Cardiff Haul!!!

Been dying to share with you all the lovely things I got in Cardiff when we went a couple of weekends back! It was amazing to see Bryan Adams in concert and lovely to be back in South Wales for a little while. Next month, Alan (my hubby) and I are going to be embarking on a no spend month to save some money. I am both excited and scared as it means that I cannot spend on crafty bits at all but at the same time it also means I can FINALLY start using all the supplies I do have to make embellishments myself.

So, without further ado, here's my entire haul...

There are bits from Tiger, Paperchase, PRIMARK and TK Maxx in this haul! I am sure I could have spent tons more in other places but I could not resist all the above goodies. Tape, tape and more tape---my addiction must be curbed (but it's so pretty, right?). I am especially excited about the tag punch I got at Tiger. Such a bargain!

I am in love with the Paperchase writing sets above. I know they are plainer than what I usually buy but they are just so lovely! The Paris A4 paper pad is one I've been trying to hunt down for ages and who doesn't love Grumpy Cat? Found the notebook and sticky notes in PRIMARK. I had no idea one could find such great things in that shop. 

I am sure you've noticed there's a bit of a gold theme going on here! I am crushing on anything glittery and foiled right now. I am also crushing on office supplies and vintage botanicals and such.

Natural and pastels are also on my crush list of late. What are you crushing on these days? I would love to know! What in my collection makes you want to go out and buy something?

Let me know in a comment! I love to hear from all my readers!

Cheers,

Nadia xoxo

Linked to: http://www.thereadingresidence.com/papery-peep-may-2016/ 

Mouse Mail: Incoming from my twinsie Bekah, aka Miss Mouse Middleton

I believe that we all have more than one soul mate in life and that these soul mates can come in the shape of a close friend, a relative and even your other half. I find myself lucky enough to at least have two soul mates, my own other half Alan and my twin from another mother & father, Bekah. I swear, we share a brain! It is uncanny how much alike we are and when she was here visiting from Canada the amount of times we said "me too!" to one another was beginning to sound redundant! Hehehehe! So, of course, it makes perfect sense to assume that we both are very creative people and have quite similar tastes in things. Bekah is "Mouse" and that is why I am calling this entry Mouse Mail. 

I received this letter over the weekend and boy was I surprised! I had no idea she'd written to me so soon after having spent basically a month in each other's company but I was super excited about it anyway! As soon as I saw the envelope I was certain I'd love all the contents and boy was I right! I just have to show you how creative Bekah truly is:

Will you just look at the amount of gorgeousness that is this black/kraft/white/purple amazing letter and goodies!!! Right down to the Anne of Green Gables line art and the washi samples cleverly placed on a little tag with an Eiffel Tower sticker on it (because we are both obsessed with Paris). I love it all! Plus the quote card for my inspiration wall is just a lovely touch. 

The letter is contained in the beautifully embellished card above and everything is just perfectly and cleverly colour coordinated! Isn't it all beautiful?

I am in love with all the little bits Bekah sent and am already imagining what to do with them. I think I am going to start a pen pal scrapbook for just the things that Bekah has sent me or remind me of her and will add pics from our trips together here and there. 

I love, love, love the stickers and definitely want to use them to add to a scrapbook of our travels! They are just perfect for that! What do you do with all the things your pals send you? Do you tend to hoard them like I do or do you actually use them to send to other folk? 

I am very much looking forward to replying to Bekah soon and will do a few new posts on the things I am sending soon! 

Have a lovely day all!

Happy Snail Mailing!

Nadia xo

Incoming Mail, Unboxings and Outgoing Mail

Hello friends! It has been ages since I last wrote to you and shared anything snail mail related! Last week I had a pretty good mail week despite the fact that I have been dismal at getting much out myself. Sigh...I have been working on mail lately and am hoping to start another few replies tomorrow after I get orders out for customers of my stationery shop Walks In Beauty Paperie on Etsy. I've been adding new designs each week and hope to renew a few of our most popular items soon! 

Anyway, as I said, in the last week a half I've had quite a lot of great happy mail arrive, some letters as well as some subscription boxes which have been to die for! So, I'm going to share them here with you today.

Up first some of my incoming pen pal mail:

I receive a lot of mail from back home in the States from my parents. They've been slowly sending me the things I left behind so it is always a bit of a surprise to re-discover what things I had that my Dad is sending me in small boxes. 

He was able to get ALL of this into the top small box! 

This was also a bit of stuff that my Dad sent me in an envelope from home, a few Hello Kitty stickers, some Barbie paper bits I'd designed for a friend and a set of envelopes that came from an old stationery set.

A letter from my Belgian pen pal which came in the cutest envelope decorated with deco tapes! She always cleverly pairs tapes on her envelopes. There was also a little bag of gummy candies inside but I ate it before I took the photo! Whoops! LOL!

Also received mail from my kindred spirit twin, Bekah a.k.a. Mouse, @miss_mouse_middleton on Instagram,. As well as another envelope of goodies from home. The contents of Bekah's letter are so lovely I think they merit their own blog post so be on the look out for it. ☺

Now, all my pen pals know I am addicted to washi tapes and stickers and the internet has greatly facilitated my addiction and hoarding with the advent of online shopping and subscription boxes. I had, until very recently, only subscribed to the Lucky Dip Club boxes which I will do an unboxing post about with this month's box but then I finally caved and got Pipsticks and also Yoohoo Mail and OMG!!!

Mail nowadays has been taken to another level with all the bits one can add to it! And everything inside is just gorgeous! My other favourite place to shop online for bits, mainly washi tape, is Etsy!

First up: My order from Unwrap Colour's Etsy shop, 2 sets of sticker flakes for my diary and a lovely pink & gold foiled pineapple washi tape. I had two tapes like this before but in white and gold. I am hooked on foiled washi right now!

These fabulous vintage paper clip rolls of washi came from LobsterBisqueVintage which is located in New Hampshire. I sometimes miss the stuff I could get in the States. The lovely Susan added some extra bits to make the shipping worthwhile. Isn't that sweet of her?

Pipsticks is the sticker sensation of the moment! The pro pack comes full of 15 different sticker sheets plus a postcard and print. Plus that packaging is way fun, right?

I'm pretty sure all of these are being put toward my diary, not sure I want to share them! LOL!

Yoohoo Mail is a UK based stationery subscription box and it is to die for! I bought the Wanderlust box this month and it did not disappoint! I am over the moon with the amazing goodies that came in it!

Two fabulous prints, 3 postcards, 5 amazing blank greetings cards, one writing set and the cutest list cards ever! All travel themed and just extremely cute! 

What subscription boxes, if any, do you receive? Lastly, I'd like to show you my latest bit of creative mail I was lately working on which is going out this week to a pal who loves birds! I gathered as many bird themed supplies as I could find in my stash to create this lovely bit of mail for her.

Some of what I used to create a mail folder for her. The Kingfisher card was what I used as a base for making the mail folder, I used all the tapes pictured and some stickers from the booklets pictured. 

Inside the folder: I made a flap for the letter to sit in on the left and used washi tape to secure some bits on the right hand side. Stickers, labels and mini tags I punched using a new craft punch I picked up at TIGER in Cardiff.

Some of the stickers I included...

Mini tags secured in a mini envelope sealed with a feather and some birds on a wire holding in place some pretty pink tags. 

Just a tiny bit of polka dotted tape holding the folder closed and a mail art covered envelope. If you aren't already aware that I now have an instagram account for this blog, follow me at @this_is_myletter_2u where I will be posting the mail art in a photo tomorrow. You can also follow me on Facebook to see the photos which are always automatically posted on there as well. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed seeing all the mail I've received lately! I will be posting tomorrow again with a look at some of the stationery related goodies I purchased in Cardiff two weekends ago. Stay tuned!

Happy Snail Mailing!

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? :)

Incoming & Outgoing Mail Yesterday and Today

I count myself as one very fortunate girl as I'm very often spoiled by my lovely pals but this pal, she takes the cake! Not only did she send me ALL the goodies you see above included with the letter but the letter itself was a beautiful and heartfelt testament to our friendship and I can only say I feel very honoured and blessed. 

This was a very welcome bit of happy mail which I received! I look forward to putting together my reply and equally fun happy mail for her and sharing it here with you all after she's received it! :) Aren't all those stamps lovely? I can't wait to start using them! 

Yesterday I wrote to another pal in the UK as well (the one I received the above goodies from is in England) only she's in Wales. I have been wanting for a long time to do some themed letters and I've started using the alphabet as my theme so yesterday's letter was 'A is for apple'. Here's what I posted today:

Above you can see that I printed some apple themed illustrations as well as some illustrated apple cake recipes, I then printed some apple illustrations in sticker form and wrote the first page on a Susan Branch apple themed letter paper which seemed to suit the theme quite nicely! I hope she likes it all and I'm looking forward to hearing from her what she thinks! 

Today I received a letter from a pal in the Netherlands and I love the envelope she used! Kissy lips are a personal fave of mine! Have a look:

How was your mail day today? I'd love to know! :)

XOXO,

Nadia 

My First Pocket Letter

Hello again friends!

It's been a long while since my last post (again) but I hope that now that I've installed a blogger app on my phone I'll be posting more frequently! 

Today I had a pretty fab mail day here in Florida if I do say do myself! I may not have received a ton of letters but I did receive my very first pocket letter from my pen pal Maria Laura. I'd been seeing these on Pinterest for a while now so was curious to see her take on these. She did not disappoint! ☺️ She's one of the most creative pals I have so I was thrilled to pieces to see her envelope in my box when I opened it!

Let me just show you some of the details of this new creative form of letter writing/presenting:

Above is a photo of the entire page of pockets with sections.

Now for done details...

I love the colour scheme she chose for this letter! It's very Spring/Summer themed. 

Lots of goodies were included; stickers, decorative tabs, clips, labels and more!

Love these fab sticky notes!

The letter was tucked away here, cute right? ☺️ 

I'm off to enjoy this letter and hopefully make one of my own soon! 

Happy Snailmailing!

Nadia xo