No paper? No problem!

[Sailor Kenshin]

A letter-writer's worst nightmare, or cruel myth?

Saw a thread about someone stuck in a house far from nowhere, wanting to answer pen pals, NO paper.

This gave me the chills.

I instantly got A Complex. And ran around the house touching my notebooks, cards, copy/printer paper, odds and endments, just to reassure myself they were still there.


But what if all this was an urban legend? You know, like alligators in the sewer, black helicopters, or the IRS? So I devised An Experiment. In fact, several. I wrote on all sorts of things, from sticky notes, index cards, backs of envelopes, charity return mailers (some of these are niiiiiice!) brown paper bags to chop stick covers, tea bag papers, and gum wrappers.


You can even sticker or turn inside out those return charity mailers in case you really, truly, don't have envelopes. And don't want to use paper bags.


Empirical evidence showed me the truth. Came to the conclusion that there is no such thing as 'no paper in the house.'


There may indeed and probably is such a thing as 'no NICE paper in the house.' No Tomoe River, no Rhodia, not even Bagasse. Not in my house, of course. But someone's.


http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2869/13225545695_f8c2dd7987_z.jpg

[scrivelry]

This is reassuring.

[scrivelry]

This is reassuring.

[Crazyorange]

You're the macgyger of paper.

[kia]

Quite comforting! :D

[85AKbN]

improvise, overcome, adapt. :)

[reprieve]

Thank goodness! When I started reading this thread, I went into a mild panic. Now I feel slightly reassured--but I still think it's best to order several extra reams of Bagasse and a small stockpile of Seven Seas Tomoe River journals just in case.

[TerraNoir]

I shall remember this. So those who might receive a letter from me. If its on something random...all credit to Sailor Kenshin. More than likely a Starbucks bag.

[Tuppergal.Victoria]

Nice to know we have lots of options.:spy: I will be keeping my eyes open.

[00Photo]

Just in case this ever happens I have blank pages taped under all the chairs in the house and have an empty cereal box full of Rhodia pads hidden in the pantry.

[VertOlive]

I can attest to the Truth of this Conclusion: I have in my files a letter written (and illustrated) on a gum wrapper sent to me by a Certain Geek hereabouts!

Smells nice, too!

[inlovewithjournals]

I had to hug a few journals as I read this. ;) Love it!

[Sailor Kenshin]

Don't be surprised if a chop stick wrapper shows up somewhere, somehow. ;)

[VertOlive]

"Having thrown down the gauntlet, she circled her Arabian mare and sped off into the desert."

What next?

[Dad Of Sapling]

I'm sensing some friendly competition. Who can send a letter on the most unique "paper". But we have to have pictures or it didn't happen.

[tiffanyhenschel]

I'm sensing some friendly competition. Who can send a letter on the most unique "paper". But we have to have pictures or it didn't happen.

I wish I had taken a picture! A few months ago I received a letter from a regular penpal written on a hodgepodge of various slips and scraps of his and that. At first I was confused, but when it hit me what she had done, I laughed all the way through my thank you note. In my previous letter to her, I had asked about the performance of a particular ink. By the time I was done reading that letter, I saw first hand how it behaved in just about every conceivable situation. :)

[VertOlive]

"With the goats' bells tinkling around her, she stopped to investigate the thing at her feet in the sand. Shiny, heavy, in the shape of a hand, she was drawn to it. Holding it in her hand, she began to dream of the race that would think of such things. Inspired, she placed it in her bag and continued on with the herd, still marveling".

What next, indeed!

[Winnie]

How fun! I do use lunchbags for cards as they score nicely and you can tuck stuff inside as a surprise. You made me smile with your creativness!

[ceramic_pizza]

Wow, this is interesting. It would definitely be interesting to see how many different ways you can write out a message. I don't think it's really possible to be out of paper though. there's so much paper everywhere in my house. I think we have reached paper saturation.

[Sailor Kenshin]

Unless your house is like the Collyer brothers, probably not.

[jackwebb]

What happens if you have no ink? I have been waiting in a surgery waiting room all day, I brought 2 pens with me and they are both so low now they are skipping. And to top it all off I think I have made it to the end of the internet... Twice!

[scrivelry]

If worse comes to worse fine some colored liquid and dip the pen in it, to keep writing...

A packet of Kool-aid kept in the purse might be a thought. Dilute with small amount of water - nowhere near what you'd do to drink. Obviously do not add sugar. It will be a little acidic, but how that compares to normal inks I do not know.

You might, in a pinch, be able to dilute mascara to a useable consistency, or eyeliner. Again, dip.

A teabag in a very little water might be the easiest, or very strong coffee. Not that you'd get as dark a line as you might like, but better than nothing.

Now I have to go try all these things...

[jackwebb]

Now I have to go try all these things...

Hahaha, let me know how they turn out. Writing samples would be good.

[Sailor Kenshin]

What happens if you have no ink? I have been waiting in a surgery waiting room all day, I brought 2 pens with me and they are both so low now they are skipping. And to top it all off I think I have made it to the end of the internet... Twice!

Water.

You might be surpised how far some ink can stretch with extra added H2O.

And hope everything's ok?

[jackwebb]

Water.

You might be surpised how far some ink can stretch with extra added H2O.

And hope everything's ok?

That's a great idea! One if them has Noodler's 54th in it and I know that would handle some water.

Everything is turning out ok, thanks. You know one of those things where they tell you "it's out patient and should only take an hour and a half" then after the whole day is gone they say, "well it was harder then we thought and she will have to stay over night"

[VertOlive]

Remember, you're in a hospital--the blood bank is just down the hall, plenty of reds on the shelf!

(Hope all is well)

[jackwebb]

Remember, you're in a hospital--the blood bank is just down the hall, plenty of reds on the shelf!

(Hope all is well)
That's funny, that was the first thing that went through my mind when scrivelry was running down options.

Thanks.

[kaisnowbird]

Remember, you're in a hospital--the blood bank is just down the hall, plenty of reds on the shelf!

(Hope all is well)

And the syringes are not far away...

[Jon Szanto]

I don't want to get any correspondence from this guy that is written in yellow ink, if you know what I mean...

[Sailor Kenshin]

Water.

You might be surpised how far some ink can stretch with extra added H2O.

And hope everything's ok?

That's a great idea! One if them has Noodler's 54th in it and I know that would handle some water.

Everything is turning out ok, thanks. You know one of those things where they tell you "it's out patient and should only take an hour and a half" then after the whole day is gone they say, "well it was harder then we thought and she will have to stay over night"

Keep us posted on all counts.

I once diluted Noodler's Bad Green Gator NINETY percent with water and got a nice soft legible sage color.

[scrivelry]

Now I have to go try all these things...

Hahaha, let me know how they turn out. Writing samples would be good.

Well, tried the tea by putting one Barry's (NSS Irish tea - the Irish do not mess around with floor sweepings and other weak approximations of actual tea, so this is pretty strong stuff) tea bag in the bottom of a mug and pouring in just enough water to cover. Let it sit till it got funny looking. I got a very pale result when I then tried to write using a coffee stirring straw cut into the shape of a reed pen (figuring that would be someone's next question - what to do when you have left the pen at home, been mugged for the pen and are now at the police stations filling out the report and cannot deal with the added indignity of a Bic Stic, etc...)

The result was very pale. In an absolute life or death situation maybe you'd use it, but... not a first choice. Watering down the ink in the pen would work better.

Hmmm.... wonder if hospitals still use Mercurochrome... that even sounds like an ink...

[scrivelry]

So...Mercurochrome, according to The Straight Dope, can no longer be sold across state lines, probably the hospital would not have it. However, far as I can see, Gentian Violet is still available - if stuck in a hospital with absolutely no other option, I'd consider asking for that... or maybe the laundry might have Mrs. Stewart's bluing... next time I see some Kool-aid packets I will try those...

[Tsuki yo]

The liquor store in Ontario only uses paper bags (for you non-Canadians, our alcohol sales are regulated, there are only three options for buying alcohol to take home with you, the Beer Store, the LCBO, and the local wineries)
so I ALWAYS have some kind of paper around the house, even if it's just brown-bag. A bold nib, some strong ink and creativity can make a LCBO-bag letter pretty classy.

But, just in case I own about 30 hardbound notebooks. And a ream of decent printer paper, a few spiral bound notebooks, etc...

Btw, the hospital improvisation stuff is pretty amazing. I'm going to have to remember that in case I ever need to MacGuyver myself a writing set. (glad to know all is well, btw, hospitals are zero fun)

[Scrawler]

What happens if you have no ink? I have been waiting in a surgery waiting room all day, I brought 2 pens with me and they are both so low now they are skipping. And to top it all off I think I have made it to the end of the internet... Twice!

Water.

You might be surpised how far some ink can stretch with extra added H2O.

And hope everything's ok?

^----This.