Pen pals

Did anyone have a pen pal when they were a kid?  I remember having one when I was in the fifth or sixth grade.  It was organized through my school and I remember the girl I was matched up with was in either a Central or South American country.  It was so much fun getting a letter in the mail from someone so far away and who, seemingly to me, lived a much more exotic life than I.

When I was in High School we moved clear across the country to Chevy Chase, MD and my girlfriends and I would correspond endlessly by mail.  It kept me from being hopelessly homesick until we got back to California.  

I've always loved sending and receiving handwritten letters and decided I wanted another pen pal.  There are pen pal websites similar to dating websites where you can get matched up to a pen pal.  I used PenPal World but I'm sure there are others.  You put in your criteria for a pen pal such as the gender and age range you want to correspond with.  You can also pick whether you want someone just from your country or anywhere in the world.  

I set up my profile for women only, 45-99 age range and anywhere in the world.  You can write a blurb about yourself and include a picture if you want.  Then you can reach out to other members (or they can reach out to you) and if you click you exchange addresses.  While I prefer the written letter there are also people that correspond via email.  

I had a few women reach out and I exchanged information with three of them.  Only one actually followed through and we have been corresponding for about a year now.  

I also had quite a few men reach out despite my interest for women only and my profile stating quite clearly that I am quite happily married.  So I deleted my account.  I wouldn't mind another woman pen pal from another country.  My pen pal just lives half a state away and that's okay too.

I am very much into mail art so my envelopes tend to be quite decorated.  My pen pal loves this.   I'll make my own envelopes and add embellishments like washi tape, drawings and different colored stamps.  I love how the varied stamps look.  I order vintage, un-canceled postage stamps from Etsy.  They are very inexpensive and it doesn't matter how old they are – if they haven't been used you can still use them on your mail.  

I find it is a great way to practice and improve my handwriting too.  I use airmail stationery (remember that?  The super thin, crinkly paper?) and I use a lined guide underneath each sheet so my lines stay straight and even.  Like the stamps I look for vintage airmail stationary on Etsy.

To make my envelopes I use a Martha Stewart Scoring Board (sadly out of stock, but at least you can see what it looks like).  There are other similar products available.  It's genius for making any size envelope out of any paper you want.  

It has been fun getting to know my pen pal.  She is retired and is getting ready to move to Utah.  We have similar interests and have traveled to many of the same places.  She is quite the prolific pen pal-er.  She has over 40 (!) of them and keeps up with all of them.  I only have the one and at times slow to respond.  I'm vowing to do better this year and see if I can add an international one to the mix.