Mattie's "Begin Anew" Box

Kathy Karner
Oct 6, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Apr 11

The Story

Mattie has experienced the end of her marriage this year... and while she and her ex have made it as congenial as possible, and worked at doing so, it has been a tough year. And the years before that, as well, when she realized it wasn't working, but struggled to hold on, and sort of lost herself. She is coming back to the optimistic woman she has always been, but with new strength, new purpose, new belief in what she can do, and what beauty her life will hold. It doesn't look like she thought it would; but it looks amazing and true-to-Mattie.

She wanted to send out announcements that she has gone back to her original name, and her new address. But just announcements didn't feel like enough for the process of change she has been through. She feels like it has been a process of rebirth, and she doesn't like to call it "beginning again," because this feels like all new territory. She wanted to let friends and family know she is Beginning Anew, and that's what she wanted her box to reflect.

The Box

Mattie found herself reading a lot of self-help and encouraging books this year... and she gleaned sayings from these varied sources that guided her as touchstone phrases. Her box has a few of these, along with a pic of herself that she loves, that captures her bright spirit and outlook.

Their box contents included:

Story Card that features pictures, her new address, and on the back, her message of her experience, her hope, and her touchstone: Joy. We went with soft-touch lam on these.
Tiny book of inspiring sayings ~ we found this tiny gift book that had so many of the sayings that had held her up within its pages. She hoped friends would thumb through it when struggling, or to find their own north star quote.
"0" birthday candle that she hopes her friends will put in a delicious dessert, light, and wish her well in this new re-birthed life. It starts right now.
Set of 50 "Inspirational Insights" cards that she hopes will encourage her friends as they think of her, and their own lives
Set of 5 delicious "Good Karmal" micro-batch craft caramels with good karma sayings on each one, in a "The Best Is Yet to Come" box. Because life IS sweet, now.

The Response

This was a case-study sample box, so recipients were fictitious. However, I have some friends who could see themselves in Mattie's celebration of her new life box, and they felt it would make them AND their recipients very happy to share it.