The last mail swap I organized was a a little bit more serious than usual. The theme I picked was HOPE. And it was because at that specific point in time I was very much burdened by many dark and dreary things happening around me — to people I know, in our community, our city, the country, the world. I felt like, in some way, I had to do something to keep the light burning and not give in to sadness and hopelessness. So I thought maybe exchanging words and images of hope and life can be a simple yet good way to do that. I'm glad many expressed interest and really embraced the message. Those Read More
Sharing Summer Memories
On a cold, rainy day, I think the next best thing to reading a book with a cup of tea (or coffee!) is receiving and reading heartfelt letters from pen pals. It's been months since I organized the Summer Mail Swap but I recently read through all of them and how they made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The theme of the swap was "Best of Summer 2017" and we all shared with each other through words, pictures and artwork our favorite summer experiences. The stories shared were varied — from out of town trips to making art projects at home, from finally watching their favorite band perform Read More
2016 Christmas Mail Swap
Why am I still talking about Christmas in February?!? I'll tell you why! It's because I haven't had time to sit down and blog so I'm so very late in featuring this one…BUT the things I'm sharing with you in this post deserve to be acknowledged and adored no matter the delay! And I'm talking about the lovely handmade letters and cards I received from the ladies who joined my Christmas mail swap last December. I love organizing swaps because I'm interested in people and in people's original ideas. In having craft swaps, participants are challenged to come up with something nice regardless of Read More
Hearts in Letters
Phyllis Theroux said, "To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart." And I do feel like parts of me went to different places in Manila a few months back when I sent handmade cards to the group of ladies who joined my mail swap. And just the same, I was touched to have received thoughtful messages and works of art from the same women. The theme of the swap was "Favorite Movie Lines" and I really had fun collecting film quotes which stuck with me the most through the years. I realized I had a lot of them so I narrowed down my movie selection to five: Read More