It's all in the packaging: The Art of Preparing a Package for a Pen Pal

Dear friends and readers,

Like so many of us who enjoy writing to other people across the globe, I too, enjoy participating in swaps or even just sending random little gifts to my pals. A couple of days ago I sent a few little paper goodies to my pal Christelle in France and I hope she receives them soon! I spent a lot of time picking out each card and goodie I would send her and then I spent even more time packaging the paper items with great detail. This latter part is what I wish to focus on today.

Packaging is an art form. It truly is. When you receive a package that has been put together with great care you feel that the sender regards you highly and wishes for the package to convey that regard and affection through how they have put it together. Since I am a crafter I have a LOT of things at my disposal---ribbon, card stock, paper bits, you name it! So, I make use of what I have on hand to put together visually pleasing packages and the more detail the better, in my opinion.

Here is how I put Christelle's goodies together:

Since the paper goodies were of various sizes I wanted to put them together
according to such so I made detailed bands to hold the pieces together. I used
bits of scrap white card stock which I had saved from printed projects and, with
colored pencils, added the writing and drawing details shown above in the photo
collage. "Autumn Tidings" was the theme of the band since it was already autumn
by the time I made it and the colors resound with the season.

Here you can see the detail of the writing on the band around the small
square note cards. I placed the cards near the mug holding my crayons for
you to see what size this cards are. They are mini notecards I printed from
the Creature Comforts blog, there are TONS of free printables there for you
to use. I've downloaded many and love them! *Remember to use them only
for personal use if you should download them.* They are another's work of
art and freely given for us to use and enjoy--so please do not try to sell their
work. There are many lovely things on that blog and others I will share with
you later on but...what do you think of how I put these mini cards together?

This band was larger and made to hold together a set of four flat notecards
or 4 sheets of stationery, also found at Creature Comforts. I took my cue in
black and blue color from the sheets I'd printed out and used three different
shades of blue colored pencils added a quote and some doodles and voila! 

Here you can see the stationery with the "For You" band wrapped around
it and on the end of the band I added a little personal touch. 

The most enjoyable thing about preparing a package is knowing that the person on the receiving end will enjoy it because as you've gotten to know them you start to ascertain their likes and dislikes. I chose these papers for Christelle based on my knowledge of where she lives and the things she's shared with me and I believe that she will enjoy them immensely. Putting together little themed pieces is a great way to make the moment of opening up a package last a little longer because each piece is a discovery in itself. Once each component has been placed one can begin to put together the entire package. I love to "bundle" things so for Christelle I bundled each component into a neat little ribbon tied package; like so:

As you can see in the collage, the first photo on the top left has the two
pieces I detailed for you earlier the photo next to it has a third little package,
some Anne of Green Gables quote postcards which I printed from a blog
called The Green Gal, the blog owner is from the UK and makes some lovely
sustainable pretties!. You can also print out your own set by clicking here.
The two photos on the bottom depict how I bundled the three different com-
ponents together to for the completed package using about a foot of pretty
red satin ribbon from my enormous ribbon stash.

Isn't that a lovely way to send off a package? And it did not take any extra money, all it took was some creativity and good use of the scraps you have on hand. You can beautifully package virtually anything with just a little creativity. 

Here is the finished bundle with the card I wrote to my friend and a little
something extra for her pleasure. 

I hope you have enjoyed this entry as much as I have enjoyed writing it for you! I look forward to sharing my next adventure in pen palling and letter writing soon!

Lots of love,

Nadia Marie

Organization is key...

I have several pen pals with whom I am often in contact and have started collecting several letters from each. For this reason I devised a creative way of organizing my letters, and pretty at that too! Envelopes can be bulky and also I often cut out the stamps and whatever decorations my pals have added to them so I end up with a rather strange looking bunch of paper. I recycle whatever I can and discard the rest of the envelopes. This allows for my letters received to sit cradled well in my letter carrier. 

my little desk where all my creations take shape...

Above you can see my desk covered in stamps and decorations I was collecting from my envelopes, a few notes and letters which I was working on organizing, tools and ribbon in my jar (I need to get a couple more jars because that one is jam packed). My desk is probably my favorite place in the world to write and craft at. I paint there, write letters, draw, do pretty much everything at my desk--including writing this and my other blogs.

Organizing and Gathering:
1. My letter carrier is organized as such:
European pen pals in the first slot, followed
by pen pals in the Americas in the second slot
and the rest of the world in the last slot.

2. Detailed shot of the second slot with my
friend Maria Laura in front.

3. Ephemera I've collected from my envelopes.

4. Stamps I've gathered and my hole puncher. 

I love the way the ribbon looks bundling the letters and holds the little name tags I made for each bundle. It is simple and easy to do, not to mention aesthetically pleasing. I simply used enough ribbon to loop around each bundle three times before tying it off, giving it room to increase capacity when I need more space to add letters. My ephemera and stamps I placed in decorative soap boxes that the soap my family buys at Tuesday Morning come in. I love those French and Italian soaps! The boxes are so beautiful! I have lots of them filled with crafting supplies and little gifts that have been sent to me by my pen pals.

A bundle and letters waiting to be bundled...

Such a joy it is to send and receive letters! Yesterday I received a letter from Ida in England in a very cute Mini Mouse envelope. No mail today but I have TONS of letters to write back to! So, that being said, until tomorrow and happy posting!

Lots of love,

Nadia Marie