Winter sun sets behind palms as moonbeams sprinkle the sandy shore like snow.   Winter sun sets behind palms as moonbeams sprinkle the sandy shore like snow. Now you try! Here’s how to enter: Enter your own haiku here using…

Hokku is a 13th century form of Japanese poetry that was originally the short, quippy opening for a much longer poem, the renga. Hokku, over time, became the little poetic form we all know and love—haiku. Here in the 21st…

Mark Twain once said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.” But Shakespeare knew this long before Mark Twain spoke these words! Have you ever…

While cleaning out a closet I found some treasure! Real writing gold. A stash of letters my mother had written to my father over the course of a year while she was simultaneously raising 4 children and trying to sell…

Hands, fingers, eyes, oh my! When it comes to writing an idea, students are often thwarted by the complex activity of coordinating the minute muscle movements of the hands and fingers holding a pencil, with the sight of the eyes…

Enter by using the form below to submit a photo of your student’s most beautiful lettered-by-hand version of the following pangram:   Win a penmanship mug or a set of our beautiful Blackbird & Company stationary. Four winners will be chosen…

Accentuate your friendly letter with a fall-themed crafty insert! This project began with a package of fall leaf table confetti. But you can just as easily begin by tracing real leaf shapes on colored craft paper, cutting out the shapes,…

It’s November and we’re celebrating the art of letter writing, let’s embellish! Once you’ve composed a friendly letter first draft, it’s time to choose stationary. There are all sorts of envelopes and flat cards in many colors, shapes, and sizes…

Let’s start a tradition! Let’s write friendly letters! Composing a letter by hand—a non-electronic letter—is a relational, social activity that teaches generosity, idea making, and the nature of beauty. Once upon a time there was no such thing as email,…

I Modinnari is a tradition that many communities have adopted to honor an Italian tradition that began way back in the 16th century. Once upon a time itinerant artists commissioned for bigger works, would,  at the close of the project,…