There’s something nostalgic that I miss about Valentine’s Day, back when the holiday was simple and fun: classroom mailboxes. It was the most coveted day of the second semester. Hours were spent intricately folding cards and writing out names to be passed out and shared the next day. If you were anything like me, you looked most forward to the Fun Dip.
The older I get, the more I wonder what happened to telling your friends you love them or that you appreciated them, like in elementary school. What happened to physical Cootie Catchers, drawings, and doodles?
I therefore declare this year to be the year of snail mail. As college students, it can be hard to connect with friends and share the love in ways other than a simple text or shoutout. Here are a few creators to help you think of the best ways to do it.
- Leapling Studio
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Rachel Kim, aka Leapling Studio on Instagram, is an Australian-based artist reviving the whimsy of origami love notes. She uses delicate watercolors to adorn her work with floral illustrations reminiscent of a scene straight out of Little Women. Try one of her folding methods for an interactive surprise, or write a note on watercolor paper.
- Martina Calvi
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Martina Calvi is another Aussie artist bringing back the fun of sticker sheets and scrapbooking. Love notes are the perfect time to use up some of the stickers you have lying around in your junk drawer. Other good ideas are gluing on cutouts from magazines, cutting out lipstick prints on a piece of paper, or tying little bows through your letters. Martina also reminds us that all parts of your package can be fun, right down to the envelope! Use a vintage stamp, try a cute font on the front, or doodle where your friends (or lovers) will open it.
- Nikki Miles
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Valentine’s Day isn’t always the easiest holiday for us all. For some, it can be a season of grief, loneliness, and heartache. Check on your friends and give them support. You never know what someone is going through, and it costs nothing to be kind. Send them a reminder that you’re thinking of them, even when they feel that no one else is. Nikki’s page is a great place to pull some positivity from, and her bright colors are bound to cheer us up, even just a little bit.
- Jenna O’Brien
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Jenna O’Brien is the queen of color! She’s a Florida native (shoutout Lakeland), and I’ve loved watching her grow as an artist. Jenna is well-known in the creative space for her color palettes, and Galentine’s Day is a great time to make your own. Do certain colors remind you of memories with your friends? Make them your very own palette inspired by the road trip you took last summer or the way their hugs feel on a hard day.
P.S. If you’d like your own mail, sign up for her Substack, which she recently made free! It’s full of her monthly favorites, life advice, tea recipes from her other company, and her art.
- All Things Lilly Ann
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If paper and pen aren’t your style, don’t be afraid to go digital! Procreate is a great app that offers every tool under the sun. I love to use it to trace pictures or create a digital scrapbook with pictures I have saved. Lilly also has the cutest iced coffee koozies for you to send in a package for your next coffee date!
Whether you live for a Galentine’s Brunch or dread the very existence of Valentine’s Day (right after Target puts up the decorations the day after Christmas), snail mail is the best way to take the time to let someone special know you’re thinking of them. There’s no right way to do it. Start small and see where it takes you!
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