pushing the envelopes
decorated envelopes, mail art, lettering ideas
Tuesday, February 7, 2023
Bonus post
From Mary to Grace - Origami
Thank you to Mary for sending a couple envelopes that she did for the Jan exchange. I appreciate having extras and there are more from Mary - but, it was easier to just grab the ones that had not gone into a folder - where they tend to get lost. Such a nice circle-design. I wonder if she uses Copic markers. They look like they blend nicely. I need to see if my friend Jan still has a bunch of Copics and invite myself over to try them.
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Origami - one of my favorite off topics - and this one is longer and more technical - but if you love origami you will probably enjoy it.
Monday, February 6, 2023
Dec 2022 from Leslie
Sunday, February 5, 2023
Dec 2022 from Lauren and Jeri - ¡ay, caramba!

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Saturday, February 4, 2023
Dec 2022 from Mary - crunching snow
Friday, February 3, 2023
Dec 2022 from Smash - vintage USPS
Here is a good add on to go with my appreciation of current postal service. Thank you to Chuck for finding these fun vintage USPS photos.
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Xmas Post Office Cart, Washington DC, 1919 |
This might be a repeat - but, in case I am just confused, I'll run it again. I remember my mailman pushing one of these through the neighborhood where I grew up in St. Paul in the 60s - although the caption says 50's.
Oh - here's another one I just found in my download folder. Maybe my new method of posting fun things will be the minute they come in - I post them - and then I won't get confused. It's worth a try.
This one reminds me of those freestanding kiosks where you took film to be developed. Fotomat? I think that was the name. [pause to Google] Yes, that was the name - and - there is additional useless information on Wiki if you are interested. I recently watched something where a group of 20-somethings were politely listening to a 70-something tell a story - and it has inspired me to be extra careful about talking about the olden days.
I'm pretty sure there are very few - if any - younger people stumbling across my blog any more.
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Sharon's card - and lovely response to my questions.
In reply to your December 15, 2022 post, I can assure you I am a regular person with regular “obligations”! LOL!
After working full-time for 30+ years (25 in public service), in late 2019 I retired. I highly recommend it! LOL! If you figure that it takes at least 10 hours per day to get ready for work, get to work, do the work, and get home again, by signing retirement papers I freed up around 50 hours per week! What to fill it with? How about art?! (Not, of course, that I get all that freed-up time for art!)
I find I’m happy (happier? happiest!) when I do some art every day. I like daily calligraphy practice. Sometimes it’s Copperplate, Italic, Uncial, even architect’s printing with markers; often it’s only one page. But practicing daily keeps me improving.
So, the issue isn’t of how much time is spent, but a rather one of prioritizing.
1. My goal in the exchange is to give recipients 30 seconds of enjoyment as they walk from their mailbox with my envelope to their stack of bills -- like Susan, Cathy, Rachael, Maggie, Janet, Jean, Leslie, Kate and many others do for me.
2. While I appreciate that some exchangers make a different envelope for each recipient, everyone on my list gets the same envelope (see Short-Cut below).
3. I can try new art techniques every month. I like that mail art is low risk; by that I mean nearly anything can be turned into an envelope. After retirement and before joining the exchange, I explored watercolor, which I find to be a tricky medium. But it did yield some envelopes. Earlier this year while recuperating from knee replacement surgery, I tried pen and ink, (which folded into my experience with Zentangle that I found 7 or 8 years ago). That technique yielded the August sunflower envelope, the September Giving Tree envelope, and the October Raven envelope. I find pen and ink so darn fun!
4. Like fellow exchanger ChuckM, I ready envelopes for the next month, adding names and addresses once the list comes out. Sometimes “obligations” take up my time, so knowing the envelopes are mostly ready makes me happy.
5. In the beginning, I worried that I wouldn’t find enough ideas to keep me going. Now I find the more I see others’ art and the more art I do, the more ideas that come to me.
6. It’s fun! Who doesn’t like giving and getting pretty mail?!
SHORT-CUT: For my pen and ink envelopes (except for the sunflower envelopes which were all original), I start with an initial drawing, sometimes in pencil, sometimes in fine-line pen, and usually sized to an A7 envelope. I scan the drawing. I drop the image into a Word envelope document that’s the size of my envelopes. I feed envelopes through my printer and voila! I have a consistent start. All that’s left is finishing touches and addresses. Sometimes I add pen marks and sometimes watercolor (like on the raven) to give it a boost. I don’t have a robust photo editing program, so this is somewhat less successful for watercolor images. The colors look more flattened out than I’d like but I have used them on envelopes, too.
***(from Jean)
Thank you, Sharon, for taking time to write this. I can see that we have a very similar perspective and am guessing that several other people are nodding their heads in agreement. Maybe *everyone*?
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Dec 2022 from Patty - Feb Exchange sign-up
Sign up for the February exchange is Feb 1-4 and I'll send lists on the 5th. Details for anyone who is new to the exchange are here. LINK to details about the exchange
My email is PTEnvelopes@aol.com. I send a confirmation that I have your sign-up. If you do not hear from me - send another email.
I need this info in this format please and thank you.
John Doe
123 Oak Street
Town, State ZIP
Country
john.doe@gmail.com
(BIRTHDAY) (2 LISTS)
Include your birth date - if you wish to receive optional birthday themed envelopes. (2 LISTS) means you are willing to be on two lists if I need to even out the lists to 6 names on each list.
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
Dec 2022 from Sharon - Alleluia or Hallelujah?
It has a lot to do with fonts - and even if you skip through the first part - I think it is around minute 19 when he explains why we use the word font - when, technically, it is not the correct word.
LINK to the story of fonts - 30 minutes
I started this blog post thinking *Hallelujah* but autocorrect changed it to Alleluia. I had a brief dip in my good mood because I did not want to research and figure out if one of those words was better than the other in this situation. And then ReasonableJean spoke up and said: It doesn't matter.
I don't even know why I thought that was a good title. I don't really feel like it is - but, I do not want to take time and energy to come up with a better title.
Monday, January 30, 2023
Dec 2022 from Leslie - Troy and rambling
Yesterday's post was getting long - so I didn't say anything about his closing remark that he had rambled on enough. I'd have to say it was just the right amount of rambling. These are stressful times. I'm having a burst of energy with these conversations with readers. I've always had some personal chit-chat going on with people - but it's never gotten to be too much.
As I have mentioned previously - it's been an adjustment to switch from teaching and running the studio to whatever it is I am doing now. Little by little - there are a ton of styles that will get posted - and if I forget to cross post them on a separate blog - PUH-LEEEZE remind me. It will be so much easier for all of us - if we can just go to one place and search for something fun.
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Eye-rolling add-on. It's been a while since I wrote that previous paragraph. There's no way I'll remember to cross post or label anything. Entropy wins.
Sunday, January 29, 2023
Dec 2022 from Mike - Troy and stamp selection/pondering
I met Mike through the Flourish Forum and we've corresponded a bit. He has been to IAMPETH and I keep forgetting to ask him if he is going to IAMPETH in Chicago in 2024. Obviously, that is a ways into the future and none of us can predict what might happen within the next 30 seconds to possibly prevent travel. I could have (would have) met up with him in person in Omaha - except I had that close encounter with the edge of my kitchen countertop which has altered quite a few things. I am going to pencil in IAMPETH in Chicago - since it is easy for me to get there. Even if I only attended that one Round Robin event in the evening - it would be worth it to sign up and show up.
I'll jabber more about it - when it gets closer. When they meet in Chicago - it is often times at some college campus that is way the heck out in the suburbs. The thought of being that older lady who is all about penmanship appeals to me. There used to be the sweetest older lady - and it annoys the heck out of me that I can't remember her name. She was sooooo sweet. Not that I am anything like her in terms of sweetness - but, it would be nice to be one of the *elders* in attendance. [quick edit - her name was Irene Calendo]
***
Troy was keeping an eye on the new stamps and was only interested in half of the cat/dog love stamps - and wondering if I might be interested in whichever one he was less interested in. I was sad to report that while I love cats and dogs equally - I found those particular cats and dogs a little creepy. They remind me of the Keene big-eye portraits. I suggested that even when I do not like an image on a stamp - if the colors are fun to work with - I am oblivious to the subject matter.
He went ahead and ordered some dog/cat/love stamps and was considering more of the George Morrison stamps - which I agree are fabulous. Great colors - and abstract. It doesn't get better than that.
I have to copy/paste his exact words about letting the colors guide the design because he chose one of my favorite words - and wondered if there was a better one. Nope. That word is perfecto.
TROY'S WORDS:
Saturday, January 28, 2023
From Patty - Oct 2022 - Lettuce incident
Patty took advantage of that really good idea of doing a block of art (in this case collage) along the left border and then respecting the USPS's request for a clear address and a properly placed stamp. I'm writing this on Dec 13 - during the week where there were several emails with pen pals about the USPS and I said I would be tracking down a live postal worker (other than my son) to get to the facts about how much conformity is required vs requested. If I am reading this - and have not done anything towards tracking down this info - this is a reminder.
Friday, January 27, 2023
Dec 2022 from JeanR --- Library story
Here's a little 3 minute, feel-good, video about a boy who literally grew up in a library.
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It's Dec 20 - I'm close to getting January filled up - and GRRRRR - I have managed to skip some dates and get confused. So - the new plan is to be on track starting in February. LOL.
Thursday, January 26, 2023
3 for Ellen - 5 pricey fabrics
These were three that arrived for my daughter's birthday in November - and didn't get photographed with the others - so I ganged them in a hurry as I was getting them sent off. The top one is from Kate - and the leafy one is postmarked Sacramento - so that must be Sharon? But the flowery one - from Capitol District is a bit of a mystery. She enjoyed all her mail very much. Thanks to everyone.
Dec 2022 from Paula - Dull Men's Club
This just in from the BigHelpfulBrother - a 15 minute video about men who live in England and have declared themselves *dull.* Not in the intellectual sense - in the simplify your life sense. There is an impressive collection of milk bottles, a so-so collection of old style bricks, and the one that he knew I would enjoy - someone who wanders around collecting photos of the red British mail boxes.
IMHO - anyone who is keen on stamps and mail art would fit in very nicely.
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
Mia's Oct 2022 - Jurgen Vercaemst
Tuesday, January 24, 2023
Oct 2022 from Leslie - Jessie Chorley
Monday, January 23, 2023
Oct 2022 from Maggie - dreams
We see many floral designs done with pointed nibs from Maggie. This is a lovely side trip into illustration - a dream catcher. I wonder if I need a dream catcher because I have some pretty wacky dreams. Some of them are on the verge of nightmares. A recurring theme is that I am driving and the brakes don't work.
If in the dream the car brakes are not working, it could be a sign of misdirection or focusing on the wrong things in life. Chances are, the dreamer is stressing over small details instead of enjoying the big picture.
If you feel like you are constantly struggling to keep up with the demands of work, school, or your personal life, this dream may be a sign that you need to take a step back and reassess your priorities.
Maybe we’re worried about an upcoming deadline at work, or a looming family disagreement. Whatever the case may be, these dreams are a way for our subconscious to tell us that we need to get a handle on things.It is important to remember that you cannot do everything on your own; sometimes it is necessary to ask for help. This dream can be a powerful tool for self-reflection.
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Well -- staying focused is a fairly obvious thing we need to do - as we proceed through the day to day distractions. Note to self: stay away from dreams as an add-on topic.
Sunday, January 22, 2023
Oct 2022 from Mary
Saturday, January 21, 2023
Jan 2023 from Mia to Chuck
Friday, January 20, 2023
Oct 2022 from Sharon - MCEscher (2nd of 2)
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Oct 2022 from Susan - MCEscher
Susan has several things going on here that contribute to a charming envelope. The simplicity of the name and address are very nice. The basic black stamp reminds me to stock up on basic black stamps the next time the USPS issues a basic black design. Plopping the pumpkin in the pie shell is so cute. All the detail in the drawing is something else that adds to the charm.