Dec from Janet - letter writing tips

Janet chose the Hanukkah stamps for her December mailing. The Hanukkah stamps are always so pretty and this envelope has inspired me to buy some. They have many colors and that will be helpful with the Style/Tool Project. I'm writing this on Jan 1st, so I am full of enthusiasm for the coming year and the project. I wonder how many penmanship exemplars Janet has. I have a whole binder full of them. I could spend an entire year on just penmanship - but, I doubt that would be a crowd pleaser and I'm all about pleasing the crowd.

***

Part of my Swedish Death Cleaning project is sifting through the photos. This photo was taken in March of 2024. It's from one of Janet's books. She knew I would enjoy this page on how to write a good letter. I can't remember the title of the book. As I recall, it was one of those early 1900 books with comprehensive instructions on how to live a proper life. 

If it is too hard to read the photo - here are the words:

Rate Your Letter

Appearance

Is each page of the letter framed nicely by margins on all sides? 

Does the letter look easy to read? 

Are there at least two paragraphs per page? 

Is the typing free of obvious erasers and crossings out? 

Are there any ink blocks or crossing out? 

Is the letter clean to look at? 

Does the handwriting look neat and orderly? 

Is the letter folded neatly and squarely? 

Are your illustrations neat, effective, clear?

Are your name and address printed clearly somewhere? 

Is the form of the letter correct? 

Subject matter 

Have you written about appropriate and appealing subjects? 

Can any of your subjects offend your penpal? 

Have you thought of your penpals emotional needs are the things you want to say definite, concrete, exact? 

Will your penpal get all the shades of meaning you intend? 

Would you say in a conversation with your penpal the things you wrote in your letter? 

Does the letter sound as if you know what you are talking about? 

Did you provide all the information necessary? 

Have you stimulated your penpal to think further about some question? 

Are your questions clear and pertinent are your statements, clear, complete, convincing, logical, fair? 

Is there anything you want to send with your letter? 

Tone 

Is the letter free of sarcasm, ridicule, anger, complaints, despair, pessimism, unpleasant criticism? 

Does the letter sound true, natural, sincere? 

Does the letter contain hints of ulterior motives, rationalized, self interest, subtle hypocrisy? 

Is the letter consistent in tone, approach, attitudes, point of view? 

Will your penpal like you better because of the letter? 

Interest

Is the letter personal enough to make it human?

 

Bonus post - scroll down for the regular post

 Today's regular post is a repeat - but I have something fun and new as a bonus.

Mia sent it - and it's so good. I hope the link works. Blogger has been temperamental lately.

https://www.instagram.com/reels/DSp5qDkCWa5/

If the link doesn't work - try to copy and paste and see if that works.

Dec to Grace - adding Ann Miller to the blog list

Oops this is a repeat. But, I have an announcement below.

This one got lost in the shuffle. I'm pretty sure it has not been posted. In some ways, it seems to be exactly what I am looking for in my project to take a style and mess around with it. The term to *mess around* sounds sloppy or haphazard. Maybe riff is a better word. Maybe improvise. Both of those terms seem more musical - but maybe they are fine. Maybe I am over thinking it.

I like the way I went a little larger with the triangle/serifs. I think the rectangle on the G is very complementary to the triangles. I like that the holly leaf turned into its own element. It got to be larger and easy letter only gets one. Then - each letter has one piece of scrolls-spiral. The triangle on the C should have been al little larger - but I like the bottom of the C and am glad I didn't stick a triangle down there. The G's triangle should have been larger. 

I'm happy with this one and it looks like the Style/Tool Project might be a good idea for 2026. I already started my idea for Feb - and it is only Dec 26. Now I have to ponder whether I truly stick to one style for each month. That would mean I only do 12 styles for the whole year... and there are 24 styles on my list - not counting fonts. I guess it's a two year project.

***

If you look at a web view of the blog you will see a column of options on the right. One of them is My Blog List. This is a list of blogs that I have kept to 5 for quite some time. It could easily grow - but, I hesitate to provide even more distractions for people who might have other things they should be doing. 

I have added Ann B. Miller's blog because she teaches and is a cornucopia of information and ideas. Currently she is covering runes and styles that dovetail nicely with what I've started. So, if you are interested in lettering, check it out. The main part of her blog is free and she wrote that she is keeping it that way. She also has the option to pay the monthly fee for extras.

Nov from Juliana

 

If we had an end of year recognition ceremony for excellence, this one would be recognized. Because it is a serious rule breaker - that might surprise people that it earned the designation of *excellent.* Most people know that I'm a stickler for scanner friendly envelopes. I'm just happy that it made it through. As much as I love this one, I'm not finding specific words to express why I like it so much. I guess it just speaks to me on a variety of levels. Grids and neutrals - that sorta screams *jean*

I can't remember if I put architectural lettering on my list of styles in the style/tool *thing* we are doing this year. I don't even know where I put the list. Grrrrr - let's try Notes - and see if it's there. I don't even remember what we are calling the *thing* that I am referring to. Grrrr

***

OK - I found it. I called it a Style/Tool Project. There was one list in Notes and then a longer list in a Word doc. Here it is for anyone who is interested - I've added architectural lettering. 

Romans

Foundational

Architectural lettering

Runes

Uncial

Carolingian

Blackletter/Gothic/OldEnglish - Batarde, Gothisized Italic, Fractur

Italic

Neuland

French Roundhand

Copperplate

Spencerian

Penmanship/Cursive/Handwriting

Versals

Brush script - pointed brush

Brush script - flat brush

Ben Shahn

Peter Thornton’s Button Alphabet

Jacqueline Svaren’s Bone

Gwen Weaver’s WeaverWriting +

Loredana Zaga’s Flame

Carol DuBosch’s Jubilee

MishMash 

Arts&Crafts styles

Fonts - this category has an infinite number of styles - it will include all the styles where the letters are drawn and there are many alternatives to how to make particular letters. This would include all the styles where the letters are actually little pictures. 

And then we have Asemic writing - which is scribbling that seems like it might be writing but it isn’t.

Dec to Nicky, Christi and Jacqueline

These were the last three envelopes done in December. The rest had been done earlier and were mailed and I was thinking I'd choose a different style. Then I nudged myself back to the concept of doing more variations of the style I had used on all the other envelopes. 

This whole plan for 2026, to choose a style and then try it with many different tools - has that other layer of *The Stamp.*.  The stamp is such an integral part of the envelope. So I ended up with these three and while they aren't spectacular - I am reminded to always have my stamps ready before I even look for a tool. 

I wish I had used the tan/yellow on Christi's last name.

I wish I had spaced out Jacqueline's name better.

I might be addressing some envelopes to *Jackie* if she keeps signing up for the exchange because that's how she signs the notes that she encloses. Although, I've been enjoying the long name.

I have no idea if she has ever done a search for the name *Jackie* - but there are a ton of envelopes to another Jackie - plus, if you do the search, you see envelopes I received from the other Jackie, JackieD, who is a very skilled artist.

 JackieP: Please let me know if this ever arrived - I think we were emailing about missing envelopes and you said you had not received one from me.

Dec to Valerie - Dec from MrW

 

This is the envelope I sent to Valerie whose mail to me was posted yesterday. I was doing marker testing to clear out the dried up ones.

I'm writing this on Dec 26th. This was my Christmas present from MrW. It's 9x12. Maybe I should have taken a photo to show the scale. It's big. On the inside was a card - 8.5x11 - folded in half. There's a part of me that wants to ask questions about how he makes design decisions. But, questioning non-artists always comes across as an interrogation and that might take him back to the years that he participated in depositions and that's a very adversarial world. 

I've never gotten the impression that he reads the blog, but, it feels weird to talk about his design choices. My first impression of the lettering was that he was inspired by my unfortunate gold envelopes that ran on Dec 25th. But, he made the envelope on the 24th - so I don't think he would have seen those envelopes back in Nov and then remembered them.

I noticed that he put it on display along with the other mail that I had on display - so I'm going to leave it up indefinitely and see what happens. [ a couple days ago he moved it to a discard pile - he piles things, but let's me be the one to actually discard. I think that's the lawyer making sure that if someone accidentally destroys evidence, it's not him ]

Here's the card. I guess he found the image online. Once again, I'm so curious. The inside referenced purchases that are unwrappable.

Christmas Eve dinner was just the three of us. I made a card for our little postal worker using  one of his childhood drawings on the front. I have a stack of the kids' artwork that I saved and have been taking photos of it and tossing it. I'm putting the images on the blogs I have for each of them which I am making instead of scrapbooks. This was something that Hunter drew when he clearly thought that being a third kid was not fair.

This is the wording with his spelling: I think unfar is when my brother and sister get evreything they want. And I get nothing. no no no!!!

This was probably the year that he was 6 or 7 and he made sure that we knew that all he wanted was a dog. When that didn't happen - he cried his little eyes out. It was so sad. It still pains me to remember it. 

 

Valerie's yearly envelope

 

I hear from Valerie once a year - in Dec or Jan - when she sends a bookmark with the moons of the upcoming year. Her envelopes are delightful and this year I even figured out that she has an IG - and was happy to see more of her work. She also sends a post card - which you can see in the second photo. She must do all this digitally. I saw on her IG a photo of a past mailing and it looked like she sends out about 50 of these.

I suppose Valerie found my address through Pinterest. She is not an envelope exchanger but she has a lot in common with those of us who like nature, astronomy, the moon, stars, collage, sewing, quilting, paper, etc. 

Here's a LINK to her IG

Dec from Jeannette and Nov from Christy (USPS processing centers)

This fun little bird is collaged. Jeannette's adhesive was strong enough to stand up to the USPS machines. Christy, below used washi tape which stayed put. Washi tape is hit or miss on whether or not the USPS machines remove it. Personally, I do not use it and if asked, would not recommend it. I've been swayed by the years that my son worked on the machines that handled the mail and he reported that there was a serious amount of shredding of the mail. He thought that the only thing that should be stuck on an envelope is a stamp. 

He has moved on to the world of locks, cluster units and other types of maintenance.

I've posted some info about USPS matters - and I know there are some other related topics coming up. It's possible that there will be some repetition. None of this is required reading. I apologize if I sound like I am harping on any of the topics. I'm experiencing a lull in the writing portion of the blog. The art part seems to be in a pretty good place.

 One of our exchangers sent me a notice that I said I would share with the readers. I will add my 2-cents after this:

Effective December 24, 2025, the United States Postal Service (USPS) Postmarks and Postal Possession rule clarifies how postmarks are applied, which may affect how the timing of mailed charitable gifts is determined.    Under this rule, machine-applied postmarks are now generated at regional USPS processing centers rather than at a local post office. Historically, a postmark served as proof of when a gift was mailed. With this change, the postmark date may be applied several days after mail is dropped off locally and is no longer a reliable indicator of the mailing date.  As a result, this change could affect whether certain mailed gifts qualify for a 2025 income tax deduction.  To help ensure timely end-of-year giving, donors are encouraged to visit a USPS counter and request one of the following:

A Postage Validation Imprint (PVI)  A Manual Postmark  A Certificate of Mailing, Registered Mail or Certified Mail

Please note that self-service kiosks and third-party mailing services do not guarantee compliance for charitable contributions.  *** My 2-cents This notice is directed at the people who want to document that they made a charitable donation by the end of the year. Apparently, the date of the donation depends on when you mailed the check rather than when the check cleared. So, all you have to do is go to the counter and ask for one of the 3 ways to document when the letter was mailed. There are other times when people may need to prove that something was mailed by a certain date - but, I imagine those situations come up less often now that most documentation is done through email and eSigning. In the past, I know from my son working for the USPS - that it was a very big deal that every single piece of mail that was dropped in the box at the main post office - by the 7:00 pm deadline - would get a postmark on that day. They understood that sometimes the date on a postmark was important. This new notice - that the only way to assure your mail will get postmarked on the day you mail it  - is to have it postmarked by hand - in person.  I think it's going to be really hard for the USPS to explain what's going on with these new processing centers. Personally, I understand it - and it's complicated - but - I'm going to go ahead and give it a whirl. It is affecting people who live where the mail had always been processed in their town - but now all their mail is sent to a different town (or city) and it's taking longer for local mail to be delivered - back to the original location where it was mailed. My son has worked on machines that are old and becoming difficult to maintain - and which will be replaced at some point. He's talked to people who have been to the new improved regional processing centers that are gradually replacing the old centers all over the country. The people who have seen the new centers are very impressed. They are huge. They are efficient. They are shiny and new. They are almost space age. They will run for many years - but they too will have a lifespan....just as the current machines which are out dated are being replaced. The cost of the new improved processing centers has made it necessary to consolidate some of the regions. For example, Wyoming and Montana have so few people - the USPS probably can't justify giving each of those two states their own new improved processing center. They are probably going to put a processing center in one of the states - and the other state will have their mail sent to the first state for processing - and then returned. To some people, that seems absurd.  But, I can see how the USPS tracks the amount of mail they handle in all the different regions - so - they're going to draw lines that make sense for efficiency - and those lines have nothing to do with state lines.  My son has even heard that the new improved regional processing center where Des Moines' mail will be processed might not be in Des Moines. If that happens - I know people will think the USPS is bonkers - but, I totally see how that could happen.  So, that's my explanation. If you find out that your mail is going to some place that is far from where you live - you might think that's bonkers - or you might consider that the USPS has been chugging along for 250 years - and they might be doing a decent job of handling mail and packages at a cost that is less than UPS/FedEx and now Amazon --- who is trying to be the new way to *mail* things.  We can't predict the future - but for now, it is probably safe to say that the changes will be coming gradually and while we may not like them - we'll figure out a way to adapt.

Nov from Irene (25 blogs)

Irene likes to take classes. The envelope was inspired by things she learned in a Kathy Milici class called Rennie Revisited and below - a nice bookmark is her first attempt at an *Italian hand* - another historical style. They are both very nice styles.

I'm still hungry - but, I have loaded some photos that are waiting for blurbs. Maybe I should go check that stack of bookmarks in the bookmark folder - and see if I can find a good add-on.

Here's a good one - a link to a place that has 25 other places to go. They are all related to calligraphy so if you aren't into lettering - you'll have to do your own surfing. I'm not sure that all 25 blogs are formal calligraphy. There might be some that are more about lettering - which is a lot more informal. 

Happy Surfing.  LINK to 25 other blogs Warning - some are good - others are dreadful. I apologize for not having time to list which is which. 

 

Nov from Rachael

Rachael said she recalled that I had written something about liking lettering that looks like a ransom note. The mix of stamps goes nicely with the ransom lettering. I wonder if anyone writes ransom notes anymore. It doesn't seem like something that anyone would do these days.... apologies for such an odd topic. 

I'm still hungry. It's still Dec 20.

This will be short -- although, I will put a note in the title - so that I can add something later. Who knows - January might be wildly exciting.

***

Here it is, Jan 13 and I am doing a quick check to make sure I haven't written anything goofy in the posts that will pop up this week. It's on the verge. But we're going to let it go and hope that the rest of the week isn't drivel.

Nov from Jacqueline

 

Once again, Jacqueline has sent a pretty little illustration. The pairing of the cancel and stamp is also very nice. 

It's Dec 20th. My new handyman is at work in my kitchen. I have had mixed luck finding people to deal with the little jobs that I can no longer do and that MrW is forbidden to touch - because his track record on fixing things is - hmmmm - let's just say - he really doesn't want to become the resident handyman.

I can see why old people let their homes fall into disrepair. Especially if they have lived in the same house for 46 years and they are on round two or round three of things that have been repaired previously. This isn't complaining. It's just jabbering because Roger is working in the kitchen and it would be really rude to go find something to eat. I should have planned ahead.

We'll just leave this blurb short because I can't imagine having anything worthwhile to say while I am hungry. And that wishbone is making wish I had some left over turkey....

Nov from Nicky

Nicky sent some very nice prints in her November exchange envelope. The bird (crow?) is a linocut. The bird is the same - but the lines around the bird are different. Maybe she printed the envelope and then did some more cutting on the plate. [Real time comment: when I checked the blog this morning, I discovered several differences in the two birds - so it is not the same plate. They are very close. It's like a puzzle to find the differences. Maybe she used the same original drawing?]

The postcard, above is a Hellbender salamander which is new to me. They are native to Missouri and breathe through their skin. Both of these are screen prints. 

All three are cozy images - very appropriate for this time of year.

Here are the prints that Nicky sent in a previous envelope. I turned the kitties in all four directions and it looks good in any of the orientations.

 

Dec from Mary - *empty* envelopes

It looks like Mary has some of the super strong sticky sticker paper intended for mail and it looks like she ran it through a printer to apply the light blue pattern. She added gold and a nice clear address. Very pretty and the stamps coordinate nicely.

***

On the 7th, I inserted the extra post asking exchangers to be sure make sure their envelopes had enough paper inside to avoid being chewed up  by the USPS processing machines. It is still fine to write *empty* on the back of the envelopes if the inserts are just filler.

An additional thought is that maybe these new processing machines are more aggressive than the old ones.  Stickers, washi tape and other kinds of embellishments are often damaged when they arrive. 

Here are the mangled envelopes that came a few weeks ago. This part is edited from the original post.

Here is the front of the envelope and the back is pictures below.

(Below is not edited - it's the original post.)

The one below was also crinkled up by the machines and I have been warning people about adhering things to envelopes. Many of the envelopes I receive have dangling bits and pieces. Washi tape often gets caught in the machines.

So - I'm going to suggest that collage is not a very good option unless you know that the adhesives are very strong and permanent. I've sent a few things that had stickers and I've been putting clear packing tape over the stickers.

 

Nov from Kate - uninspired writing.

Kate has exchanged for quite some time and I learned that she had/has a nice stash of vintage stamps. Seeing these brought back so many memories from when I had a huge stash of vintage stamps. Envelopes like this make me wistful. Thank you for the clear addressing, Kate. 

I had another wistful experience on Dec 19th while juggling the weather, the renovation project, the minimal amount of holiday obligations and my own determination to get my ducks in a row. I would have said - get my affairs in order - but that sounds way too ominous. 

To be honest, I had let a digression take hold and I had done a search on the blog - and stumbled across this part of a blog post in June of 2022:

How long til we get there - is the universal catch phrase for enduring car trips. In our case, we are wondering how long do we have to put up with these ding-dong blog posts. 21 days. Yup. Three full weeks. I'm so sorry. 

It could be worse. Although, I am not going to start brainstorming *worse* things. We are just going to forge ahead, aren't we. Who is she talking to? Is there a mouse in her pocket? Who used to say that?

***

I feel like I do (or have done) a lot of apologizing for my uninspired writing. So, I was going to apologize for too many apologies - but that seems like a vicious cycle. If you're looking for something profound today, you'll probably need to surf in a different direction.

 

Nov from Grace - washing machines

Grace must have been caught up on her jobs because it looks like she spent a ton of time on this one. I'm guessing she used a wedge brush. The colors are dreamy. Vintage stamps are always a nice touch. 

We will be looking at a few November envelopes as well as some early Decembers that have come in. I'm writing this on Dec 17th. I'm on top of my December mailing and navigated the end of a washing machine and welcomed a new one. How can I be 73 years old and just now learning that Speed Queen washing machines are beasts. 

It's probably because I live within the vortex of the Maytag/Amana cartel. There used to be so much drama between those two companies, both based in Iowa - forever debating - who's best? And then Whirlpool swallowed up both of them.

This is a very strange off-topic - but, after looking into Speed Queens and then getting one - I'm a convert.  They are still made in Ripon WI. I hope they survive as a company. While youngsters are drawn to the new machines with bells and whistles and electronics - I think that is a slippery slope. I think the washing machines should fill/agitate/spin. Humans should be willing to set the temp and size. 

On my last trip to Chicago, the door on the gigantic front loader was stuck on lock. My daughter and I couldn't budge it to unplug it to hopefully reset the electronics - so I suggested flipping the breaker. That worked - but - now I am suspicious of the machine and what it's going to do next. They've had it for 10 years and I bet that's ancient for a newer machine.

***

Oh dear -- it's worse than I knew. My daughter has already replaced her front loader once. She got less than 10 years on a brand new machine. She was very happy to find out that her next machine needs to be a Speed Queen.