This whole situation (gestures to entire earth) is difficult for all of us. But I think a group that’s often forgotten in all this COVID-19 drama is kids. My daughter is only 2.5, and she knows something is up. She wants to see her friends at school and ballet, she wants to go to the park, she wants to go to play room. It’s even more difficult for older kids who have a better understanding of what’s going on — on top of not being able to see their friends and figuring out e-learning, they have the added stress of uncertainty that no kid should have to go through.

So kids of the world, this one is for you! For this week’s #quarantinecalligraphy freebie, I’m sharing templates for 4 different kid-focused pieces of mail art. Simply download, slide into your envelope, trace, send and make a kid’s day. Not only do kids love getting mail (my daughter goes APE anytime she gets a card — she’ll carry around everywhere until its a crumpled mess), but think of the excitement they’ll have when their mail looks as pretty on the outside as it does on the inside! Does this make up for being stuck at home, missing school, sports and friends? Um, no, not even close. But hopefully it will bring an unexpected bright spot into their day.

The download includes instructions for creating each of these postal pretties, but here is a little sneak peek into how I created them.

First, you want a lightly colored or white 5 x 7 envelope. If your envelope is slightly smaller, you can scale the print size when you print. You’ll cut out each template and slide it into the envelope.

Once the template is in the envelope, you’ll start by adding color. I used colored pencils for the shark and donut envelopes, and Crayola markers for the dinosaur and unicorn.

After I add color, I trace over the black lines of the template using a black Tombow Fudenosuke brush pen, but you can use any black pen you have on hand. If you can’t see the lines through the color, no problem! Head over to a window and press your envelope against the glass. The light will shine through and you’ll be able to clearly see your lines.

Finally, you can add your address! The shark, donut and dinosaur templates all include guidelines to show you where to write your address — there’s no need trace them, just script over using them as baselines. The unicorn design provides 4 spaces for your address in the form of the unicorn’s mane.

Seriously, how fun are these? Even if you don’t consider yourself a great draw-er, if you can trace, you can make these happen!

If you are an email newsletter subscriber, these templates are already in your inbox! If you aren’t a subscriber yet, you can sign up at the link below and receive your FREE Mail Art for Kids Template packet. As always, puh-LEASE share your work on Insta and tag @hooplaletters — just be sure you obscure the address.

I can’t WAIT to see what you come up with!