Custom Letter Writing Box
Hello, it’s Randi again from Swoon! I don’t know about you, but I still get excited when I sit down to write a letter. While most of my email correspondence is on the go and less than well-written, taking the time to write an actual letter forces me to slow down. I take a little more time with my words, taking care to include all that’s on my mind. The act of actually writing more than a few lines with a pen on paper can be rare these days!
Most kids love to write and send letters, no matter what age they are. Recently, my girls have been wanting to send their drawings and “writing” to family members that are far away. The idea that loved ones will receive it in a few days is almost like magic to them.
Because I love to write, and happen to be obsessed with stationary, paper, and the like, I thought a custom letter writing box would make a great gift for my niece, who just turned 8. I’m not the first to make one of these boxes, but I thought I would give you a peek into mine. I hope it inspires you to pass on the love of letter writing to a child in your life! You can also search the web for “letter writing kit” to see some of the other lovely ideas out there. If you don’t have the space for a large writing center in your home, keeping a box like this stocked and on the shelf could be a nice alternative. I custom designed everything in my kit, but don’t worry if that’s not your thing! You can find everything you need at a variety of stores.
The things I included in my box were:
- blank address labels
- custom return address labels (you can make these using avery labels and your computer)
- 3 different colors of envelopes
- blank hang tags
- pretty tape (to seal envelopes)
- pencils and colored pencils
- pencil sharpener
- pretty cards (blank inside)
- blank folded cards (can be bought or made from card stock)
- custom letter writing stationary (I printed my niece’s name at the top of textured white paper using my computer)
- fun stickers
- two lined notebooks for journaling or list making
I found the box itself in the wood section of the craft store. You can usually find a variety of wooden boxes in various sizes. I wanted to add a special touch to the gift so I decided to line the box with pretty fabric. I trimmed the fabric to size and attached a few ribbons to hold pencils with my sewing machine. I also sewed an envelope to the fabric to hold labels and stamps. I used a hot glue gun to carefully attach the fabric to the inside of the box. For a simpler approach, you could use pretty paper to line your box and include a fun pencil case or bag for the smaller items in your box.
Happy letter writing!
