Say hello to my little friend-
Kristi from Barn Owl Primitives. Remember the one that painted my favorite sign ever?
I am SO happy that she is willing to share her heart here on 30days. She doesn’t technically have a blog. But she has an amazing shop and a fun Facebook page. And puts up with me on Twitter. And might just be as addicted to Pinterest as I am. Probably not. So there are plenty of ways to keep in touch. Even though we live on opposite sides of the country, she has become a great friend. Can’t say enough nice things about Kristi. So….without further ado, welcome Kristi!
I’m so excited to be guest posting today for Mique!
This is my first official blog post…oh, the pressure! My daughter will be starting Kindergarten this fall. So this summer we’ve been working on writing. Writing her name. Writing our friends names. Our address. Our favorite places. We’ve been writing notes. Lots and lots of notes. I might be dating myself, but… When I was in school there was no internet. Al Gore hadn’t invented it yet. There were no cell phones. No emails. No texting. NO Blogs {gasp}. (I like to think we blogged, although without the internet, we were left to share our ideas on the bathroom walls.)
When I was in school, we communicated the old fashioned way. We sent notes to each other. Handwritten notes. Carefully and creatively folded notes. Heartfelt notes. Written on notebook paper. In our very own handwriting. Can you imagine?
I recently found these notes.
Tucked carefully into a high school yeabook.
My high school yearbook:
My friends and I used to write notes. These notes. Every day. We used to pour out our hearts. We used to share our secrets. Our hopes. Our fears. Our dreams. Our lives. We’d ask questions. We’d provide answers. We’d make plans. We’d laugh. We’d cry. We’d gossip. We’d teach. We’d learn. We’d break hearts. We’d wish. We’d help. We’d hurt. We’d breath. We’d love. We’d live. And somewhere along the way, we lost our notes. We started emailing our hopes. We started texting our plans. We started leaving our dreams as status updates. We started tweeting our secrets. Our handwriting is now identifiable only by the fonts we use. I miss those notes. I miss their simplicity. I miss their joy. I miss their love. I miss their grace.
The notes my daughter and I are writing this summer have helped me to remember the beauty of a handwritten note. The magic. The power. The personal touch. We’ve had so much fun writing our notes. Addressing our envelopes. Delivering some in person and stuffing the rest in our mailbox. Sharing our creativity, our learning and our love with our family and friends. It’s been so fun and so rewarding.
So, I challenge you. Write at least one handwritten note this week. A thank you note. A birthday card. A love letter. Acknowledge a good deed. Encourage a friend. Share a poem. Create a keepsake. I promise that your one note will make someone’s day. And it will make your day, too!
And as a thank you, I’ve created this fun printable, just for you! It’s a list of our favorite summer activities. Hoping you enjoy the rest of your summer. And hope to see you around the Barn soon!
Download your own 16×20 prints:
For personal use only.
WHITE DISTRESSED
Thanks very interesting blog!
Feel free to surf to my web blog: hockey
Thanks so much for these!! I love them! I shared them on my blog as well: http://www.vixenmade.com/2012/05/free-printable-friday-summer-subway-art.html
Thanks for this: I needed a last minute gift for my sister and decided to paint a frame and put in a bunch of seasonal printable.
I love me some Kristi.
Great Post!
Lylas,
G
I love this!! The folded notes took me back in time… I wonder if I even remember how to fold paper that way?!
I absolutely LOVE this!!! Thank you for the free printable! I just printed mine off!!!!
This is really cute! The colors, the font, the little touch of bunting…I love it. Thanks so much for sharing this with us.
thanks so much ~ so glad you love the printable!
This is a great post! With the use of so much technology, we all forget how we feel when we receive hand written notes or cards in the mail. I’ve even gotten out of the habit myself, and I know I love to receive them.
Thanks.
thanks shirley!! :)
I adore Kristi and her gorgeous work :)
ah, thanks so much lindsay!!! xo
Ha ha ha! I’d totally forgotten about the way we used to fold our notes! Brings back so many memories! What a wonderful gift to teach your daughter the joys of a handwritten note :) Who doesn’t love to get a letter or a card in the mail?
thanks rebecca!!
I love this printable! And seeing those notes from your yearbook really took me back. I remember when my girlfriends and I used to do that – usually with secret “code” words and lots of girly doodles. ;)
LOL ~ one of those folded notes in the picture was all in code! of course, reading it now, I have NO idea what it says!!
I am a new fan of Barn Owl Primitives and with the store just opening back up I hope to be the lucky owner of a beautiful sign soon.
This brought me back to my middle school days and passing notes in class and sticking them in lockers. I hate that nowadays we have lost the beauty of the handwritten note and completely agree. I will definetely be taking your challenge this week. I have a lot of people that are the reason I have had success in my business and what better way to thank them then to send a hand written note? Thank so much for your inspiration.
have fun writing those thank you notes sammie! i know the recipients will me very excited to receive them!!
Big Fan of Kristi and Barn Owls! Can’t wait to add this printable to my summer collection on the mantle – great!
As a teacher – I’m also a huge fan of writing! We take it for granted these days – but children must learn the finer skills of writing!
Great first blog post!
thanks so much kristen!! enjoy the printable!!
Love the printable! I have a whole box full of high school notes too! We always had fun finding new ways to fold them up! :)
Jenn
thanks jenn! folding them up was always half the fun!
huge fan of Barn Owl and Kristi who has helped me out tons!!! love her new stuff!!!
i love, LUV this about writing hand-written notes in this time of emails and facebook….though they are a great way to communicate, you just can’t beat opening the mailbox and finding REAL MAIL!!! my friend Ann and I are HUGE believers—-so much that she bought a biz….and now sells beautiful handwritten notecards and stationary…..i’m always drooling!!!
off to paint………and then write some thank-you notes to MAIL!!!!!
thanks tracy!! have fun writing your notes…and painting! ;)
Oh you just made my day! I have added your Be Calm and Carry On to my Chrismukkah wish list. Please keep making them!!! I enjoyed your nostalgic memories of h.s. letters it brought me back : ) Thank you for sharing.
thanks so much! so glad you like it!!