#LuckyDipClub #Unboxing!

We all love great happy mail, right? Who can resist a brightly coloured envelope or parcel getting pushed through the mail slot or deposited into a mail box with their name on it? For about a year and a half now, aside from the rest of the fabulous pen pal mail I receive, I have been receiving a subscription box called the Lucky Dip Club box. Lucky Dip Club is the brainchild of Leona Thrift-Ola and has evolved over time to include some of the best curated paper, fashion and other accessory goodies that one could ever hope to receive. From cute and quirky pin badges to lovely prints and stationery items, these boxes have it all. Bright and cheery, they are a dream to receive monthly in the mail. Don't believe me? Just have a look at the #luckydipclub hashtag on Instagram and you will squeal! Leona has a massive following and being such a creative lady has sparked a mass girl gang of creative minds and lovers of all things kitsch alike.

I am always excited to see the box waiting for me on the landing when I've just rolled out of bed (the mail gets here quite early for me)! This particular box was even more thrilling as it was the debut of the new printed boxes as shown above! I took a photo of it for my personal Instagram account (@mrsnadiabugler and it also appeared on the IG account of this blog (@this_is_myletter_2u). So, without further ado, here's a photo of all the contents of this particular box:

This box featured the 5th installment of the Girl Planet zine (new this year), a lovely flower card, cute seed packet, a "bloom where you are planted" patch, a super sunflower with two ways of affixing it (I used the brooch option), a cute cactus pin badge and a fabulous "Petal Power" canvas bag.

The sunflower seriously makes a really cool brooch and will brighten up any outfit or day for that matter!

It seemed rude not to photograph this pin badge with my very own mini cactus on the window sill!

A closer look at the details of that fabulous sunflower brooch...

That seed packet! It's just beautiful in its own right and I am certain the flowers that will come from those seeds will not only make the butterflies & bees happy but will no doubt be pleasing to the eye as well!

Just fabulous! I must get a jean jacket to add all the patches I suddenly now have to! And this bag is a perfect addition to my growing collection of printed canvas bags...go figure!

Fun colouring page on the back of the zine...

And lastly, You are blooming wonderful! Yes you are, each and every one of you! The zines are always a huge inspiration!

Leona and all those who work on all the Lucky Dip Club goodies are such talented people it's hard not to get excited each time a new theme is announced and a new box arrives!

Do you subscribe to Lucky Dip Club? Are there other subscriptions you think I should check out? The next Lucky Dip Club theme is "All the Fun of the Fair" and launches on 1st June at 7am! Set your alarm clocks and grab yourself a subscription or a one off box!

Cheers,

Nadia xo

A Peek Inside The Writing Room in Lyme Regis...

About two Sundays ago the hubby and I went to Lyme Regis to explore some of the areas we rarely go to when we are there. While wandering around Bridge Street we encountered a place just next to Aroma Cafe called The Writing Room. This is a stationery lover's dream come true. Think classic style stationery, hand made cards, beautiful hand carved stamps and treasures not found in your typical stationery shop. According to an article in Counry Calling, The Writing Room is rumored to be situated in a room Jane Austen once dined in.

I was immediately taken with everything inside. The room itself looks like the perfect place to just set up a desk and write while you people watch from the windows which face Bridge Street. If you don't believe me just see for yourself:

I pretty much wanted everything in sight! The hand bound notebooks were gorgeous, the displays using luggage tags looked just perfect.

I loved the idea of having buckets hanging holding pens and pencils. May have to try this in my own creative space. *wink*

And these nice big colour coded jars of sweets were making my mouth water. Everyone knows that writing and creating just go better with sweets!

The mechanical pencils above looked so perfect I just had to have one for myself! I chose a pink one. Which colour would you have chosen?

I chose a few things for myself from the shop, just to whet my appetite and yours of course! A few binder clips to continue my obsession, the pink mechanical pencil I mentioned above, a nice tiny versa color green ink pad to go with my new ammonite stamp (very appropriate for a person who lives in the Jurassic Coast area like me), a fabulous big roll of numbers packing tape, some cool vintage style ticket Japanese stickers and a candy baggy.

This bag had a lovely mixture of boiled sweets and caramels, a throw back to retro sweets in candy shops. Hope you've enjoyed your glimpse into The Writing Room! Do please comment and tell me if you have been and what you think of it!

Cheers,

Nadia xx

TOP SHOPS FOR INEXPENSIVE STATIONERY: USA

If you're anything like me you will always be in search of a great stationery bargain. I try to find these gems literally everywhere I go. Whether at a craft shop or a supermarket I often have my feelers out for whatever I can find that can be used as letter paper or embellishments for my letters or even just as gifts for pals. I thought I would do a little shop showcase of what's available in several places where I am currently residing, right here in the United States. Later on, when I am back in the UK I will do a showcase of inexpensive finds in that country.

I live in a rather prime place for finding lovely bits here in Florida. Aside from having a Walmart within walking distance (seriously, Walmart is probably where I get about 50% of my crafting/snail mailing supplies and quite a bit of that comes from the clearance racks at the back of the store), I also have a Hobby Lobby across the street, a Bealls Outlet (local Florida chain--lots of great goodies though) also across the street, farther down the main drag there is Tuesday Morning, Big Lots and farther still Marshall's & Dollar Tree. Those are the ones I frequent the most and generally find loads of great goodies to use in letter writing, though I also find some lovely things at Target and TJ Maxx (same company as Marshall's and TK Maxx in Europe). I particularly love Target's Dollar Spot bins and last week found some really great items which I will share with you now.

Purchases from Target and TJ Maxx: Fabric tapes, page flags, 'hooray' note cards and dotted memo pad were all from the Dollar Spot at Target (each priced at $1). The 'hello' card set, woodland shopping list pad, Create Your Own Happiness notebook, and Adventure Awaits notepad were all from TJ Maxx and all under $6. Real bargains right there!

Here's a close-up of the fabric tapes in cool summer patterns.

All of these cost a dollar each! You really can't go wrong with that. 

Of course, I found a lot more than that at Target and TJ Maxx but those were the stationery related items I purchased last week that I was ecstatic about. Where else do you get your supplies from? What sort of supplies do you use in snail mailing that are not typically thought of as snail mail supplies? I hope to answer these myself soon and have a few projects up my sleeve to share with you as well!

I leave you with some fab posts from around the web! Tootles!

Who doesn't love stickers? Snail Mail Love shows off her latest acquisition here.

One Crafty Mumma shows us how to stitch up some fab stationery here.

Also from One Crafty Mumma, a showcase of pretty mail including one from yours truly under my other blog name, Walks in Beauty. Check it out here! 

Recently outgoing & incoming post...

I was a bit busy this past weekend but I did manage to write quite a few letters last week and photographed a few of the lovely letters and bits I posted out to friends. Since most have been received I'll post the photos for you all to see.

Above is some Jane Austen themed mail I sent a pal in Georgia who's as much a fan as I am. Aside from my letter I sent her some stationery items I made & printed as well as my favourite Dorset teas for her to enjoy. I made her some regency themed sticker flakes, printed some Austen heroines images I found on Pinterest onto blank postcards, and made some letter papers with images of screenshots and Jane Austen portraits for her to use.

I packaged and parcelled it all up using bits I had on hand. Don't they look fab? Who is your favourite Austen heroine? Mine is undoubtedly Lizzy Bennet but I also love the sisters in Sense & Sensibility!

I also sent out a Birds & Butterfly themed letter to a pal in the UK following my alphabet themed letters with the letter 'B'. Here's a photo:

Peacock paper, Inspire Lovely Postcards and some funky bird stickers from Hallmark were all sent off to Essex!

Also, last week in a pen pal group I belong to we had a new pal event and these are just some of the things I sent last week to new pals...

The one above was for a pal who likes cats! :)

For the one above I thought to send a mini mail art kit. I sent two more letters out but sadly did not photograph the contents.

I also received some lovely goodies from my husband last week for Easter and a nice little surprise of goodies from a pal in Germany. Also a lovely letter folder from a pal in Wales and a beautiful card from a friend in North Carolina.

Above are the lovely bits from my hubby and below the other mail I received...

Am I not very spoilt by my friends and family? :)

Embellishing Letters and Recent Mail

Photography & Drawings by Nadia M. Perez Bugler

Hello again! Sorry it's taken me a while to get back on here and write a new post. I've had a bit of an emergency situation arise and have been working day and night helping an elderly couple out for the time being so I am happy to find some time to write and share with you mail and pen pal related goodies. I've been getting lots of great post this past week and I wanted to share some with you and a little about what I've been using lately to embellish my letters.

Most of us who pen pal generally tend to have a rather large haul of lovely stickers, pens, and nowadays decorative tapes we use to add a little extra flair to our outgoing post. In the next few weeks I hope to showcase some of what my own pals use to embellish their letters and how unique everyone's style seems to be.

Since I love to reuse things I took this soap box my father had give me and left the partitions in to separate this stash of stickers. Some are hand-drawn and hand-coloured others are ephemera turned into stickers, all homemade and hand-cut by me, Some are the ones I sell in my Etsy shop, WalksInBeauty2014, and others are a personal stash I made for myself. I love to have stickers that are unique and that very few other people are going to have.

Of course, I am a HUGE fan of washi tape and have a gigantic collection back in our bungalow in England but I've already stated accumulating tapes here in the States...go figure! Here are my latest acquisitions...

Top sets: Sheet music & pattern set plus the camera and film set were gifts from my nieces.
Bottom sets: The arrow and camera set came from Hobby Lobby, the Christmas set came from
The Range in Dorchester before I came back to the US.

I am notorious for looking for new tapes all the time...I really need to curb my addiction but I seriously doubt that will happen! *wink*

As for the post I've received lately, well, I feel that I've had a great mail week. I really can't complain! I received letters and even a parcel! First let me share the contents of the parcel my hubby sent me from England:

My journal I'd sadly forgotten to pack and bring with me, some lovely drink packets from the UK for me to drink so I didn't get too homesick for Bridport, and my little clipboard with some stationery I designed on it and some freebies I'd printed out from Wreck This Girl's Mailbox.

Aside from that, I also received a few postcards and a letter inside the parcel my hubby sent me as they'd all been sent there to the UK address...

Postcards from the UK, Germany, and Australia and a letter from my pen pal Renate in Norway plus a little pack of paper embellishments I purchased on sale at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section. It always pays to have a look-see there. ☺

Independently of that parcel I even got a little card from my hubby which came separately and some more fab mail...

This is the card from my hubby congratulating me on my new job and a letter from a new pal in London and the fab stickers she sent me. Take note that on the envelope she used one of my very own artwork,--a sticker that looks like an envelope which I sent her and my birdie air mail sticker which I made and shared out with her as well! It's nice to see people use what you've share with them. ☺

I got some more letters this past week but I have sadly not photographed them. I will try to get a picture of them all so you can see how lovely they were as well. Since I went to Hobby Lobby I couldn't resist purchasing a few more bits to use which I will showcase here...

The tapes you've already seen but these fabulous stickers were all on sale! They are ephemera stickers from Stickabilities and are just gorgeous. The Christmas Sweater stickers were fun too! 

Well, as I am not at home right now it has been a little difficult to be without my stash as I was only able to bring a few things over with me. Hopefully when I can get back to the house I can get ever so much more creative and share these creative lovelies with you!

Until then,

Keep Writing & Happy Snail Mailing!

Nadia xo

Letter writing inspiration...

Good Wednesday Morning to you all!

As some of you may have noticed besides speaking English I also speak Spanish and love it! I'm once again watching Despierta America while I write. I think it makes me feel closer to my relatives who are in Venezuela and whom I do not always get to see so frequently. It also makes me feel closer to some of my Spanish speaking pen friends who are in Latin America and the few which are in Spain.

So, as I was watching the show and thinking about pen pals I thought it would be interesting to go to Pinterest and see what people find inspirational for letter writing and I found some beautiful images which I will share with you here!

This was pinned by Kristy Schaffer and  I found it
to be just beautifully inspiring. Simple and pretty. 

...

Who wouldn't want to write a such a gorgeous desk
as this one? I love the simple set up and the chair is
exquisite! The flowers, small lamp, books and photo
give it a tranquil and familiar touch. 

...

A book to inspire us all to keep writing. I think I
will look for a copy of this one soon. What books
inspire you all to writer more?

...

This just made me want to create more of my own decorative stationery! Yes,
I occasionally make my own stationary. I've made some Jane Austen inspired
papers with lines on my computer and want to make more adding other images
or vintage ephemera. Wouldn't that be lovely? 

...

I would love to have a pink type-writer! I love the way letters look when
typed on one of these. It gives the letter an authentically vintage feel and
every now and then I like to be vintage. What about you? What are your
favorite styles of letter writing?

...

Hand made envelopes have always called my attention! They are always so
unique and interesting. I know that many of us make them so I included this
photo to remind us to keep reusing and recycling! When we reuse we conserve.

...

On Etsy you can always find the neatest stationery and letter sets! This vintage
one is just wonderful! One of these days I will buy some of these from Etsy! I
love them! Where do you get your stationery from? I buy mine from various
places (and of course you already know that I make some of my own as well. 

Well I hope these images will get you inspired to keep on writing and treat your pen pals to something special...a letter from YOU!

Have a fantastic Wednesday!

Lots of love,

Nadia Marie