i 'like' you!

Apparently almost 65 million facebook users 'like' things daily. That's a whole lotta likin'!

I think it would be super-lovely to 'like' someone you know, on paper, in real life,  instead of just 'liking' something they've written on facebook.

That's why I 'like' this I like you card from kind-over-matter. 'Like' someone, now! And if you get around to it, i'd love to hear who you 'liked' and why.

Valentine's Schmalentine's

What do you think of Valentine's Day? I mean, when you really stop to think about it, it is a good idea to let the marketing departments of card manufacturers and shops tell you when you should declare your undying love to someone? Seems kind of crazy, no?

To me, it seems so much more romantic for somone to write you a card or buy you a gift, spontaneously, just because they were thinking of you, than for them to make the very same gestures out of a sense of obligation on an officially designated date.

Ask yourself this: do you want to be a daredevil of love, a trailblazer? Or a robot? I'm guessing you're going to choose option A. So my advice is this: forget all about February 14th. If you're lucky enough to have someone you're crazy about, and they're crazy about you too, send them a card, or buy them a gift, now, today. Yes, today! Radical, hey? But sort of exciting. 

If you already live with the person you love, and you want to jazz things up a little, why not send something to them at work? If you want to be lavish, have their favourite cake delivered to them at their desk, or an extravagant bunch of flowers. Or make them a beautiful card with a heartfelt note inside. Only you know the right gesture to make to the person you love best of all. But why wait until February to do it? Get onto it, this minute! 

I'm a big fan of these nerdy quirky printable cards from Maquette:

Letter Writing Week

I've just found out that January 8th-14th is Letter Writing Week. In honour of this, Melissa made writing a letter this week's 'nice assignment' on Operation Nice.

Melissa also provided a link to an article on e-how which provides some letter-writing steps for the utterly clueless. The fact that you would need a how-to article on such a basic activity suggests it really is becoming a lost art. 

We musn't let that happen! Let's rediscover letter-writing. Let's make it the great new trend sweeping the world in 2011. Yeah! Let's make t-shirts with witty slogans about it. Let's blog and tweet and facebook about it. But most of all let's just do it!

 (photo:decor8blog.com)

I just wrote a letter to my friend in Laos. Who are you going to write to?

Stationery Fiend

For me, one of the joys of real letter writing is the stationery. Ever since I was a little girl I've been a stationery fiend. Though a trip to an office supplies megastore is a pretty pleasurable adventure for me, what really makes me pop my cork is a trip to a beautiful paper store (or paperie, if you want to be fancy).  

I recently came across this post about the joys of writing a real letter from Two Hands Paperie in Boulder, Colorado:

I have... recently helped a few customers purchase letter writing materials- paper, envelopes, pens, and even wax seals and sealing wax. Their intentions were to do away with email, and write letters again. Because of these interactions, I recently decided that I needed to write a letter myself.  I asked myself Who do I know that would really enjoy receiving a letter? ...The tactile experience of writing, of addressing an envelope, and sending it off was something I had forgotten about.

Who do you know that would really enjoy receiving a letter? Do you have an old friend you've lost touch with? An elderly or sick relative who doesn't get out much? A long-distance love? Why don't you get down to your local paperie, pick out some beautiful paper and get inspired.

Postcards Connecting the World

I've always liked the idea that what comes around goes around. My theory is that if you start sending more personal mail, you'll almost certainly inspire at least some of your recipients to do the same, thus transforming your own mailbox into a mailbox of delight.

But I can't wait that long, I hear you say. I want a mailbox of delight NOW! If that sounds like you, you might want to think about signing up to Postcrossing. Postcrossing was founded more than 5 years ago by Paulo Magalhães who describes himself as a "geek with a passion for postcards". The goal of the project is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. The idea is that if you send a postcard, you will receive at least one back from a random Postcrosser from somewhere in the world. This beautiful postcard recently journeyed from Germany to Taiwan:

The more you send, the more you receive. What's not to like about that?

oh, hello!

Friends and loved ones are always in our thoughts, even if we don't often see them or speak to them; something we see or hear might remind us of them.

How nice would it be to get a card from someone you loved, just telling you that they've been thinking of you?

Is there someone you've been thinking of lately? Why not give them a mailbox of delight experience by letting them know? You don't have to write a long letter. You could just send them this free printable cute little card from Ginger & George (oh, you pretty things!)

What is a Mailbox of Delight?

Checking the mail can be a dreary experience, can't it? All those plain white DL envelopes filled with the administrative data that is allegedly so essential to modern life.

But what about those days when you lift the flap to find something else... something colourful, something handwritten, something just for you? It might be an invitation to a thrilling event, a heartfelt thank you note, a postcard from a globetrotting friend. Will you rip into it right then and there or wait for a moment when you can savour it? Doesn't just the thought of it make your day? By golly, yes. That's what I call a mailbox of delight.

This blog is about writing a letter instead of an email, sending a postcard instead of a text message... it's about putting your love on paper, sealing it up in a beautiful envelope and trusting in the majesty of the postal system. It's a call to arms, or at least to hands. The world needs more personal mail. And it's up to YOU to send it.