DIY Pen Pal Kit

The DIY Pen Pal kit isn't a new idea. (I was originally inspired by this post over at Making Mondays.) In any case, this is a very easy, inexpensive project that I would highly recommend for both children and adults. This is the third time I've put together a kit for someone, but I am always surprised at how different each kit looks from one to the next.  The contents are basically the same (paper, envelopes, pens, stickers) but there's a ton of room for customization.

This kit was specifically designed for my sister-in-law, Lara, so there's a few tweaks I put in especially for her. For instance, since Lara is much younger than  most of my other pen pals, I figured she'd mostly be communicating with her family and friends. I included a dollar store address book, but customized it by filling out a list of her family member's birthdays, as well as the address for my husband and I since we live far away. My hope is that this way we can still keep in touch even though we don't get to see each other often. I also whipped up some brightly colored envelopes using scrapbook paper and a template. I cranked out about 20 over a couple episodes of LOST. The different patterns of paper do a lot to make it unique, but that's not actually my favorite part.

With all these random little pieces, I knew Lara would need a way to keep everything together in one place. I was lucky enough to find a fairly flat-shaped box so it could be easily slid under a bed or stacked up when not in use. Since I acquired the box from work and it was covered in ads for contact lenses, I decided to get crafty and dress it up a bit. Three colors of craft paint, a stencil, some glitter glue, and a couple evenings later, we're done!The paint job isn't perfect, but I think everyone will agree it looks much better than the plain box. flat

All in all the entire kit only cost me about ten bucks, because I had a lot of the supplies (the materials to decorate the box, the patterned paper to make envelopes, and the plain white envelopes) on hand. I actually started assembling it back in June and added to it little by little over time, so it was really easy on the budget! Since this was a Christmas gift I decided to wait to post it until now so that the secret wouldn't get out.

Zentangled envelopes

Hey everyone! Just wanted to share my earliest attempts at a Zentangle inspired envelope.

 I'm not going to call this an easy project. The concept is simple and straight forward, but it really relies on precision and detail to be any good. Naturally, high precision + detailed details = lots of time spent creating. I did this one in my down time over the course of three days at work, so I don't have an exact estimate of the time involved, but I would guess at least 3 hours. I also was armed with only a simple bic ballpoint pen which makes darkening large areas a tedious task, but I think those are really the only negatives to this project. On to the pros!

Despite the somewhat tedious feeling, Zentangle is actually designed to be a relaxing activity. I find it enjoyable on those days when my brain just won't shut up about all it's inane reminders every other second. It actually reminds me of the beautiful and amazing mandalas created by Buddhist monks. I was once lucky enough to see one in an art museum that was painstakingly crafted by carefully pouring colored sand to create the intricate design. (Can I just say I would hate to be the one monk who sneezed?) Being so deeply focused on making a precise pattern feels meditative and can ease all that brain noise.



 

Today's Outgoing: January 13, 2015

Here's a peek at today's outgoing letters. 

The ZenTangled one is going out to Cathleen in Washington, and Tweety bird is headed off to Jamie in Missouri.


 

Today's Outgoing: January 8, 2015

This one is going out to Ariel. She specially requested a picture of Yoshi on the envelope because that is the name of one of her dogs! :)

Today's Outgoing: January 6, 2015

Another birthday card for another cousin! Hopefully the hooty hoot envelope will bring her as much joy as it does me.

Today's Outgoing: January 5, 2014

Today was a busy card making day. In 2014 I resolved to send all of my family and close friends a birthday card. I didn't do perfectly, but things went well enough that I wanted to do it again this year.

This card is going to go out to my cousin Jason who is serving a mission in Mexico for our church. Apparently the mail system there isn't the most reliable, so hopefully it will make it. If not I'll have to try a postcard version.

Most of the pattern came with my Silhouette Cameo software, but I modified the words because I didn't want to glue each letter individually. The balloons are also inseparable from the black piece, so I had to learn how to draw the balloon shape in the program to make all the colored ones. Sounds harder than it was.

Today's Outgoing: January 3, 2015

Made this envelope with my slick new Silhouette Cameo!