Get Crafty: Envelopes of Random Love

Super sweet Ashley asked for more magazine craftiness, and I couldn’t deny her request!

One summer, my dear friend Mary was a camp counselor.  In an effort to make the summer extra special for her, I devoted myself to becoming the BPPE.  Yes, that’s right, I was determined to become the Best Pen Pal Ever.  The mission? Prepare one piece of mail to send to Mary daily.  Each day of the summer, I spent sometime writing to Mary. I addressed many envelopes to my wonderful friend with a simple “BPPE” in the return address spot.  I spent a lot of money on stamps that summer. And I was constantly looking for interesting an exciting information to get into her mailbox.

I truly love sending mail to my friends across the globe.  I’m quite certain my beautiful friend Danielle is the reason for this.  Since the year 2000 we have lived at the very least a nine hour drive from one another, and while we were often emailing each other our daily happenings nothing made me more excited that opening mail she had addressed to me.  I caught on quickly and started sending things her way, too. 

I’m not sure who tackled this project first, but I would put my money on it being Danielle – she is a brilliant creative mind, always coming up with fun ways to make days brighter.  No matter which one of us birthed this idea, I know we have both used it time and time again, and I have called this project “envelope of random love” for a very long time now. 

I’ve opened plenty of Envelopes of Random Love from Danielle, and I’ve sent her quite a few as well.  Without a doubt, Mary received several the summer of the BPPE.  I love sending these because they are not only inexpensive, but also a perfect way to relive memories with the friends you send these envelopes.

 

How to make an Envelope of Random Love:

• Sit on the floor with a pile of old magazines and a pair of scissors.
• Think about your friend.
• Flip through the magazines, looking for advertisements, photos, and articles that remind you of your friend.
• Clip them.
• If you’d like, add your thoughts to the clippings with post-it notes.
• Put all the clippings in an envelope.
• Along with a note that says, “Envelope of Random Love!”
• Address the envelope to your friend.

 

There are several reasons these envelopes of random love are a hit with my loved ones.  For one thing, the word random really dubs for unexpected- a bright spot in the mail that she wasn’t necessarily expecting.  And an envelope filled with clippings is a gift that keeps on giving; several fun snap shots that bring a smile to the receiver.

Of course, the fact that these mail-gifts cost me about 50 cents to send doesn’t hurt either.  I love the fact that I have everything I need to put these together right in my apartment now.  I love that I can think, “I want to send Marissa something fun today” and I don’t need to hunt anything down.  I love that all the fun fits in an envelope and I don’t need any bubble wrap. It’s beyond simple, yet still very thoughtful because each envelope is custom to the person you send it to. 

I’ve also been known to  send an envelope of sunshine to my friends living in snowy parts during the depth of summer; clippings of bright colors, sunglasses, flip-flops, ice cream, and cut-outs of tropical drink recipes and tips to achieve “beach hair that lasts.”  I often include a post-in note scribbled with the Albert Camus quote, “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

Clipping Confessions:

• My own memory box has a collection of similar envelopes from Danielle and other friends from throughout the years.
• I have a box full of clippings I’ve collected throughout the years.
• [Which may or may not drive my father CRAZY.] 
• Some of the clippings have been in the box since I was a teenager.
• Every so often I sit on the floor while watching a chick flick, and tear through the pages of old magazines, looking for snip-its that speak to me about one friend or another. 
• I have several envelopes going at all times, which lay at the top of the clippings box. 
• There is a possibility that there is an envelope with your name on it on the top of the box, just waiting for my decision that it is time to let it into the world to shower you with love. Random, hand-selected, love.