Letter Writers Alliance

Maple Post

I am loving everything about the Maple Post blog run by the letter-loving, postally-inclined Taylor Jordan. Seriously. There's tutorials, pen pal resources, reviews, mail art, and it's all just beautiful. Taylor says that the goal of Maple Post is "connecting fellow mail enthusiasts with fun resources and products that inspire." Job well done, in my opinion. Check it out!

Letterlocking

Letterlocking is a technique of folding a letter so that it becomes its own envelope. The letter is often secured with a wax seal and is designed so that it cannot be easily opened and resealed. To read the letter, seals must be broken and/or some paper must be torn. This provided security to correspondence long before the advent of micro-printing and obscuring envelopes.

The expert of letterlocking is Jana Dambrogio, a conservator at MIT Libraries. She's found examples from Queen Elizabeth I, Machiavelli, Galileo, Marie Antoinette and others. There are numerous ways to lock a letter, and many can be found at the well-researched and resource rich Letterlocking.org. Additionally, there's a YouTube channel featuring different styles, including ones from the Harry Potter movies.

Letters locked this way always remind me of notes that we used to pass in school, with their elaborate ways of folding to keep our secrets safe. I've gotten a few letters mailed to me like this and it always hurts me a little to rip into them. I was reminded of this art by pen pal and book artist Sara, whose photo illustrates this post and who sent me a great recreation of a Butterfly Lock. Don't they look lovely? Have you sent or received a locked letter? Do you have a favorite technique?

Basic Letter Addressing Courtesy

Sometimes (okay, a lot of times) I forget that not everyone is as familiar with letter writing as I am and I thought it'd be a good time to go over a refresher for addressing a letter. Now, you know, I like to get all fancy with it, but the basic rule is the TO address should be in the middle of the front of the envelope with the ZIP code in the lower right-hand corner. This is to make it easy for the automated postal system to scan and route the letter for proper delivery. The ZIP code is what lets that happen.

The machines are programmed to scan for the delivery ZIP code starting from the bottom right-hand corner and moving across the letter until it finds it, reads it, and processes it accordingly. This is why, in the U.S., you don't want to write your return address on the back of the envelope. There's a good chance that the letter could end up fed backwards into the scanner. Since your ZIP will be the first one scanned, that's where the letter will then deliver to. It's good to remember that you are dealing mostly with machines here, not people. A human would understand that you mean that's the return address, but the APC doesn't care. 

You should ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS put a return address in the upper left-hand corner. I use a return address with my mom for gosh sakes. It's good to do because then the respondent doesn't have to go hunting down your address. This is especially important for new pen pal relationships. For your initial pen pal letter, you should write the address both on the envelope and inside your introductory letter. This solves many problems.

For example, if you have really expressive handwriting, it can be easier for your pen pal to compare the two if they are trying to figure out if you wrote, say,  a 2 or a 7. If the recipient loses your letter or your envelope, they will still have your address. I still feel bad for not being able to write back Marco from Italy from back when I put my address in SCRYE magazine in high school. I didn't mean to not write back. I just lost the address. Don't be like me and Marco.

Oh, and make a habit of keeping an address book! However, just because your pal SHOULD have your address, don't rely on that. Like I said, I send my own mom my address (and she constantly texts me for it anyways) when I write to her. This is especially important on postcards. If you want a response, include your address. It's that simple. Kathy and I designed a few custom return address stamps to be purposefully small because we wanted to be able to use them on postcards.

Okay, there you have it. Any questions? Happy to answer them!

Empty Cartridge Refilling

In this National Letter Writing Month and Write_On, I've been getting a lot of use out of my fountain pen. Mind you, I keep forgetting to buy ink cartridge refills for my Kaweco Perkeo despite the fact that I work where they are sold. And, it is also possible to buy a converter, to have a refillable cartridge ready to go for my pen. Nope. I keep forgetting all of that and end up with a dry pen.

However, I do have in my house the following:

• Bottles of fountain pen ink
• A blunt needle syringe 

So, armed with those tools, I am able to take my empty cartridge from my pen and refill it. Viola! Back in business and able to use the fancy J. Herbin anniversary ink I bought ages ago. Here's the step-by-step visually on Instagram. It's a pretty simple process. The most difficult part is acquiring a syringe if you don't already have one (like me, who is an arty weirdo). 

1. Disassemble your pen and remove the empty cartridge
2. Unscrew your ink and insert the needle 
3. Draw up a small amount of ink into the syringe
4. Insert the needle into the empty cartridge
5. SLOWLY fill the cartridge with ink from the syringe
6. Carefully reload the cartridge into your pen
7. Resume writing

Oh, and clean everything out with water after. I'm a slap-dash fountain pen user and don't get very futzy with flushing my pen. I like the look of the colors blending together as I change inks. As a tip, with the J. Herbin anniversary inks, make sure to shake the bottle to disperse the metallic particles throughout the ink before you fill your syringe. Otherwise you may end up with too many which will clog your pen or too few to make the ink sparkle. So, there's your emergency refill option. Happy Writing!

 

 

Have Your Own Letter Social (Or Club)!

This picture encapsulates everything we are about at the Letter Writers Alliance. It's a scene from the recent birthday party of our member, pen pal, and friend Kimberly. She held a letter writing party as part of her birthday celebration. She's got an excellent run down of everything she did, from decorations to invitations, on her blog. Her gathering was an intimate one, but the process is essentially the same if you want to host a public party. 

If you're still looking for tips, we keep a post linked on the sidebar about how we go about hosting a social. To those with even greater goals of starting their own letter writing club, our friends at the LA Pen Pal Club have recently added a lovely "How To" in journalistic form to their FAQ:

    What? • Consider the format for your pen pal club. Will meetings include an agenda, theme, or activity, or will it be freeform? Will you provide stationery and supplies or instruct attendees to bring their own? Will you offer to match pen pals? Will you require a membership? Will there be snacks?

    Where? • Find a space for your gatherings. You may host at a home (depending on space and privacy) or a studio/event space. It may be possible to gather the pen pal club at the local library or café, a community center, or even at a boutique that hosts regular community events. Ask around!

    When? • Decide on a day and time, how frequent, and how long the meetings should be. LA Pen Pal Club, for example, meets for two hours on a monthly basis, typically on weeknights (sometimes weekend afternoons). Be open to adjusting the schedule according to your availability to host or feedback from attendees.

    Who? • Reach out to your community—in person, via flyers, or through social media—with a call for all letter-writers, writers-to-be, and paper-and-pen enthusiasts. Share details about the club and plans for any upcoming meetings.

    How? • Remember to create a way for interested letter writers to find your pen pal club and stay updated about meetings. This may include a website, social media, and an email newsletter. Alternatively (and more simply), you may use a service such as Eventbrite to publish details about your event and help you track the number of attendees. Try to contact your local paper about publishing your upcoming meeting to their event calendar as well. Get creative!

We love all the pen pal clubs and letter writing events out there. What can we do for you? We want to help you all write more letters! 

Tip for Typing Postcards

I spent a lot of the weekend writing letters. I was inspired to get out one of my typewriters for my responses, but I also had a number of postcards to return. Sometimes, depending on the model of the machine, you can get a postcard to feed through, but the portable I was using hates thicker papers. My solution is labels.

I use regular ol' white address labels all the time in my mail art. So instead of using them to make a blank space on an envelope, I just roll them through and type my message there. Two to three labels is the sweet spot for most regular sized postcards. You can affix them horizontally or vertically. I like to put a piece of paper over the typed labels before I rub them down to affix them to the card. That way, I don't smear the ink. More process pictures are available on Instagram.

Now, one Instagram commentor says that they were told at the counter by a clerk that postal regulations state that ANYTHING stuck on a postcard means it has to be sent at letter rate postage. This is one of those rules that I hem and haw on. I'll maintain that labels aren't stickers and risk it. I can't count how many postcards I've received with address labels affixed. Plus, I send handmade mixed media postcards all the time without problems. It's all part of the mailing fun.

If it's heavy or weird, I like to add extra postage, but some typed labels? I'll do the postcard rate. Of course, I ALWAYS put on my return address. They can send it back if they wish. That's why I love the blue mailbox, no judgement. And no misinformed clerks either, which has happened to me. My absolute favorite is when they pull out the guide for mailing and my pieces pass all their tests (because I have one of those guides in my house).

Got any postcard typing tips to share?

Envelope Making Video

We did it! Finally! We made a video. The above is just a taste. If you like what you see, you can purchase the entire video here. It will walk you through making your own envelope, from making a template, to choosing the materials. You also get a PDF summary of the tutorial to keep at your desk while you create envelopes.

This digital workshop you will teach you:

-How make an envelope template
-How create envelopes from anything flat
-Give you the know-how to reproduce the process and make your own army of envelopes!
-Includes a two-page PDF summary of the tutorial to use as a cheat sheet

We hope you like it. Let us know! The reaction to this video will determine whether or not we make more. 

Nengajo

In Japan, the holiday card season isn't over. It's at its height right this very moment. I'm talking about nengajo, the New Year's postcard. These cards are a big deal. Oh, you don't think so? They are such a big deal that there are special slots on postboxes to accept them! They have their own special postage stamps! They are such a big deal that you can win prizes with them through lottery and design contests!

Japan has a culture of reciprocal politeness. (It's real nice, rest of the world, give it a try.) If you get a new year's card, you really do need to send one in return or you're kind of a jerk. The exemption is if there was a death in your family, but the rule is that people shouldn't be sending you cards if that happened in the first place. Instead, you should have sent a mourning card earlier in the season that informs people not to send you nengajo. 

Don't know what to say in your new year's card? Here's a great guide to message and address etiquette. Also, a lot of people make their cards. I found multiple listings for art contests. Popular themes are zodiac and traditional nature imagery. While Christmas cards may arrive anytime from Thanksgiving to New Year's, nengajo are expected to be delivered precisely on January 1st. The post office begins accepting nengajo in early December. They give them a special cancellation and hold them for delivery on New Year's Day. They deliver them all in a big bundle which has to be a fantastic thing to receive. 

 

Holiday Calligraphy

Lindsey at The Postman's Knock has tons of calligraphy tips, tricks, tools & tutorials. I love her seasonal offerings. This year she has a new holiday calligraphy worksheet for sale and it is definitely worth your while. I especially like her calligraphy medallions and how she employs the pen in new ways. She is so sweet and kind that she also has a sample holiday worksheet for free. What a perfect way to really fancy up those cards. You've still got time. The First Class mailing deadline for holiday delivery is this coming Monday!

Mailing Cookies

I try to do a lot of homemade giving at the holidays. Last year, I made jam and syrup. This year, I made caramels. Turns out caramels are a lot easier and less expensive to ship than jam. I'd love to send cookies, but I keep my kitchen gluten-free and a mailable gluten-free cookie is something I've yet to find.

However, if you're into all the flourful goodness and are thinking about mailing cookies, this guide at Chowhound has all the tips you need. Additionally, here's 10 cookie recipes that are sturdy and non-perishable enough for the journey. What do you make and mail for holiday gifts? Any tips to share?