I'm making it my 2019 goal to concentrate on improving my paper crafting skills.

As I can't seem to cut paper straight, and I've never liked my own handwriting or drawing skills, I tend to keep far, far away from creating things with paper. I've seen some of the most beautiful art created with such simple paper and card materials, I really want to give this a go - though I think it's going to take me a while to get to that sort of level. I know I keep talking about my Cricut Maker, (I'm sorry, I'm in love and everyone needs to know about it), but I think that can be such a blessing when it comes to making delicate details, lines and cuts. I would also like to mention that I haven't yet opened or used my Cricut Maker as I'm waiting until I have completed blogmas and the wait is killing me.

I made a pledge to start writing and sending snail mail as a way of showing the people I love how much I appreciate them. I've been sending little quote cards, and homemade Christmas cards too. I absolutely love the idea of happy mail and thought I would create some of my own - a festive edition.

These don't necessarily have to be cards, these could be thank you notes, a festive poem, drawings, or photographs. And they can be sent before or after Christmas too. I created a variety of envelopes and letterheads which you can hopefully gather some inspiration from.

The first set and the most "me" set is the snowflake shakers. I created this by tracing around an envelope on tracing paper (you'll need two of these) and filing the middle with paper confetti and paper snowflakes. I sealed the edges carefully with glue, before folding and constructing the envelope. What a fun alternative to a traditional white envelope. This is the type of envelope I'd want to keep forever. Instead of creating an accompanied letterhead, I made a 'Let It Snow' shaker, which they can tear open and use as festive confetti for the table or as other decorations.

For a more traditional take, draw a string of Christmas lights all the way across your paper. For the envelope, I started at the back and worked my way down to the front where it sits perfectly around the address. For the letterhead, I started from the bottom, and drew around to spell the word 'Dear' which you could change to a name or the title of your letter. So simple and easy to do, but still so festive.

On a pink envelope, I drew a very simple and modern Christmas tree (the technique was actually inspired by a piping video I watched) and decorated the tree with hole-punched glitter and metallic paper. I added a large pinked edge paper for the address, and silver glitter washi tape across the top and bottom to add even more colour and texture. Washi tape is the easiest way to decorate your paper, so I used a tree tape to adorn the bottom of my card, and also a red glitter tape which I used to punch snowflake shapes through. You could decorate with opposing colours behind.

Decorate your letters with the worlds smallest bunting. Fold your triangles over some twine and decorate with letters; I used stickers for mine. You could even create the entire letter with bunting for the sweetest thank you ever. You don't need any special equipment or expensive papers, you can create your own collection by purchasing little bundles when you see something you like, or even saving any papers you may receive if you like the colour or textures. Making an envelope is very easy with plenty of templates online, or you can get super creative and create your very own style. I'm really, really looking forward to making and sharing more themed happy mail in the future.

Let me know in the comments below what you think about my happy mail. Are you a fan of sending mail yourself? We have one more creative post left, which all you will need is a printer. My advent calendar is almost finished!