), a few business cards (in case I meet someone new!), my mini address book, and paper and envelopes. This month I have spring flower postage–the cherry blossoms and Lady Bird Johnsons–along with some spring-colored labels and chick stickers.

Donovan & Kathy always offer a nice supply of paper, envelopes, rubber stamps, inks, washi tapes, pens, typewriters and even have postage on hand, but I like to bring some of my own things because there is no shortage of paper around here and because I enjoy theme-y stacks of mail.

Did I miss anything? Would you take more, or would you just show up with a pen ready to go?

Tagged adventures, crafts, diy, forest park, mail art, office supplies, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Apr 01 2013

4 Comments

crafty adventures, Office Supplies, snail mail

Jet Pens…Why Did I Wait So Long?

Last month, I placed my first order with Jet Pens. I’ve always held off ordering from them because we go to Japan for office supplies (oh, and to see family, of course!) but since we didn’t go last year and we won’t be able to go until the summer or fall this year, I decided it was time to treat myself. To be honest, it was the realization that Jet Pens sells Midori cat paper clips that sealed the deal. The rest of the stuff…it was just cart filler for the $25 free shipping. (I’m only slightly kidding.)

In addition to my beloved paper clips, I ordered two new Frixion pens in turquoise and blue-black. I talked about my love for the Frixion pens here, and having them in two more colors has made calendar keeping and letter writing even better.

And, after reading this LWA post, I wanted to try etegami, so I added the postcards, a waterproof pen and a water brush to my order. (I already have plenty of watercolors, otherwise I would have bought this.) I’m excited to try etegami this week–if anyone needs a dose of wabi-sabi in her life, it’s me!

Everything arrived from Jet Pens quite quickly, and although it’s not quite the same as going to Japan and spending six hours in Itoya or Tokyu Hands, it’s a nice treat to get some fancy pens and paper clips in the mail every now and again. Wouldn’t you agree?

Tagged crafts, mail art, office supplies, snail mail

Mar 20 2013

3 Comments

homemaking, in my library, Jell-O, snail mail, what's for dinner

J-E-L-L-O, the Vintage Way

Letter Month is over, and my letter writing has slowed down quite a bit. I have letters that came in during the first week of March that still need to be returned. I’m slowly making my way through the pile before I go to bed each night. Thankfully, my outgoing mail timing has been good, because some amazing mail has been trickling into my mailbox.

Last week I got this amazing vintage Jell-O pamphlet from Donovan. It was printed in 1928 and it has all sorts of Jell-O recipes and many of them are featured in Jell-O molds. It makes me wish I had a Jell-O mold! (Confession: I spent an hour on Ebay last night checking out my vintage Jell-O mold choices!)

My favorite part of the booklet is the line: Jell-O is like the princess in the fairy tale: it is as good as it is beautiful. So true! I remember being so excited when I saw a bowl of Jell-O in the fridge when I was little…my favorite has always been Lime. From reading through the pamphlet, I learned that lime must be a “newer” flavor, as the only five flavors listed in the pamphlet are Lemon, Orange, Strawberry, Raspberry and Cherry.

I am completely enamored with the illustrations of the fluffy Jell-O desserts and the perfectly shiny Jell-O molds sitting atop beds of lettuce or whipped cream. Everything in the first half of the booklet is expected–Jell-O with fruits and whipped cream served as molds or in stemmed dessert glasses. So pretty!

Then there’s the second half of the booklet–the Jell-O salads. Back here, we are mixing up Jell-O with tuna and olives and cabbage and horseradish. I was really excited about the Shower Salad…Strawberry Jell-O with pineapple, apple and maraschino cherries?? Sign me up! But then, I read the last line: Garnish with Hellman’s Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise. Hmmmm…ick. I guess I shouldn’t knock it until I’ve tried it…but quite frankly, I think if I made the Shower Salad, I’d be garnishing it with Dream Whip! Little did I know that the Shower Salad is probably the least offensive salad in the section…tuna and lemon Jell-O…eeks! It all reminds me of that Friends Thanksgiving episode where Rachel makes the traditional English trifle (and accidentally adds meat!)

Have you made anything interesting with Jell-O lately? Have you ever had it with olives or meat or other savory bits mixed inside?

Thanks, Donovan, for the sweet ephemera and for feeding my Jell-O obsession!

Tagged food, homemaking, Jell-O, mail art, snail mail

Mar 11 2013

3 Comments

adventures, celebrations, Forest Park, Oak Park, holidays, snail mail

The Everybody Loves a Parade Weekend

I’m a little sad that the weekend is over. Naoto & I both had Saturday and Sunday off…that’s a rarity around here. This weekend was the perfect balance between activities and lazing…and cooking–I made a tasty zucchini and cheese omelet for Saturday’s breakfast and Naoto made a delicious soy-glazed salmon for Sunday supper.

On Saturday we walked a couple of blocks to Madison Street for the Forest Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It was our first time seeing this parade and my first parade in a very, very long time. I was glad to see the usual characters like the Shriners, clowns and a guy on stilts (both awesome and creepy…but not as creepy as the clown! I found myself avoiding eye contact so he wouldn’t come talk to us!) The bagpipers were my favorite part…

On Sunday I went to another letter social with the Letter Writers Alliance. It was a fun time as usual, but not a super-productive one for me (I spent more time talking!) since I only finished one and a half letters! The picture at the top is of my letters and supplies hanging out on the table.

Today I am trying to tidy up the kitchen. We have been buying a lot of new food to accommodate Naoto’s diet and all the new food is making me realize that it’s time for a pantry clean-out. And maybe an entire kitchen clean-out. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves…the spare room is still a mess!

Tagged adventures, celebrations, food, forest park, holidays, home, mail art, rubber stamp, snail mail

Feb 28 2013

3 Comments

crafty adventures, Letter Month, snail mail

So Long, Letter Month…

Today is the end of February, which means the end of the Month of Letters.

The sad news is I missed one day–the day Naoto had his surgery, February 19th. I wrote a letter that day at the hospital, but I was unorganized and didn’t bring my stamp and envelope and didn’t get it sent out in time…I am super-bummed about not having a perfect record, but I’m going to try to let it go because I sent a total of 41 letters!! I’m pretty excited about that number and I hope it means I will keep on keeping on with my mail habit.

At one point in the middle of the month, my mailbox had been empty for a few days. I started panicking that I wouldn’t have someone to write to during my daily writing time. It also didn’t help that my life was particularly unexciting this month, aside from Naoto’s surgery. During the mail drought, I took time to write notes to my grandparents and to a couple of friends who are going through difficult times. Any other month, I probably would have put off sending these notes because I didn’t know what to say, or didn’t have the perfect card, or just because I let it slip my mind. This month, since letter writing was at the forefront of my mind, I made the time and I made the effort. In the end, hearing from me was more important than perfection… It was a good reminder: Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good!

One thing that kept me ahead of the game was Valentine’s Day. It helped that this sweet little holiday gave me an excuse to churn out a few easy notes (along with buntings and decorated envelopes!) I felt so good on the days when more than one letter was going out the door…most days (19 of them to be exact) it was just one letter. Some days, I wasn’t into decorating the envelope, but other days I was really into it. During Valentine week, I was really into it. I was able to use up some papers and bits that have been hanging out in my stash for a long time (like those pink “Be Heart Smart” hearts on the envelopes above that have been around since, oh, maybe second grade…)

I got some really amazing mail from my always-reliable pen friends throughout the month, too. I returned every letter I received this month (except for one I received yesterday which I plan to devote some time to tomorrow night). I also gained three new pen pals–yay for more merry mail making!

I am so glad I participated again this year, and that I beat my goal of sending 28 pieces…it’s not often I beat a goal (ahem…guest room clean-out). It’s really thanks to my regular pen friends that I was able to send out more mail…because even my grandparents (among other non-letter writers) didn’t reply to my letters or Valentines…(cue the violins!) A huge postman-sized hug for those of you who filled my mailbox this month!

I’m ready to move onto another project (after the spare room is done!) Today I’m going to put my red and pink mail things away, tidy up my desk and bring out some fresh supplies for March. Because the mail making doesn’t end with Letter Month, but there’s room for something new, too!

These were some of my favorite envelopes this month. To see the rest, you can take a peek here on Instagram.

Tagged crafts, holidays, mail art, rubber stamp, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 27 2013

A Thankful Update

One week post-surgery and Naoto is feeling ready to go back to work. He had a follow-up appointment with his surgeon today and he gave Naoto the go-ahead to return to his office job and to Trader Joe’s (which makes me nervous because “light duty” means nothing to Naoto!) While he’s been home, Naoto has been showered with love on Facebook and Twitter, through phone calls and texts, in the mailbox and in soups from our neighbor friends and my book club friend, Peggy. We are truly so thankful to have so many kind friends and coworkers (seriously, Naoto works with the nicest people!).

Naoto has really embraced this liquid diet like a champ–getting excited about microwaving another bowl of pureed soup and spooning into a new flavor of Jello (my specialty) cannot be as easy as he makes it look! Next week, if all goes well, his diet expands like crazy–we can even add fish, pasta, rice and (meatless) casseroles! What a huge difference that will make!

In other news, it snowed again yesterday…this picture is from my walk home from work last night. It’s the kind of wet, heavy snow that leaves everything a mess. There are deep puddles at every street corner, which have pushed the “waterproof” standards of my cheap snow boots! It’s still snowing tonight, so I’m lucky I can stay home tomorrow and Friday to FOCUS on finishing the guest room…yes…I’m still working on the guest room. Actually, I stopped working on the guest room because I felt it was a lost cause, but now I’m ready to be DONE with the guest room, so I am going to work until it’s done. I’ve already donated ten bags of things (both from the guest room and our clothes closets) and there is plenty more that needs to go. It will be nice to begin March with a nice clean guest room so I can focus on other things around here…like framing more things…and making more Jello.

Tagged decorating, food, home, home improvement, homemaking, snail mail, Trader Joe's

Feb 15 2013

Over the Moon

I like to send silly greeting cards to Naoto at his office (the translation office, not Trader Joe’s). I do it because he mostly gets the boring mail at home and because I have a compulsive habit of falling in love with the perfect greeting cards for him and buying them too often. I love going to visit Naoto and seeing them all displayed on the ledge behind his desk.

When I saw this card with “Presley” flying over the moon, I fell in love (as I do with all Rifle cards!). I decided to send it to Naoto as a little pre-Valentine. I also made him a special blue washi tape bunting (because blue is his favorite and all of the pink ones just seemed too girly!) and tucked in inside the envelope.

I decorated the envelope with some blue washi tape and a vintage paper heart from this set by K is for Calligraphy and I used one of our leftover wedding invitation stamps for the postage (because who else wants to see that stamp!).

When I went to Naoto’s office on Wednesday night, he had the bunting all strung up by his desk. You can see his little card collection in the background (along with the all-business bulletin board information!)

For his “real” Valentine, I bought him a box of Choco Tacos (mentioned recently here)…I’m pretty sure he appreciated those more that the washi bunting!

Tagged celebrations, crafts, decorating, diy, holidays, mail art, snail mail, washi tape

Feb 14 2013

9 Comments

celebrations, crafty adventures, snail mail

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I know some of my Valentine’s are still en route, being lovingly handled by the post offices in a few countries, but I wanted to share them before red and pink become as stale as Christmas cookies in February.

I had the little gold foil heart cards in my stash from last year. They are from the Paper Source (and are apparently out of stock). I also bought these postcards from Rifle Paper Company. I am pretty much in love with anything Rifle and once I saw the little flying cupid postman and the postage stamp edging, I knew I wanted these in my stationery stash.

Last week I pulled out my washi tape stash and some twine and started making some simple washi tape buntings. I got kind of addicted to playing with different colors and patterns and ended up with more than a dozen of them so I tucked the tiny buntings into little glassine envelopes and sent them off with some of my cards.

I miss the Valentine’s of my school days when my classmates used to add little stickers or candy hearts in the tiny, thin white paper envelopes of their store-bought Valentines, so this seemed like a good way to bring that back.

I hope you have a super Valentine’s Day! Whether you are spending it with your significant other, your family (both human & furry!), I hope your day is full of love and good mail!

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