Sept to Irene and Susan

I guess Irene's was not on the Fabrianno envelope - it was on the very last pale blush pink envelope that I think was Strathmore Columns. I had a whole carton of those envelopes and loved them. I miss the days of doing custom invitations when people had a budget that allowed really nice envelopes and there would be tons of leftovers. 

Susan's is Fabriano. There was a typo so I cut the bottom off and flipped it around. You can see a faint line. Susan's name probably lends itself to this style a little better. Although Irene got that Strathmore  envelope. Plus Irene's was done first - so I got better at figuring out the blurs at the corners.

 

Sept to Mary

 

This was my inspiration for a few of my September envelopes. I had to choose names that fit. The paper is some really nice Fabrianno cardstock that is scored to be used as a greeting card or a note card. I do not have envelopes that size, so figured I would just glue them shut and they have the feel of an envelope. 

Of course you lose a bit by not seeing the street address. I enjoyed doing these very much. I've been saving the stamps for a long time - and finally found something that seemed like a good pairing.

This one will pop up again because I lost track of which envelopes I have posted. When I choose one idea and use it on multiple envelopes it's often better to look at the multiples and compare them.

Sept to Mia - Scarlet's cotton comment + uncials

 

These three stamps are the lower right hand corner of the sheet of stamps with all the adorable images of postal workers. The very last one looks like the postal worker has just gotten home and is giving a hug to their child. It's so sweet. I hadn't really noticed it. I was testing markers and found a stray scroll tip - and did a test run on her name - which is one of the most challenging names. I guess Liz Williamson and Mia Massicotte are tied for hardest names. Three letters in their first names and ten in their last names. I'm not complaining. I like a good challenge. This layout is fine. I like the way there is an implied *line* from top to bottom - on the left side of the stamp, going through the i and then the flush left on the address. 

***

Scarlet left a suggestion on the post where I was trying to find an example of something where everyone would agree. I was writing about the differences in italics with finesse and the generic italics. My suggested comparison was fresh fish at a shore lunch - nobody would prefer frozen fish. Just now I thought of Rainman (the movie) and how much he loved his fish sticks. I imagine there are people who prefer fish sticks to a freshly caught fish...but I digress.

I really liked Scarlet's suggestion: Top Italic is like a good quality cotton as opposed to marker pen Italic being like cheap polyester? Or Nylon.

Is there anyone who prefers synthetics to natural fibers? I dunno. Linen is one of my favorite fabrics. It has all kinds of features that make it comfortable in various situations. In spite of the wonderful features, it is often dismissed as a terrible fabric because it wrinkles. I know the new polyesters that supposedly *wick* away moisture are popular - but they are not cheap. 

One more thing on fabrics - I've been warned by my avid skier son, Skip, that *cotton kills.* So - for any of you who are going to be trekking through the wilderness where it gets cold - you better read up on the dangers of cotton. 

https://www.merecyclers.com/cotton-kills-or-does-it-best-fabrics-for-hiking-explained/

Did anyone miss the link to Scarlet's IG? Lots of good stuff.

https://www.instagram.com/scarletti_blu/

I scrolled down and found the uncials I sent to her to see if I could get her to like uncials.

LINK to the envelope from Scarlet

Sept to Jessica. Adding a basic curve to your 3 basic strokes

I deeply regret that I did not put an orange crescent moon as the dot on the i. This was one of my favorites of the Sept envelopes. After you have mastered making an alphabet out of the 3 basic straight strokes, you can learn a couple very simple curves. 

Remember when I said - KIS and RYQ? Keep It Simple means you only need a very few strokes. RYQ means Remove Your Quirks. You are not supposed to be doing anything remotely close to you regular penmanship. Of course - the I will be a standard vertical line. But, if your regular penmanship always puts the two little horizontal strokes - one at the top and one at the bottom - rather like a serif - you simply MUST learn to question whether you need those two lines. Sometimes you do - and sometimes it will look better without. 

There is no fixed rule. It's a case-by-case situation. 

How do you start learning the curved strokes? I say, start with the S. First draw a vertical line - then make an S right next to it - and figure out what is the least amount of curve you need to make when to turn your I into an S.

Remember - letters are symbols. They have information. Remove Your Quirky way of making an S when you are just doing your regular penmanship. I guarantee your regular S is not like those two in Jessica's name. Although, I would love it if someone has a gorgeous S that they do every day. I would love for someone to send me a photo of their pretty S - and prove me wrong.

Scarlet Blue lives in England and one time she posted a comment on the Flourish Forum that she did not care for uncials so I was compelled to send her some likable uncials. Here's the post with her response.

https://pushingtheenvelopes.blogspot.com/2015/11/from-scarlet-blue.html#comment-form

I might find an image of what I sent to her ---

But first we have to talk about the comment that Scarlet left a few days ago. Stay tuned.

 

Sept to Kate - a 3-stroke alphabet

I like this one a lot. Kate often gets a warm up envelope because she has a really good name. It fits on one line - but it also looks good on two lines. The chunky lettering should inspire people to try some chunky lettering. If you aren't a calligrapher - you can try ways of making basic block letters with a chunky marker. The tip of the day is KIS. Also RYQ. Keep It Simple and Remove Your Quirks. 

What is the simplest way to make the letter? There are only a few strokes. A vertical - short or long. A horizontal, usually short. A slant that can go either direction - a short slant.

All the letters (except R) in Kate's name are made up of verticals, horizontals and slants. And if you wanted to make a more angular R - you could make that top *bowl* out of two slants. All the curvy letters can be made out of the three basic strokes. Vertical, horizontal and slanty.

Does anyone doubt me? Is anyone going to try to make an alphabet out of those 3 basic stokes? I'm probably the only one interested in trying the things I toss out. Maybe Scarlet Blue will make us an alphabet out of just 3 basic stokes. 

Who is Scarlet Blue? Tune in tomorrow. Or if you want to take a sneak peek at her work - 

https://www.instagram.com/scarletti_blu/

 

I didn't say much about the arrangement of the elements on the envelope. The flowers on the stamp are so good - I matched the placement when I did mine which I like doing if it's going to work. On Kate's envelopes, I often have the address to the right to balance the way her stacked name fits on the left. 

Sept to Kerry and Sharen - Layout tips -

These two are good to compare. Kerry's two names are short/long and together - they are a bit too long to go on the same line. This is a good option for making the two fit together into a rectangular shape.

Sharen has a too long last name so I doubt I put her first and last name on one line. Sharen has six letters and that length of name is usually good for a centered layout.  The shape of Kerry's is square-ish - and that would be clunky if it was centered - so it gets sent all the way to left. I like it touching the left edge. I should have taken a photo of it before I added all the blue twigs. Everything was floating. I added that black - and then - decided to try something drastic - which was a bunch of blue twigs. It's decent. It could be better. But, I didn't have time to do a lot of planning. 

The longer first names, centered, with a fun stamp with fun details is a pretty fool proof layout. The orange marker is an alcohol marker - with just the right amount of bleeding. White gel pen flowers and blue dots are done with an acrylic paint marker.

 The tip for layouts is to have some basic ones - but keep in mind that you can't make every name fit into every layout. That's just the way it is. You can adjust your fonts and your tools - but each letter is an element - and if you have 3 or 6 or 9 - that's going to be something to pay attention to from the very beginning.

How many people do a rough - in pencil - before starting their envelope? There's no way I can get all of you to respond - but my guess is that some of you do not believe me that it is a huge help to at least rough something out in pencil to see if it's even close to what you are imagining.

Sept to Patty - issues with the ocean, part 2

The baby animal stamps have been around for a while. They have so many fun details. I took the flowers off a different stamp. I also layered the markers. There are 6 or 7 envelopes with this style of lettering which is a loose version of Neuland. I highly recommend Neuland for people who want to learn how to letter. All you need are chunky markers. An actual chisel tip is ideal - but you can get a pretty chunky style of lettering with a brush marker. I think I started with some broad tip alcohol markers and wrote rally fast to minimize the bleeding. Then layered with a brush marker. 

***

I hope I don't lose ocean-loving readers over my bold statements about not being fond of oceans. Yesterday's post reminded me of a friend, a native of Duluth which is on Lake Superior. We were talking about the love of lakes and rivers. She loved Lake Superior and thought that rivers were ominous because they are so dangerous. Rivers can (and do) sweep people away. She preferred the "safety" of her lake where you just bobbed around. 

Yeah, right. If you fall in Lake Superior out in the middle, you'll die of hypothermia within minutes. Details at this LINK if you don't believe me Not to mention the storms where that lake literally pitches rocks onto people's homes. 

Having lived on the Mississippi River during my childhood, I have a fondness for that river. I even like the rivers that fork here in Des Moines. Having been to Lake Tahoe, I'd have to say that it's my favorite body of water.

Shout out to Niagara Falls. If you want water that puts on a good show - you can't beat the fun of standing right next to the railing, watching the big plume of spray that bounces up in the air - and then the wind suddenly shifts - and drenches all the novice sightseers - who scream and run. Seasoned visitors have brought a hooded raincoat and maybe an umbrella as well. 

The boat trips that take you out to see the falls up close and personal are also worthwhile if you enjoy being a couple inches from death. 

Sept to Lisa - issues with the ocean, part 1

 

I found one last envelope that is printed with a crumpled pattern. I also have a couple sheets of paper to fold into envelopes. Tomorrow I will start the Sept envelopes that I sent out. They turned out better than I was expecting since I didn't have a plan. I did have the good sense to start with the baby animal stamps that have wonderful design elements to use. This one is super easy. I just took the wave pattern that is made out of dots - or portions of dots AKA scallops. It seems like a good envelope to pair with my add-on topic.

***

I fall into that last category. I can't stand sand. Also the smell of salt water seems a little *off* to me. And I can even add something to the list. I do not like the noise. Many people love the sound of the ocean. I just want it to stop. And don't get me started on *water features* in yards. The only water sound I can stand is the very soft lapping that you sometimes hear when you are on a dock at a lake, ideally in a pine forest. 

The answer to my question regarding people who do not care for any form of water - rivers, lakes, oceans, seas - went directly to phobias:

Specific Phobias of Water

Thalassophobia: A persistent fear of the ocean, the sea, or deep, open water.
Limnophobia: A specific fear of lakes.
Potamophobia: A fear of rivers, streams, or running water.
Aquaphobia: A general fear of water itself.

Common Reasons People Dislike Water

People who do not have a clinical phobia may still dislike water for practical or sensory reasons:

Fear of Drowning: Worry about deep water, strong currents, or unexpected drop-offs.
The Unknown: Dislike of murky water where they cannot see the bottom or what is swimming beneath them.
Animals and Insects: Fear of sharks and jellyfish in the ocean, or biting insects like mosquitoes near lakes and rivers.
Sensory Dislike: Discomfort with sticky humidity, wet sand, muddy lake bottoms, or the smell of seaweed and salt.

July from Leslie - 3 more days to fill up

 

Leslie used the Marie to create the waves. It's very subtle and very nice. Her pretty card says: The sea is a wilderness of wonder. I wonder if Leslie is fond of the sea. I'm always curious about people from the midwest who are fond of seas and oceans. The midwest has only lakes and rivers. For me, the seas and oceans are way too dangerous. Even the Great Lakes are too dangerous for me. I love rivers and lakes. I wonder if there are any desert dwelling people who do not care for anything more than an oasis or watering hole. Do we think I'll find an answer? <pause> The answer is long enough that I can use it to fill tomorrow's post.

*** 

There will be three more days of drivel before I get back to my design tips for Liz. It's Aug 29th and I need to start my envelopes for the Sept exchange. My idea is to go through my pin board of *Words* and put a quote on each envelope. Then I went to Pinterest and noticed that Search box at the top, I wondered what would happen if I did a search for *Jean Wilson envelopes*. It surprised me that I had never thought of doing that. It was a lot of fun to see all kinds of artwork and envelopes that I had completely forgotten about. There are some things mixed in that have nothing to do with me. 

This is one of my favorite little drawings done by myself. I do not recall if it came out of my head or if I appropriated it. I'll do a Google image search and see if I find anything. <pause> Nope. There are lots of whimsical drawings with similar lettering but I didn't see anything that was even close.

I think I can find the source of that quote.

I think it was attributed to a mailman in a middle eastern country.

July from Amy and JeanR - Digression: the origin of cookies

 

Fourth of July themed envelopes from Amy above and JeanR below. Jean always includes cards. She is a prolific maker and mailer of cards. We still haven't gotten together for our annual visit when she's in Iowa for the summer. Hopefully we can make it happen soon. Maybe we can plan an outing and file a report on the blog.

***

As I researched the origin of scissors, it reminded me that I had been wondering who invented cookies. I did not save the source for the following information. Information is so ephemeral these days. 

Cookies were originally invented as small cakes used to test oven temperatures. Their history dates back to the 7th century in Persia, where sugar was cultivated and used in baking. This practice spread to Europe through various cultural exchanges, including the Muslim conquest of Spain.

The term "cookie" became popular in American English by the 18th century. In many English-speaking countries, cookies are often referred to as "biscuits," particularly when they are crisp.

Cookies have evolved significantly since their inception, leading to a wide variety of recipes and styles enjoyed around the world today.

July from Patty - Digression: scissors

 

There were lots of flower designs on the July envelopes that arrived. These yellow flowers on gray from Patty are very nice. They are a perfect example of my tip about adding black and white. These flowers would be dull, bland and boring without the black and white. I'm also liking the juxtaposition of martial arts and flowers. She pulled in some *action lines* to make my name literally bounce. She used *repetition* with the action lines and leaves. Love it. Stealworthy. Because I met Patty through my classes at the museum, it's not surprising that she picked up some of the tips that I've been talking about.

***

Digression about scissors. 

It's a rainy Saturday and I am on my coffee break. Here's another one of those videos about how something is made. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwTdIn75nzA

And because I know some of us are wondering who invented scissors.... here you go:

Origins of Scissors

Early Development

• Scissors were first developed by the Mesopotamians nearly 4,000 years ago.
• These early scissors consisted of two blades connected by a thin strip of softer metal, allowing users to squeeze them together for cutting.

Advancements by Ancient Civilizations

• Around 1500 BC, the Ancient Egyptians used a similar design, known as spring scissors, which featured two bronze blades connected at the handles.
• The Romans improved the design around 100 AD by introducing the pivot mechanism, which is the basis for modern scissors.

Modern Manufacturing

• The mass production of scissors began in 1761 when Robert Hinchliffe in England started using cast steel to manufacture them, leading to the scissors we commonly use today.

While the exact inventor of scissors is not known, their evolution involved contributions from various ancient civilizations, particularly the Mesopotamians and Romans.

July from Mary - Digression: castles

 

Mary still has some of those Garden of Love stamps. I wish they would reissue them. Her drawing is lovely with the stamp. I wonder what stamp was reissued at the big stamp convention. It seems like we voted last year. Maybe I can find out. <pause>

https://www.stampsforever.com/vote

Mr. Rogers - and there is a nice 2:36 minute video at that link.

***

If you read Morning Brew you might have seen the link to a listing of a castle in each of the 50 states in case you enjoy visiting castles. Some states have more than one castle. I have been to the one in Minnesota. It's in Duluth and if you are ever up that way, it's worth a visit.

https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/castles-in-every-state/?utm_campaign=mb&utm_source=morning_brew&utm_medium=newsletter

I clicked on the one for Montana and wish I had known about it a few years ago when I passed through White Sulfur Springs and had no idea they had a castle. [That trip that seemed like it was just a few years ago was in 1993]

Then there is Iowa - yikes - it's a whole town, Ida Grove, with a bunch of kooky buildings with castle-esque features.  I won't even provide a link. There is a much better castle within walking distance of my house. I'll link to that. Technically, it is a manor house - but that's close enough to a castle. It was built by a family who had done very well in the cosmetics industry. My father-in-law had some wonderful childhood  stories about playing in the house with the boys who grew up there.

https://salisburyhouse.org

I couldn't find many photos at the website. There are more if you Google images - Salisbury House Des Moines.

July from Janet - digression: house projects

 

This is pure Janet. She's good at vine-y swirls or swirly vines. I like how hard it is to find a J in the the swirl of vines. There are several options. I wonder if it would work to design a big swirl that was just a layered swirl and use it for any first letter of any first name. Maybe nobody would notice that it was an abstraction. Or maybe I should just layer all the letters. I'd only need to do the letters on the exchange list. A-G-I-J-K-L-M-N-P-S-T are the usual names.

***

I am not writing this because I think it is interesting. I am writing it to explain why my blog posts go through phases of being less than inspired. At least you don't have to listen to me talk about how I broke my hip or have cancer or had a stroke or any of the twenty-two things on my list of things my contemporaries are facing these days.

Instead of me falling apart, my son bought a house that is 104 years old and several things are falling apart. While he is at work, I manage all the coming and going of workmen. I'm there for all the estimating and inspecting. I take my laptop and work on the blog while people are pounding.

We started with adding a bathroom, new HVAC and new siding. Then the dominos started to fall. Rusted out sewer line, a sagging roof pushing one wall out of alinement, roof repair causing cracks in the plaster that are 6-inches wide and run the length of the entire room and halfway down the wall, dangerous knob and tube wiring and significant foundation issues. It's all fixable - but, it takes energy for me to keep track of all the workmen who are coming and going - and getting things done in the right order. 

In many ways, it's better to just deal with everything all at once with an old house. August was super busy - Sept will be quiet so I can go back to attacking weeds. Maybe my Sept envelopes will be gorgeous - fall is such a pretty time of year.

July from Juliana - Musing about teaching - part 2

 

I wonder where Juliana finds her fonts? I wonder if she knows immediately that she has spotted one that I will love? I love this one. Maybe she designed it herself? I wonder if she reads the blog and will respond. I wonder if she used straight edges and templates. I wonder if I could figure out how to do this. The part that makes it so cool is the *clumping* at the intersections. Clumping isn't the right word. What's the right word? It's more like bleeding. But it only bleeds on one side.

***

I never planned on teaching. I had many teachers that I loved and a few that were not to my liking. I ended up teaching because the museum in my back yard needed a substitute teacher and then the calligraphy teacher *retired* from teaching to home school her kids. I had spent about 3 years taking all the classes that she taught and she had studied with all the rock stars in calligraphy so she was a really good instructor. 

I knew that I was nowhere near her (Cheryl Adams) skill level but I also knew that I brought some skills to the table that were a little different than her offerings. It turned out to be a wonderful era for me and as many teachers say, you learn as much from your students as they learn from you. I feel like I have already written all of this - and maybe I have - but you're going to have to suffer through it. The alternative would be listening to me talk about this:

Or this:

July from Irene --- Musing about teaching, part 1

 

Irene's wedge brush flowers and wavy vines are so pretty. My broken record comment is coming up - about how I hope to spend some time with my wedge brushes. I should just try those vines. They seem very beginner friendly. Inside the envelope is a fun quote, beautifully embossed.

My two-cents about how much intelligence you need - not an abundance - just enough that you make time to exercise your creative inclinations. So, if you think you aren't very intelligent, don't worry - I guarantee you are intelligent enough to tap into your creativity.

***

There was a break in post writing after I posted tip No. 8 and surely I have more than eight tips. Before I get into more tips I'm going to muse about how complicated it is to offer tips. I already mentioned how people can be disinterested in suggestions. Sometimes they are even offended. As I have said, that's the hardest part of teaching.

People show up for a class. They also bring their entire lifespan of experiences with making things and finding out what people think of their work. They might even be so self-critical that they can't see the parts of their work that is *working.* With kids, it's not appropriate to critique. They don't need a critical eye. The critical eye will evolve all on its own as the kid can see that what they had imagined is not what appears on the paper. 

It's very hit or miss with helping those older kids whose critical eye is evolving to understand the steps one takes to actually draw a likeness. So many kids as well as adults have horror stories about *terrible* art teachers who said mean things and *ruined* the experience for them. 

Then there are the people who really enjoyed collecting The Rules from the types of instructors who handed out The Rules that had been handed to them at some point. And most people are familiar with Breaking the Rules and all the sub-sets of how to break rules and here's where I decide that it might be impossible to teach art..... and yet.....

From Grace - who's to say which is better

 

Grace is skilled at both pointed nib calligraphy as well as broad edge. This is italic. It's one of the standards that a lot of people think is easy because it looks like the kind of printing that we learned in elementary school with serifs. How hard can that be. 

Don't get me started. It's one of those raging debates and I'm too old to get into it. On top of that, if I posted the work of Sheila Waters next to someone who bought a calligraphy marker and followed a rudimentary exemplar - some people would think they were *the same.* The subtle nuances are not visible to some people. To other people, they are glaring. 

I'm trying to think of something to compare it to - maybe in the world of food - we could think of something to compare - but it would be hard. I may prefer a home made chocolate chip cookie to Chips Ahoy. But, if a person grew up with only Chips Ahoy and that was their favorite cookie - they might prefer it to home made. 

The only thing I can think of where we might get close to 100% agreement would be a fish that you caught. cooked  and ate right on the shore. I can't picture anyone saying that a frozen filet or even something that had been on ice for a day or two, never frozen, was better than a shore lunch. Now I'm hungry for a shore lunch. I wonder if there are any in Chicago.

<pause> Bingo. There is a place 2.7 miles from where my grandkids live. I could walk. I'll have to find out where they source their fish.