Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper for September

The second round of the Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper has been posted over at The Pen Addict. Lots of links to blogs and posts regarding this wonderful paper world of ours! Have Fun!

For those of you who like typewriters, you may want to check out Strikethru who showcases some pretty neat typewriter ephemera in her blog for 9/7/09. I love those images!

The School Supplies Sleuth is a blog I just came upon this week. There are some awesome reviews of products as well as a really cute and welcoming website and avatar (she reminds me of Miss Bianca from the Disney movie, The Rescuers).

Letters & Journals Magazine Update

I bought this Moleskin planner for 2010 and am excited for the changes, adventures, thrills of this magazine venture as the journey continues. With 2009 coming to its closing quarter next month, I am making preparations for the next steps of the magazine for the end of this year and into 2010.

Over at the survey blog I removed the survey links I had been using to send people to Survey Monkey for the letter writing and journal writing surveys. I will leave the surveys up on Survey Monkey until the end of Sept. 2009 for the links that are still floating around the web and also in old posts.

Thanks to you and many others I collected almost 300 survey responses! And a big THANKS to all of you who passed the survey links along. I never would have gotten so many if you hadn't.

By the end of 2009 I expect to get a sample copy of the magazine printed and will start approaching potential advertisers. In early 2010 work will begin on the website.

Good Mail Day

I love this book! Good Mail Day arrived last week after I had read about it on the Missive Maven's blog and decided to order it. The book is nicely written with vibrant colorful pages- all having to do with mail!

The authors, Jennie Hinchcliff and Carolee Gilligan Wheeler, have two websites:
Podpodpost.com
Good Mail Day

Inside the book you'll find pages of lovely pictures, directions, illustrations, guidelines, suggested ideas and envelope and postcard templates for designing your own mail art. They also include a list of resources which include books, websites and zines.

They stress that you do not need to be an artist to take up this hobby (which is good news for me!).

Some of the chapter headings include:

Correspondence Charm School
From Ordinary to Extraordinary
Judging the Post by its Cover

I plan to create one of these two postcards where they recommend:
1. Fill a postcard with things you hear eavesdropping
2. Buy candy you've never tried before and use the wrappers to make a piece of mail art

I'll update this blog with a description and picture of what I create.

Box of 10 Thank You Cards = 11 Happy People

What if, out of the blue, someone sent you a thank you card for an event long past? Or maybe they sent you a thank you for a recent kindness. Possibly they sent one to thank you for sharing a memory of a recently deceased loved one.

Who could you think to send a thank you card today? If not a thank you card, then how about sending a thinking of you card? Can you think of 10 people?

If I were to challenge myself to think of 10 different people to send cards to, here would be my list:

1. A favorite teacher (it's been over 30 years)

2. A local company recently featured in the newspaper for their green efforts

3. A local animal shelter

4. A girl scout who is doing a project to help animal shelters

5. A national politician

6. A friend who is going through a difficult time

7. A friend who has always been there for me

8. My husband

9. An elderly family friend

10. An author

Who would be on your list?

Quotes

Every one of us is called upon, probably many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, loss of a job or a limb or a loved one, a graduation, bringing a new baby home: it's impossible to think at first how this will all be possible. Eventually, what moves it all forward is the subterranean ebb and flow of being alive among the living.

I don't recall how I found that quote by Barbara Kingslover, in her book High Tide in Tuscon, but it moved me enough to

1. Buy and read the book
2. Send the quote to friends
3. Write to the author
4. Create this blog post about it
5. Add it to my book of quotes

Isn't it funny how some books, people, songs or quotes speak to your soul? They touch you at a level reserved for wonder and awe.

In my journal I keep a list of quotes and favorite passages. Here are some of my favorites:

If we had no impulse towards caution, our curiosities would probably kill us. ~ Gregg Levoy in Callings

Stored within your cells, each one constructed of recycled atoms as old as the earth, is the timeless truth women have always known; all life is sacred, seamless, endless, connected. ~Victoria Moran Living a Charmed Life

You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. And you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand. ~ Woodrow Wilson

Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What are some of yours?

Pen and Ink Swap

I happened to comment on the Asda fountain pen that Sam reviewed in his blog at Future: Nostalgic that I wish we had that particular pen in the US. Lo and behold, we had worked out a trade and look at all of the goodies I got from the UK!

It's hard to pick a favorite. The Asda fountain pen (far left in the blue package) is a lightweight pen that comes with ink cartridges and has an excellent fine tip writing point, which I love. You can read Sam's review of this pen at his blog.

The Inoxcrom pen in the package on the right was a heftier fountain pen with a nicely weighted feel, but I found that the pen wrote a little hesitatingly. I like rich smooth flow of ink. Maybe I will experiment with different inks, like Sam did with his Parker 61 (which is on my wish list) to see if that will help.

The Pilot B2P is a new gel roller where the pen body is made from plastic bottles. It has a fine point (0.7) and a thick, easy flow of ink, which I prefer. It's a smooth writing retractable pen which is great for portability.

Probably my favorite is the Pentel Fine Style ballpoint pen. Although the flow is not thick or generous, it's a smooth writing fine point that's light weight and consistent. It has a slim design and a comfortable barrel.

As an added bonus, Sam included an Oxford notebook. This is a quality notebook with a hard cover and the smooth-lined pages. Naturally, I tested each of the pens on the paper and am very happy with the results. I should have added a picture, but it's pretty scribbly as I wasn't planning to take a photo when I was trying out the different pens. Next time I will know better!

Thanks, Sam, for adding to my collection/addiction!

Letters & Journals Magazine Update

Here is the first look at the design for Letters & Journals, a quarterly print magazine celebrating the art and history of letter writing and journal keeping. We are still working out the details of the tagline that currently says Mail Art, Journals, Blogs, Handwritten Letters, Postcards, Notebooks and Diaries. We are deciding on which words to use and in what order. Fun stuff, I'm telling you!

Letters & Journals will be dedicated to all areas of letters and journals such as:

Fan Mail Today
Famous People Journal Excerpts
Penpals
Keeping an Art, Travel, Life, Success etc. Journal
Letters to your future self, your child, your past self
Make your own stationery
Best stationery stores by City
Stationery Product Reviews
Blogs that write about pen, ink, paper, postcards, journals, doodles
Scrapbook Journaling

I've gotten some great suggestions to possible feature stories and regular departments on the survey that I've been conducting at Survey Monkey. If you haven't taken either of the very brief surveys, I welcome your feedback and contribution.