*address is intentionally altered for privacy
The first time I saw the Lettergirl store on Etsy, I squealed with excitement. If you've been reading my blog for any time at all, you know that I LOVE anything that has to do with mail and stationary. And you will understand why I went nuts over these adorable stamps. I'm a little obsessed with mine (above). It's so unique...just looking at it makes me want to run to my desk and start writing letters!
There is just something magical about one's address. It's home. It's familiar. It's happy. I've always loved learning the address at every new home we've lived in. And I couldn't think of a better way than to say "we're staying!" than to get a custom stamp of our new address! :)
These custom beauties are the handiwork of Gina in Minneapolis, MN. I just had to know more about her story and give you all a chance to win your very own stamp. She does more than just address stamps too...if you have a sweet idea, she can help! Wedding stamps, business stamps, bag or tag stamps for your retail/Etsy store, book plate stamps, you name it.
When did you first fall in love with handwritten or "real" letters?
When I was in college, I somehow tested into an advanced French class which was way over my head, and the only other class I could find to transfer into was called “Crafts”. I hadn’t planned to take another art class, but this one turned out to be my favorite – we did traditional crafts like weaving on a loom, copper enameling, ceramics, and calligraphy. It was a lot of fun!
Have you always had beautiful handwriting!?
As you can see, I didn’t always have great handwriting! This recipe card is from high school when I had the same handwriting as everyone else. My lettering style has developed through years of practice. I started by doing traditional calligraphy, but I would always provide my clients with a sample in my regular handwriting to make sure that everything was just right before embarking on the “real” calligraphy. One of my early clients didn’t want me to rewrite it, she wanted her stationery in my handwriting instead. Since then, I’ve developed almost a dozen different lettering styles.
How long have you been in business for yourself?
I’ll celebrate my 19th anniversary in May. Things were pretty different back in 1992!
What is your favorite part of your job?
I have two favorite parts. One is getting to know my customers – I’m grateful for a lot of repeat business. I’ve enjoyed working with couples on their wedding stationery, and then helping them with their baby announcements. I’m about to work on a bar mitzvah invitation for the son of a couple I first worked with 14 years ago! My second favorite part is the flexibility. I love being home when my kids get off the school bus. Depending how much work is on my plate, I’m not always relaxed when they get home, but it’s still nice to have a little break and hear about their day.
What are some of your other passions?
I love reading and sewing and hiking. I wish I had snowshoes because we’ve had a lot of snow in Minneapolis this year!
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This giveaway is for one custom stamp of your choice.
There are three wonderful ways to enter the giveaway (you can do them all if you want — leave a SEPARATE comment for each one).
- Leave a comment and tell me one delightful little thing that happened today.
- Share this giveaway on your Facebook page.
- Share this giveaway on Twitter.
I will randomly choose a winner on Tuesday, February 22 (entry cutoff is at 12:00 p.m. MST).
AND...Gina is offering FREE SHIPPING to my blog readers through February 28!! Just enter the discount code "HAPPY" when checking out of her store on Etsy (be kind and please remember to do it when checking out so she doesn't have to do a lot of shipping refunds!).
Happy letter writing! :)
My love affair with "real" mail continues...and I would LOVE to have more of it in my mailbox! :) I've been checking it often, but then remembered that I've hardly given our address out to anyone yet!
