that’s stationery, with an e

I just finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I seem to be the only person of my generation who didn’t read it in high school, and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. The only things I knew about the book were a tunnel in Pittsburgh and something about feeling infinite.

Nothing about it was what I expected, and there’s something to be said for that. I don’t think Charlie and I would be friends in real life, but I can relate to some of his doubts and struggles. Charlie makes friends, loses some, and really tries to participate in life instead of watching from the sidelines (you know, as a wallflower). Sometimes he is successful, and sometimes he’s not.

One thing Charlie definitely does well, though, is letter writing. You learn about him and his first year of high school through his letters to an anonymous acquaintance. I imagine Charlie uses whatever paper he can find, but if I were writing letters to an anonymous acquaintance for a year, I’d like to try to write on some fancy stationery.

I love the idea of having stationery lying around your house for any and all notes you choose to write throughout the year. And of course you’d write notes more often–you’d have personalized stationery ready and waiting.

But ordering stationery and having it on hand isn’t practical or easy for everyone. So I took some supplies I did have lying around the house, and added a quick, fun design to some notecards to spice up my letter writing.

diy supplies of sharpie, notecard, ruler

I started with a blank notecard, a ruler, and sharpies. I made a dot every half inch along the notecard with some of my favorite colors. It took just a few minutes and added a personalized touch–and you all know how much I love polka dots.

polka dot diy notecard

 

I kept going, adding lines willy-nilly, but you should do whatever you like! I think ombre dots would be fun, or random colors. I was worried about bleeding through, so I did have a scrap paper underneath my card as I was polka-dotting. It wasn’t a problem in this case, but might be if your notecards are thinner.

polka dot notecards

 

It’s super quick and super fun, and now I’m ready to write letters all over the place. Maybe I’ll start by making invitations to a Perks moving-watching party. Did you guys read this book, what did you think?

 

7 thoughts on “that’s stationery, with an e

  1. I read it so long ago, but several times. I have no idea what it was even about now! I do remember reading it and thinking WOW. Then I read The Catcher In The Rye. I threw it out the second I was done reading it. I do think letterwriting is important. My grandma passed about 2 1/2 years ago. Since then I write a letter to her every month. I feel that it keeps me focused in a way, but that it keeps me aware of my life and where I am and when. I love the stationery idea, but beware that sometimes the words will come far too fast and others, not at all. Good luck! Love thepolka dots!

    1. thank you! that is such a cool thing to do, thanks for sharing. what a nice way to remember your grandma.

  2. Ahhh, a kindred spirit! I love polka-dots, too…enough to use them in the name of my new (and not yet open for business) shop on Etsy The PolkaDot Puffin. I have lots of dots that I collect from the digital papers shops, many of them on Etsy too. I’m thinking of adding a few strategically place dots to my classic PT Cruiser, Henrietta. She’s due for something fun other than her smog inspection.

Comments are closed.