Gratis Hema valentijnskaart versturen

Dit berichtje is voor Dutchies only! Hema heeft een superleuke actie waarmee je een gratis valentijnskaartje kunt sturen naar je geliefde! Kies uit 5 kaartjes, vul NAW-gegevens van je (geheime) lover in en schrijf een leuk berichtje. De eerste 10.000 mensen mogen helemaal gratis het kaartje versturen. De actie loopt van 1 t/m 9 februari en geldt alleen in Nederland. 1 kaartje per emailadres. Ik heb het net al even geprobeerd en hij accepteerde het gewoon, dus wie weet geldt de actie nu al!
Er is ook een mogelijkheid om te kiezen uit 5 'break-up' kaartjes, al vind ik dat een ontzettend stom idee. Ga jij een kaartje sturen? En zo ja, naar wie? ;-) Klik hier om je kaartje te versturen!

From 1 till 9 february you can send 1 free valentinescard at valentijnskaarten.hema.nl, HEMA is a Dutch department store.

Pen pal call #7: Anna

If you'd like to become pen pals with Anna, leave a comment below with your email address so Anna can contact you and you can swap addresses. If you want to place a call for a pen pal, contact me here.

#33 Britt

From: Britt, Sweden - January 2012

Last week I received mail from Britt, a Dutch girl living in Sweden. She sent me 3 handmade cards and tea (I love tea). Unfortunately I've been (and will be) quite busy so I haven't had the time to write something back. But I will do, after my exams!

DIY: Fold & Mail

I just posted an DIY for Fold & Mail envelopes on my personal blog. Click here to see the full DIY. Might be useful for all of you who are into letter writing!

Changes 2.0

As you could read before, I was thinking about changing the project a bit. I love getting mail and everytime new envelope comes with the mail it makes me smile from ear to ear. But it's also getting a little busy to maintain so many contacts via mail.
Also, as a stationery lover, I'd love to swap packages. I have a lot of paper ephemera and creative supplies and I also love to make stationery myself. Wouldn't it be great if we could swap packages filled with little surprises and a letter? And just as a sole project, you send me something, and I send you something back. That's it!
It doesn't have to be expensive or a massive package, I'll give you some inspiration:

Photo by StudioMeez

Photo by Lisakinoo

Photo by Journaldejourslettres

As you can see, packages can contain lots of things. Tea, handmade things (handmade things are the best), stationery, maps, photos, quotes, postcards.. It's also nice to include something from where you live. I love traveling and everytime I get mail from a far away country filled with things typical for that place, it feels like I traveled a bit. 

I won't stop writing with the few I'm writing at the moment, but I also won't take new letter writing pen pals. Just packages swaps (which may include a letter, not neccessary) and just sole projects (unless we find out we're soulmates ;-)). 

Because I'm still busy and I want to try out this new project first, I start with inviting some people to join me in this project. If it all works out well, I'll open the contactform again. If you want to send in a pen pal call, you can contact me here.

Pen pal call #6: Denise

If you'd like to become pen pals with Denise, leave a comment below with your email address so Denise can contact you and you can swap addresses.

Edit: Denise has found enough pen pals to write with. She will not contact new entries.

How I store my letters

The pile of letters was getting bigger and bigger (by now I already received 32 letters!) so I decided I had to do something with them. I didn't want to put them in a box because then I would forget about them. Then I remembered an empty photoalbum I had gotten for my birthday but never used. I thought it would be the perfect solution to keep my letters..

#32 Kelly

From: Kelly, Japan - January 2012

Another package from Kelly! I forgot to mention that she also sent me 2 postcards while she went back to her parents in the USA. One from San Diego and one from L.A. But I can't find them in the mess I made in my room so unfortunately I can't show them right now. But thanks anyway Kelly!
This time she wrote a long letter with really cool stamps on the back of it. Were do you get those stamps?? She also included a little towel, which apparently every Japanese inhabitant has because there are no towels at public restrooms. She also included some goodies (I love the tea she sends me everytime!) and a beautiful piece of art! Thank you so much Kelly, it's always great receiving mail from you :-)

#31 Esther

From: Esther, Belgium - January 2012

Last week I got this little package from Esther. Her envelope was made out of an old comic strip called 'Noortje' which I loved! I have read a lot of  Noortje comics when I was younger. :-)

#30 Jolien

From: Jolien, The Netherlands - January 2012

I received this cute parcel from Jolien. It's always nice getting her letters because we have a lot in common, we like the same things. She included some extra things because I had won a give away on her blog. The little bracelet is from Vietnam and the leather cardholder is from Thailand. Isn't that awesome?

#29 Marlou

From: Marlou, The Netherlands - January 2012

I received this cute 'envelope letter' (is there a name for these things? An envelope and letter in one?) from Marlou, almost two weeks ago. But I have been so busy I couldn't find the time to put it on the blog earlier. It was a short but cute letter, I'm going to try to find such cute writing papers too!

Sent mail #4

I just sent this handmade envelope (easy with envelope templates and magazines) to Jolien, and this air mail envelope is going to Arina!

I forgot to post this, Marlou sent me her pictures of my special christmas mail for her.

Sent to Nicole, more pictures on her blog!

Of course I do sent a lot more mail but sometimes I forget to take a picture of it and not everybody sends me pictures of their received mail. 

Pen pal call #5: Christel

Remember Christel? She's looking for pen pals!

If you'd like to become pen pals with Christel, leave a comment below with your email address so Christel can contact you and you can swap addresses. You can also still become pen pals with Annika.

If you also want to place a call for a pen pal you can contact me (via comments), please read this article for more information: click.

Changes

You might have noticed that the link to the contact form is (temporarily) removed. I'm a little too busy at the moment, I'm getting a lot of letters (which I love, don't get me wrong) but I want to take time for every letter I write, and I don't have that time now.
Also, after receiving almost 30 letters I realized I want to change the project a little bit. I'd like to make it a little more creative. I'm still not sure about what I want but I was thinking about little "package" swaps with handmade and just random beautiful things. I'll show you some pictures that might give you an idea:

(ph src: mapsandgfragments.com)

(ph src: lisakinoo.be)

(ph src: Journaldesjours)

I love mail art and wrapping, and I'd like to do more of that. Of course I still want to write, but I want to make it a little bit more special :-). I have so much stamps, prints, ribbons, tapes.. I want to use them! And I love making little packages.

If you're already writing with me, or if you just sent something - don't worry, I will write you back. But for now I won't accept new entries. I will keep posting updates on te blog and I'll let you know when I start again with my project! If you're looking for a pen pal, you can always check out the pen pal calls.

#28 Emily

From: Emily, USA - December 2011

Second letter I received in December from Emily (third letter in total). She's a quick writer! She added pictures she took in New York, she lives only a couple hours away from the city that never sleeps.. jealous much! Thanks Emily, I sent something back to you yesterday.

#27 Brittany

From: Brittany, USA - December 2011

Remember Brittany's call? She also sent me mail. She wrote a little note and included a cute magnet. So this is what you can expect from her, if you decide to become pen pals! Thanks Brittany, I already sent you something back.

#26 Nicole

From: Nicole, The Netherlands - December 2011

I received this floral envelope filled with goodies from Nicole. When I received this in the mail, my dad just bought a cat so I gave him the little cat notepad, he loved it. Thanks so much Nicole! She'd love to get more mail, so if you want to write to her, just send her a message!

#25 Charlotte

From: Charlotte, Norway - December 2011

Charlotte sent me this card (which she bought in Musée d'Orsay) when she was on vacation in Paris. The picture on the card is called 'Pierrot Photographe' and was taken in 1854. That's wonderful, thank  you! I already sent you something back!