Letter Writers Alliance

Rad And Hungry Pencil Pals

Those cleverboots kids over at Rad And Hungry have a new fun program going on called Pencil Pals. From their website:

HOW IT WORKS

1 - Sign up to be in Pencil Pals. We’ll put you in the Pencil Pals queue.

2 - You’ll receive a pencil in the mail from a random RAHstr. Enjoy your new pencil, share a photo on our Facebook wall, send a little note back to the sender if you like.

3 - Once you’ve received your pencil, shoot us an email at boss@radandhungry.com We’ll reply with the name and address of the person you’ll be sending a pencil to.

4 - Mail a pencil to the next lucky person. Decide if you’d like to mail a new pencil, or pass on the pencil you received.

5 - We’ll add your name back to the bottom of the Pencils Pals queue, so you can look forward to another pencil in the upcoming months.

HOW TO CHOOSE A WORTHY PENCIL

1 - Pick a pencil you’re stoked about and excited to share. 

2 - Pencils should be new or gently used. No stubs, that ain’t cool.

3 - Write a little note explaining why THIS pencil is particularly rad and special. Include it when you mail your pencil.

Pencil Pals is open to RAH RAH fans worldwide--international peeps, feel free to join in!

*By participating in Pencil Pals, you agree to be responsible for the cost of shipping one pencil to the next recipient. This may include international shipping.

*We’ll respond as quickly as possible when you email us for the next address, but if we’re out of the office on a sourcing trip, it may take a little longer than usual.

*All information is securely stored and will not be shared. Your participation authorizes us to send your name and mailing address to participants mailing you pencils.

P.S. Don't forget, L.W.A. members can send us a postage with a request for certain freebies- including pencils! Use the handy form below!

Happy Halloween from Noodler's Blue Ghost

Kathy saw this ink over on Missive Maven's blog and we had to try it out. I used it on black paper where it is completely invisible until you shine the black light on it. How great is this for Halloween? How great is it period? It's called Noodler's Blue Ghost and is an "invisible" ink for fountain pens. It is like magic. No, it IS magic. I got mine, as well as a tiny, clip-on black light from the Goulet Pen company.

Happy Halloween everybody! Write more letters,

Address Book has a new look

We redesigned the member address book so that it now has the same fastener that our Correspondence Record is boung with. This allows you to add refill pages and reorganize your contacts when you gain new pen pals. Login to get the newly designed address book and keep your felow letter writers organized.

Speaking of pen pals, we've been getting a steady stream of pen pal requests as well as some amazing Perfect Pen Pal Award Nominations. Thank you to everyone who has been mailing in for both. As always, you are welcomed to request more pen pals if you wish, even if you put in your first request years ago. Just send us a note to our PO Box. Regular letters are also always welcomed.

Holiday Gift Guide: Donovan

I can't be stopped from window shopping albeit in cyber space. Here's a run down of some of my most-coveted items from my most-envied shops. Most are epistolary in nature because that's just the kind of girl I am.

{from the top left}

1. Numbered Pins from Letterbox Co.

2. Finnish Post Bag from Billet

3. Postalco Notebook from Kaufmann Mercantile

4. Hauspost Paper Pad from Present & Correct

5. Swim Locker Basket from The Museum of Useful Things

6. Edelweiss Necklace from Cookoorikoo

7. Belgique Stamp Sketchbook from Monorail Studio

8. Specimen No. 7 by wondercabinet

9. U. S. Mail Tote by Three Potato Four

Thus ends our gift guides here at the L.W.A. blog. I hope you liked them and found them helpful. If you spot anything out there you think we might like, please do send an email or a written note {those get priority mentions} to us at Headquarters.

The Pen is Mightier than the Blackberry

We make friends everywhere we go and write here at the L.W.A. We were sent a lovely email alert by Adam Schwartz who interviewed Kathy for Indiana Public Radio to this article. It focuses all on the resurgence of personalized stationery and how it's so much better than just "store bought" cards {and economical too}. It also touches on improving one's handwriting through lessons and better writing instruments. I would say that the Number 1 complaint/excuse people have for not writing letters is not liking their own handwriting. It only takes a little practice and, as the author says at the end of the article:

"A week on, and I am addicted to writing sites in the way that others are addicted to porn. One afternoon, I am so engrossed in studying nibs that some cove steals my BlackBerry. Desirous as I am to secure it, I purchase the nibs first. BlackBerries may come and go, but the pen is mightier."

I like a lot about this, both the information in article and that a one-time acquaintance understood enough about the L.W.A. that he knew to send this along to us. Kathy and I are always grateful for the links and tips people send our way. We accept all forms of submissions to the blog that will enhance letter-writing. You can send us newspaper clippings, emails, photocopies, faxes, telegrams, or any other forms. We may not be able to post about it right away, but we do appreciate it!

{Photo from snidegrrl on Flickr}

Postmaster Fountain Pen

My boyfriend has a saying he likes to use: "Nothing beats the taste sensation when maple collides with ham." I'm sure it's a quote from somewhere. My point being, it's always fun when I find two letter-writing loves combined in one; just like this Retro 51's Postmaster fountain pen.

The pen is made with real canceled postage stamps, lacquered onto the barrel and cap. I first spotted this pen in Carol's photostream through the GOOD MAIL DAY Flickr group. She's got a good eye! There's also an all-flag stamps version available through Fahrney's Pens. This is a limited edition item; so if it tickles your fancy, best pick one up now.

New Stuff + Austin

Donovan & I are back from Austin. It was great to meet everyone who stopped by our booth. One awesome lady came by with postcards for both Donovan and I of the 1840 Mulready envelope. Unfortunately, the combination of being stoked over the postcard and not yet having my cup of coffee made me completely forget to ask her name! So, if you are the awesome lady who stopped by to give us those postcards, I apologize profusely if I came off rude. Please comment with your name so I know who to thank. Vanessa MADE the Mulready postcards - how awesome.

Those who were are the fair were privy to the unveiling of two new LWA items. We created a special Telegram Stationery, just for LWA members. We also got some awesome bright red pencils with "Letter Writers Alliance" embossed in white on the side. They both look amazing and we got some great reactions to them at the fair. For those who were not at the fair, no worries, we've put them on the member site! Just log-in to get them.

Need a Gift Idea?

If you're stumped for gifting and have a chunk of change to spend, I recommend these desk sets from Elum. I especially love those grey and yellow envelopes!

Felissimo

Take a gander at this sweet package. The best thing about it is that we will be getting a package like this one nineteen more times as part of the 500 Pencils Project through Social Designer. I can't think of anything better than an object that is completely realized from start to finish. The box they were mailed in is in the same hues as the pencils that were shipped. They were inside a lovely [as pictured in the photo] slip case and then aligned in all their candy-coated glory.

Did I mention that I get to experience this joy via mail nineteen more times? Did I say that Kathy and I are going to share this with you? That's right! We are going to run a contest or two or four for some sets of pencils all your own. You too will get to open beautiful pencils from the mail. We haven't yet decided what the contests will be, but we'll list them here and on Twitter [@16sparrows @dovbee] when we figure it out. What we want to know is would you all rather be given sets of mixed pencils or a straight set as we received it? While you decide, here's another picture of just how spiffy these pencils are!

For Love Day (or any day)

The World's Smallest Post Office (who we have mentioned before) is now offering Valentine's Day cards. Order soon, if you are interested, as the WSPO is already quite busy with love day requests.