Make Your Own Letter Rack

If you're one of the one hundred and eighty lovely people to have joined #PostCircle, you're hopefully getting a lot more happy post than you used to. But what do you do with your post once you've opened and admired it? How do you keep track of the people you need to reply to, and if, like me, you don't live alone, where does new post wait for you until you have time to sit down and enjoy a good read? 

Enter your very own handmade letter rack!

You will need: 

• 2 sheets 1/8" x 4" x 36" balsa wood - available from craft shops (I went to Hobbycraft)
• Wooden letters (optional) - I got mine from the kiddies' craft section in Hobbycraft for £1 for a pack of 20
• A glue gun or wood glue
• A craft knife and cutting mat
• Paint in your chosen colour - I used white gloss spray paint for easy, even coverage but this is entirely up to you. I find spray paint is less likely to warp your wood when wet. 
• A pencil and ruler - use a metal ruler for cutting if you have one
• Decorations of your choice - washi tape seemed like a fun idea for my letter rack

1. Measure and cut five pieces of wood, 22cm long. Your wood is already about 10cm wide, and we're working with this width right the way through, so no need to measure that. 

2. Cut two squares, 10 x 10 cm. These will be your sides. Take one of your squares and make a pencil mark one cm in from the left, and 4cm down from the top, on the right, as shown below. Draw a line between these two marks, then cut. Repeat with the other side in exactly the same way. 

3. Hooray, that's all your pieces cut out! Now we just have to give them a trim so they fit together. Set aside two of the lengths you cut out. They will make the back wall and the base of your rack. Take the other three and one of your side pieces. Line up the bottom edge of one of your lengths with the bottom edge of the side piece, where you would like the first slot of your rack to be (my first is 3.5cm from the back of the side piece). Where the length sticks out from the top of the side piece, make a pencil mark. (See image below). We're trimming the slots of your rack to line them up with the sloping diagonal of the sides. 

Draw a straight line across the top of the length at the height of the pencil mark, and trim. Repeat for one of the other lengths, again around 3-3.5cm apart from the last slot. The last length will be your front, so that will line up with the height of the front of the side piece. 

4. Next it's time to glue the letters onto the front panel! I used my trusty glue gun for this bit. 

5. Paint time! Cover your work surface in newspaper, and work outside if you're using spray paint. Give all your pieces an even coat of paint, on both sides, repeating if necessary. Try not to let your wood get too wet - it's better to do more thin coats - so you don't warp the wood. Go and have a cuppa and a cheeky biscuit while that lot dries. The paint has now strengthened the wood so your rack will be nice and sturdy. 

6. All we have to do now is assemble the letter rack! You can use a glue gun or wood glue for this bit. I used a combination of both because a glue gun got me strong, fast results, and the wood glue gave me more time on those joins that needed a bit of adjustment. Glue the front on first, placing the front piece on top of the base, not in front of it. The same goes for the back. If you need to do a little trimming at this point don't worry, we're going to give everything a last spray of paint to clean up any raw edges. 

Construct the actual 'box' first to give it structure, then glue in your slots last. Once you're happy and the glue is dry, give everything a last coat of paint. I chose to spray my finished rack with a coat of clear varnish too, but that's up to you, depending on the type of paint you used. 

7. The fun bit! Decorate your rack however you like. I used washi tape and printed some labels for the slots. You could paint flowers onto yours, or add stickers or stamps, whatever you wish!

I've chosen to keep my rack on my desk, but it's also lightweight enough to use sticky foam pads to attach it to a wall, bookcase or door.

Another way I'm displaying my post is with a baker's twine washing line in my workspace!

Have a well organised Wednesday,

On Stationery

Sixty-six emails were sent out to #PostCircle members on Tuesday, confirming groups (the names of which are British wild animals) and partners for the first posting. It was really exciting to see people finding their groups on Twitter and introducing themselves... and all this inevitably led to lots of chatter about stationery.

I'm something of a stationery addict, I'll admit. I have a drawer dedicated to such things, and think putting a little thought into the paper and decorations you send with your warm wishes really helps to make post special.

But this doesn't mean stationery has to be expensive. While a lovely embellishment, stationery does play second fiddle to the words themselves, and I don't want anyone making themselves bankrupt in communicating with their new pen pals. Here are some creative ways to craft up your correspondence on a budget...

1. Try Claireabellemakes' Washi Tape DIYS.
2. Check out my post on making your own writing paper using fabric and a scanner. 
3. Using the method in number 2 - stick stamps, stickers or draw on paper, scan and print.
4. Shop for bargains! Markets and shops such as Wilkinson and The Works have bargainous lovely stationery. 
5. Try Wrapped Up in Rainbows' rubber stamp DIY. 

If you're happy to spend a little money, there is so much choice on Etsy. These are a few of my favourites:

This is $4.00 by kayfish

Pack of 10 postcards £2.00 by Patternalism

Typewriter postcard £1.80 by typescale

And as well as letters and notes here are some ideas for goodies to include in your envelopes:

1. Recipes
2. Teabags
3. A crossword or sodoku puzzle
4. Doodles and other artwork
5. Card luggage tags
6. Origami creations
7. Crocheted doilies
8. Pressed flowers
9. Sheet music
10. A polaroid style photo

Decorate your postie creations with:

1. Old stamps
2. Stickers!
3. Ink stamps
4. That handwriting you haven't practised since school
5. Washi tape
6. Cutout pictures from catalogues, magazines and old greetings cards
7. Buttons

Most importantly, have fun and don't sweat it! You don't have to feel pressure to write a long letter if you don't want to - a short note or a postcard is enough to brighten someone's day too!

“The act of writing a letter has become akin to meditation in our fast-paced lives. It's taking a moment and slowing it down, letting it become, transforming it onto paper and sending it to someone else. The receiver opens his mail and instead of finding a bill, there is a personally addressed envelope. Every letter from a loved one is a true gift, because that person decided to transmit that moment in their lives to me.” ~ Hope Von Stengel - rather fabulous Etsy seller. 

PS: Another three #PostCircle groups will be started off by the weekend!

How to Make Letter Paper With Fabric

Here's an idea I've been playing around with a lot now that it's getting harder and harder to source pretty writing paper for a reasonable price in the shops. Email seems to have done away with it! I still write a lot of letters to friends; I think it's an art we need to keep alive, and I don't know a soul who doesn't enjoy receiving lovely post, especially post that's been thoughtfully put together and personalised just for them.

So being unable to get hold of writing paper one day, and not having a whopping £15 to spend on the sets I liked online, I decided to make my own. The beauty of this is that you can make your paper in exactly the style to fit your recipient's personality, and you can just make one sheet at a time, or lots! You can also use this method to make small sheets of wrapping paper.

First, choose your fabric... any fabric you like!

Don't worry about your fabric being ironed, or cut perfectly into a square, or completely flat - you want your finished paper to have personality. I actually wanted my friend to know I'd made the paper just for her, so I made sure there were imperfections! Seams, hems, creases and frays all look great.

Then all you need is a scanner attached to your computer. Pop your fabric in. Again, you want it straight enough so that you don't end up with white spaces on the page around your design, but perfectly lined up patterns isn't what we're aiming for here.

While your scanned fabric photo is on the computer screen, make any changes you want to. I often fade my design slightly so that my writing shows up against the background better. You can also add a letterhead design or a 'PTO' or other quirky something, like below:

And that's it! You can come up with sorts of patterns and designs. I've made quite a few now and have had lots of fun coming up with different combinations.

You can make a really special love letter...

Or make a set in complimentary colours, package them up, and give them as a gift to a writery friend...

You could even make paper to send to your sidekick to let them know you're close to solving a crime!

Well perhaps not...

Have lots of fun making your paper! What do you think?

Ever yours,