Jan/Dec from Ava

 

Ava was on the December list. A little bit late is fine. I have no idea if Ava reads the blog. While the idea is very fun, I'm not sure the scanners can read the address. Lots of us like a non-traditional choice of colors. While it might look like washi tape - it is not. It's printed on the envelope - or - she might have done the whole thing by hand which is admirable. It would have taken a long time. I can see that the black was layered on last. I just can't tell if that is actual colored pencil or marker or something - or it was run through a printer. I guess I need to get a loupe if I want to figure it out. The only way I know to *test* to see if something is done by hand is to use something to lift the medium which I would rather not do. It used to weird me out the way people would lick their finger and run it over something to see if it was *real* and they'd say "Dang" because they had smudged it. <eye rolling>

Someone who was on Ava's list let me know that it took. 4 weeks for her envelope to arrive. I'm guessing it was the hard to read address.

***

Here is a sweet little story from Jerzy Gregorek. I hardly ever observe holidays - but since this popped up right when I found myself at Feb 14 - I'll put it in.

 Aniela (his wife) and I have been married for 38 years, and we still have lots to talk about. We also have a tradition. At noon, we stop working and prepare ourselves for our date. After taking showers and dressing in our favorite clothes, we head to our favorite local restaurant. As soon as we walk in, the entire staff welcomes us with a smile and we head to our favorite table, guided by the chatting host. He offers a menu and a bottle of sparking water while Aniela reads the menu. She chooses a different lunch each time, but I stay with the same appetizer (French fries) and a double vodka for my entree with a plate of veggies on the side. I love our dates. Nothing is better than sitting with your wife after 42 years of being together and still enjoying the moment.

***

French fries, a double vodka and a plate of veggies. That's interesting. I have forgotten who Jerzy is. I was going to write more, but was interrupted and I'm not in the mood to start looking for information. I have eight new envelopes to post. 

JAN from Christi - Birds

This is from Christi. It's 8x10ish - and needed extra stamps. I love how she chose an assortment from the 250th USPS anniversary - and the placement. Then she made a scan of the upper stamp, enlarged it and adhered it to the envelope. She used the right kind of adhesive. It stood up to the processing machines - but if you look closely, you can see where the paper peeled off. Those machines are aggressive.

Owl peeking out

Doors closed

Inside was an adorable little card with her original artwork. The little doors on the front open to reveal a little owl. I watched a very interesting interview of a falconer. He brought a falcon, an eagle and an owl.  Apparently, people are drawn to owls because unlike most birds who have their eyes on the sides of their heads - owl eyes are on the front. Making eye contact with both eyes must feel more familiar. We think they are wise. Sadly, he reported that owls are not wise. They are not the brightest of the birds. I forgot if he said who is the brightest so I did a search:

The title of "smartest raptor" often goes to the Striated Caracara, a unique falcon from the Falkland Islands known for crow-like problem-solving, tool use, and curiosity, though Harris Hawks are also highly intelligent for their cooperative hunting. Parrots, crows and magpies are the smartest of the non-raptors.

Of course when humans are evaluating the intellectual prowess of animals, we are comparing them to our own accomplishments which - to me - is somewhat biased. My vote for *smartest* would go to the bower birds who build elaborate art projects. Google *bower birds* if you've never heard of them - and maybe click on Images.

 

Re-Run, musing & chore avoidance

 

This is for my accountability squad. I can't remember if that is the name I gave to those readers who are going to help me stay on track.

I must confess - on a Saturday morning - at 8 am - I am just sitting here - avoiding my chores. At first I was exploring ways of posting fonts on the blog. That'a a worthwhile use of my time. But, it led me to Pinterest and then I remembered my old game where I put *mail art* in the search function and scroll down to see which envelope from my blog pops up first.

This is the first one - and I had to save it and write a blog post so that I remember to appropriate this idea. I have some of these stamps and I need a good idea to use them. There are so few that I can't work them into a series. 

If you have time and you want to roll your eyes at the way I fill blog posts - you may check out what I wrote about this envelope from Kathleen R - back in 2020. I do not remember who Kathleen is - There was a Kathleen Rea Hieser who exchanged for a while. What ever happened to her? 

Shallow regrets that I did not keep a master list of every single exchanger. This is the first use of the term *shallow regrets* and I rather like it.

https://pushingtheenvelopes.blogspot.com/2020/05/from-kathleenh.html

JAN to JeanR and Kate

Somehow, these two names were hiding and I thought I was done with this style after I did Juliana's - and then discovered I had two more. I was pretty happy to have two more chances to do something I loved. These came close to being the January winners - but, I spelled Jean's name wrong 

and Kate's has too much white space. I added white around the hearts and some dots and forgot to take another photo. I wish I had put some kind of border around the edge of the envelope. And that I is too short. Maybe if the name had been larger....or if I had a larger marker..... it looks sooooo unfinished. Grrrrrrr

Although, I have an idea for those circle stamps....

so much second guessing...

I do know, for sure, that doing a bunch of these really led me in a direction that I enjoyed. The old historical styles do not lend themselves to being bouncy and contemporary. Or do they.

Nobody knows. It's personal taste.

Bottom line...

I like the idea of just one or maybe two styles per month and then a variety of tools....

It's Jan 9th as I write this.

Maybe I should start on some suns.....

***
Now it is Jan 27th and I am proof reading.

Four days to get my Feb envelopes done - yikes - the time flies. 

Why didn't I start my suns on the 9th?
Grrrrrrr

 

JAN to Gavin and Juliana

Gavin's isn't the winner. I was OK with the colors. But the flourishing is a little clunky.

I thought I was down to the very last envelope and I thought, "There is no way that this style would work with a brush marker. I looked through my stack of interesting antique paper products that I need to part with and found the yellow envelope with an invitation. Then I saw the stamp. Bingo.

I knew that Juliana was a good recipient for this experiment. She, too, experiments and often encloses comments about how things went. I enclosed a note telling her that she'd need to read the blog for my commentary. I wanted to get the envelopes in the mail.

I was surprised how well the brush marker worked with this style.  The only problem is that the two vertical strokes on the N should be parallel. But, I think it is bouncy and fun and has lots of potential.

The yellow antique envelope was in my stash of leftovers from the days that most of my jobs were coming from a stationery store. It's a leftover from a custom order from Lallie, which was a high-end brand of invitations. They were very contemporary and it was sad when they went out of business.  I'm glad I did a search. They must have switched from catalogues in stationery stores to an online business. It's not Lallie.com - if you do a search for Lallie - it takes you here:

https://www.stationeryworks.com  It looks like they absorbed Checkerboard which was another high end company. The new company has not maintained the aesthetic of the original companies - but that is to be expected as new people are going to be younger and what I thought was stylish in the 90s and the 00s is way out of style. 

Who sends actual invitations to cocktail parties these days? Maybe people in the south - and a smattering of people in Nantucket - but I bet they are few and far between. 

It was nostalgic for me to see this invitation again. I had forgotten that I actually know the guests of honor.  [story below]

Here is the copy - in case it's not legible in the photo

mingle

chat

nibble

flirt

relax

catch up

giggle

gossip

meet

sip

munch

show off

dance

toast

celebrate

laugh

party

with us

saturday

night

4/22/06

7-11 pm

suites of 800

locust street

des moines

wedding shower

for

eve

&

adam

hosted by

jane & john doe

I know I have already told this story on the blog, but I can't find it - so I'll retell it and add a label in case I ever need it again which I probably won't but I would like to put off my chores just a little bit longer.

I renamed the bride and groom - Eve & Adam above - so I'll just stick with those names. Adam's mom had me address the invitations to the rehearsal dinner. I can't remember when I met Eve, but she hired me to paint a really nice contemporary quote on the wall in their front hallway. She sent her husband off with the kids for a couple hours while I painted. When they returned, Adam said something nice about my work and then he said, "My penmanship is so bad that there is no way it could be fixed." 

"I accept that challenge," was my reply. Adam's mom offered to babysit while Adam and Eve came to my studio for a penmanship lesson. It only took one lesson and he caught the bug. Eve told me later that he was a little bit *too obsessed* with his penmanship practice.

Later, I found out that the people he worked with were very impressed with his improved penmanship. His family owns the nicest jewelry store in Des Moines and all the job tickets were written by hand. So Adam's poor penmanship had been the cause of a few issues with some of the jobs. You can imagine how frantic people get if a diamond or treasured heirloom is misplaced.

I was very proud of him and glad to know that there was a practical benefit to improving one's penmanship. It was fun to find the invitation and send it along as I continue in my hoard reduction.

JAN to Irene and Patty

I've already predicted that this quest to explore styles and tools will be frustrated by color and stamp choices. These two stamps are not orphans - but, I knew I had to stir things up by finding some new colors and tools. The baby bobcat stamp has little leaves and was supposed to go on Irene's but I accidentally used a fox.

The placement of the flowers is off but I liked the colors. It's not the winner this month but it was heading in a good direction. These two are good to compare if you are looking at how to treat elements. A person with two 5-letter names is going to need something different from a ShortName/LongName person.

The style is growing on me. I do not expect it to grow on anyone else. The only way things grow on you is if you have to do at least 17 and preferably 20. That forces you to figure out something.

 

JAN to Jeannette, Rachael, Nicky and Renee

 

These are the first four suns I drew using alcohol markers. I liked how they turned out -  but I did not have a stamp in mind. As hard as it is to part with the round stamps, I am working really hard on getting over the hoarding of stamps. These are cute. So, I'm happy with them.

The disappointing part is that I didn't get very creative with the style and various tools. I had a stern talk with myself and eventually I loosened up a bit. 

I had so much fun making the suns that I started a spreadsheet so that those of you who did not get a sun in January will probably get one in February.

The font on Rachael's is a different one. I found 3 fonts on one page of unknown origin and none of hem have a name. I won't be able to post the page because I don't want to get in trouble for publishing something that is not in the public domain. Maybe some day I can redraw them in a way that is different enough. What is that percentage that something has to be different enough to escape being *pirated* ?

I got bouncy with Renee. I wonder if she thought I was just inept or if it looks intentional.

The rest of the Dec envelopes.

 <sigh>

Somehow these Dec envelopes decided to hide from me. Or I had some looney idea that I could divide the Dec envelopes into two groups. Apologies - you'll just have to put up with this as I forge ahead with the master plan. 

The postmark on these two (above and below) says Atlanta - so I will deduce that it is from Renee - but I could be wrong. 

As previously mentioned, I have so many exchangers from the southeastern states that I get them all mixed up. The stack of *early Dec* mail is somewhere - but, if I stop to look for it - I'll forget what I am doing here.

Below, from Seattle - it must be Kate - but I thought I already posted Kate's. Maybe I have November and December mixed up. Maybe I already posted this.

Below - I think is from Jessica - did I already post this?

And here are some innards without envelopes.

This has to be JeanR.

The cute coffee or hot chocolate card is from St Louis - so that narrows it down to Nicky or Lucy.

I do feel some baby steps of progress in how I photograph and blog - maybe someday some actual progress will appear.

JAN to Nanski and Lucy

 

I need to come up with a word to describe ideas that were tried that are less pleasing than other ideas in the series. The mission for 2026 was to choose one style and then try a bunch of different tools. How well did I adhere to my plan?

It should have surprised no-one that I fell off the wagon with those 8 script envelopes that I did when Morgan's envelope arrived.

Prior to Morgan's envelope, I had a plan to do some suns and coordinate them with orphan stamps. I had these two stamps and it seemed like a good idea. I started the envelopes in the middle of December and figured it would be easy to fill in the names and addresses.

I did four different ones - prior to doing these - that I liked a lot. I was not happy with these - but, if I started re-doing envelopes until I liked every single one of them - I would be at my desk all day every day.

The style I chose for January is something that somebody called Celtic. I have no idea if that's a good name. I was also going to try runes - but they are 100% straight lines - so this one drew me in with its random curvy strokes.

Here is a fun link to something called Celtic rune - LINK to a font  I can't imagine having fun with this. Or can I? That's an interesting challenge - to take something that is off-putting and figure out a way to make it likable. 

A Google search for *Celtic runes* yields a wonderful rabbit hole. But, I have not found a name for whatever the style is that I chose for January. More tomorrow.

***
Eventually I found. my exemplar - and it was called - New Celtic - but, I can't post it because I can't find the origin. Maybe I will..... at a later date.

JAN to Jessica, Amy, Janet and Judi

Jessica's is basically the same as the 5 that ran yesterday.

Because I have quite a few fox stamps saved up for Amy - I was happy to pull out some different colors and was pretty happy with this one. When I realized that there was no way to extend the X - I fussed for a moment and then realized that it was a perfect opportunity to put in a bordered stamp - so that saved the day.

Bordering stamps is something we see on Janet's envelopes quite often. I added confetti.

I was thinking I was nicely warmed up and first-time exchanger, Judi, would get something wonderful. Unfortunately, she has too many letters in her last name. The whole thing got overworked as I tried to doo-dad it into a better place.

It takes me a while to get comfortable with names. If Judi sticks with the exchange, I can see me referencing past envelopes I've done for Irene Blumenthal who also has 10 letters in her last name. Of course there is the queen of long names - Jessica Schwessinger. I'm not complaining about long names - I like figuring out ideas that work for the various lengths. I read recently that sometimes there is more enjoyment when the task is difficult. 

Thank you Morgan for the good idea. I had fun. If anyone uses this idea, send us a picture please and thank you.

 

Jan to Lisa, Phillip, Lynne & Mary - Morgan's outline

This was the first attempt to do a spin-off of Morgan's envelope. The marker I used on Lisa's outline is too fine and I only did one warm up which wasn't enough - the spacing is way off. 

I've had 5 or 6 new people sign up in Nov/Dec/Jan and I keep getting them mixed up. I think I already posted Morgan's envelope but I will add it here for reference. 

Oh - I see by the postmark that she's in the St. Louis Consortium. I might need a different name for that consortium because I think they have lured other people who live elsewhere into the fold. 

I am low on red markers - and the dark red on Lisa's was lucky to find that leftover Lichtenstein stamp.

Then I wisely started looking at stamps and coordinating markers as I started the January envelopes.

Both Finnbadger and Lynne have the double N - and double letters are tricky. I wish I had done a loop on the b. For anyone who had Phillip on their list - Phillip goes way back to the origin of the exchange. It's one of my favorite stories. Finnbadger is his alter ego or nom duh pen. OK - I was thinking spell check would help me out on that - but I guess we are on the outs.

Mary's is one of my favorites. She has the right number of letters, a good assortment of letters and those colors are pleasing to my eye because I can handle minimalism and neutral palettes. 

***

Finnbadger left a comment yesterday that the very clever card was his own design. He took the photo and wrote the caption. Thanks for letting us know.

 

Dec from Juliana and Phillip

This is exactly the kind of card I would choose for myself. Juliana and I must be kindred spirits - at least we are when it comes to mail.

I keep forgetting to ask Juliana if she has taken calligraphy classes, gone to workshops or conferences - or takes online classes. If she is self-taught, I'm impressed.

Below is the card from Phillip - and I love it so much. Phillip goes waaaay back with the exchange and it is well established that on the sense-of-humor scale - we click.

I didn't post the envelope since it was not an exchange envelope - but, he did sign up for the January exchange so I am looking forward to seeing what he sent. Anyone with a lot of time to kill could do a search for [Phillip] or [Finnbadger] and find all kinds of good stuff.

 

Dec from Nicky - memory bears

Nicky is a printmaker and enclosed some nice little prints and added a bear to the front. That jogged my memory that I have something to say about memory bears

 

If you look online for memory bears, especially on Etsy, you will find both patterns to make them as well as people who will make them for you. There are 2 main kinds. One kind uses outgrown baby clothes to make the bears. Many people have a hard time parting with baby clothes. So, they think cutting up the clothes and making a bear is a better option. It frees up space in closets. Personally, I think we should create something like the Tooth Fairy - that comes to your house and takes things that are precious-yet-useless to avoid having to deal with too much stuff at a later date.

The other kind of memory bear is when a grown up loved one passes and leaves behind clothing. Some people make pillows out of the clothing and some make teddy bears. A friend of mine was tasked with making 5 bears for a woman who lives in NYC. She had purchased all the materials and a very nice set of plexiglas templates for the parts but then she couldn't find anyone to do the sewing.

My friend did not call me up and ask me to help her - but she was one of the people who put in many hours on my Day of the Dead project - so when she just mentioned that she was having an epic battle with some teddy bears, I offered to help.

It's a long story --- and I won't bother with details - I'll just warn anyone who knows how to sew that if anyone approaches you to make memory bears - they are way more complicated than one would imagine. Obviously, if you want to take time to make 4 or 5 practice bears - you'll get the hang of it. But that first bear is going to be a real mutant *bear.*

It does not help when the person who wants the bear provides fabric that clashes. But, I'm sure she's perfectly happy with the outcome - as she chose which fabrics went where - and the fabrics were meaningful to her.

I get a little PTSD just looking at the photo of the bears. If they look lumpy - it's because the lady sent knit shirts - and the pattern was for woven fabric. I told my friend to use iron-on stabilizer for the knits and she did not heed my advice. Later, she agreed that she should have taken my advice.

EXTRA INFO for exchangers - Scroll down for today's regular post

There are two new posts today. This one is just for exchangers. The new envelope for today is below.

These topics have been covered in recent posts, but, they bear repeating, because I have no way of knowing who reads the blog.

1. MISSING MAIL

PLEASE take a photo of your envelopes before you mail them because there has been an increase in missing mail.

For the past 10+ years, most of the mail has been delivered without problems.

I can only recall one person who signed up and never sent anything. 

There were only a few new people each year.

Quite a few new people only signed up once and I never knew why they didn’t sign up again, but, it didn’t matter, because I had such a steady group. We’d lose a veteran from time to time - but we had new people filling the slots and we always ended up with 20 to 25 people each month.

Then in 2025 there was a confluence of more new people and more missing mail.

Were those two things related? 

When I did not get envelopes from all four new people in December, it was not looking good for the newcomers. Eventually, I found out that even MY envelopes had gone missing. So, with that - we know it’s the USPS. All four new people had sent their mail.

2. CHEWED UP MAIL

There has been more mail arriving that has been chewed up by the USPS processing machines. I know that they are installing new machines and I suspect that the the new machines are more aggressive than the tired, old machines that have been chugging along for decades.

The exchange *rules* have always stated that people could send an *empty* envelope. The new rule is that you must put *something* in the envelope to give it enough heft to withstand its trip through the machines. The *something* that you use for filler may be blank paper or recycled paper.

We will still write *empty* on the back of envelopes to indicate that the contents of the envelope is just filler and it’s fine to leave the envelope unopened if you like that look.

3. COLLAGE/WASHI TAPE/STICKERS

Anything other than a stamp is an opportunity for something to fall off and that can cause problems for the machines. My son who spent a couple years crawling inside those machines which were longer than his house - to maintain the moving parts and also vacuum out all the debris - confirmed that embellishments were not a good idea. Also, magnets can cause all sorts of problems - so don’t send magnets in your envelopes. Of course, the live birds that people mail can be a problem. There was that time a pheasant escaped from a box - but I digress. Yes, the USPS ships live animals.

We will keep chugging along - and hopefully - 2026 will be a fun year for all of us.

Thank you for reading this.

FEB exchange sign-up - Dec from Maggie

Here's the Dec mailing from Maggie - the third person in the Connecticut Consortium.

Maggie, Lynne and Irene are all masters of the pointed pen and they all live in CT - so I gave them a name. I should put the three of them on one list - and then add two more *pointy-pen-people.* Grace and JeanR are good candidates. Am I forgetting anyone? If I am - let me know - and ask to be on the pointy-pen list when you sign up. This is probably a slippery slope - to take requests for the lists. But, I'm a lot like PeeWee Herman - I'm a rebel. (That's a line from PeeWee's Big Adventure)

Today through February 4th is the window to sign-up. Lists are sent on the 5th.

If you participated for the JANUARY exchange - just shoot me an email that says: SIGN ME UP - you do not need to retype your address and info.

Send your sign-up to:    PTEnvelopes-at-aol-dot-com

Let me know if it is your [Birthday] month or if you are willing to be on [2 Lists].

If you were not on a January list - or if you only sign up occasionally - or are a new exchanger - please send your information in the following format:

Jane Doe

123 Oak Street

Ames, IA 50010

janedoe@aol.com

[Birthday]  [2 Lists]  -- if those items apply

If you are new to the exchange - there are helpful details at this link:

https://pushingtheenvelopes.blogspot.com/p/rules-of-exchangement.html

 

Dec from Lynne - Yves Klein blue

 

Blogger is giving me fits again. It wants to underline everything. I tricked it by moving down here. This is from Lynne - another pointed pen expert. Tomorrow is sign-up day. I think I have some more Dec exchange envelopes left to post. Maybe I will. post all of them and start the month with the envelopes I sent out in January. That would make me look half-way organized.

***

Here's an interesting video about a person who figured out the recipe for Yves Klein blue.

LINK to video about IKB