Lettergirl Giveaway

*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! :)

Every Moment Remembered

Late last Thursday night I drove to the airport to pick up a dear friend who has shaped my very being. We met online long ago...during a pivotal time in my life and we formed a deep connection. Our friendship has spanned the years...but most of that time we have spent apart. Separated by oh so many miles. But distance just doesn't matter with Becky.

Our long awaited reunion was about to take place. And as the van got closer to the lights flying overhead...I prayed.

"Oh Jesus...please make time stand still this weekend. Let every moment be remembered."

Three years apart...and it felt like we had never left each other.

She makes me laugh so hard I cry. She has the most adorable southern accent. She is an an amazingly gifted artist. She sings and it brings me to tears. She is family. She is my soul sister.

To see our entire weekend...go to Flickr. To see other fun times with Becky, click here and here.

Love Love Love

I just wanted to check in for a quick second to say hi and that I WILL start blogging again soon :) I'm still recovering from an AMAZING weekend of blessed friendship, fantastic food, happy hooping, and more. My lovely friend Becky flew in from South Carolina on Thursday night and left last night. So much delightfulness packed into one weekend. Wow!

Stay tuned...lots of really fun guest posts/giveaways coming this week and next! But for now, this girl has to get some SLEEP!

*photo above is from our trip to Red Rocks for the pre-Spin Summit hoop jam...yay!