Pen Paling Archives

Fandom Mail Art: Studio Ghibli Stationery Swap

This gorgeous Studio Ghibli mail art is a product of someone I met on Instagram this past year wanting to do a stationery swap with me. Of course, I jumped on the opportunity because I am in love with all things Studio Ghibli! So scroll through and take a look at this gorgeous Studio Ghibli mail art to get some inspiration for your own pen paling or journal! What is a Stationery Swap? A stationery swap is when you swap a specified amount of stationery with someone through the mail. It's a great way to give away some of your…

Post published:November 21, 2022
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Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa

The Top 4 Essential We R Memory Keepers Products for Paper Crafters

Here are my Top 4 essential We R Memory Keepers Crafter Tools that I will never part with, ever! They make my life so much easier and they will make yours too! These tools are perfect for all paper crafters. Scroll down to the Youtube video where I show one more product at the end that I am very excited to start using! We R Memory Keepers Products I discovered We R Memory Keepers when I first started pen paling years ago. I realized how many products they had and was amazed I hadn't found out about them sooner! The…

Post published:October 31, 2022
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Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa

Find A Pen Pal

Don't know where to find a pen pal? You came to the right place! I'll go over on here all the places you can begin your pen paling journey. What is Pen Paling? Pen paling is a fun creative activity meant to forge meaningful connections with new people around the world. If you're looking to learn about new cultures, try your hand at practicing a new language, or simply want to make a new friend, this is the hobby for you! Pen paling can also be very creative in terms of decorating the envelopes and letters themselves. There are whole…

Post published:July 11, 2022
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Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa

Postcrossing: Why You Should Join

I've been on Postcrossing for a little over a year now and now have dozens of postcards lining my craft room walls! It's such a fun concept, I applaud whoever thought of this website. Now let me tell you what Postcrossing and why you should join! What is Postcrossing? And How Does it Work? To put it simply, postcrossing is a postcard exchange service. It's free to sign up! All you will be paying for is for the postage on all the postcards you plan to send out. (which by the way is $0.40 domestic and $1.30 international). This is…

Post published:July 4, 2022
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Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa

Mail Art With Me: How to Decorate an Envelope

Learn how to make mail art with me! Today I'm decorating an envelope for a Harry Potter themed stationery swap. My swap partner is Gryffindor, we got to add that Gryffindor lion in! Read on for some great tips and tricks as you learn how to get creative with pen paling and happy mail! Watch the Youtube video below to see my decorate my envelope. How Do I Make Mail Art? I'll start by saying there are really no rules for when it comes to making pretty mail art! You can try to follow what I do here and use…

Post published:April 18, 2022
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Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa

Envelope Art Inspiration to Send Your Pen Pal

I've been pen paling for a few years now and I take photos of every single letter I write, so I've accumulated quite a lot of photos of my envelope art! I like to save them to look back on and I thought you would like to see some as inspiration for your own crafting. Create with me! Here's some envelope art inspiration for you. I don't know the exact number but I know I have written dozens of letters by now so this might end up being one post in a series. As you can see I don't seem…

Post published:March 28, 2022
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Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa

50 Things to Send Your Pen Pal

I love a good list, don't you? This ultimate list of 50 things to send your pen pal should never fail you. You will have endless ideas to choose from! I know when I first started pen paling, I struggled a bit with thinking of some cute things to add in besides the letter itself. This post will help you so you don't struggle like I did. There are all manner of things you can send, goodies, ephemera, stickers, artist trading cards, small jewelry, candy, tea and more. This is a list of flat things that will fit in an…

Post published:February 21, 2022
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Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa

Best Shops for Stationery Addicts

As I am a big lover of stationery and all things papery I thought it would be fun to put together a guide on the best shops for stationery addicts! This is by no means an all encompassing list, I am always finding new sites that I fall in love with and want to buy more. These are the sites and Etsy shops you are guaranteed to find stationery you or the stationery addict in your life will be obsessed with. Gifts for Stationery Addicts: Websites 1. Nico Neco Zakkaya This shop is filled with the most stunning authentic Japanese…

Post published:December 6, 2021
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Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa

Pen Paling

Fandom Mail Art: Harry Potter & ATLA

What's mail art you ask? It's basically just super fancy envelopes and letters. Think almost scrapbooking or collaging except with mail. One of my many hobbies is pen paling and I love to take the time to decorate each and every letter I send out. Each letter has it's own theme and recently I've made a couple fandom mail art pieces that I wanted to share with you, from two of my favorite fandoms: Harry Potter and Avatar the Last Airbender. I find that my creative process has a mind of it's own when I create letters. I get inspiration…

Post published:October 5, 2020
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Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa

Pen Paling — Where to Start & Why It’s So Fun

I vaguely remember having a pen pal as a child. I think it was a temporary activity we did in elementary school. I haven't had a pen pal since... until last year. I had this idea in my head that I wanted one so I started doing some online research and I found a website where I could find pen pals. That's how it all started. I now have 10 pen pals. I do stationery swaps with people. I send postcards out to people all over the world. The past month or so is when I really fully committed and…

Post published:August 31, 2020
Post comments:14 Comments
Post category:Crafts
Post author:Melissa