We’ve got a friend or two (or three or four) who are terrifically good note writers. Every once in a while we get a sweet little envelope in the mail with our name and address HAND-WRITTEN on the front (this really stands out in a sea of bills and junk-mail, doesn’t it?) and an adorably modern note-card inside. The note is sometimes for just no reason at all but to say “hi” outside of Facebook or Twitter, or it’s a thank-you for a gift recently given or word of encouragement offered for some trivial moment in life that many others might overlook. Sometimes it’s a funny newspaper clipping or a recipe that our friend knew we’d love to make for our family.
And we try to take inspiration from these good friends and be good note-writers, too! We’ve found it to be pretty easy if we follow two simple steps.
- Keep a stash of adorable stationery that inspires us to use it. We’ve shared a few of our favorites here with you, but the selection and possibilities in this world are staggering.
- Create an all-items-in-one-area note-writing station. It can be as extravagant or as humble as you make it. Ours is a simple fabric-covered box that holds all our various note cards and stationery plus a few special pens, our return-address labels and some stamps. We put this box in our craft area so we are close to embellishments, ribbons, markers or whatever else we might need for “unique” notes.
Oh, and if the world were a little bit different (or our house layout at least…) we might even be able to create some gorgeous and sophisticated letter-writing area such as this one. Oh, indeed.
And don’t leave the kids out! Buying (or making) a stash of personalized stationery just for them means you’ll ALWAYS have cards ready to write birthday, Christmas, or just-because thank-yous. We write out a simple thank-you for our under-age-3 kiddos and then let them color on the cards in a lighter-toned pen, marker or water-color paint. Older children can get in on the act by printing their name at the end of the note, and working their way up to writing the entire card and addressing the envelope! These kid-friendly thank-you notes from Paper Moon Shop have many of the details already filled out. The kiddos can practice their handwriting AND manners by filling in the blanks. We love this!
(We’re so kooky about stationery in this house we’ve got a personalized set for each person, plus a set with the two children’s names on it and then one for the whole family! Of course, being this prepared will only serve to deepen the guilt when you DO forget to send a thank-you note…as I keep doing with my recent birthday gifts…)
There is something very calming and connecting about reaching out to someone via pen, paper, stamp and postal service. Try it out this week and enjoy!
Color Me House 