First letter of 2012!

This morning was a rather dreary one here.  It was very cloudy and a cold, dripping rain seemed to coat everything with an extra shade of dull.  For me, this is perfect letter writing weather, and that's exactly what I did.  I currently have only 3 pen-pals, and this letter is a long overdue reply to one of them.

I used the purple outlined paper that I colored myself, and a Platinum Plaisir pen filled with the lovely Iroshizuku Murasaki-Shikibu ink I had a sample of.  This ink is available in March from US distributors, and I really enjoyed the color of it.  In a fine nib pen, its a very light purple.  I did have some issues with the ink in the fine nib pen, though, so I will be sure to use the rest of my sample in a medium or broad.  I'm not sure what the correct terminology is, but it looks as if there is a small buildup of ink and paper fiber on the top of the nib.  I'll be cleaning out the pen very thoroughly, for sure.

What isn't pictured are a couple of the embellishments I added.  I found some small paper punches at Michael's in the $1 bin (a music note, and a fleur de lis), and the rubber stamp you see sitting face up on the envelope covering the address.  I used the rubber stamp on the back of the envelope to simulate a wax seal, using some pigment ink I also found in the $1 bin.  I also found some small stickers to add a touch of flash to my signature. The punches are in the corners of the border, and are most visible when you're reading the letter.  I plan on getting more of these punches.. can't beat them for $1 a piece!

I would love to find more pen-pals to write, but even with the 3 that I have, I'm finding that I'm either repeating myself far too many times, or am taking far too long to write the letters because I have nothing new or original to say.  What are some of your ways to keep track of correspondence?  I might need to start taking the letters to work with me and scanning them into a PDF before I send them.

I also spent a lot of time looking for some organizational supplies.  I haven't found any that I wanted so far, but I will keep my eyes open.  I might be going back into town later this evening or tomorrow, so I'll check the stores and see if I can find anything interesting.  My goal is to have a small collection of supplies I can utilize to spice up the boring cheap copy paper I currently use until I get a chance (and the money, LOL) to get some higher quality papers.

Until next time, writers!