Travelling Mail! [ TAKE PART & JOIN IN THE FUN!]

What is Travelling Mail? How is it different from normal happy mail? How can I get involved?

Travelling Mail is a type of snailmail (mail sent through the postal service, not virtually/online) that ultimately makes it way back to you. 

You set it off by sending it to a penpal, or to someone on the Travelling Mail Facebook group. They will add something to it, and then send it onto another person, that person will go through the exact same process, and so on. When it's full up and there's no more room for other people to add to it, the last person will get in touch with you to send it on it's last journey home!

I've found it to be one of the most interesting and rewarding types of mail to send & take part in.

There's two different types of Travelling Mail that I personally enjoy sending, those are Travelling Notebooks & Travelling Postcards. I've created a printable for both kinds, which are both available to download and print off in the Travelling Mail Facebook group.

On these sheets there is all the information you will need to attach to your notebook or postcard, making the whole process a lot simpler for you. Of course you can create your own rules for it, but I know not everyone wants to go through that process, and would prefer to just get on with setting their mail off on it's journey!

Below I have put together some helpful how-to's, which should help you get started. I've included things you will need, and a few tips you might want to take note of to make sure your travelling mail's journey, goes as smoothly as possible.

What you will need...

1. A small notebook. I'd recommend nothing bigger than a C6 sized envelope, as this will help to keep the postage costs down.

2. The printable info sheet. This is available on the Travelling Mail Facebook group. 

3. Something to attach the info sheet to your notebook. Use whatever floats your boat really! Just make sure it's somehow attached to the notebook.

REMEMBER - If you are using the printable info sheet's I've provided, you need to number your pages in your notebook! 

Just go through from front to back writing 1, 2, 3, 4 on sets of four pages. This makes it easier for people to know how much space they have to use, and also gives you a good idea of how many people will be able to take part.

What you will need...

1. A postcard. Or a few! I usually set off a couple at a time.

2. The printable info sheet. This is available on the Travelling Mail Facebook group. 

3. Something to attach the info sheet to your postcard. Again, use whatever you fancy! Just make sure it's somehow attached to the postcard, a paper clip or washi works the best for postcards.

So I hope that has helped to answer some questions about Travelling Mail! 

A couple of things to take into account when sending out this type of mail ... 

- If you are under the age of 18 please make sure you have got permission to share your address before taking part in anything like this.

- This type of mail can sometimes go missing, it happens unfortunately. But at the end of the day it's only a small notebook or a postcard, and a bit of postage you are loosing out on. So if it happens, it happens!

- If you are unsure of how much something will cost to post, always, always, always, ask at your local Post Office! It will save a lot of faffing in the long run.

 Please come on over and join us on the Travelling Mail Facebook group! The more people over there, the more places our travelling mail can visit.

I hope this all makes sense, if anything confuses you though, please ask!

- Daisy X

Spring Pocket Letter, Brimbles Box Special!

Can we say 'Spring has sprung' yet?! Are we officially there? Well spring definitely sprung on this Pocket Letter I made!

If you saw my video on Monday (It'll be at the bottom of this blogpost if you missed it!), then you would have seen that this month most of the ladies in the Mrs Brimbles Design Team are taking part in a blog hop (makes sense, bunnies and all!!). 

We used most of the contents of our Brimbles Boxes from March to create some happy mail for one another. I was creating a pocket letter for the lovely Charlie from Sea Salt & Paper!

I'm going to talk through my thought process when creating this pocket letter, if you want to know where all the supplies are from, then take a look at the description on the video, as I listed them all there!

Top Row

So to start things off, in the top left pocket I used part of a Belle & Boo postcard for the backing card. It had a really cute section to write the address on, so I decided to have that side facing forwards. I added some brown twine along the edge as there was a large blank space next to it.

The middle card is part of the postcard from the Brimbles Box, I felt so bad chopping this bunny in half, but I think it turned out looking really nice. Postcards are a nice addition to Pocket Letters as they don't involve too much decorating, of course it'd be a bit boring if you used postcards in all of the pockets. But every now and again it's a good plan if you are struggling with what to fill a pocket with. I also added some of the felt flower shapes to the front, and put a few more of the felt shapes in the back.

The last pocket on this row is a washi pocket! For the backing card I used some packaging from the Belle & Boo letter set, and I wrapped the actual washi tape around some of the packaging from the packet of felt shapes! I put another card with washi tape on in the back of the pocket and added a bit of brown twine to the top so it pokes out.

Middle Row

I used the same pink backing card for the pocket on the left, I decided to use this card a couple of times as I thought the colours were perfect, and as I was going to have a lot going on as it is, I didn't want to add too many different colours into the mix. I made this pocket into a sticker pocket, and added some of the stickers I was putting in the pocket, to the front along with some washi tape for decoration.

The middle pocket was the pocket I had the actual letter in. I chose to use more of the Belle & Boo writing set packaging for this! I debated whether to stick it to some other patterned card, but decided to leave it by itself and have a little see through window instead! I folded up the letter, decorated it, and added that in.

The last pocket on this row was a paperclip pocket. I used the other half of the postcard I used in the first pocket on the first row, as the backing card. But this time I had the front showing. I tried a couple of ways to attach the paperclips, but this way worked the best. I simply stapled a strip of card to the backing card and folded it over, then I just clipped on the paperclips.

Bottom Row

I added another sticker pocket on this pocket letter, I feel like you really can't go wrong with stickers! I'd used a few stickers from this sticker pad on the actual pocket letter, so it made sense to send some in the pocket. The backing card in this pocket, again, was some of the card from the felt shapes packaging!

This middle pocket I decided to try something new. These carrot tags came in the Brimbles Box, and I wasn't sure what to do with them. I did think about painting one, and then I had a pretty simple idea of punching out some shapes in the colours of carrots! I actually didn't have any orange paper to hand, so I used part of a colour guide booklet I'd recently picked up from Homebase. I'm actually really happy with how this turned out, it kind of acts a bit like a shaker pocket!

In this last pocket I added some twine and ribbon. I stapled some 'samples' of the different things I'd included in this pocket to the front of the card, and then on the outer plastic of the pocket I stuck down some washi and stickers for decoration.

This is what the front & back of the finished pocket letter looks like! I really enjoyed challenging myself to use mostly things from my Brimbles Box, I think I did quite well. I tried out some new techniques, and overall I think it looks super Springy!

I added some yellow twine along the left hand side and also going across the bottom section in a bow. This is something that's easy to add to a pocket letter and definitely helps to make that left hand side a little less bare. 

I folded up the pocket letter and added a little bit of ribbon, along with this adorable bunny die cut I got from Noodoll. I've been hoarding him for a while, and haven't been sure what to do with him, so I'm glad he is now going to do a bit of travelling!

If you want to see the process video of how I put this pocket letter together, from start to finish, then you can do so here:

Don't forget to head over to Charlie's blog HERE, and have a look at what she created!! Here's a little sneak peak for you:

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I did for this fun little Easter blog hop! 

You can find links to all the blogposts in the blog hop on Anna's post which is HERE. 

Also don't forget to give them all a follow whilst you are over there! They are all wonderfully creative ladies, and run such lovely blogs.

I hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend, whatever you end up doing!

- Daisy X

Happy Mail For Masturah! March 2016

The other day I posted a video on some Happy Mail I created for my penpal Masturah!

I thought I'd share a few close up photo's, and talk a little bit about what I chose to use and why.

There is a full list of supplies in the description of the video I posted, so I'll leave that video at the bottom of the blogpost if you want to find the products I used.

As usual I picked out some card stock that I liked and used that to create a colour scheme. Once I'd figured out the sort of colours I wanted to go with I then picked out some washi tapes, and other bits and pieces I wanted to use.

I find this is the easiest way to start as it gets you thinking about what colours look good, and sparks ideas for pockets & goodies too! I've found that a good way to finish a piece of happy mail is by using some twine. Quite literally tying things up in a neat bow really does work!

I've been stapling a lot of the pockets onto the happy mail recently, as I find this a really simple and strong way to create them. Especially as a majority of the happy mail I've been sending has been sent abroad, so the strength really helps. Of course washi tape works just as well, but the stickiness can vary depending on the brand and style, and after being bumped about in the postal system you don't know how it will be when your penpal receives it!

As far as the goodies I included go, I decided to send one of my new Travelling Postcards with this happy mail (you can find out more about those here), I added some stickers in the pocket on the left and some sticky notes, and die cuts in the middle pocket. On the right I used one of the notecards from Fancy Paperie, and wrote my mail tag on it.

I didn't get a photo of the pocket for the actual letter (well done Daisy haha, but it's already been sent now!) but you'll be able to see in the video when I'm putting it together.
I did manage to use up almost all of the 'blank' space on the card, fingers crossed my penpal will like it!

Though it looks like there is a lot going on, this is a very simple style of happy mail. I could have added a lot more, but I was very aware that it was being sent outside of the UK, so in order to keep postage costs down, I tried to go with minimal decoration and instead pack it full of goodies.

It's definitely something to consider as I'm pretty sure this cost me around the £4 mark to send?

I don't think happy mail has to be super busy to look good. Sometime you just need a nice colour scheme going on and it will look just as fun!

You can watch the video below to see how I put it together, and don't forget to check the description for a full list of supplies used!

- Daisy X

Travelling Postcards! [ TAKE PART & JOIN IN THE FUN! ]

A few months ago one of my first ever travelling postcards arrived back with me! I had completely forgotten I'd even sent it out, so it was a wonderful surprise when it was back in my hands.

I can't remember how long ago I started it as, being one of the first ones I'd sent out I didn't really know what information I wanted to included on the card so forgot to ask people to put the date.
I kept it simple and just asked people to put their name and where they were from on there.

Everyone who took part also added their Instagram and a little message which was really sweet. It was nice to see what was added as it was sent from one person to another, and it gave me ideas on what I wanted to include on any future travelling postcards.

I know it must have been a long time since I sent it out because it had my old email address and blog on the info sheet, both of which I hadn't had used for a good half a year. I've now obviously updated this and it's something to keep in consideration, you need to make sure at least one of the contact details isn't something that will be changed in the next year or so.

It can sometimes take a while for them to get back to you, but at the end of it you will have a postcard that has been lots of different locations.

The info sheet to send along with your postcard will contain your contact details (an email and your IG if you have it), so when it's complete the last person can contact you to get your address and then send the postcard home, this way you only have to give you address to one person.

There's also information on what to put on the postcard, and a short section with some rules and guidance for anyone who is new to travelling postcards.

I have actually created a PDF file that you can easily print off, cut out and fill in to send with your postcards. So the 'hard work' has been done for you! You can of course create your own, you might have a particular goal in mind, like specific places you want your postcard to travel to, or a certain number of people to take part. Make sure you include this information on the info sheet to make it easier for the people contributing to your postcards.

I have created a facebook group for travelling postcards and this is where I have uploaded the file for anyone to use, so feel free to come over and join in the fun. I'll talk a little more about the group at the end of this blogpost.

When it comes to what you actually need to send out a travelling postcard, it's pretty minimal.

You'll need postcards (obviously haha), preferably the classic size as you are going to be sending these along with a penpal letter or on their own so you'll want to keep the postage cost's low. You'll also need the info sheet, a paperclip to attach the sheet to the postcard and an envelope to send it in!

I get many of my postcards from Paperchase, they have an amazing selection, and thanks to them I've become a bit of a postcard hoarder! So I thought it was about time I found a way to get the postcards travelled but also ultimately be able to keep them.

So if like me you hoard postcards but feel a bit bad that they are sitting in a box blank, then this might be something you want to try. At the end of the day if they go missing you've lost out on a postcard and a bit of postage, BUT if they make it full circle it's an awesome to find out where it's been and who's contributed.

They also don't take up a ton of room, so once you get them back you can easily store them in a photo album or something.

The point of these postcards isn't to share a story or a message with one person, it's to share a journey across the world with many people who also enjoy sending snailmail.

If you don't have any penpals then you can still join in! As I said before, I've created a Facebook group where you can find people to take part. You will also have access to the printable info sheet so you can get started straight away! Come join the group here.

I just want to thank everyone who took part in my first ever travelling postcard, especially Erica for getting it back to me safely!

I'm looking forward to getting some travelling postcards sent out, and fingers crossed contributing to some of your postcards too! If you have any questions then let me know.

- Daisy X

P.s. 'Travelling' is spelt right, we spell it with two 'L's' here in the UK ;)