My First Mail Post

It's always difficult to know where to start regarding the first post of a new blog.

I have an old footlocker full of letters that I've collected for over 30 years.

I've always loved writing letters and receiving letters in return, however, 

the people that used to write back to me don't write anymore.

I blame it on the internet, social media, and high tech smart phones.

But then again, I can be grateful for the internet for keeping the art of letter writing alive.

I just recently discovered mail art and all the various web-sites dedicated to letter writing and pen pals.

It's amazing that there are so many people who still love getting mail as much as I do.

While blog hopping, I stumbled across the book, Good Mail Day and ordered it right away.

I was like a kid in a candy store when the package finally arrived in my mail.

I drooled over every single page, absorbing all of the mail goodness like a sponge.

I soaked up the inspiration and now I am obsessed with mail art and making my envelopes look pretty.

I started decorating my envelopes, and then making my own envelopes.

I made the above envelopes from a photo calendar. 

I think they turned out really nice.

This is from the same calendar.

Don't you just love it?

I also made a few from some card stock.

It's kind of a vintage look.

Now that I had all this creativity and inspiration inside of me, I had no one to share it with.

What was I to do?

Well, I spanned my search on the internet and found pen pal sites, swapping sites, postcard sites, etc.

I joined as many as possible.

Even so, finding a pen pal isn't quite so easy.

You still need the right fit.

At the beginning of September, I wrote two letters.

One to a blog owner of a blog that I've been a follower of for several years.

And another blog owner who started a mail project, whom I discovered in a newspaper article.

I happily deposited my letters in the mail and then went on vacation for three weeks.

When I returned home, I was anxious to check my P.O. Box.

When I turned the key and looked inside, it was completely empty.

:(

I was quite disappointed.

Still, I went back every day the first week in October.

Finally, I had received a postcard.

But it wasn't a reply from the mail I had sent. 

It was a postcard from a girl who found my profile on sendsomething.net.

It was a Vanity Fair postcard, just my style.

I was so excited and it cheered me up a great deal.

I immediately wrote a letter in response and then I got a letter back and wrote another.

In the meantime, I had sent out a couple of postcards to others on sendsomething.net.

I received my first mail art postcard as a reply.

I think it is so cool.

She used ink, paint, markers, stamps, stencils, stickers and a matte medium.

Very creative and it means a lot that she put so much effort into making this card.

I really like it a lot.

I've also joined postcrossing. 

I think it will be very interesting to see postcards fill my mailbox from around the world. 

How great it will be to learn about other cultures.

I've sent out seven postcards, but I am still waiting to receive my first one from this site.

The first postcard I sent went out to Russia and the person still has not received it.

I hope it didn't get lost in the mail.

Other sites I've joined include the following:

Swap-bot, Your Paper Pantry and The Letter Writer's Alliance.

I think the hardest thing about finding the right pen pal is finding someone close to my age.

So far, it seems like most pen pal ads are by people who are under 25.

I have friends of all ages. so as long as I have something in common with you, age isn't a deterrent.

If you'd like to send me a postcard or a letter I will respond back to all inquiries unless I get a bad vibe.

JarieLyn 

P.O. Box 337080

North LasVegas, NV 89033

Have a happy mail day!

This is my main blog here:  Write Place Write Chick
I haven't updated in awhile though because blogger was causing me problems until last night,
thus the development of my new site and hopefully an update to my main blog.