July 2014 [Pen to Paper] “I Love You” Box

We have had so many of our lovely subscribers messaging us to rave about our July “I Love You” box and I can’t wait for you all to see the paperie goodness and love that went into each and every Elephantshoe box.

Just before our lovely intern Kathleen left for her new exciting travels she wrote our latest review. Take a look below. . .

Hi there, Kat here. I have to let you all in on a secret. Some might not believe me but I’m telling you, it's really true. Are you ready to hear this big secret? Alright? The thing is… The Elephantshoe Stationery Studio is a time machine!

It feels like it was just yesterday (*read* the month of June) that I stepped back into the warm and welcoming Elephantshoe Stationery Studio, and it’s just been go go go since then. I’ve worked on some wonderful projects with the team here and it’s been a lovely, creative and sometimes crazy adventure! Now, as I sit here preparing to write my last "I Love You" box post (I shouldn’t say “last” but it will be for a while), I’ve realized it’s July! As the icy winter days keep coming and my days here at Elephantshoe draw to a close, I bring to you the July [Pen to Paper] I Love You Box review.

We went old school this month and celebrated paper and the good old pen. Here’s what we included in the July box:

This month, and every month, we should go out of our way to ditch the emails and text messages every once in a while and take pen to paper. In other words, what we’re trying to say is, sloooooow down. We’re all living in our fast-paced, on-the-go bubbles – always rushing somewhere, but that’s life, and we all get a bit caught-up in it sometimes. But enough rambling – this is what we want to encourage you to do: write a little letter. Write it for a close friend, a caring mother, a great colleague, a special husband/wife or even a cousin who lives across the globe. The best part is it can be a quick and meaningful “I Love You” stuck to your significant other’s desk or a little update to a friend you want to reconnect with. To get you started, we’ve supplied our subscribers with a quirky little writing notepad and quirky “HELLO” eco-friendly pen. It all starts with a little “HELLO”… the rest is up to you.

Finished writing your little letter? Fold it in half, now pop it into your choice of our stylish kraft envelopes – scrambled letters or paper airplanes – and seal it with a nifty wax seal. Pop a postage stamp on from your nearest post office and your letter is ready to travel the world… or perhaps just down the road!

I can’t remember the last time I received a postcard from someone, but I can remember how happy I felt when I received a special message from a friend in the post. Make someone happy and send them a postcard. This month our subscribers received 4 custom, and totally awesome postcards – ready to make someone smile. The best part about them? They serve equally as some trendy/cool wall art for your home office. Pop it in a frame or stick it your wall and you’ll have a little reminder of that special friend/loved one.

There’s nothing quite like opening a wax-sealed envelope. The instant feeling of importance and elegance that surrounds it makes opening one of them just that extra special. But when you want to opt for something a little more casual – pop a cute sticker on. Or use one the stickers to hold your handwritten note to your friend’s desk.

Traveling somewhere soon or have a friend that’s about jet set off on an adventure? Why not attach one of our printed kraft tags to a special going-away gift or better yet – use them as trendy luggage tags!

Lastly, each subscriber received a handwritten letter to fill them in on the thought-process behind the July box. The letter was written with the sole purpose to explain, inspire and mostly just because we love you.

The letter went a little like this

Dear…

Thank you for subscribing to this month’s Elephantshoe box of love.

We thought we’d mix it up a bit this month and leave the typed messages behind. We’ve been thinking a lot about what makes life special and lovely. Think of blue skies in summer, your first sip of tea, forehead kisses, tight hugs, brown paper packages tied up with string and handwritten letters.

This month we would like to encourage you to go old school and take pen to paper, dig up your favourite milky pens from school and write a little letter. There’s something really special and novel about receiving a handwritten note in the age of emails and text messages. It doesn’t need to be a long letter/an essay – just a simple “you looked great today” or “I love you” is perfect. It’s the thoughtful notes that go the furthest and mean the most.

So here you have your very own supplies to get you going. Fix yourself a hot drink, grab a blanket and let the words flow.

Happy writing!

Love Elephantshoe 

It’s been an absolute pleasure to be involved in the conceptualisation and production of the Elephantshoe “I Love You” boxes over the last couple of months. If you’re a subscriber or just a Ellieshoe follower – I hope you’ve enjoyed the contents and effort that’s gone into making them extra special for you.

Stay tuned for the August box of awesomeness that I’m pretty sure will blow your warm fuzzy socks right off!

Bye-bye for now,

Kat

JUNE 2014 {Winter Warmer} "I Love You" Box

The past two months have been so so WONDERFUL - we've had Kathleen back in our Elephantshoe studio once more to help us with a few very NB projects, (one of those being my brothers wedding - more of that coming to the blog later this month). Kat has helped James and I brainstorm a whole host of ideas including the goodies that went into our June "I Love You" box. She has become a part of our Ellieshoe way of life here and I will more than likely, {o.k I will} shed a few tears when she leaves in the middle of next month. But for now let me share her review on June's box of love. Thank you Kat!

JUNE 2014 {Winter Warmer} "I Love You" Box

Winter is officially here and it is CHILLY up in Joburg! When the temperature takes a dip, the first thing I do is grab my favourite mug and pop the kettle on. There’s nothing better than a cup of tea or coffee on a cold winter’s day. We've been inspired by our love for tea and coffee and decided to dedicate this month’s “I Love You” box to caffeine, friends, family and all-round goodness.

Here’s what we popped into the June [WINTER WARMER] “I Love You” box:

  • 2 x ceramic chalkboard mugs with chalk
  • 1 x box of custom paper coasters / 12 x custom paper coasters in kraft box
  • 2 x custom “Thanks a latte” kraft tags
  • 2 x custom kraft cards
  • 2 x custom stripey lined square kraft and black envelopes
  • 2 x custom stickers
  • 1 x custom button fridge magnet

What better way to say “I love you” or “feel better” with a cup of tea, coffee or even hot chocolate. Simply write a sweet little message for your loved one or friend on the awesome chalkboard mug.

Who said tea parties are only meant to be held outside in the summer? Make room for a fabulous winter tea party with friends – complete with charming paper coasters! This month, our subscribers found a beautiful little brown box tied up with string in which they could find their own custom paper coasters. Get the kettle ready and bake the cake and your tea party is ready to go go go!

We love making people feel special – this month you could do it too. Our quirky kraft tags are the perfect little addition to any big or small parcel or bunch of flowers. Say “thanks a latte” to someone special this month. 

Who doesn’t love a quick coffee date with a friend that sometimes turns into lunch? Make him or her feel great with one of Elephantshoe’s custom kraft cards. Whether it is passed on as is in our elegant yet simple envelopes or given with a gift.  We say YAY to coffee, friends and hand-written cards! Take a look at our custom range of envelopes form the shoppe.

In the midst of winter we don’t always feel like our healthy selves. We’re saying save the germs and “seal it with a sticker” instead of a kiss. Each subscriber received two custom stickers to spruce up a parcel, hand-written note or envelope.

“We like big cups and we cannot lie” tra leee la la la – add some spunk to a gift for a friend, or pop the awesome button magnet to your fridge. Soon we will have these online for you to purchase but for now take a look at our May fridge magnets from the shoppe. 

Grab your blanket and your chalkboard mug filled with you choice of hot drink and get ready for the exciting JULY “I Love You” box which will be shipped next week. 

Love Kat

April 2014 {Personalised Polka Dot} "I Love You" Box

Our "I Love You" box is one of my most dear products on our Elephantshoe shoppe. A small parcel of awesomeness that arrives at your doorstep in the first week of every month. Stationery treats designed and curated by us here at Ellieshoe to make your life more lovely. 

How does the "I Love You" Box work?

  1. Visit our shoppe and subscribe. Choose to receive a box of goodies from Elephantshoe for either a 1-, 3- or 6-month period.

  2. If you are giving this subscription as a gift to Le Lucky friend or loved one, don't forget to type in a personalised message at the end of your order. 

  3. Then it’s simply a case of us packaging and delivering your box of paperie and styling goodies to you. 

*Orders for our May box have closed, order before 22 May 2014 to receive our June box.

Polka dot, polka dot . . .  dot dot dot, it's time to reveal all the paperie goods that went into our Elephantshoe April 2014 "I Love You" Box. 

  • 1 x customised monogram maple wooden stamp
  • 1 x color box cats eye pigment ink brush pad in orchid
  • 4 x large square kraft envelopes with pink and black polka dot printed liner
  • 4 x white square printed personalised notecards (with monogram and name)
  • 2 x flat bitty bags in black and pink polka dot
  • 2 x standing bitty bags in black and pink polka dot
  • 4 x personalised white gift tags with ribbon

Each of our subscribers received their very own monogram stamp with the first letter of their name. These stamps are handy to make your mark on parcels & gifts, letters, envelopes, tags and brown paper bags. Visit our monogram section on our shoppe to see some of our other designs. 

Each maple wooden stamp was engraved on the top and placed into it's very own kraft paper box with an orchid Color Box cats eye ink pad. How hot is this color? Also Pantones 2014 color of the year although this ink pad is more on the pink side which I love.

We made up four large square envelopes for each box, these envelopes were lined with a large and small swiss dot pattern in both black and hot pink. These sexy little numbers were accompanied by four personalised notecards with each subscribers name and custom monogram. At Elephantshoe we say, don’t just drop someone a note, deliver it with a wink, a smile or a classic handshake. Whether you are giving a gift or saying thank you, note cards offer a simple, yet elegant solution to traditional greeting cards.

Four personalised name tags with ribbon were also included in our April box. Simply add a small kind message and attach to flowers, a box of chocolate or any small gift when you haven't had the time to purchase a greeting card. Plus 4 paper polka dot black & pink bitty bags (2 flat and 2 standing) to pop your gift into can also save time when it comes to wrapping. Plus they look super cute, specially with your personalised tag dangling.

All the "I Love You" box goods about to be packaged and shipped off.

One of our lucky blog readers is going to WIN a MAY "I Love You" box today - Thursday 1 May 2014. Simply, LIKE US on Facebook and leave a COMMENT BELOW to be entered into our random draw.

  • Draw to take place at 17:00 this evening {South African Time}.
  • Winner announced by 17:30 this evening {South African Time}.
  • Competition only open to South African residents due to shipping reasons .
  • One entry per person.
  • Delivery of May box to take place between the 5th and 7th of May 2014.