A Thoughtful Thank You

My dear friend, Grace, is a most fastidious sender of thank you notes. In this week's post, she kindly sent me a card thanking me for including her in a gift exchange I organized. While her prose was kind, her script unique and attractive, my favorite element of this card is the card itself. 

Grace and I are friends from high school back in the Twin Cities (for readers not familiar with the American Midwest, they are St. Paul and Minneapolis, in Minnesota), and we each found ourselves on the East Coast - myself in D.C. and her in New York. While we're both happy living short distances from the Atlantic, we each have deep affection for our hometowns. So, it's become almost a personal hallmark for her to send cards from (and often about) Minneapolis. I don't know where she buys her stationery, but I strongly approve.

This card, with colors appearing more saturated in person, depicts a historic Minneapolis/St. Paul trolley, before the tracks were torn up and the trolleys retired in the mid 20th century. I like the simple image so much, I've added it to the pile unusually sized items (it's 4" x 5.25") which I plan on having framed.

Wow, three paragraphs on simple card. Behold: the power of a thoughtfully chosen, well written thank you note. 

More in Black and White

My love for black and white schemes is now well documented here on Everyday Correspondence, which is perhaps why one pen pal sent me a wonderful black and white card, with a wonderfully shiny image on the front. Further indicating she's an attentive blog reader, she included some fantastic new personal calling cards!

Seeing as how her theme is rather modern, I wonder which stationery I'll choose for my letter in response...

London Bridge in the Mail

Sometimes simple is better. For a thank you card I wrote, I used a card with a black and white image of a famous London bridge - from the same box as this card, placed it in a white envelope with a shiny black liner, and stamped it with a London travel stamp.

This particular note had absolutely nothing to do with London or travel, I just wanted to make it stand out. See, simple.

Pulp Find: Mame Edition

I have an auntie Mame. Well, not the real auntie Mame, but an aunt that is equally unique and adventurous as the character from the show of the same name. With this correlation in mind, coupled with my affection for 1920s style, this card caught my eye while I was perusing the racks at Pulp.

Once I saw it, I knew I had to have it... and that I had to sent it to my auntie Mame. The woman on the card looks like the character, as by Lucille Ball in the film version of Mame, walked right off the screen and onto the paper.

Even if the image didn't spark an emotional response from me, the fantastic image, the vintage style and the glitter would have been more than enough for this 5 x 7 to find its way into my basket.

I sent the card off to my aunt as a Valentine. Have you posted any special Valentine's this year?

A Very Bubbledog Thank You

To express my appreciation to Karen at Exaclair, for the nifty gifties she send me last week, I sent her a thank you note written one of the fantastic Bubbledog cards I won I while back.

I think that all the pieces for the card went together really well. Obviously, the card is a powder blue with a polar bear on it. But then, I wrote my message and addressed the envelope in J. Herbin Diabolo Menthe, a frosty blue-green.


And, to top it all off, I remembered reading on the Quo Vadis blog that Karen has some connection to Alaska... the commemorative stamp for which recently arrive in my mailbox and goes perfectly with this card-ink-envelope combination!

I was really quite pleased with the whole thing. Don't you love it when things just happen to fall into place?

The JHU News-Letter

Yesterday morning I gave a friend a ride up to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore for an exam. While he was filling in ScanTron bubbles, I made the most of my free time and toured the University campus. And, boy, was I pleased with myself when I stumbled upon this gem of a building.


I wasn't sure, but I speculated that this was once a campus post office. I was so excited to post about this building that I took half a dozen pictures of it. I felt hoodwinked when I discovered that this Italianate structure was in fact the office for the Johns Hopkins student paper, the News-Letter, founded at the end of the 19th century. That was kind of a downer.

But after thinking about it, I remembered a little nugget that I picked up on a visit to the National Postal Museum here in Washington, D.C. Back in "the day," newspapers were more often than not named after way in which they were delivered to their readers. The Washington Post, for example, was delivered with the mail. So, I speculate that the News-Letter was named as such because that's how it was delivered across campus. A stretch? Maybe. Either way, soak in the pictures of the pretty little building.

If that's not enough for you, I found these splendid cards at the JHU Barnes & Noble. They struck a chord with me because I, in fact, ride a green scooter.


Unfortunately, like most items that bear a Vera Wang label, at $27, this pack of cards was out of my price range.

And there you have my weekend. How about you? How did you enjoy these past couple of days?

I won, I won!

Several weeks ago, I entered a contest for free Bubbledog.com merchandise. And wouldn't you know it, I won! Well, actually, I won third place, the prize for which was a compact mirror with the above ice cream cone and sprinkles design. But, after the proprietor of Bubbledog checked out this site, he offered to send me some free notecards instead!



I quite enjoy the designs, particularly the hamster holding the mushroom and the puppy in the teacup. As a bonus, they're printed in rather high quality on some pretty decent paper. If you like these designs, I suggest that you check out the Bubbledog Etsy store for related items.

I have no affiliation with Bubbledog, I just like free stuff and thought I'd share.

Pre-Made Postal Products: Part Deux

Yesterday, I mentioned crispness as one reason why I like cards so much. This card depicting the Brooklyn Bridge is a perfect example of what I mean by that statement. The picture is just right, and while it is shot in black and white, there are so many greys that there is lots of depth in the image.


The envelope paired with the card adds further dimension, while still sticking to the two color scheme, by surprising the card's recipient with a shiny black envelope liner. Writing on the blank interior of this card, I kept it simple and used a fountain pen filled with Waterman Black ink. I hope the recipient, Patty at Just Letter Rip, enjoys reading it as much as I did composing it.

As you can tell, I really like the black and white theme. I find it clean, calming, and classic. What about you, what color combination really gets you going? Why?

Market Watch: Pomegranate Card Sets at Marshalls

Although I noted it in the previous post, I think it's worth it's worth it's own post to spread the word that Marshalls is currently carrying a number of card sets from Pomegranate. I picked up a set that retails for $14.99 for only $4.99 at Marshall's.


If you haven't already left your computer in order to dash over to your nearest Marshalls, it's also worth noting that Pomegranate.com is currently having it's own 50% off sale on select boxed notecards, many of which are pretty spectacular.

I have no affiliation with Marshalls, it's just my favorite store for rummaging. And, I have no affiliation with Pomegranate, I just enjoy their designs.

Pre-Made Postal Products

While I usually prefer to make my own envelopes and create my own unique stationery, there are some times when I want the crisp look of a card. On the down side, I don't usually keep many cards in my stationery stack. On the up side, I found my way into a Marshall's while in Minnesota (I can't stay away from my favorite store for long!). There, I picked up a box of Edward Gorey cards, by Pomegranate. I've long heard exultation about Gorey from the Missive Maven, but this was the first time I'd actually seen any in a store, let alone on sale (12 cards and envelopes for $4.99).

What is your latest paper purchase and/or stationery steal?