Let me clarify. I am addicted to Papyrus the store, not the font type. From the website I learned, the word Papyrus (pah·pie·rus) comes from the earliest form of paper crafted from the papyrus plant. Papyrus was founded in the family kitchen of Marcel and Margrit Schurman in 1950.
My enjoyment of this store goes beyond the floor to ceiling cards for every occasion or stacks on top of stacks of note collections. I am a card writer. Engrained into me as a young child any gift received equaled a thank you card sent.
I enjoy papyrus because not only are there thousands of options, but the construction of the cards go beyond typical construction. I admit, they are more expensive, but as a card junky I feel just a little bit more proud giving them.
There are times though that writing a card can feel forced and awkward, like from an interview or writing to that estranged cousin. I found a couple resources that could be helpful for those that do not share in my enjoyment of card writing.
From www.themorningnews ,the article breaks it down as follows:
- Greet the Giver
- Express Your Gratitude
- Discuss Use of Gift
- Mention the Past, Allude to the Future
- Final Thanks
- Regards
If I could add something to this article, it would be to shop smart when buying cards.
- If you have a large number of cards to write, especially to individuals you may be pressed to fill up with content, consider finding a smaller sized set of cards such as a 4×6 instead of 5×7.
- Also, consider if you will need to mail the cards. If so, pay attention if the envelopes say ‘extra postage required’ as this could add to your costs. This extra postage could come from weight or size.
The ways one can write a thank you note after an interview has changed with technology, as email is becoming an acceptable form of follow-up. Check out this article to learn more.
Want to make your mailed cards even more personalized? Add a designed stamp at zazzle.com. I did this for our wedding, using our engagement pictures as the stamp for all the invitations. Even Stephen Colbert does it!
I chose to write about this topic today because my list of thank yous had started to pile up. There were a number of individuals at LMU (my previous employer) that I really wanted to express my thankfulness to.
Twenty-five cards later and I felt as if I just experienced a group hug. Pay attention to yourself when writing cards to others. For many of the cards, I experienced joy, laughter and even a tear or two. Or like a panda who had just gave a zoo keeper a big arm squeeze.
I believe cards should be heartfelt and sometimes even unexpected. I hope some of the recipients open it on a day they needed a pick me up. I hope they pay it forward to someone else that could use some positivity and encouragement.
Are you a note writer or does a thank you note sound like torcher? Is there someone in your life that you should acknowledge?
Still need ideas? Watch this classic from Natalie Merchant, Kind and Generous video. It should do the trick.
On the topic of thankfulness, I wanted to express a warm thank you if you have been reading this blog. I am only five days into my ‘Leap Blog’ and feeling a bit more confident each day! If you want to learn more about why I started blogging, check out my first post about this Six Week Experiment.
