2019 New Year Pen Friend Exchange --- Sign Ups Have Closed

This exchange has closed. Please visit the link above to sign up for the Spring Pen Friend exchange---coming in March 2019.

Happy 2019!! 

Hope you're all enjoying a happy holiday season! A new year is coming and with it, a chance for new beginnings, new goals, and new friendships. If you enjoy handwritten correspondence with like-minded women, The Victorian Letter Writers Guild may be for you. Follow the instructions below to be matched up with a pen friend and start the new year right!

 Here's what you need to know: 

*While we are very happy to fellowship with all humankind on this site, this particular exchange is for ladies only. If someone would like to organize a mixed-gender exchange, please do so and let me know so I can give you a shout-out here! 

*This is an international exchange but introductory letters must be written in English, unless you and your partner decide otherwise in a private email. 

*A minimum of one letter to your partner is required. If you decide to continue the correspondence after that, wonderful! 

*I am not responsible for "flakers", but anyone who does not keep their commitment will not be included in further exchanges. 

*Sign ups close January 18, 2019; assignment emails will be sent the following week.

*Privacy Statement: Your information will only be given to your assigned pen friend. I will not share it with third parties or publish it in any form. There is no fee to join the Guild---it's strictly for fun and fellowship. I will add your email to a list for my own purposes and will only send emails regarding the pen friend exchange or other Guild activities I think you might be interested in, such as giveaways or letter writing challenges. I will not add you to my blog subscription list but there is a link on the sidebar to do so if you wish. 

*Are you ready for a new pen friend? Copy and paste the answers to the following questions in an email and send it to: sarah@classicalhomemaking.com. {PLEASE do not send this in a separate document. Copy and paste in an email is much easier for me to search!}

Pen Friend Sign Up Questions 

Send to sarah@classicalhomemaking.com 

1. First Name (how you would like to be addressed)

2. Last Name 

2. Full Mailing Address including zip code and country 

3. Email Address 

4. What is your age group? 

18-25 

26-35 

36-50 

50-60 

61+ 

5. Do you have a preferred age group to correspond with? 

18-25 

26-35 

36-50 

50-60 

61+ 

no preference 

6. Do you prefer a pen friend from your own country or is any country fine? 

7. List some of your hobbies and interests. 

8. What interests you about the Victorian Letter Writers Guild? 

9. How did you learn about the Guild? 

10. (Optional) What is your Instagram username? (Some members like to follow one another...not at all required.) 

A Victorian Reading Challenge for 2019 --- Complete with Prizes!

This year I'm teaming up with Belle's Library to offer a marvelous reading challenge---Victorian style! Check out Belle's Library for all the details. Prizes are on offer! Woop!

Holiday Season 2018 Pen Friend Exchange

Signups are now closed. Please still submit your application and I'll include you in our New Year exchange in January 2019.

If you enjoy handwritten correspondence with like-minded women, The Victorian Letter Writers Guild may be for you! Check out the site and see what you think. Then, follow the instructions below to be assigned a penfriend for this round. Signups close Nov. 16.

If you've participated in the past: Please note that you do NOT have to give up your former pen friends! This exchange is for an additional pen friend, so if you're enjoying corresponding with your match from an earlier round, please continue to do so!

Here's what you need to know:

• While we are very happy to fellowship with all humankind on this site, this particular exchange is for ladies only. If someone would like to organize a mixed-gender exchange, please do so and let me know so I can give you a shout-out here!
• This is an international exchange but introductory letters must be written in English. (If you and your partner decide to write in a more familiar language after, that is fine.)
• A minimum of one letter to your partner is required. If you decide to continue the correspondence after that, wonderful!
• I am not responsible for "flakers", but anyone who does not keep their commitment will not be included in further exchanges. 
• Privacy Statement: Your information will only be given to your assigned pen friend. I will not use it for any kind of advertising, marketing, or other commercial purposes, nor will I publish it in any form. 
• There is no fee to join the Guild---it's strictly for fun and fellowship. I will add your email to a list for my own purposes and will only send emails regarding the pen friend exchange or other Guild activities I think you might be interested in, such as giveaways or letter writing challenges. I will not add you to my blog subscription list but there is a link on the sidebar to do so if you wish. 

Are you ready for a new pen friend? Copy and paste into an email your answers to the following questions and send to the address below. I will assign you a partner after the cutoff date.

Pen Friend Sign Up Questions

Send to sarah@classicalhomemaking.com

1. First and Last Name

2. Full Mailing Address including zip code and country

3. Email Address

4. What is your age group?

18-25

26-35

36-50

50-60

61+

5. Do you have a preferred age group to correspond with?

18-25

26-35

36-50

50-60

65+

no preference

6. Do you prefer a pen friend from your own country or is any country fine?

7. List some of your hobbies and interests:

8. What interests you about the Victorian Letter Writers Guild?

9. How did you learn about the Guild?

2018 Autumn Pen Friend Exchange

This exchange is now closed. Please visit the tab above to reserve a spot in the Holiday Pen Friend Exchange. New partners will be assigned mid-November 2018.

Come Join the Summer 2018 Pen Friend Exchange!

This exchange is now closed. Visit the Pen Friend Application tab above to sign up for the Autumn round.

Spring 2018 Pen Friend Exchange

This exchange has now closed. Be sure to fill out the pen friend application above to be included in our next round!

Keeping Track of Pen Friends --- Some Organizational Tips

Happy New Year! I'm so excited about all 2018 has in store! 

Many people practice spring cleaning and organization but for me, the organizing bug bites at the new year. I feel like I want everything in its place before I can really jump into new routines and plans.

This year I've acquired several new pen pals and have also started up the Letter Writing Guild. That means I have a lot of addresses to keep track of! Today I want to share some of the ways I organize my pen friends' information.

The pink file box above is what I've used to organize Guild members' address cards and keep track of who is paired with who. I organize the cards by the person's last name and include any notes and preferences I want to remember. This system would also work great for keeping track of pen friends' addresses, birthdays, family members' names, preferences, and more. I found the box and colored index cards and Walmart. The dividers came in the box but you could make some from cardstock.

Until now... My husband got me this gorgeous Card Catalog box for Christmas. It's made to look like a vintage library card catalog box and came with dividers and reproduction cards from the Library of Congress, featuring 30 great authors like Jane Austen, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the Brontes. 

I am SO excited to organize my addresses into this adorable box! If you want one too, look on eBay or the Victorian Trading Company website.

Another way I organize my pen pal writing obsession is by keeping a record of mail sent and received. I use this little journal and organize everything according to what was sent or received each month. This really helps when I find that I've not heard from someone in awhile, because I can write another quick note to make sure they've received my letter.

Here's an example of how a couple page entries might look:

December 2017

*wrote to Louisa May on December 3

*received from Catherine Morland on December 5

-responded December 7

I'd love to hear how other members organize their letter writing hobbies. Let me know in the comments or tag me on Instagram: @victorianletterwritersguild