SLMPetersen

I have fond memories of decorating a box every year in grade school and getting to pick out the little cards to give to each of my classmates. Maybe that's where my love affair with happy mail stems from. Valentine's Day is only two weeks away, but there's still time to snag your valentines to send your friends and family. No need to decorate a box. Here are this year's new releases, but don't forget to check out the Valentine's Day section to see all the designs available. You might even find a few cards on sale. Don't forget to subscribe to receive Happy Mail in your inbox and receive exclusive subscriber discounts, giveaways, site updates, and other cool stuff. If you share your birthday when you sign up, you'll also receive an Annual Birthday Coupon!

Over the years, letter writing and snail mail have become a lost art. Then came the chaos of 2020, and we saw a bit of a resurgence. I enjoy sending cards and handwritten notes and don't do it anywhere near enough. 2022 is the year I'm trying to change that. Are you a sender of handwritten notes, cards, and letters? If you aren't, I'd encourage you to start. They mean so much more to people than the mundane email or text message, read more about the value of sending handmade notes here. Today's post is about a few tools that might make letter writing and card correspondence more enjoyable. The Lettermate Envelope Addressing Guide will help you get the address straight every time. I love mine when I remember to use it. If your goal this year is to learn hand-lettering, this could be an essential tool. If you're looking for some beautiful hand-lettering examples and great resources, check out The Postman's Knock , she does some amazing lettering an...

Copic markers have become my go-to medium for coloring cards. I love how easy it is to create definition by color layering and blending. Copics are kind of magic. I use a lot of warm greys to color critters. Today I'm sharing three ideas for coloring critters using the Copic warm grey markers. These cute little bears are from the Gerda Steiner Panda set, and I love the fact that they're designed in a way that they can be colored to create other bears. Light Grey Bear (top left) is colored with W0 W1 W3 with W3 W5 and W7 for the eyes and footpads. Shades of orange were used to color the pile of hearts and C2 and C0 were used to shade the envelope. I cut the completed panel with the largest Wonky Rectangles die and mount the completed panel on an orange card base. Medium Grey Bear (top right) is colored with W1 W3 W5 with W0 and W1 for the eyes and footpads. Shades of teal and green were used to color the pile of hearts and C2 and C0 were used to shade the envelope....

There are roughly millions of ways to communicate with each other. Do you want to be just another email, text, DM, or IM? Or do you want to be the one that sends the card, the card that gets tucked in a drawer or a keepsake box, to be pulled out and reread again and again? Let's talk about the value of buying and sending greeting cards. According to this article from The Art File, cards are "still considered by most as the truly effective way of telling someone you really care." Read that again. Cards are considered the most effective way to tell someone you really care, just let that sink in for a bit. The same article stated that handwriting helps us learn or improve our fine motor skills. Writing is intimate and personal, we express our emotions. Just so we're clear we're talking about writing, as in with pen and paper, not typing or texting. Time is precious in this busy fast-paced world we live in and taking the time to write to someone conveys real val...

Ask any maker, everyone has their favorite inks. The inks you love depend on your style and the techniques you love creating with. I have several brands and types of ink in my studio, but I really love five of them. These are the inks I reach for the most to create the perfect blends or stamp the perfect image. I've used affiliate links below if you're interested in snagging a few of these for your collection. Gina K. Designs Amalgam Ink - This is my go-to for stamping images I'm going to be coloring. This ink is ideal for all the coloring mediums I use including Copics, colored pencils, and watercolor. I love the new obsidian black because it's such a true sharp black, a very black black. VersaFine Black Onyx - I have one word - sentiments. I stamp nearly every sentiment with this ink. In my opinion, there is no better ink for a sharp, crisp sentiment. It's especially good for tiny text stamps. VersaFine is also great if you want crisp black embossing...

If you subscribe to my newsletter then you received the 3 Little Tips for writing Thank You Notes. Not a subscriber? You can subscribe to the newsletter here. I thought I'd take a moment today and delve a little deeper into the importance of writing and sending thank you notes. Especially now that the holidays are over. Let's be honest, for most of us sending thank you notes is something that has probably fallen by the wayside. It's become an “I’ll get to that later” kind of thing, but very often later never comes. I'm starting my New Year off by sending thank you notes. I also want to encourage you to stop sitting on the most important notes you could be writing. We've just ended a season of giving and sharing, wouldn't it be amazing if those who gave and shared received a lovely little note to kick their New Year off with a bit of gratitude from their loved ones and friends? Consider this, you received a thought full gift or a bag of treats during the ...