handmade valentine swap: helping to revive the art of the pen pal

dwindling is the art of the pen pal and receiving pretty packages and envelopes through the mail

sad to see that mail service will be soon be chopped by a day with only select days of delivering packages

thankfully i have seen a revival of sorts of the snail mail swaps and giftings by the blogging community

many bloggers are making a conscience effort to make online communication extend beyond digitally produced words on a screen

and provide opportunities for people to connect with others through swapping handmade cards and gifts

a means to igniting relations and friendships beyond our screens

and who doesn't love to receive something in the mail {other than bills and ads for maid services reminding you that you need to get back to your laundry}

the anticipation of opening its sealed contents

some may gingerly slice through the top

while others tear it open with abandon

i myself fall somewhere in between

i was delighted to stumble upon through Instagram {have you joined yet?!} a handmade valentine swap by the lovely lyndsey wells from the stationery place

i was placed in a group of 5

2 internationals - norway and the UK

2 in the good ole USA - michigan and pennsylvania

i became quite invested and loved having a reason to break out the wide label maker with valentine red tape

the juxtaposition of the labeler and my silhouette was rather fun

i was drawn into the process of ideas evolving to other ideas 

i laughed seeing my stream of consciousness type of thinking manifested in hearts and paper 

cool cat became my immediate favorite

i want to ride classy on a cobblestone street

if i could keep my balance sitting side saddle that is

my collection

i became rather giddy to open up my mail

each calling out its designer's unique personality and style

it also revamped my desire for handwriting with more pizazz

loved them all

a welcome surprise and immediate blast from the past, namely 1986, had to be the scratch and sniff chocolate paper, what??

my kids had never witnessed such bliss

can't wait for my next swap

unexpected things seem to have stemmed from my first one {you remember the pretty sock exchange} by amanda of oh my little dears

such as a trip to Minnesota to meet my swappers:) {more details to come}

looking forward to what surprises happen from this one

look for swaps from your favorite bloggers and jump in to participate

you'll be glad you do as you find your pretty packages in your mailbox
and new friendships forged

have you participated in a swap before?  would love to hear about it.