re·con·nect—re·set—re·fresh: Making & keeping New Year's resolutions for 2016

Part 2: re·set

We’re already wrapping up week 2 of the New Year and there’s no doubt that some of you have already broken one or even several New Year’s resolutions. I know I have. That one about, “Try to eat healthier”?  How’s a lady supposed to eat healthier with the remnants of a perfectly good New Year’s ham in the fridge and a Christmas stocking full of candy? With Valentine’s Day around the corner, (and the day-after chocolate sales,) I might as well call it a year and sweep that “eat healthy” resolution under the rug, right? WRONG. Here’s the thing with resolutions, you get do-overs. All. Year. Long.

The way I see it, the tradition of making New Year’s resolutions is a tool designed for self-improvement and optimism. Resolutions shouldn’t be so specific that you set yourself up for failure, (“I will run 3 miles every day”). Instead, make your resolutions broad and realistic, (“I want to run more and be more active”). This blanket resolution is specific enough to define an achievable goal, but broad enough to allow for the ebb and flow of daily life. It also leaves room for evolution and improvement.

Not only are stamps great for that resolution for writing more letters, they're also a great reminder for all of those fruits and vegetables you said you'd eat more of this year.

Maybe your “run more” resolution turns into playing on an indoor soccer team during the winter, a kickball league in the summer, and trail running in the fall. And as we all know, making New Year’s resolutions is only the half of it. The other half is holding yourself accountable.

In Part 1 of my “re·con·nect —re·set—re·fresh” post, I mentioned that while some people like to share their resolutions with friends, others choose to keep theirs private. One of the easiest and most rewarding ways of tracking your own success throughout the year is to keep a “Resolution Journal”. Keeping a journal just for New Year’s resolutions is a great way to help you reach your personal goals by creating a sense of personal accountability.

For insight on how to start and keep a “Resolution Journal” check back for Part 3. If you’re like me and you’ve already broken one or two resolutions, use this week as a breather to regroup and even revise your resolutions. Scout out one or several special journals that speak to you and then, hit the reset button. 

Check out my selection of journals and notebooks and use the code RESOLUTION2016 at checkout and receive 15% off of your very own "Resolution Journal" to start the year off right. Use #MyCHBook on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook to show how you use your Crowing Hens Bindery book throughout the year!

re·con·nect—re·set—re·fresh: Making & keeping New Year's resolutions for 2016

Part 1: re·con·nect

The New Year is the time for new beginnings, reinvigoration, and of course resolutions. For many, this holiday is an opportunity to look back at the previous year & make personal goals to improve their health and increase happiness and fulfillment in the coming year. Some people announce their resolutions to family, friends, and coworkers while others choose to keep theirs private. Whether big or small, the important thing to remember is that resolutions are an optimistic opportunity for personal growth. By keeping resolutions broad in scope your goals can seem more attainable and can even be allowed to evolve over the course of the year. By involving others in your resolutions or adopting tools to hold yourself accountable, keeping resolutions cannot only be achievable but fun as well.

Vintage stamps are an elegant way to make your snail mail correspondence even more personal and memorable. By combining vintage stamps into a postage mosaic on an envelope I can create personalized pieces of historic art imbued with secret meanings tailored to each pen pal.

Several years in a row I made a resolution to write more letters; to friends, loved ones and colleagues. To make the process even more fun for me, I took up stamp collecting and started using vintage postage on my snail mail. After saving up my silver change for a year, I’d seek out local annual stamp shows and purchase postage in a wide range of values. Using vintage stamps in this way is not only beautiful, but it's also an economic option since vintage postage is still usable, (so long as it hasn’t been used before), and many vendors sell stamps below face value.

Now that I have a complete line of letterpress stationery, my letters can be even more special. Not only do I get to select my stamps, but I also get to choose from a range of stationery designs based on my mood, my message, or my pen pal. Making a resolution to write letters is a wonderful way to strengthen and maintain ties with friends and loved ones. It’s also a great way to initiate others into your resolution for the New Year and develop new interests, such as stamp collecting, calligraphy, typographic design, and regular snail mail correspondence.

Even though the stamps I use are not rare or especially valuable, I typically reserve one of each so that I have a record of what I've used. 

To find vintage stamp sellers and stamp shows near you, visit the American Philatelic Society website. Local philatelic societies, like the Nashville Philatelic Society, typically meet monthly or quarterly and cost very little to join, and most stamp shows are open to the public. You can even find vintage postcards too! Refer to the US Postal Service for current postage rates.

Letter writing is a wonderful way to reconnect in an intimate, tangible way with the people we love. This kind of resolution not only benefits everyone involved, but it can easily become a treasured life-long habit. If one of your resolutions is to start writing more letters, consider this my gift to you! Enter HENPALS2016 at crowinghensbindery.com for 15% off of all stationery in stock. Also, use #CrowingHenPals16 on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to show off how you and your pen pals use your Crowing Hens stationery and stamps all year long. Your images could be featured right here on my blog in a future post, so get collecting, and get writing! Happy New Year everyone!