Snail Mail. What is it?

We had a pending topic here but that's over. Today we’re going to talk about “snail mail”. For sure many of you have heard about it, but do you know exactly what is it? If you aren't 100 percent sure how to answer, this post is for you. Let's start the post launching a question: how many letters have you received in the recent years. Surely, your answer will be more or less like this: “except for the bank’s invoices or notifications, there's nothing in my mailbox usually.” Well, that’s going to change right now! Keep reading and you'll know why. If you like scrap and crafts, if you pay attention to every detail and if you want to recover the “old” tradition of writing and receiving letters, you have to sign up for a Snail Mail. What is that? You’ll be asking yourself. As its name says it, snail mail is a way of writing letters calmly and taking care of every detail. You send and receive the letters with excitement, as they are very special because they are handmade and it isn't an immediate way of communication as other modern ways, like an email, a WhatsApp or other social networks. So if you like to live a slow life and you want to bring back the noble art of sending letters, this is your post.

Snail Mail

The Snail Mail, or also called Happy Mail, has become very trendy in recent times between scrapers and handmade lovers. Snail Mail consists in exchanging beautiful letters via ordinary mail. And, as you will see below, it’s a great opportunity to create small artistic projects, from decorating the envelope to making small crafts to give them away and, of course, a more or less personal letter. But, what do we need to make a Snail Mail? Just a few things, a penpal, the basic materials (the envelope and the letter), a few other details or goodies of your choice.

The Penpal

To have a penpal to exchange artistic letters with, you can ask any of your scraper friendships and, of course, you can find them in some social media like Facebook or Instagram, where there are different Snail Mail groups in which you only have to sign up to join them.

The Letter

Once you have your penpal, you have to prepare your basic materials (the letter and the envelope). In the letter, we can demonstrate our calligraphic and lettering skills and play with different fonts and techniques. Of course, we can also make small drawings and decorate it with as many details as you want. The idea is to achieve a letter so beautiful that will make you want to read it. And, if you take into account your penpal tastes, you will surely succeed in your mission! If you don't know what to write in the letter, here are some ideas! You can ask your penpal some questions, talk a little about yourselves… How about start talking about something you have in common, like scrapbooking?

The Envelope

Of course, you'll need an envelope, but it can’t be any envelope. But yes, you can use an ordinary envelope to keep the letter and the sweets you have already prepared. But the ideal thing is to decorate it with washi-tapes, laces, stamps. Anything you can think about! We recommend using a craft envelope because they are a great neutral base to start creating. The only thing you must take into account is that you should left the top of the envelope blank because is the place where the stamp goes.

The Goodies

And here comes another funny part, the little treats. Those of you that are fond of scrap already know that goodies are the little gifts that we usually exchange with our colleagues. These treats can be small gifts such as stickers, clipboards, laces, die cuts, buttons, washi tapes samples and more! Anything you think a scrapbook lover may like to have! And, of course, if you want to, you can give your penpal something you've done. That will make them appreciate you more. These are some scrap ideas for you to use as inspiration:

Tags or Bookmarks

If you want to give your penpal a handmade detail but it takes up a lot of space, think about a tag or a bookmark. You already know a tag is the minimum expression of scrap and that we can make them look amazing. The best thing is that we only need a cardboard or a scrap paper, a hole punch, tape or Baker’s Twin and some stamps, stickers and washi-tape to decorate it.

Little Notebook

Another idea to give to your penpal may be a small notebook. We only need the papers that would be inside the notebook, scrap paper and a stapler or rings. With only these elements you can create the inside of the notebook and then decorate the cover as you like it!

Flipbook

You can also do a flipbook containing all the sweets and details you are giving to your penpal. Once everything is folded and collected, it takes up little space to send it. To make a flipbook you'll need to create an accordion structure with several papers joined by washi tape. You can decorate each of the pages with small details such as the notebook you have made, a gift tag, a beautiful message, the letter you wrote, a teabag, a lollipop… Obviously, this structure can be modified to your liking, while all the different parts are folded. Tell us what do you think about Snail Mail? Have you ever done it? If so, tell us what are your favourite techniques and what do you like the most about it! We'll read all the comments! See you soon :)