Do you ever wonder what happened to a simple hand written letter?
Remember the thrill of getting a letter in the mail? It has become a lost art... Sometimes a "Happy Birthday" is done by social media now as well as "Merry Christmas"! The personal touch of reaching out to someone through a hand written note is becoming lost. That hand written note sent to someone is like saying “I love you and I care” in a way social media can not do because SOMEONE took the time to actually write it, address it and spend the $.55 to stamp and mail it!
Before there were emails, text messages and social media, letter writing was how we communicated! I remember the excitement of receiving a letter in the mail from a friend, relative or my penpal of 30 years! Just like a portrait, letters are a living story and legacy of their own!
During this time of Social Distancing and staying at home I have had time to do a few projects I normally avoid! Such as cleaning out the storage room! I finally had the resolve to just get it done! Low and behold I ran into a box of letters I have saved and cherished for many years! Most of the letters in this box are from my grandmother. My grandmother passed away from cancer 18 years ago this coming June. Just seeing her handwriting was enough to bring tears to my eyes! The letters were written all through high school, college and into the first years of my marriage. This alone is a story....the story of a relationship. While reading through some of the letters, it brought back some long lost memories and I realized what stories were saved in my grandmothers writing that I will always have and cherish.
I decided to preserve these memories in a special way.....
A large part of my business is about preserving memories and emotion! Our memories are all around us! Memories come in the way of pictures, letters, cards, cothing, maybe a long lost toy.... they are everywhere!
So, here these letters were in a box. Each on a story of its own but never seen. I decided to put them in a frame as a reminder of my grandmother and the relationship we had. I started reading the letters and wow! To think back on the time when these were written, who I was at that time…the stories they told!
The final project is below! This was a very simple and inexpensive project! You can make it as big or little as you want.
Here is what I used:
16x20 piece of black foam core
Acid free double sided tape
16x20 frame and glass
I chose the letters with the stories I liked as I was glancing through them. Another thing indicative to letter writing can be the stationery. Some people have a special way of sending letters. This can at times reflect their personality! One friend puts confetti in the letter to inspire happiness or even places fun colored tape on the envelope!
My grandmother always had personalized stationery. When she was living in Arizona during the winters she would send me more native looking cards that was reminiscent of the culture there. When choosing the letters to display I wanted to be sure I remembered her stationary as well. And her signature was also important to display as well has her greeting each time to me!
Hope this inspires you to maybe start letter writing again!
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