Welcome to Day 19 of the 2017 #sendcardsspreadlove challenge for National Card & Letter Writing Month!

We’ve had a busy third week with four posts, including How To Craft The Perfect “Just Because” Card, a special designer feature and interview with Richele Silva of Richie Designs, as well as a bonus challenge.

As a reminder, the challenge this week is to spread love and kindness. You can get ALL the details here, along with a recap of the first two weeks. There’s some good stuff, so make sure you go back and read the other posts.

Day 19 Of The 2017 #sendcardsspreadlove Challenge

Today, one of my absolute favorite women in the world (yep, I said world) joins us. I’m more than proud and honored to call Skylar Liberty Rose a friend. She is genuine, caring and fun – #fierceloyalty is extremely important to me and I know without a doubt that Skylar has my back. Plus, that stinkin’ British accent is too much.

Skylar and I met through my stint as the content manager for a popular online community where she’s a regular contributor. It feels like we’ve known each other forever, not just a handful of years. And we got to meet IRL too, when I went to the National Stationery Show.

Not only is she an incredible friend, but she is a gifted writer and stationery lover (do yourself a favor and sign up for her newsletter to be notified when her courses open). So, it was a no-brainer that she join us today with a beautiful memories and milestones ritual that you’ll want to start with your partner or even a friend.

Share in the comments below how you plan on using the ritual and with whom.

Memories & Milestones

Hello PbP Community! It’s Skylar Liberty Rose here. What an honor to be able to join you for the #sendcardsspreadlove challenge and be a part of the creative magic.

As a writer, I’m a big fan of all things paper. Receiving cards and letters via snail mail feels like such a special gift, especially in today’s fast-paced world of all things tech.

There’s something so quaint and wonderful about the art of letter writing. Handwritten words seem to carry more weight and meaning. It was for this reason that my husband and I chose to create an anniversary Love Letter & Wine Box as part of our wedding ceremony.

Let me tell you more.

The idea of this beautiful ritual is to write a love letter to your partner, detailing the things you most cherish about them. In your own words, you can express all of the qualities that you hold dear about your chosen one, and your hopes and dreams for the future.

Once you have both written your letters to one another, they are each put into sealed envelopes. The next step is to buy a good bottle of wine, along with a box to keep it in. The envelopes and wine are then placed together in the wine box.

The box is not opened until your 5th wedding anniversary (or a number of your choosing). It is then that the wine is poured and the letters are read. It becomes a wonderful opportunity to remember where your love story began.

The only time that the box might be opened prior to the designated anniversary is if the relationship is under strain. Then the letters can be opened and read as a loving reminder of shared dreams, and can help to get things back on track.

The beauty of these letters is that they create a memory and a milestone all at once.

My 5th wedding anniversary will be next year and I can’t wait to read the letters (OK, and drink the wine!)

If alcohol isn’t your thing, than you can substitute the wine with a CD of beautiful music, or something else that feels symbolic for you to enjoy together.

Also, you don’t have to wait for “big” celebrations to spread the love. This year, for our 4th anniversary, my husband and I wrote each other a note titled “My Four Funniest Memories With You”.

We wrote the notes on our anniversary morning (we were in separate rooms but we could hear each other giggling as we wrote them!) Afterward, we read each other’s memories out loud.

It was so much fun to put this together. We were literally doubled over with laughter as we reminisced. It cost us nothing but two pens, two sheets of paper and ten minutes of our time.

You don’t have to be married, or even in a relationship, to join in with the “laugh letters”. A Friend-aversary Funniest Moments note is a perfect way to celebrate platonic relationships and show how much you care.

Top Tips for Letter Writing

1. Handwritten is heart-written. Good old fashioned ink on paper beats Times New Roman on a screen any day. You don’t have to be able to pen perfect calligraphy here – it’s truly the thought that counts. Take your time and present your words as best you can, but don’t get hung up on trying to create something flawless.
2. Make it personal. Hallmark can’t hope to compete with your own unique expression. A grocery store card won’t include a message about that time you and your friend got locked out of the apartment and had to bribe the dog to let you back in. Mentioning a favorite shared memory is always a great touch for any anniversary.
3. Don’t forget the date! Adding a date to your letters is a wonderful way to reference them when you look back on them in years to come.

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Author Bio

Skylar Liberty Rose is a writer and the creator of the online series The Great Remembering: Tracing a Map Back to You. Having found her own freedom by releasing limiting beliefs, Skylar seeks to provide others with life changing tools they can use to empower themselves. Chosen as one of the ‘Best 50 Women’s Empowerment Blogs’ by the Institute for the Psychology of Eating, and ‘Top 101 Most Inspiring Blogs’ by Guided Mind, Skylar is passionate about stripping away layers of conditioning, and instead discovering the unique truth within. She was a speaker at the 2017 Global Social Change Summit, as organized by the Global Institute for Extraordinary Women.