memory lane - outlined dubosch

i have not done any DuBosch Jubilee in a while. but, thanks to all my organizing, i know exactly where the exemplars are. this was in the stack of unfinished. it is probably the only time i have laboriously outlined jubilee. and probably the last time too. very fussy work. but, if you have way too much time on your hands, it will keep you occupied. pick a name like elizabeth wellington walsh. i don't know what her middle name is, just pick something long. now i am wondering which of my penpals has the longest name. probably stella papadopoulos. too bad she lives in canada. the extra postage puts a damper on the mail.

this just in - bonus coffeetime post

having noon coffee

saw this whilst surfing

http://www.snailmail-ideas.com/

yikes, there's a ton of stuff

then i saw this on pinterest

100 envelope template ideas

http://melstampz.blogspot.com/2008/07/5-12-inch-square-envelope-template-lots.html

and now i have to go back to a rush job i agreed to do. it is the 4th wedding for this family. they deserve a blue ribbon.

eric and lilli - exchange envelopes

eric composes his designs on the computer. jan and i agreed that we wish we had the skills to make digital designs....but, we'll be resisting the temptation to go further. we also agreed that we can't figure out how to use iPods. it is fun to have a techno-not-savy buddy.
but i digress. i included lilli's on this page because i love the adorable little dragonflies on the illustration. once again, canada has  great stamps.

thanks to eric and lilli for participating in the exchanges.

jackie's exchange landscapes

i have scans of all the envelopes jackie did
each is unique and quite lovely. i think they are watercolor...and all i know about watercolor is that i know nothing about watercolor....except that it is difficult to do good watercolor. it's a lot like brain surgery. i can never make worthwhile comments about brain surgery or watercolor...and increasingly anything else. but i sure as heck know pretty when i see it.

jackie can leave a comment and tell us if it is something other than watercolor.

thank you for participating in the exchange

dead end online

Pinterest is now sending me things. i don't have to go looking for things, they seem to have a read-your-mind function and send things to my account that they think i will like. frequently, it is mail off of my own blog. but sometimes it is something like this. it has a watermark, so i suppose you can go to artpostal.com and see what you find. i have been pretty on-the-wagon with my surfing addiction and i am not going there. :-)

i will, however, be sending some bird-on-wire mail one of these days.

bonus post and giveaway

this is the stack of mail i finished up yesterday from my 3 boxes of unfinished envelopes. today is my deadline to clear out all of the unfinished business. i will be throwing away about 50 envelopes unless there is someone out there who wants them. some have first names, some have first and last names and some have just decorative elements. if you want an envelope full of junk, email me at jmwilson411  -at-  yahoo  -dot- com   thank you for helping me tidy up and launch my new improved version of the blog. THANK YOU, i have my volunteers to adopt the orphan envelopes.

don't miss today's post which is gorgeous and appears right below this one.

finn's exchange trees

finnbadger was inspired to make some trees. these are wonderful. thanks for participating in the exchange.

he made good use of the 2-ounce stamps. you need extra postage when you address envelopes in the portrait orientation.

once again, i am proud of my grasshopper who stumbled across my blog and had no idea that he would become an international mail artist.

and thanks to chuck for sending this font a while back.

Sorry, Karen

I just found these buried in my stacks and had not even opened them. They are so pretty. Thank you.

fun fact + most viewed

Most Subterranean Facility — Stamp Fulfillment Services, located in Kansas City, MO, is located in a limestone cave 150 feet under-ground. It is the Postal Service’s only facility located in such an under-ground environment. The consistent, year-round temperatures and humidity levels in the caves allow the stamps to be maintained in mint-quality condition. The underground facility also keeps the inventory and employees safe from snow, flooding, winds and tornadic activity common in the Midwest.

http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/postal-facts/fun-facts.htm

here is the envelope that is the [most viewed] of all the envelopes on my blog. there are a ton of stats when you go to the inner sanctum of the blog.

 i can't imagine why this is such a popular envelope. i see it on Pinterest all the time. it's cute. but i wouldn't exactly call it brilliant. drawing white lines across darker strokes is still one of my go-to techniques.

Alan Blackman Exhibit - opens today

http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1020507701

i have blogged about Alan Blackman previously. if you will be in San Francisco July 26 - Oct 11
you might want to see an exhibit of his letters to himself. 40 years of sending mail to himself. I first saw his envelopes 20 years ago and they were a huge inspiration.

http://alanblackman.com/pages/letters.html
or you can view them on his website.
there is a lot to look at besides envelopes. just backtrack to the home page and surf around.

another article about the exhibit
that leads to a blog that looks very interesting...
http://www.socialcorrespondence.com/letters/letters-to-myself-alan-blackman/
thanks to elizabeth for sending this link.

i'm not kidding, if i just followed all the links i find, i would be busy 14/7 (it takes 10 hours to sleep and eat).
dang.
onward.

uncial annoys scarlet

uncial annoy sscarlet. so i will be tossing out non-traditional versions. it would have been fun to do a detailed rendering of the pattern on the stamp and add some gold tassels.

pickle pie from elizabeth

elizabeth was surfing and ran across a font called picklepie. she made her version on an envelope to me. my first thought was to cross polinate it with the parabolas

i had no stamps in mind for the one to alex and it is a challenge to find $1.20 in stamps that look good together.

thanks for the inspiration, elizabeth. while this is just showing up on the blog today, i wrote this on june 7th which was at the height of the peacock binge. or depth, depending on how you feel about that particular binge.

Bocskay's Mira calligraphiae monumenta

almost everyone has heard of the Book of Kells and knows that it is a masterpiece of calligraphy. there is another book, not as well known, but equally masterful. the Getty Library has generously put high res scans out on the internet.

you have to download them one at a time and i guess they are not in order. but they are very cool and full of fabulous flourishing.

the link to the getty website is below
on the right, under Search Options
go to [Titles]  and put in this:
Mira calligraphiae monumenta

I tried typing in just Mira - and it worked fine - but maybe it was because I had already searched once. If someone tries the search with just Mira - and it works, will you please leave a commnet so I know it works
thanks

http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/search/

i just tried putting in Bocskay in the Maker/Artist box and it led to the book, so that is another option.