Signed, Sealed, Delivered

It's been awhile since I shared some lovely letters with you, but believe me, I've been receiving them! Rin is such a wonderful (and patient) letter buddy, she is incredibly creative and just makes the prettiest letters! I've slacked off on the last couple, not from laziness, it's just been busy! (Sorry Rin, I'm working on them!) Here are the last couple of letters I have sent.

This was my letter from task #2, asking 10 questions. I had so much fun stitching on the paper. I created a photography book when I graduated from uni, which I bound myself and added thread over the images, it's been awhile but I just love stitching on paper!

And task #3, listing 10 of my favourite things. I wanted to make this one more 'graphic' looking so I used washi tape to create a colour scheme. Oh, and I included some confetti, because a little birdie told me Rin is kinda fond of those coloured discs of paper.

Rin sent me a couple of amazing letters, I love how she always pops little surprises in, like vintage stamps, hand drawn stickers and other lovely bits. This one is 10 questions for me *from the eclectic mind of one Rin D*

This is Rin's task#3 letter to me, listing her 10 favourite things. I love the pretty cutouts she made from magazines, and the cloud washi, how cute is it?!

Her 10 answers to my questions were packaged in little envelopes inside a card. It was so fun opening each little package to find another goodie inside.

I just received my postcard from Task #4 as well, isn't it gorgeous?

How are your letters going? Do you think you'll continue writing occasionally even without a 'task' to complete? I find it really difficult to allocate time to letter writing, but my life is hectic right now. I've really enjoyed it, so I'd like to keep it up if I can. There's nothing quite like receiving a letter (that isn't a bill!) in the post. Nat has emailed all of the package partners now, so you should hopefully be underway with that process. Remember, be thoughtful with your gift and packaging. You can send your partner an email (if you haven't already) to request their address, and perhaps send them a list of 10 things you love, to give them some gift buying power!

I hope you've really enjoyed the exchange. I'm looking forward to seeing your package exchange results! Don't forget to share them on the flickr page, or on your blog :)

Lovely Letters Task #4 - The Final Task

Well, today is the final task anouncement for Lovely Letters. I cannot believe how quickly the project has gone by, I hope you have all enjoyed it and made some new friends :) This week's task is to send your partner a postcard plus a little something extra, no more than $5 in value. It would be great if it's something flat that can fit into an envelope, just to keep the 'letter' theme. The package exchange partners and task will be announced shortly, Nat's just preparing the final touches, so keep your eyes out for that announcement soon, and save up your big package wrapping for that one!

It would be great if you could have this one in the post by the 19th of November. And don't forget to send your answers to your partner's questions from Task #2 if you haven't already! Also, remember you can check out some lovely letters online (and share yours) in the Flickr group. The hashtag for Instagram and Twitter is #lovelyletters if you'd like to share your letters with everyone (remember to disguise address and full name information to protect you partner!)

Thank you so much for participating in the Lovely Letters exchange, we hope that you've really enjoyed writing some letters and that you'll continue after this project is finished. I've really enjoyed meeting so many lovely new people too! Thanks for taking part :D

Kitty
xo

Lovely Letters Task #3

Don't forget to send your answers to your partner's questions from task #2! Task #3 is easy, just make a list of your 10 favourite things. If you'd like to decorate your letter accordingly, go crazy. EDIT: As a date was requested, I'm popping one in here, sorry I forgot before! It would be great if this letter is sent by November 6th, leaving a week for delivery before we announce the final task on/around November 13th.

That's all today, I hope the exchange is going well so far :) I've seen some great photos of letters on instagram and twitter, remember to use #lovelyletters so we can find them. Also remember you can upload photos to the flickr group too, there's a growing collection, check out the link here.

Oh! I almost forgot! Nat is holding a Lovely Letters giveaway over at Modern Buttercup, until November 3!

Kitty
xo

Lovely Letters Task #2

Now that you've 'met' your partner, perhaps you'd like to get to know them a little better? Here's your opportunity. Write to your partner asking them 10 questions, make them as fun as you'd like. That's all! Once you receive the 10 questions from your partner, just answer them and send your answers back. If you'd prefer not to send an extra letter, feel free to enclose your answers in Task #3 when we assign it. Get creative with your questions and have fun!

It would be great if you can have the letter posted by Tuesday 23rd October. That way, hopefully your partner will receive your first letter before they begin Task #3. We'll be announcing Task #3 on/around 30th October.

If you'd like some inspiration for decorating your letter to make it lovely, you can take a peek at my Parcels, Packaging and Wrapping board on Pinterest. (If you haven't already - I added some pins this week for you!)

Thanks so much for taking part, I look forward to seeing your creations (you can leave links below once you receive your letter!) - Please cover up people's addresses if you are posting the image online, for privacy reasons, OK?

We now have a Flickr group where you can share your Lovely Letters images. Also, if you're sharing on Twitter or Instagram, you can use/search the hashtag #lovelyletters


Kitty
xo

Photo A Day #193 Lovely Letter ONE

I love daylight savings! Today I made it home from work with a smidge of daylight, so I managed to get a little gardening done, plus the ladies (the cat ladies) went to work briefly (they lounged on the grass) There are some beautiful flowers coming to my garden soon, I can't wait!

Another great thing about today is: I received my first Lovely Letter from my wonderful partner, Rin. As I expected, it's pretty amazing... Lots of lovely notes inside and other special bits including some cute photos of Rin, vintage stamps, a map gift tag and a fortune telling fish. (The fish told me I am in love) One of our Lovely Letter participants, Kendra, has created a Flickr group so you can show your letters, please remember to cover addresses and personal details before uploading pictures!

I have to remind myself that Rin is a professional at this... no pressure! Don't forget to join the Flickr group, I can't wait to see your letters.

Kitty
xo

Lovely Letters - Task #1

O.K. So it's the moment you have all been waiting for! Thanks for your patience, it was an enormous task matching up so many people. I hope you are all happy with your partners, I did my best to find people that were well-matched based on the info you supplied! So now, here is the fun part! It's letter-writing time :D The only email communication you're allowed is to grab a postal address, save the rest for your real letter. This week, we're asking you to simply introduce yourself, and send a photo.

It would be great if you can have the letter posted by Tuesday 9th October. That way, hopefully your partner will receive your first letter before they begin Task #2. We'll be announcing Task #2 on/around 15th October.

If you'd like some inspiration for decorating your letter to make it lovely, you can take a peek at my Parcels, Packaging and Wrapping board on Pinterest. It's a work in progress, but it might be a good starting point for you.

Thanks so much for taking part, I look forward to seeing your creations (you can leave links below once you receive your letter!) - Please cover up people's addresses if you are posting the image online, for privacy reasons, OK?

P.S. Thank you all so much for your well wishes for my Birthday today, I really appreciate your kind thoughts! xox

Lovely Letters update

Hello!

Instagram: @KittyAndBuck

A few of you have been asking me about the Lovely Letters exchange, rest assured, we are working on it. With close to 200 submissions, I'm sure you appreciate there is a lot of work involved in matching up partners! I've been going for 6 hours now, but it's 3.30am, and my birthday (!) so I am going to have a rest. I have sent your partners to some, the rest will come through over the next day or so, and we will be posting your instructions after that!

In the meantime, there's only one day left for the September Group Giveaway, there are some awesome prizes, you should enter, NOW!

Thanks for your patience :)
Kitty
xo

Lovely Letters Introduction and Sign-Up

Today I am super excited to share a project that I have been working on with Nat from Modern Buttercup! Some time ago she asked if I would be interested in co-hosting a letter exchange, and of course I said yes! Welcome to "Lovely Letters". The concept behind Lovely Letters is a mail exchange of the old-fashioned kind. You know, a letter sent through the postal service, remember those?

 image via: littlegirlbigcloset on Flickr

We'd love for you to take part in the exchange! If you are interested, this is how it will work:

1. You need to commit to sending 4 letters over an 8 week period. We will assign partners and you will share letters back and forth for the duration of the project. Only sign up if you can commit to sending the 4 letters, nobody wants to miss out on receiving some lovely letters!
2. Each fortnight we will post a new project which will tell you the theme of that fortnight's exchange.
3. At the end of the letter exchange, you have the option to take part in a package exchange too, just in time for Christmas! This part is optional, but so much fun!
4. The exchange is open internationally, we will try to pair you with someone in your area to keep postage costs to an absolute minimum for you.

How do I sign up?! I hear you ask. Well. It's simple! Just fill in (and submit) this form. (Filling in the form is the only way we can accept your application) The form also has a section that allows you to enter a few words about yourself to ensure you are paired with someone who shares similar interests to you. The deadline for signing up is Thursday 27th September. We will allocate your partners via email over the next few days and launch the Lovely Letters on Tuesday 1st October with your first task.

At the end of Lovely Letters (probably at the same time as the final task), you can take part in an optional package exchange too. The package exchange is a chance for you to put together a special gift for someone (who will be allocated separate to your letter exchange partner) and receive one in return. The value of your package should be $20-$30 including packaging. Please express your interest in participating in the package exchange on the sign up form.

If you are participating in Lovely Letters, place a button on the sidebar of your blog. The large image is 300x125 and the small image is 125x125. You can resize the image to fit your sidebar by adjusting the width and height values in the code below after you copy it to your site. Just make sure you keep the proportions even :)

Large Button

<a href="http://www.kittyandbuck.com" target="_blank"><img width="300" src="http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p482/kittyandbuck/Lovely%20Letters%202012/LovelyLettersRectangeButton_zpsf3d12517.jpg" height="125"></a>

Small Button

<a href="http://www.kittyandbuck.com" target="_blank"><img width="125" src="http://i1152.photobucket.com/albums/p482/kittyandbuck/Lovely%20Letters%202012/LovelyLettersSquareButton_zps9ea761df.jpg" height="125"></a>
Feel free to spread the word via your blog and other social media, it will be great to have a varied selection of participants so that we can all get to know someone new :)

What are you waiting for? Sign up now :D

Kitty
xo