Letter Writers Alliance

Inktober 2019 Rubber Stamps Pre Orders

In a show of sheer holiday insanity, I decided to make Halloweeny stationery stuff at Christmas time because, as we all know, everyday is Halloween. Every year, I try to participate in Inktober, a daily drawing challenge during the month of October. Without fail, spooky gets mixed up with mail and then magic happens. This year's crop of designs are quirky and clever and only a little bit creepy. Like the years before, these designs are limited in production. They will only be available for order until *Midnight CST Friday, December 20th*. They absolutely WILL NOT be delivered before Christmas, but I will ship them out as soon as I can. Order now or be sad later. I won't order these again. 

Oh, and this is just the beginning. There is also a limited edition stationery and sticker set which will go up as soon as I can finish and photograph them. Those are limited to 12 sets. Watch this space! Watch this other space! If you pre-order a stamp and then order stationery or something else, I'll combine the shipping and send you a refund. Happy Halloween! Wait, I mean MERRY CHRISTMAS!

P.S. It's Friday, the 13th, which means this is extra appropriate.

Envelope Liner Alert Stamp

I love a lined envelope. Historically, envelopes were lined for privacy of the interior contents and also to help prevent smearing of the ink. These days, lined envelopes are mostly seen in fancy invitations and in mail art. I love the surprise of a beautiful paper hiding inside of an envelope! For me, it's an excellent way to use scrap pieces as well. 

 

My only problem with envelope linings has to do with how I open envelopes. I like to rip right through the top seam with a letter opener- Ziiiiiiiiip! And when I do that, I miss out on liners! I don't think I'm alone in this. I think there's a good number of gorgeously lined envelopes that never get appreciated due to envelope opening conventions. What to do? Well, I have an idea.

 

Introducing the Envelope Liner Alert Stamp! Alert the letter recipient that art awaits inside and that they should open their envelope with care. This will be especially helpful if you want to do something very experimental, like line with fabric or create an artistic drawing secreted away to pop-up as long as the flap is lifted in a special way. Can you tell I've been thinking about this for a while?

 

Also, if you like liners, Maple Post has a good tutorial and a printable link for you!

Mystery Goodie Boxes

When you have the luxury of space, you tend to fill it up with stuff. In the years that we've had a studio space for the Letter Writers Alliance, I have made use of every nook and cranny I could find to ferret away all sorts of sundry supplies and miscellaneous materials. Since we have to move out of the space in September, I have begun trying to lighten the load.

 

In addition to maybe a literal ton of donation materials headed to The WasteShed (Chicago's premiere craft thrift shop and community center), I have been making up a selection of what I'm calling MYSTERY GOODIE BOXES. The name is a homage to the packages that set a young Donovan up on the mail-loving path. My grandmother would mail out "goodie boxes" from her Colorado home to our South Carolina one. They'd have treats and surprises and made me understand the magic that is the mail. 

 

These boxes are akin to those. They are full of a unique blend of letter writing books, stationery, supplies, vintage trinkets and odds-and-ends. There are leftover bits from RSVP sets, parts of projects that were proposed but never quite happened, and things I bought for personal use that I wasn't able or couldn't bring myself to use. (Not one, but two World's Smallest Post kits are among the contents, for example. They were just so precious and perfect that I never opened them.) The very last bits of the 16 Sparrows cards are here as well; so be warned, some are saucy! There are some similarities between boxes, but every one is different. There's the last of the Circa Ceramics/L.W.A. wares in there. There's a garland made of postage stamps in one. This is a way to adopt a piece of our studio into your home. In a way, it is sort of a time capsule of the Letter Writers Alliance.

 

The boxes are now for sale in the member's only section of the shop. There are only 16 available and all are in medium Flat Rate boxes. Help us move out and move on to more! What surprises await you?

U.S.P.S. X Forever 21

This is real, folks. Everything you ever wanted to wear from the U.S.P.S. brand, but made fashion. The U.S.P.S. is selling officially licensed merchandise at Forever 21 and it's not terrible! These are all sourced from older designs that aren't used on mail products anymore, but that a lot of people still love. I showed the collection to my husband, who is the more stylish of our pairing, and he says that it is "All about that belt!" Styles are available for women and men, and prices range from $14.90 to $54.90. So, now I have to buy a bunch of new clothes... for research. These are the sacrifices I make for you. There's also a Priority clutch that would make an excellent traveling mail kit, just sayin'.

New Custom Rubber Stamps

I make things for me a lot. It seems like it shouldn't take me this long to realize that you, fellow letter and mailart lovers, may like those things too. So, to that end, here's a BUNCH of new custom stamp designs. I've been using them on my personal mail for a while. Now, we can share the fun! This airmail-inspired custom return address design has been a staple in my mailart supplies for a while. With delight, I can now offer up this stamp to you. Its slim design and zippy airmail diamonds compliment any envelope. I like to use it along the side as well, but it looks sharp anywhere you need your return address to be. The upper right hand corner is preferred, but it's all about pushing the envelope when it comes to beautifying your mail. Of course, you won't have any fears of lost mail, because you'll have used a return address!* *Okay, not always a guarantee, but we do what we can!

Teeny, tiny, and so very small. Break out the readers for this diminutive, corner-hugging return address stamp. When it's this small, you can fit it just about anywhere. I like mine around the index text of postcards or along the edge of the postage stamp. Sometimes, I let it frame the mailing address if I'm feeling really brave. Never run out of room for a return address again!

Based on old U.S.P.S. stamp cancellations, these personalized stamps are a member's only item. Emblazon your name and mail origins all over your outgoing mail. Make those artistamps even more confusing for the post office with these personal circle cancellation stamps. There's also a version with a smaller circle and our version of "killer bars." No fooling, that's what they used to call the black bars that would obliterate postage on it's journey through the mail. Even though the design has U.S. historical origins, we can make it work for any location, real or imaginary. It's your stamp. Let's help you make it! Note that these are for art use only. Do not use them to cancel the actual postage on your envelope. The post office will not accept your letter for mailing if you do that. Please click on the links for sizing, pricing, and other ordering information. Thanks for making more mail!

New Year, New Goodies

Just a quick note to let you know what's new in our shop for the public and for members. We put up our newest enamel pin design last week. It features one of my Inktober designs translated into a sharp and succinct graphic perfect for portraying your love of letters no matter the cost! The pins are available through the public shop.

This morning we released some new stickers. Members can now emblazon their mail with bright and shiny starbursts of officialdom. I know, it's what everyone always wanted. I have to resist the urge to stick them on basically everything, because isn't everything a member does official? Yes? Who know the price of authority was just a seal away? They say to dress for the job you want; so here's a formal outfit for your outgoing letters. The seals are up in the member only shop. Not a member? Become one today!

As ever, thanks for your enthusiasm as we make new things for your fun mail loving needs. We make because we love. Thanks for letting us do it!

A Few of My Favorite Things AKA The L.W.A. Holiday Gift Guide

1. Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String: Individually wrapped chocolate treats ready for gifting by Leafcutter Designs. You can purchase them one by one or in large sets and with or without a tiny pointed pen for doing the address work yourself. 
2. Felt Tipped Pens: My absolute favorite pens, the Pentel Fude Touch Brush Sign Pen, in a rainbow of colors at a pretty price from L.W.A. long-time favorite pen pusher, JetPens.
3. Gossamer Envelopes: This holographic envelope note card set sold at GREER is something that I already have too many of and keep hoarding because I LOVE them. Oooooo, shiny!
4. Fountain Pens: I find the Kaweco brand to be the one I covet most. The Skyline look is particularly pleasing to me at the moment, but the limited edition Night is also very posh indeed. It is immediately an extra special gift. 
5. Notebooks: The Postalco brand has been on many a gift guide of mine. Plus, it just looks sooooooooo nice. I find myself using the Mneomosyne gridded A5 notebook for almost all my letters these days. Sure, I've got TONS of other paper, but I keep buying these pads because they are so convenient. The micro-perforation means that they tear out smoothly and fold right into our standard L.W.A. envelopes.
6. Getting Fancy: If you're wanting to start a journey down the calligraphy path, I think you will really enjoy the Essential Modern Calligraphy Kit sold by The Paper Seahorse in collaboration with The Postman's Knock.
7. Stamp & Sticker it Up: Although I make a bunch of my own rubber stamps, I cannot help but be smitten by the Snail Mail stamps at Paper Pastries. I'm also a sucker for stickers and this set is both postage stamps and cats and I. CAN. NOT. DEAL. Also, the vintage label packs are pretty much perfect.
8. White Ink Marker: Still my number one when it comes to white addresses is the Sharpie Water-Based White marker. It ain't perfect for everything, but it's the best I've found.

I think that's enough to start stuffing your stockings. I could go on and on. There's so much great letter writing supply out there. We are living in a great time for stationery as long as you know where to look.

Bonus! Tis the season for discounts! GREER is offering L.W.A. members and blog readers 10% off until the end of the year with code "LETTERLOVE". The code is only valid one time per person; so get all your goodies at once! They have the most excellent holiday cards, by the way. Full disclosure, I have the privilege of working there from time to time. Additionally, the shop FigPrintPattern on Etsy is offering the same discount, same code. Paper Pastries is also doing us this kindness! Use code "LWA15" to get 15% off from now til Wednesday, the 12th. Do show them some of your letter love!  If there's any other shop owners who'd like to offer us a little treat for the holidays, feel free to share in the comments!

Pigeon Palooza

Although our pigeons have all come home to roost, we can't abandon the idea of pigeons in the mail. The pigeon is our official mascot here at the Letter Writers Alliance.  Behold its majesty as it pecks at crumbs! What a marvelous bird! Although our flock is retired, you can still send your letters winging through the mail with this matching set.
The Pigeon Mascot Stationery Set is a celebration of that noble creature. The envelopes are all handmade by Donovan from a pattern designed by long-time L.W.A. friend Betsy Siber. The grey linen stationery sheets are a mixture of lined and blank and feature the feathered icons from the envelope design. The same birds are found on the matching stickers which could be used to seal the envelopes or as other decoration. 

For L.W.A. members, the pigeons are also available in rubber stamp form and you can purchase the stickers as a pack as well. As a bonus, the first few orders of these products will come with a free pigeon print card and matching envelope with liner while supplies last! It looks like this:

Note that due to their handmade nature, the envelopes are all a little different and they are not gummed. You'll need to use a glue stick or tape to seal them.

Happy mailings everyone! Long Live Mail! Long Live Pigeons!

Holiday Cards Available

Apologies for the late post, I was busily forcing our web elves* to update the L.W.A. shop page with some holiday cards. It's that time to start the great sending of paper products to everyone you have ever known, plus their cat (if you're into that). We have a bunch of options left from our grand ol' 16 Sparrows days. All our holiday cards are on sale, too, saving you more money for more cards, obviously. We think there's a little something for everyone in these cards, from crass to clever and the just plain beautiful. Oh, and I found a whole stash of Hand Made and Home Made gift tags when I was cleaning up the studio; so those are back as well.

This is just the first of MANY UPDATES to come. I'm excited to get our new things out to show you. Get ready!

*Just kidding, we believe in a Free Elf Society.

Last Flight

These are the last pigeons that will fly from the L.W.A. Headquarters. We're retiring our flock. If you'd like a pigeon of your own, now is the time. The changes in the U.S.P.S. blue collection boxes to have narrower openings and, frankly, a desire to make new things, has prompted this change. Nothing lasts forever! As a chaser to this possibly sad news, check out these kids in France who are sending messages by pigeon and USB. Thanks to Member Marie for the cheerful link.