Outgoing Pen Pal Letter

Good afternoon. My how time flies. I can't believe it's after 1:00 p.m. already. Here's my outgoing pen pal mail for today.

I only have one letter left to reply to and then I'm all caught up on pen pal correspondence, unless I receive some pen pal letters in the mail today, which will be a delightful welcome.  Once I reply to the last letter waiting for me to respond, then I will start sending random items in the mail to pen pals, rumpus, etc. Gotta keep the flow going.

Now go have an amazing afternoon, or evening depending on where you are in the world.

Letters to Two Southern Ladies

I recently became aware that I don't have any pen pals on the west coast. It's not something that happened on purpose but I find it ironic that I long to live in the south and that's where most of my pen pals reside. Two more pen pal letters are south bound, one to Texas and one to South Carolina.

Darn, I forgot to photograph the envelope after I decorated it.

A newsletter pen pal letter. I tried it once before and thought it was a fun way to write a letter .

From Vegas to France

Wow, this day has gone by so fast.  Seriously, it feels like I just got up an hour ago but in reality I've been up for hours and hours. Where does the time go? I managed to finish up a letter that I started a week ago, and it's going out the door today.

This is going to Lisa in France.

A Summer in Paris

How many of you have ever spent a summer in Paris? How many of you wish you could spend a summer in Paris? I think most of us romantacize the city. But hey, that's what we do when day dreaming of far away places. It makes us smile. I may not be spending my days walking the streets of Paris, but this summer I will be coloring the streets of Paris, thanks to the wonderful and amazing Limner. Confused? Well, keep on scrolling and you'll see what I mean in a second.

An envelope from Limner. On the other side it reads: Do not open until package arrives.

Fortunately, both the envelope and the package were in my mailbox yesterday.

The package. Notice the FYI in the lefthand corner. It stands for: For Youthful Impulses..... I like it. I also really like the map paper. I wish you could all feel it because the texture is amazing. It feels like an old vintage linen postcard. 

The contents of the package. Pretty in pink.

What a fun gift to receive.

So many little details to color in. Now you know why I'll be spending my summer coloring in Paris. I will share with you when I've got some of the pages colored in. These are pictures on the backside of the long mural to color in. I will definitely be busy, and I can't wait.

I also received another letter from Cat on the same day. I love having mail in my mailbox.

Her hand drawn characters are so cucte. I love all the different expressions. My favorite is the cat on top. He just looks worn out and relieved to be resting.

A Trip to New Jersey

I took a road trip to New Jersey once. It was a long time ago when my step mom lived there for a short stint due to work responsibilities. My husband had a class in Wrentham, MA so I flew to Boston with him. We rented a car and drove another 30 miles or so to our destination. While he was in his class during the day, I would drive around exploring places. On my own, I drove to Providence, Rhode Island and to Cambridge University and all over here and there.

When my husband's classes were completed we decided to finish out our trip by driving to New Jersey to visit my step mom. To get there we had to drive through Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. That was quite an experience. I thought I knew what tall buildings were considering how often I had been to L.A. Well, I didn't know shit. The buildings in New York were overwhelming and it was almost terrifying driving through it at first. We survived going across the Washington bridge in congested traffic and we made it to New Jersey in just a few short hours. No problem! Garfield, New Jersey. That's where my step-mom was living at the time. Why am I writing all of this? Because I needed something to lead in to the pen pal letter I just wrote. It's going on its own journey to New Jersey. That's why.

Write on!

Four More but Who's Keeping Score?

Good morning. It's bright and sunny with a chance of sweating to death. Ugh! I'm staying cool though. When I finish this post, I'm out the door and I can't wait to get Amazing Greens Smoothie from Jamba Juice. Whole foods, no sweeteners added, and good for me. My mouth is watering all ready. What are you looking forward to today? A letter, possibly?

A long, overdue letter headed to New York.

Another long, overdue letter but this one is traveling to Wisconsin.

This one is going to Georgia, sweet Georgia.

This little alien is hitching a ride all the way to The Netherlands.

I'm also all caught up on my correspondence. It feels great to have written so many replies that were so overdue. I promise to never get that behind again. I love to write letters.

Making Progress

Today, my husband and I went for a drive, but prior to leaving the house I actually wrote two pen-pal letters and put them in the mailox to travel to their recipients. Ah, making progress.

The above letter is on the way to the United Kingdom.

This piece of mail is traveling to Texas. I wrote a brief note to suffice until I can write a real reply.

Have a great night everyone.

Pen Pal Letter Out the Door.

Little by little, I'm catching up on correspondence starting with my most recently received letters. I figure I'm so far behind on the rest, that it will be better to reply to those who have most recently sent me mail. Then I won't get behind on those letters.  Seriously, I'm behind in some letters by a year.

Letter going to South Carolina in a handmade envelope, adorned with vintage stamps.

Hopefully, I will get another letter or two written by the end of tonight.

Sealed With Wax

Hello and good evening.  I can't recall the last time I received a letter sealed with wax, but today was one of those days.  Not only is the letter sealed with pretty wax, but the envelope has some colorful drawings on it that are so adorably cute. The letter comes from a fellow blogger who also loves mail. I am more than happy to link you to her blog, but first I want to make sure it's all right with her before doing so.

Notice that it comes from South Carolina. I love the south.

So cute. I wish I had a talent for drawing. I really do.

Update:  Here is a link to the sender's blog.

Saturday Pen Pal Letter

Happy Sunday. Well, I finally got a pen pal letter out the door on Saturday. It's traveling to Connecticut to say hi to Lynn.

I plan to write some more pen pal letters during this next week, and lots of Postcrossings.

Have an awesome Sunday. Rest. Relax. Do what you love. Slow down. Be kind to yourself.

Empty Inside

Hi Ya'll. It's been a rainy day here in Las Vegas and I am loving it. It's perfect for catching up on blogs, making homemade soup, and watching black and white movies on TV. Oh how sweet it is. I hope you all are having a wonderful day full of things you love.

Awhile back I received a handmade envelope from an unfamiliar person. I was so excited to get it. when I opened the envelope, it was empty. I'm not sure if it was intentional or somehow lost its contents in the mail. (maybe someone meant it to be mail art) Forgive me for not knowing who it's from. If you are reading this blog post and it's from you, can you please let me know if I received it the way you meant or if something is missing. I do love the paper that was used to make the envelope. The return address says it's from Jennifer.

Pen Pal Letter Out The Door And Postcrossings Out

Good evening gorgeous readers and bloggers. Even though my days are basically the same whether it's a weekday or a workday, I still relish the weekends. It has such a different vibe. I have my camera club tonight and our guest speaker, Parish Kohanim from Atlanta, Georgia will command a full house. I'm looking forward to hearing his story and seeing some of his work.

I feel accomplished that I got one letter written today. I feel so proud of myself.

This is going to a phenomenal pen pal who writes the best letters ever and loves to create art. It's cold where this person currently resides. Hopefully, this colorful letter will bring some warmth to her door. Yeah, you know it's for you even though I'm not putting your name here. I don't know why I'm not but I am.

This postcard is going to Finland.

I write: YOU ARE fabulous! Dear Sirkku, last night's full moon was amazing. I put all of my cyrstals in a bowl and set them outside on a tree branch so that the energy from the moon could charge them up. I left them out there until the next morning. Do something every day that nourishes yoour soul. <3 JarieLyn

This one is going to Czech Republic.

I write: Helo Tereza, warmest greetings from Las Vegas, NV. I used to do a lot of sewing and crafting when I lived in California. I once made some roller shades for my living room that turned out really nice, and some curtains for my step-dad's law office. Those were probably my favorite fabric creations to date. Now I mostly do mail art and doodling. It relaxes me. Someday I will teach myself to knit or crochet. Have a wonderful day. :)  <3 JarieLyn

This is traveling to Malaysia.

I write: Hello Kelsie, I live in Las Vegas, Nevada but I thought you might like this card from Florida. Disney World is located in Orlando, Florida, but I've never been there. Wishing you all the best. <3 JarieLyn

This one is traveling to Japan.

I write:  Hello Sakia, I used to love to ride motorcycles when I was younger. We lived out in the boonies and it was my favorite thing to do. My dad and my brother raced motorcycles and we enjoyed going to the races. Keep on riding but be safe. Have fun whatever you do. <3 JarieLyn.

Have an awesome weekend everyone. Hopefully, I get some more mail out this weekend.

A bird and some flowers

It's evening time already. I really don't know where the times goes. I mean seriously, my days go so fast. I wish time could just stand still for a few hours and let me do more than I get done. I'm happy to report that I received one postcrossing and one letter. Yay! I love getting mail, especially from my favorite people. (my pen pals)

A postcrossing from Florida. 

Sender writes: I live in the oldest city, Saint Augustine Florida. The streets are tiny and the buildings are old. I love the beach and the weather is amazing. I am originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Someday I hope to spend half the year in North Carolina and the other half in Florida. Gail.

Amazing letter from Lynn, which I have been waiting for. Her letters are always interesting and fun.

Today is a great day! 

Liberate your art

Good afternoon lovely peeps. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been feeling quite creative lately and in order to keep those creative juices flowing, I signed up for Liberate Your Art over at Kat Eye Studio. It's a postcard swap, but it's much more than that. The premise is that you create a piece of art whether it's via painting, sketching, drawing, photography or mixed media. Once you create your piece of art, you have it professionally printed onto a postcard (or you can make your own) and you send 5 postcards to the organizer of Liberate Your Art and she sends you 5 postcards in return created by 5 different artists.  She lists a resource page that will help you determine where to get your art printed, etc. Why don't you click on the above links and sign up for the project. It's an annual thing so it only happens once a year. Don't miss out. Get creative and send your art on a journey.  I will post mine once I get them on postcards. I can say that I created a doodly piece of art and I also have some colorful photography that anyone would love to receive.  But until then, I will share two postcrossings that I sent out a couple of days ago.

This dehydrated fellow is going to a young lady in Portugal.

I write: Dear Margarida, it is nearly midnight and I am wide awake. Earlier tonight I met with my psychic development group and then my firend and I went out to dinner at a place called Ghenkis Grill. this is my first postcard to Portugal. I'm always excited when I get a new country to send to. I live in Las vegas, but I traveled to Arizona last year for a weekend get-away. Many blessings! <3 JarieLyn

This picturesque beauty is traveling to India to be with Ashok.

I write: Dear Ashok, you don't see this type of landscape in Las Vegas unless it's a garden in somebody's backyard. I hope this card meets your expectations for your request of flora and fauna. You must see all kinds of amazing mail working in the postal department. Wishing you much happiness. <3 JarieLyn

I always sign my name with a heart first. It makes me feel like I'm creating more love for the universe when I do that. 

Go have an amazing day my lovely peeps. I adore every single one of you.

<3 JarieLyn

Clearly, not the norm

Hello my lovely peeps. I've been in such a creative mood lately. Every day I wake up and I want to create art. The only downside to that is that I can't really draw details or paint details. (well, sometimes I do okay) But I keep slapping some watercolors on some pages because I love how the colors look. It makes me feel cheerful. I never know what it is that I want to do but I feel guided to just create. And so I do. I don't have an art journal per se' but when I'm creating it feels like I'm making a visual piece for a journal.  The other day I was creating and I decided I would write a pen pal letter on my pages and send it in a clear postcard sleeve. This is clearly stepping outside of my normal box.  But, I wanted to make my letter stand out, be different, and at the same time spread some colorful cheer across the country for the postal workers and for my dear friend to whom it's written.

The computer screen does not show how colorful this really is.  The only disadvantage to sending a letter this way is that if you use vintage stamps like I did, they don't stick very well to the plastic. I had to secure the edges with packing tape, leaving the body of the stamp alone so that the post office can postmark the stamps. And of course, you know that everyone who sees this envelope during its journey will try to read what it says. So, if you're a private person or you have some juicy secret to share, than I suggest leaving that for the middle pages so no one can intrude upon your privacy.  Of course, you could always cover up the writing with stickers and washi tape.

On the last piece of painted paper I wrote a couple of quotes. This is the back of the envelope. You know, it still makes it fun, but again, I'm not revealing any secrets to the universe. Yeah, the good stuff is in between. Don't you wish you could read it all?  

So make some art, write a letter on it and send it in a clear envelope so you can share your creation with the postal workers.  I used a 5 x 7 postcard sleeve for the envelope.

Have a fun and creative day!

Two Postcards and a Give-Away

Good afternoon. I'm excited to finally announce the first ever give-away on my blog, but before I get to the prize let me share with you my outgoing and incoming mail.

This is an incoming postcard for a swap I joined. I love city scenes like this one.

 

 

This is a Postcrossing that I am sending to Canada.

I write: Hello Daniele, you have an interesting profile. I live in the city of Las Vegas but I'm a country girl at heart. I want the best of both worlds; country living with city amenities. Before moving to Vegas my husband and I lived on an acre and a half surrounded by neighbors with farm animals. There were horses, cows, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, dogs, cats and probably a few I'm forgetting. I loved it. I wish you much happiness. <3 JarieLyn

 

I hope you all are as excited as I am about my give-away. This one is geared towards all of you Postcrossers, Postcard Collectors, Vintage Lovers, Mail Enthusiasts and Mail Art/Scrappers.  I am giving away 3 lots of postcards, each lot contains 50 postcards. There will be 10 used vintage postcards, and various unused postcards from the early 1900's all the way up today.  Each lot is different, however, there are a few of the same cards in every lot.

 

 

This is Lot #1. These are the actual postcards. You cannot see all of them because I want it to be a surprise.

 

 

This is lot #2

 

 

This is lot #3

 

I thought about running the contest by having you do something unique, kind of like how Derrick over at I still write runs his contests, but since this is my first give-away I want to make it easy for you. Also, before I complicate things I need to know if people are going to enter my give-away.

 

So what do you need to do to enter my contest?  Just leave me a comment that has the word postcard somewhere in your sentence.  This is going to be a fast give-away. I will be using a random number generator and drawing the prize winners Thursday evening after 8:00 p.m. pacific standard time, and I will ship it out on Friday. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forward Movement

Hallelujah!

I finally have some forward movement.

Anyone who has ever been stuck in a rut, or who has had writer's block knows how good I feel at this moment. 

I just want to shout to the world, Woo Hoo!

Cheers to keeping the momentum going.

Now onward to the mail:

Yesterday I sent out two handmade postcards and one pen pal letter.

Five more pen pal letters going out today.

Including the letter posted in the first photo here's who can keep an eye out on their mailboxes:

Melanie, Rachel, Mariska, L. R., Jackie, and Lisa.

I also mailed out five Postcrossings.

They are headed to Florida, Finland, Taiwan, The Netherlands and Ukraine.

I haven't been getting much mail lately except for the occasional Postcrossing which I have been forgetting to take pictures of.

I have received letters from John and Lynn and Melanie recently.

But I only photographed one.

The very bright and cheery mail art from Lynn B.

Her letters are pretty darn great too.

The Postal Machine Ate My Mail......

Yesterday I went to the post office and checked my mail like I do every day.

I was delighted to find several pieces of mail in my box and when I got out to my car I sat in the parking lot and read my postcards and then started on the two envelopes I received.  

That's when I noticed that one of the envelopes was from the United States Postal Service. 

What's this? I thought.

At first glance it looks like my mail was save completely.

I was happy.

Until I opened it.

I still have hope that the contents are safe even while looking at the mangled envelope.

There were three items inside; A pencil, a mini photo, and this piece of paper that I looked up on Google translator to understand. 

It appears to be a log for expenses of the day.

I know It's not for a swap because I have received all of my swaps.

If the sender wrote me a letter, it is missing from the envelope.

Thank goodness she put a blog address on her envie.

Now I can touch base and let her know that her wonderful surprise was destroyed by the postal service.

:(

Postcrossings:

This lovely card traveled all the way from Ukraine.

The sender writes:

Greetings from Lviv, city of old narrow streets with aroma coffee and chocolate.

Welcome to Lviv :)

I'm planning to visit Las Vegas this year.

Hope my plan comes true :)

This postcard is in your favs, so I hope you will be happy :)

Best wishes, Yura.

Yes, I do really like the postcard.  It's very pretty.

This postcard came from Belarus.

The sender writes:

Hello, my name is [Isseniys]

I live in Minsk-it's a capital of Belarus.

I hope you'll like my card, because I'm really interested in graffiti.

Best wishes.

I think he may have made this card himself from his own artwork.

Not sure, but I do find it interesting.

*******************************

This is from Amber. 

She did a beautiful job on the envelope but the photo does not do it justice.

It's a vellum envelope embellished with what looks like a cutout from a magazine but it's not thin like most magazine pages.  

It's very nice.

All the little white rain drops are drawn by hand.

Inside, were some postcards that she designed.

I love it.

Tucked inside another cute little envelope was this tiny card that measures about 1 3/4" by 2 3/4".

It was such a lovely surprise and very much appreciated.

***********************************************************

Outgoing Mail:

This is going to a pen pal who lives on the East Coast.