Letter Writers Alliance

World War I Through Everyday Objects

David in Germany, who informs us that he is yet to be a member {get on that, David!}, keeps sending us really great links to share. His latest find is the Europeana/Great War online archive. They are collecting pictures, letters, postcards, and stories from 1914-1918 to add to their online archive of life in Germany during World War I.

From their website: "The First World War archive is based on an initiative at the University of Oxford where people across Britain were asked to bring family letters, photographs and keepsakes from the War to be digitised. The success of the idea, which became the Great War Archive, has encouraged Europeana, Europe’s digital archive, library and museum, to bring the German National Library into an alliance with Oxford University to roll out the scheme in Germany. The collaboration will bring German stories online alongside their British counterparts in a 1914-18 archive."

You can spend days exploring the archive, but David specifically pointed out this message in a matchbox.

He says, "This stuck in my mind particularly.  A letter doesn't have to be long or tidy to be touching and serious."

How right he is.

World Stamp News

Regular readers will know that we try to inform you of every new U.S.P.S. stamp release, but there are a lot of countries out there, and a lot of stamp releases that we never mention. When I need to know what's going on in the world-wide stamp scene, I go to World Stamp News. Sometimes there will be a stamp that, even though I can't use it for postage, I just cannot live without it. I think that the round kiwi stamps from New Zealand may fit that equation.

Oldest Postbox in England

L.W.A. member and pen pal Terry sent me this photo of the oldest postbox in England. He took this photo on a recent trip to Dorset. He says, "The Post Box is totally original and dates back to 1799, it appears to be solid Oak and is inserted into a wall of the old post room in a tiny back lane in Lyme Regis. Very near to where John Fowles the author (my favorite) used to live. The Post Box isn’t protected from the elements at all; it is just as it always was; a hole in a wall."

He sent it to me because he found it fascinating and hoped I would like it. He was right. It is fascinating! And I do like it! Thanks Terry!

P.S. If you find mail slots and post and letter boxes as fascinating as Terry and I do, consider snapping a photo and posting it to the L.W.A. Flickr group. I'm collecting photos of members' mailboxes. Just tag your photo "LWA mailbox".

Postage Stamp Nail Polish

From Reuben Miller, via The Improvised Life, here is a new way to artify your fingernails using stamps! I suppose you could technically use any image, cut it to size and then cover it with clear nailpolish, but this is STAMPS people! STAMPS!

I'm gonna try it!

The Elevated Envelope Project

When I first found out about Tara Bliven's Elevated Envelope Project, I was bummed out because the deadline had passed and I couldn't sign up. The Elevated Envelope is a sort of combination pen pal/mail art swap.The Elevated Envelope is an artistic pen pal project designed to bring back the fun of checking the mail.  You’ll create a work of art in envelope form, execute it about 10 times, and mail them to 10 people.  Those 10 people will do the same, each sending their own creation to you.  So, you give 10, you get 10. (Well, 10-ish.)

You can see the entries they got in the first project here. I elected to join the electronic mailing list to be informed when the next round would be. I got a heads up that there will be another project coming. There aren't any details yet, but Turns out the deadline to sign up is this Friday, the 17th. Check out the links in the comments.

Yay, more mail!

-Donovan

2000th Member Cover Contest Gallery

We received some fantastic entries to our cover contest and they are all up on Flickr. Please leave a comment on Flickr on your favorite- one comment per person, per piece please. That means you can vote for more than one, but don't vote more than once for each one. I don't think they've been up long enough for a good vote; so I'm extending the voting through the end of the month. There will be a GRAND PRIZE and two LESS GRAND BUT STILL GOOD PRIZES. Oh, and some are back and front pictures. If you comment on both pictures, it will only count as one vote, to be fair.

Got it? Great! Go vote!

-Donovan

Love Stamp Release

{From Beyond the Perf}

Evoking images of romance and elegance, the U.S. Postal Service issues this year’s Love  stamp featuring a graphic design of satin ribbons that spell out the word "Love" in a graceful, cursive script.

Designed by graphic designer Louise Fili, the pieces of ribbon that appear to extend beyond the borders of the stamp broaden the reach of the design and its sentiment.

Like stamps, ribbons often adorn our special packages to friends and family. Attached to floral arrangements, boxes of candy, and gifts of all kinds, ribbons beautify and embellish our gestures of romance, friendship, and caring. Silk, satin, taffeta, and organdy ribbons are often used to enhance the beauty of bridal bouquets and invitations for weddings and other special celebrations for our friends and loved ones.

Also being issued today is this stamp commemorating Arizona's Statehood.

On the 16th, the U.S.P.S. will issue a stamp for Danny Thomas, actor and founder of St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital.

Remember to check here tomorrow for the full gallery and winners of our 2000th Member cover contest!

 

365 Letters of Love

 
 

Made as a wedding present for friends, artist Nishat Akhtar took her inspiration from vintage slide and specimen containers. The specially-made box contains 365 tiny envelopes, each containing a note about love, excitement, or adventure, one for every day for their first year of marriage. The tiny envelopes are handmade out of vintage paper, stuffed with a little note and dotted with a blue seal.

Nishat Akhtar is a freelance designer and a lover of horse back riding, walking in the woods, bicycles and Coney Island. Our kind of new best friend to be sure.

{Found via Handmade Charlotte}

More Love Letters

Member Courtnee sent me a link to this fantastic project, and in the season of love, it is even more appropriate to link to it here. More Love Letters is an endeavour by sending anonymous and semi-anonymous letters of love and support out into the world, sometimes to specific people, sometimes just randomly.

"If you’ve ever felt trampled by loneliness, ambushed by depression, barreled over by negative body image, or just in need of good old fashioned lift, then you’ve known how it feels to need a love letter. Imagine finding one today…. Or better yet, imagine leaving a love letter today and having someone else find it at the perfect moment.

The World Needs More Love Letters is a community of “love letter writers” who write and leave letters across the map in hopes that the right people will pick them up. We leave them everywhere: books, coffee shops, coat pockets, trains. Love letter writers document the letter writing and dropping through photographs, blog posts, and social media."

If you'd like to get involved with their cause, please visit their site. They have examples of letters up and other tools to help you write more {love} letters as well.

-Donovan

New Free Download: Desktop Wallpaper

Sometimes we need a reminder to get offline and write more letters. That's just what this desktop wallpaper is for! Download the file for your screen, set as your desktop, enjoy. Are any of you joining Mary Robinette Kowal's Month of Letters challenge? This might be a good reminder for you to get off that machine and get back to handwriting some letters!

Click your resolution below to download file:
1280 x 800
1280 x 1024
1440 x 900
1680 x 1050
1920 x 1200
2560 x 1440
iPhone or Android phone
iPad or other Tablet device

Tools Needed:
• Computer, cell phone, or tablet.
• An awesome design sense.

(If you don't know your screen resolution, go to the LWA downloads page; we have a script that reads your resolution for you.)