P.S. Write Soon: Vintage letter-writing stamps

These letter-writing stamps, released in 1980, are among my all-time favorite stamps. I use them on letters sometimes, and they are always a hit with letter lovers. Since a few readers and pen pals have asked if I'd sell them in my etsy store, I figured I would give it a shot.

P.S. Write Soon: Set of unused vintage postage stamps with letter-writing theme



The stamps all bear various artwork including an envelope, and the text reads:
"P.S. Write Soon"
"Letters Preserve Memories"
"Letters Lift Spirits"
"Letters Shape Opinions"

They are the ultimate in meta-mail postage!

I hope to list more vintage postage in my etsy shop in the coming months.

Happy letter writing!

Black and White and Read all over

I've been having fun with etsy Treasury lists lately, and this is one of the favorites I've made recently, featuring stunning paper goods in black, white, and red, designed for reading and writing.

Each item above should be linked and clickable, but you can also go directly to the etsy treasury:
Black and White and Read all over

Sewing envelopes: extra postage?

A dear friend of mine, a talented artist and seamstress, wants to sew the envelopes for her wedding invitations. She asked me about postage and special procedures for that, and since I don't sew a stitch, it's nothing I've ever considered.

I've received a variety of lovely sewn envelopes, in a variety of different styles, but I've not sent any.

Those of you that sew, or that are far more knowledgeable about this sort of postal practice than I - will that require extra postage? I'm inclined to say, better safe than sorry and throw on that 20-cent non-machinable extra, because I'm worried about the threads catching in the sorting machines. But my beloved suggested taping over the stitches, or sealing them in some way, to make them less inclined to be problematic.

Has anyone done this? I'd love any insights or suggestions, particularly those with experience behind them. As these are to be wedding invitations, there will be a fair number of them, and of course we want to make sure they are delivered successfully!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/ideas.

CLARIFICATION: The idea is to sew stitches on paper, not fabric. The main component of the envelopes would still be thick paper, just sewn instead of glued.

Soda, feline letter-writing taskmaster

Soda has been very helpful in my return to increased letter-writing this month.



Longtime blog readers know she loves to sit on my writing desk and "help" with mail.



Usually she gets up when I do - letter finished, time to drop it in the outgoing mail slot, etc - but lately she's been staying on the desk and giving me this look: "Are you really finished?" Nope. "Then get back here and write some more."

Okay.

To get a letter, write a letter... stickers!

I've been sending little "extras" in orders from my etsy shop, and a few people have asked if I'd be selling them. So, here we go with the official debut of another new Missive Maven original: "To get a letter, write a letter" stickers.



I personally have a lot of fun using them as letter seals and envelope dressing, but these 1.5" square stickers with rounded corners have endless possibilities.



I now have two items in this design: the pictured stickers, and also a postcard set.

A letter to a favorite writer, hand-delivered

I made a special trip to Boston earlier this week. The purpose of the visit was partly to see friends and family, but the timing was coordinated with a book tour by one of my very favorite authors of all time, Jeanette Winterson. On Monday night I heard her read from her stunning memoir, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, though in her reading/talk she called it an experiment rather than a memoir.

I have often considered writing a letter to various authors (I've even blogged about such contemplation in the past), generally just to praise their books and say how much they meant to me. Surely writers like to hear that? And I would suppose they would appreciate the charm of a hand-written letter instead of an email? I don't know for sure, everyone is different, of course... but I had never written any author before. Part of this was because the prospect is daunting, and part is because I wanted to write to Jeanette Winterson before anyone else.



I was so excited when I read that Boston was included on her 10-city tour to promote the new book, and even more excited when it actually happened at a time when I could attend! The opportunity to hand-deliver a letter to her finally prompted me to write an intense and intensely thankful letter. I wasn't sure I'd actually give it to her until I did, but we waited in line to have the book autographed, and I handed her the letter after she signed our book. It was a pretty fast-moving line (and a long one!! We waited a long time!), but she did ask me how to pronounce my name and where it came from.

I don't know if she even read my letter, but she took it, and I hope my bumbling letter is more of a gift than a burden. I know she is very famous, but her books changed my life and I wanted her to know it.

Handmade envelopes: dreams and fantasies

I've been listing all kinds of new items in my etsy shop over the past couple of weeks, but two of the humblest are those of which I'm most proud, because I made them myself. I've had the urge to make some handmade envelopes for ages now, and I finally sat down and went on an envelope-making spree.



First we have a set of envelopes from The Twelve Dancing Princesses, a classic fairy tale. The artwork in this children's book took my breath away, and when it came into my hands, I was so excited to make envelopes out of it.



Each page has a beautiful, ornate border that I incorporated into the flaps on the back. I can't get over how rich these colors are...



Also, from the classic children's book, Where the Wild Things Are envelope set.



Max cavorts in his wolf suit with some Wild Things, terrorizes his dog, watches his bedroom become a forest... the fun of the book comes back to me as I look at these envelopes.



I managed to get a nice green tree inside the flap of one of the envelopes, a treat for the sender, too.

Both sets include 5 envelopes, and they have a water-reactive glue as an adhesive sealant, so all you have to do is moisten the flap and it will seal. No adhesive required!

Twelve Dancing Princesses upcycled/handmade envelopes

Where the Wild Things Are upcycled/handmade envelopes

Rainbow pens are back...

I thought they were gone for good, but I stumbled on some more of these great pens. I now have a few more of these awesome Zebra super marble rainbow gel pens back in my shop... which I'm also using a lot of myself! They're great on postcards, and the rainbow colors really stand out. I was kicking myself because I sold my last pens and didn't save any for myself, so I'm doubly glad I found some more of these!