April LEP Challenge

We know that books and letter writing can go hand-in-hand, so the April LEP challenge was to write a letter to any fictional character that you would love to be penfriends with.

And if the letters that resulted from the challenge are any indication, there are just so many cool fictional characters out there that would make wonderful penpals!

However, only at LEP would you find such an eclectic group of letter recipients. Hobbits, ghosts, fairy tale characters...! In the words of George Takei: "Oh Myyy!!" 

Here are some of our favourite April challenge letters from LEP's extraordinary members:

Venus, AKA Voracious V, wrote to the intrepid Hobbit who went There and Back Again. "I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve."

GAH! Put us out of our misery Voracious V! What does go around the world but stays in a corner?

Ann-Marie, AKA Ninny Numbskull, wrote to Marissa Falco's Parcel Ghost

Click here to see more photos of this awesome spooooky letter!

Eva, AKA Hawwa, wrote to Little Red Riding Hood!! She also gets 4,000 bonus points for using matching stationery!

Click here to read Eva's way-too-cute letter to Red Riding Hood.

Also, Eva has an important request for LEP members: please contact her if you know the postal address for Little Red Riding Hood.

On that note, if anyone knows the postal addresses of Raylan Givens, John Thornton, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jackson Brodie, or Jo March, please let me know!

GREAT work, superheroes!

It's your time to shine!

This week, we decided to let some of our extraordinary LEP members do the talking for a change! Here's what they had to say...

Katherine AKA Wonder Kitty in the USA
The League of Extraordinary Penpals is the greatest thing since spandex onesies! I’ve been a member since day one, and each month I look forward to the amazing newsletters chock full of unique challenges, cool projects and articles that keep letter writing fun and fresh. It’s a really great feeling to be a part of a group of wonderful Supers who take time from their lives battling crime and defeating evil-doers across the world to write to one another and share their lives. The Facebook page is fantastic! I’m honored to be included under the same marquee as these other stupendous writers, crafters, mail art makers, and delightful people. It feels great to be with people who are so open and welcoming – you never feel out of place or strange for your hobbies and interests. Everyone has been so kind and so genuine – something the world seems to lack at times. I’ll shout it across the ‘verse! The League of Extraordinary Penpals is simply the best group of people I’ve met in a long time. It’s wonderful just to be a part of this League, and I look forward to many years of new pals and new surprises. Onward!


Frida AKA Twisted River in the Netherlands
When I first heard about LEP I had to run a few laps around the living room table because I had no other way of expressing my joy without screaming too loud. Thanks to that this wonderful Flying Dutchman a.k.a my boyfriend, bought me a year subscription as a surprise! And with full intent on trying to be cheesy, it truly was one of the best surprises someone has ever surprised me with. This is my fourth month as a member and I never want to leave! LEP has so many wonderful people hiding in its headquarters and there is never too much crazy, never too much kindness, so much nicety and just an overall great place to hang out! It is just so great to see that there is a place where everything wacky, weird and funky fits right in and then melts down into this lovely mash of awesome! Superherosalutes and supermany thanks to Super Sushi and Super Squirrel!


Denise AKA Hot-Z in the USA




I joined the LEP with zero expectation, I was new to the world of pen-paling. I have been blown away by the sense of community and friendship this group has offered. I have received so much fun mail, and I’ve participated in lots of fun swaps. I truly believe that the superheroes of the LEP are friends that I’ll carry with me the rest of my life.








Jennifer AKA Indigo in Germany
“League of Extraordinary Penpals”, now my first thought on it has been: “Wow, pen palling is great, but what does make an extraordinary penpal so very extraordinary that it needs to get mentioned in this name? Will I ever be good enough to just join the league?” I decided to give it a go and it pulled me into a stream, which dragged me out of my former world and threw me straight into a new world. Granted, this world is way more colorful with all its washi-loving and creative mail art-heroes. So, why should one become a penpal superhero? Because everyone can fight the biggest villain from the capital of Boredom: an empty mailbox. And it’s so easy to do it. You just have to have fun in order to make this villain wave a white flag. What do those penpals in the LEP make so extraordinary? It’s not that we share the love for sending and receiving mail. This is something every penpal does. It’s much more of the love and care shared in this community. I’ve been able to meet a lot of great people thanks to LEP. It’s so easy to make friends in here, because there’s a common interest all members share: pen palling. But the love and care showed among those members makes the league such a great company to hang out with. Share your interests, get feedback on what you do, become encouraged by others; help your new friends… No one’s left alone in the league, unless he or she decides to be (and even in that case it’s very possible someone will worry and care for you). What is another great point about the league? It’s international. No matter what color you prefer to get your washi tape printed or which colors you like your pens to write in – the LEP doesn’t discriminate. L to the E to the P - that is just the place to be.


Britty Luna AKA The Lunatik in the USA



LEP has seriously changed my life. No joke. It's a wonderful group of people who are with you in spirit, and in post! We have a busy Facebook group. And a GoodReads group too. A Pen Pal Book club! And there are other things inside the group, for photographers and people who love pens. I don't know what I would do without these guys, seriously. They are so nice, and so caring. And I have learned a lot from them. And this group has gotten my creative juice going. Plus, the mail is good too. Haha. Join LEP. You will not regret it!







Stéphanie AKA Nimble Fingers in France


I'm the kind of woman who usually sits and watches in groups. I don't like to put myself on the line but I feel comfortable within the LEP. I like the spirit of it, it's fun and challenging AND I can finally share that part of my life with my husband! If I only had to say one thing about the LEP, it's that it's not the average penpal club. It's more than that. It's a community of people who like to have fun together and experience new things. I mean, the worldwide movie night (well, night for me lol)? Awesome! I can't wait to see what Julie and Laura will come up with next!








Jonathan AKA Big Yawn Hippo in the UK


Like the Madonna song I was like a virgin (Pen Pal Writer) for the very first time! Until I discovered the amazing group LEP. I recommend joining LEP for any person who is new to the world of pen palling as you will have access to a huge resource of pen palling knowledge via the LEP members who took me under their wing and guided me on a path to be a pen palling guru!










Sara Jean AKA Squishy Owl in the USA
I jumped on the LEP bandwagon pretty quickly. I have been a follower of both Julie's and Laura's blogs for quite some time! So when they announced that they were not only starting a pen pal community but a super hero themed one I thought to myself "this is some kind of awesomesauce genius-ness" and I had to join in on all of the fun. I have met Super pen pals in the League who will not only squeal with you over a full mail box and encourage your hoarding of all things crafty (including offering to share their own beloved stash) but FRIENDS who will also cheer you up when you are down or having a sad mail day and answer your call when extra birthday mail to a loved one is requested. This group has been more fun than I can convey in such a short little amount of space and I don't wanna sound any more sappy than I already do. The LEP rocks! There, that sounded more Super Hero-esque...


Sandra AKA Super Sandy in the Netherlands


I've never thought LEP would be so much fun! The newsletters are always great to read and full of fun stuff! I loved the book and movie suggestions in the latest newsletter!!! :) The Facebook group is a wonderful and almost necessary addition! It's a great place to meet fellow snail mail lovers, to share ideas, photos, even videos! I haven't participated in any of the swaps yet, due to lack of time/energy... but from what I've seen... the swaps are amazing! I'm glad that I signed up for a year! 






Lisa AKA Super Purple Pal in the USA




I'm a life-long pen paller here, so I know my stuff, LEP is the best place to find a group of people who are passionate about the art of letter writing and anything mail related! I'm having so much fun, joining swaps, making friends and laughing! Well worth the investment because the return is priceless!!









Rena AKA Dark Flower Power in Germany




Being a superhero isn’t easy. And finding mates is even harder. You can’t just walk up to someone and say "I noticed you have the habit of sudden disappearance, so do I. Are you by any chance a fellow superhero?" It might be the contrary and you got yourself in trouble. LEP does really help with that. You have something in common immediately. And usually even more then being a superhero, like snail-mail - easy to find at LEP, too.






Rachel AKA The Tooth Fairy in the UK

I've always enjoyed reading Julie's blog and when she announced that she and Laura were setting up an exclusive penpal club I knew I wanted to support the enterprise. Wow. Am I glad I did. Not only have I helped support the club from the start but I've made a group of amazing new friends. I've also been able to indulge my love of fountain pens further with my dear friend Arjen in the Fountain Pen group. The Facebook group has made me smile and laugh out loud every day. Where else can you look at people's paper shopping trips, see everyone's mail calls and, through these new friendships, see two people discussing mailing a chicken?? So thank you Julie, thank you Laura and THANK YOU to all the LEP members!



 
Athanasia AKA Tiny in Greece

I've been pen paling since my teenage years, it started off as a hobby but in time it became part of my reality as I've made friends that stuck in my life for years to come. When I came by the LEP announcement on Julie's blog I have to admit I was more curious than anything else and decided to take part in this project. 3 months later I have to say that I am happy to be part of this little community of people who, like me, love mail, anticipate the mailman, get excited to enter a stationery store and get creative when seeing colors, tapes and paper of all shorts. I enjoy our daily interaction on the Facebook group and even though we might not all know each other, once we say we are a LEP member we're part of the family… yup we are the penpaling mob :D In a few words, we are all so diverse, yet much alike, we're a small part of the world in one group… yet we make our own friendly little world.



 

Thank you guys for coming on the ride with us!

A little more starch in my tighty-whities, please!

Imagine this:

Clark Kent dons his superhero tights and cape and saves the world from evildoers as Superman. But along the way, he gets some grass stains on his outfit as he gets thrown across a football stadium; he gets some dirt stains on his cape when he stops a speeding train from running into a bus full of children; he maybe steps into a pile of dog poo when he comes in for a quick landing.

Sadly, this kind of scenario happens to superheroes all over the world! But you never see them bent over a tub scrubbing out the stains from their superhero outfits, now do you?


Of course not!

Why? Because of dry cleaners. Now they are the real, unsung heroes behind superheroes.

I mean, dry cleaners are obviously in on the hidden identity secret. It's hard not to put two and two together when someone brings in a red and blue spandex suit that has a giant "S" on the chest. That "S" definitely doesn't stand for "Sarsaparilla!!"

But they do their job, don't tell anyone our secrets, and never put up a fuss—even when they have to clean out slime remains from our capes. And man, are we superheroes ever thankful for them. Because not only is it a pain to get out grass stains from spandex, it totally sucks when you accidentally throw your spandex into the dryer! It gives new meaning to the term "TIGHTS." And trust us, supervillains don't take you seriously when you've shrunk your spandex and can't pull it above your knees.

So let's give a hip, hip hooray for dry cleaners. Because we can't trust just anyone with important garments like this:



Now can we?

Pass the popcorn, please!

The League of Extraordinary Penpals (LEP) is hosting a global movie night for everyone who loves snail mail and you are invited! Basically, if you're reading this and breathing: WE WANT YOU TO PARTICIPATE! So join us for fun, popcorn, a movie, and great conversation!

Why should you participate? Because it's a movie party and there ain't no party like a LEP party (HEY! OHHHH!)!

What's a global movie night, you ask? Well, basically it's a special event where everyone watches the same movie at the same time. And not just any old movie... we're watching the best penpal movie ever made!


Mary and Max!

The party is on Saturday, April 13 and starts at 1 pm MST, 3 PM EST. If you need help converting this to your local time, use this handy time zone converter!

And the best part? You don't even need to leave the comfort of your own home to join the party because we at LEP have harnessed the power of social media to bring the party to you. In other words: we came up with a Twitter hashtag.

Watch the movie, and join the party on Twitter by using the hashtag #extraordinarypenpals. Tweet your comments and thoughts as a whole community of snail mailers around the world watches the same movie. Be sure to use #extraordinarypenpals so that anyone participating in the movie watch can follow your comments!

That's it! Participating is as simple as that.

So, now you know about LEP's movie night and have more than a week to rent, buy, steal, and/or borrow a copy of the movie in preparation. In fact, you have enough time to read a detail synopsis of the movie and reenact it with sock puppets or build your own claymation set if you're so inclined! Do whatever you have to do to get a copy of the movie (within reason, we don't condone criminal activities here at LEP... well, maybe a little bit criminal is okay...), and we'll see you on Saturday, April 13!

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us! See you there, mail enthusiasts!