Secrets you remember and protect forever.
At least, that’s what I believe.
The friendships you develop among pen pals, and what I mean by that is people you exchange more than just a postcard with one time, is really special. When you take time to write several pages out to a pen pal far and away, you are sending a little piece of yourself. It’s more of an investment than, say, an email. Or even just a postcard. (not to knock postcard enthusiasts in the least!)
I received this beautiful letter from a new correspondent. She wrote her first letter out on vellum paper and used Noodler’s Black Ink. The stamps she used throughout to embellish the letter were done in a bright, hot pink ink which looked absolutely phenomenal.
This was the front of the envelope (above). She used a piece of packing tape to preserve the address in case it got wet, which for those of us who have relied on USPS for anything have likely encountered.
Her penmanship was beautiful too. Something I think we all can try to aspire to, no?
And I had the pleasure of reading four full pages. How lucky am I?
She’s inspired me to have a go at rubber stamps. I loved how she used various stamps but used a really unique ink color- hot pink. I am currently searching for letter-related rubber stamps and then I’ll put them to work. They really livened up this letter and made it all the more special.
And you know what else she included? Some fantastic Victorian-esque stickers and a feather. Feathers are my favorite. I love feathers. When I got married, I had a bouquet made of feathers instead of the more traditional flower bouquet. THAT’S how much I love feathers.
Has this letter inspired you? It sure inspired me. And it reminded me why I treasure the art of letter writing so much. Because you end up with things like this. Things I store away in my hollowed out books to refer to sometime in the future. Things I know my future children will enjoy reading through on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Things I know are there from my friends so far away.
Hello! My name is Cole. Simplicity Embellished is my special place. I talk a lot about writing letters, etegami, gardening and yoga. Please sign up for Sunday Tea (comes to you via email), subscribe using your feed reader of choice and don't hesitate to say hello on Twitter or Facebook either.
i started writing pen pals a few months ago, and my second and third pen pal shared with me and i shared with them deep dark secrets that neither of us had shared with anyone else but say, our parents. i LOVED looking at this girl’s letter! everything about it inspired me to have better writing skills, include little special things (like a quirky thing like a feather…)-it was so unique and thoughtful. and yes-this is something i want to save-i want to have stacks of letters from different friends all tied in different beautiful ribbons safe from my house rabbit’s little sweet nibbling teeth! thanks for this-and for the postcard you shared with us at lwa/16 sparrows. happy writing, marnie
Hi Marnie! Thanks for stopping by! I’ll add you on Flicker.
So glad you liked the postcards and thank you for saying thanks! ;)
Where are you keeping your letters? I keep mine in books I hollow out.
Wow, that frame rubber stamp she used around the address on the envelope is one of the most gorgeous I’ve ever seen. Stamp envy!! Thanks for sharing this beautiful letter.
I know! I searched for one on Ebay but couldn’t find one that was quite right. I love love love how she used hot pink ink too.
Thanks for visiting ilona!
cole, i keep my letters in a tall mail slot cabinet i got that a neighbor was giving away! i lucked out when he decided during their move to offer it to me! i love your idea of the hollowed out book though…
i have a picture of it on flickr!
Oh I would love one of those! What an awesome find. I’ll have to peruse your flickr stream to have a look.
Ooooh now that’s nice. I get complimented by non pen pal letter recipients on the fact that I use coloured inks and a fountain pen – I’ve even got some scented ones as well. Yummy. Not enough letter writing goes on these days but it’s so nice to get a letter and settled down to read it with a cup of tea and a biscuit…
Yum! Scented inks? I would really love to try those but I think I’d prefer fragrances like Moss or Hosta–to me there’s something so earthy about fountain pen ink. ;)
Thanks so much for your comment Gillian!
Such a gorgeous letter – so inspiring! Thank-you for sharing it.
Love from Kaz
Kaz! You can now call me a follower of your blog. I am not sure how I missed it.
Anyway, thanks for visiting and for leaving a comment. Much appreciated!
<3 c
I love the title of this post!!
Hi Felicity!
Your blog is adorable. I am looking forward to reading through some posts hopefully later on today.
And thank you for the compliment on the title of the post! I try really hard to write interesting titles (and put my Journalism degree to use some!).
Thanks for visiting and for the comment,
<3 c
Now, this is a cool letter and handwriting. I wish mine handwriting would only be half as nice.
You and me both, Marcus!
I want to share a bit of a personal story here. My grandmother, my mum’s mum, was deaf and also blind in one eye. She never owned a telephone. She travelled infrequently. When my mum married (her only daughter) and moved a good 6-7 hours away they stayed in touch by writing every week religiously. Every Sunday was her letter-writing day and she would sit at her kitchen table, looking out the louvres at the backyard and the little lane that ran behind the house and tell my mother all the news from the small town, the health of various people, news on their comings, goings, the actions of their kids, occasionally it would be a snippet of humour about human follibles or a pice of advice, all written as though she was speaking in person to you.
My grandma died when I was ten. I have good memories of her but was recently brought to a new level or degree of intimacy when my mum gave me all of Grandma’s letters from about 1983 or so to read. It was like watching a soap, watching the characters evolve, painting a picture of that time in her life, garnering an interest in the goings on of the neighbours and such. All that she was shone through in between the lines she wrote and gave me such a feeling of warmth and connection.
Had Grandma owned a phone, had she been able to hear and communicate with my mother in this manner – would I be able to know her as well as I do now? Her letters reveal her to me over and over again, differently as I age and read with new degrees of understanding. She will always be with us whilst those letters exist. That is truly a legacy.
Kathleen, I love this story. I have even written about you and this story to several of my correspondents. I think it’s beautiful.