Sunday, October 13, 2013

Ex Postal Facto Event February 2014

Mark your calendars and update your travel itineraries to visit lovely San Francisco to attend the Ex Postal Facto event celebrating correspondence art, faux philatelics and postal modernism Feb 14-16, 2014.


Organizer Jennie Hinchcliff from Red Letter Day created the event with the help of some of dedicated art and mail enthusiasts. You can follow the news, updates and events at the Ex Postal Facto blog.

The 3-day event includes a vendor expo, exhibits, lectures, passport stamping and so much more. We'll see if the planets align for this mail enthusiast to go!

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Product Review & Contest

Winner Update August 28, 2013

The winner of the OfficeMax Giveaway is Jakki (the third commentator to this blog post)! Congratulations, Jakki! An email has been sent directly to you to get your mailing address. The fine folks at OfficeMax will mail your package directly to you.


Thanks to all who entered!
Maybe next time!
------------------------------------------------------------
OfficeMax generously sent an assortment of pens, pencils and highlighters for review and they were also kind enough to offer the same items to be given away to one lucky recipient! One winner will be chosen from the comments on this blog post. Winner will be selected on Sunday, August 25. Be sure to either leave your email in the comment OR email me your name after you leave a comment (Jackie (at) LettersAndJournals (dot) com.

You can see a sample of each item below, but the full assortment of product is in the following pictures. In the notebook photos I used each product to show how I sampled the different writing instraments.


This 10-pack of highlighters was a joy to use. I love the variety of colors and the heavy smooth flow of the highlighter ink. You can see in the pictures above how I used the highlighters to highlight and to color. (Yes, I had fun!)
The angled tip of the highlighter made it easy to draw, color or highlight. Your choice!
 And look how nicely they fit in this pencil holder.
These 0.7 point gel pens have a smooth rich flow, like most gel pens. I'm a fine point person and found these pens very easy to write with and had no skipping or bleed-through.


Lastly, we have the box of 12 mechanical pencils. The eraser colors are eye-catching and the matching grip makes the writing a little easier. I prefer mechanical pencils with a little more heft and weight, but other than that, these pencils work superbly.

Disclaimer: I received the writing products in this post from OfficeMax in order to facilitate my review. The items featured in this giveaway are also provided by OfficeMax and will be sent to the winner directly. Opinions expressed in this post are 100% my own. I have not been compensated for this post in any other way.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Letters & Journals Magazine Update

I didn't want you to think that I have forgotten the vision and plans for Letters & Journals! It has been a long road, but I haven't given up. Even though my current job keeps me working more hours than my previous job, it only means I can't blog as much as before, not that the dream has died.

I'm continually on the look out for potential articles, advertisers, features, images, web design, contests, etc. You would not believe the file I have! Not to mention the mailing list of almost 5,000 names. I am starting to research the possibility of running Kickstarter campaign to fund the initial launch. Oh, the possibilities!

It lights up my heart to see ads like these promoting the products and services that we are endeared to- don't you think? What are some advertisements that you think should be in Letters & Journals?











Thank you for your patience, support and helping to keep the dream alive!

Friday, June 28, 2013

It's a Notecard Kind of Day

I'm of the opinion that a person can never have too many notecards. I try to send 2-3 notecards every week so am always on the lookout for new ones. Here's just some of what's in my stash currently.

This lovely pink notecard set is from Crane Co. You can't beat the quality paper that Crane uses in its notecards. These cards love a good fountain pen.

The dragonfly cards are a little glossier than the Crane notecards, but the image is just so lovely.

This homemade notecard includes a photo from one of my favorite walking paths in St. Paul, MN. Love to see the seasons change at this park.
I bought these notecards when I visited the Strand Bookstore in New York with my pen pal, Cecilia, whom I had just met that day.
Starry Night by Van Gogh is one of my favorite images. For a long time I had this as a screensaver on my cellphone. Then I upgraded to a new phone and lost the image. I think I bought these notecards at Barnes & Noble which has a respectable line of stationery offerings.
What's in your stationery stash?

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Spring Ephemera Giveway

Winner Announced 5-13-13
Congratulations, Linda H from Nevada! You're the winner and the box is on its way to you. Enjoy!

In 2012 I sold 5 boxes of paper ephemera for the price of shipping and payment processing. Since that time I've had one box sitting in my closet that I've been continuing to add miscellany to as I come across various items. Most recently these include postcards, stamps, bus tickets, journal, stickers, maps, cards, and so  much more!



Now I'd like to offer a giveaway of this final box to one lucky winner, which I will mail to you at no charge.

All you need to do is send me something in the mail- a letter, a postcard, a quote, a thought, a million dollar idea- and include the secret word- MAILBOX.

Your entry must be postmarked by May 1, 2013. Send entries to:

Letters & Journals
Jackie Flaherty
PO Box 120052
St. Paul, MN 55112

Don't forget the secret word, "MAILBOX", which tells me you're entering this contest and not just sending me fun mail because you are nice and thoughtful, although I'm sure you are!

All entries will be assigned a number as I receive them and the winner will be randomly selected by Random.org after May 11 (Note: Only entries with a postmark by May 1, 2013 will be eligible).

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Exaclair Giveaway (includes postage!)

Exaclair has sent an assortment of colored cards and envelopes to be given away to one of Letters & Journals lucky followers! Could it be you? I suppose it could! Read on!
The cards are 3.25 x 5.25. These flat cards have a slightly rippled texture which is perfect to absorb the ink from fountain pens. Or any pen would be fine!
I didn't take a picture of the inside of the envelopes, but they have a white envelope liner. Classy.
Isn't this assortment of colors bright and cheery? Perfect for sending Springtime sentiments. As a bonus, I'll include postage for each envelope. I have some fun stamps with different denominations and themes. You'll love them!

4/12/13
WINNER UPDATE: Comment #2 was selected as the winner. Jackie, that is you! Congratulations. I've emailed you this announcement and asked for your mailing address. Please respond no later than April 15 so that I can mail your winning packet to you. If I don't hear from you by then, I'll select another entry.

Fine Print
Contest is open to everyone everywhere.

Contest ends Sunday, April 7 at midnight Central time.

Just leave a comment with your email (or mailing address) OR send an email with your mailing address to (Jackie at LettersandJournals dot com)

You can get an additional entry for a Facebook mention or a Tweet. Just send the link in a comment.

Cheers to you (and your little dog too!) Ha! Good Luck everyone! Spread the word.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

For the Sender Giveaway

WINNER - Lily Anne is the winner of the giveaway! Lily, you have until Monday, March 11 to contact me with your mailing address at Jackie (at) LettersAndJournals (dot) com.

If the winner doesn't respond, then I will draw another name from the remaining 5 entrants.

Thanks, everyone!

For the Sender: Four Letters. Twelve Songs is a book and CD written by songwriter Alex Woodard and Grammy-Award winning artists about real-life letters.
The book came out last year and has gotten a lot of positive press including a recommendation by Wayne Dyer.

Letters & Journals has a new copy to give away to one lucky reader! Woo-Hoo!

To enter you can

1. Leave a comment OR
2. Send an email to Jackie (at) LettersAndJournals (dot) com.
3. Earn additional entries for ONE tweet and ONE Facebook mention- just be sure to leave the link for each one in the comment or the email. Thanks for spreading the word!

Deadline is midnight Feb, 28 and the winner will be announced the week of March 3.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Letter News (Sharing Other Blogs)

Time to share some of the blog posts that have entertained me this week. I hope you'll enjoy them too.

Handmade Journal from Jesse Aston by Whatever
Aerial Envelope Rubber Stamps (Member Exclusive) by Letters Writer Alliance
The Gift of Correspondence by Quo Vadis
Looking for Entries (on how a pen has made a difference in your life) by Nancy Olson, Ink
League of Extraordinary Penpals- A new blog and member website

Have you seen any good blog posts you'd like to share?

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Letters & Journals Print Magazine Update

I've had some inquiries into the status of the print edition of Letters & Journal. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that the print edition is still being created and will come out as an annual edition initially and then may increase to 2,3 or 4 times a year in the future. The bad news is that it most likely will not come out in 2013.
This could change if an investor or sponsor stepped up to help with the initial costs of the launch. I was in discussion with one potential investor/publishing company last summer, but, in the end, it wasn't a good fit.
The website is being redesigned and needs a new host. I'm excited about the new design and have a lot of fun things planned.

My current position as owner/publisher of Natural Awakenings Twin Cities doesn't allow me as much time as my previous job did to spend on Letters & Journals. But I know that will change as I become more familiar with the running of the business and it won't require as much.

In the meantime, I'm keeping a list of people interested in getting the magazine. So far I'm at just a little over 4,100 names. Let me know if you'd like to be added or if you want to check to see if you're already there.