Keeping in touch - Part 1

There are so many ways now to keep in touch with family and friends at home.  I thought I'd share some ideas about how to do it easily and a bit differently, so that your family and your friends can see what you're up to, what the kids are up to and what it really looks like when there are 18 inches of snow around.

Here are just a few ideas...

There's the old Fashioned...

Postcards, letters and the phone (I'm young enough to believe the phone is old school).
This can be fun, postcards from the places you visit are fun for people to receive especially if you travel somewhere super cool like New York, London or Paris.

You could also create custom postcards to send on photo gift websites like Snapfish - in the US you can do this for as low as $0.75 each.

Regular sized photos make great postcards too - you can buy appropriately sized stickers to place on the back to turn your regular print into a post card. Somewhere like The 2 Buds buy the sticker, put on the back of your photo, write, add a stamp and you're done. I've also seen the stickers in photo stores. You could also print your own sticker too - Avery have a few options and templates on their site.

Here's a thought for those of us with kids we could have our Picasso paint or draw their own art, scan it into the computer print onto postcard sized card and mail that to family back home. Doesn't come much more personlaised than that does it?

Letters are a great way of sending (non urgent) info home. It can also be quite cathartic I think to write rather than using more modern means. I think too it can be great fun to write on beautiful stationary or note cards. It feels a little special and a little decadent, especially if you go for some personalised stationary, like this note card (left) from Tiny Prints. Everything from Thank you cards, to Address labels and note cards...

In the USA there is also Shutterfly, Snapfish, The Stationary Studio, Zazzle, Vista Print, and  even this store on Etsy offer options for personalised stationary. Also, American Stationary, Fine Stationary and Crane & Co. to name just a few!

In Australia there are just as many options, though in my opinion it can be a little more expensive to go personalised. Shutterfly ship internationally, Snapfish have an Australian online store, then there's this beautiful collection from Lily and Cino which I found on an Aussie blog called 'A Natural Thread'. More about that later!  Big W have some surprisingly good prices and options in their photo store, though not quite stationary as such.
Kikki-K have some lovely things (not personalised), Note Couture is divine and I also found Personality Stationary not so polished but an option none the less.

Then there's the phone, enough said? Not quite, but that crosses into New Fashioned - tune into Part 2 when you've got yourself a nice cup of tea and a few moments.

xo S