Nov (wedge brush) to Amy

Here is a before and after. It seemed wimpy. I liked the fine lines - but they didn't go with the stamp. I am not sure the next layer on the lettering was an improvement. It's very hard to do a smooth *thicker-izing* of strokes that are that fine. 

The blue wedge-brush-strokes needed some brown. I'm fine with those square dots. It's a shame that the lettering and the design do not complement that gorgeous stamp. I have a good excuse. I had been looking at Irene's instagram - and it was full of gorgeous wedge brushing - so I impulsively pulled out my wedge brush and just started doing random designs on the left side of the envelope.

Impulsive seems like so much fun - at the time - but then I kill way too many hours trying to make the impulsive go with a stamp. Will I refrain from impulsivity in 2024? We can dream.

 

Dec to Amy, Patty, Madison, and Troy (Cathy's holly)

This was a design I appropriated from CathyO. Mine is different in that I used my scroll tip nib. I was soooooo annoyed with myself that I misplaced Cathy's envelope and was not able to refer to it when I made the dots. She very clearly put them in groups of three and when I was not aware of that - I used my Official System of Scattering to place the berries - and my system failed me. They are not 100% wretched  - but they aren't quite right. 

There is no way that I can come up with iron clad rules for how to steal or appropriate. Obviously, we do not want to be obsessive - but, there are times when the originator has a better handle on the nuances. I guess it is like cooking or styling or arranging flowers -- after you have done enough of it - you have a sense about where things need to go.

These were Dec envelopes mailed inside my November exchange envelopes.

 

From Kate in Oct - atomic habits

Ironic that in the middle of November I was writing about slow mail in October. 

Ironic might not be the right word.

This envelope took at least 3 weeks to arrive - maybe longer. At the same time I had another piece of mail that took over 3 weeks to arrive. There's no way to know what's going on. All y'all may just keep doing what you are doing. I feel like I am going to keep my design portions of the envelope contained - and keep the addresses super clear - without any extra stuff surrounding. Of course, I have no way of knowing how long it's taking for my envelopes to arrive.

***

As I write this, I am a week away from Thanksgiving. My calendar is clear. I am declining invitations right and left. I have re-listened to a book that explains motivation to create new habits - and feel as though the blog is on track to be filled efficiently which should free up some time to get my passwords in order. The book is Atomic Habits. The author gives credit to a couple other books that started the ball rolling on how to break bad habits - and adds another layer. 

It seems like bad luck to say that I have the folders of exchange envelopes organized - but so far it is looking good. 

 

To 7 people in Dec

This is turning into *postal week*

The USPS just sent me a link to a booklet - for kids - but there's a ton of interesting information for anyone interested in postal history.

https://about.usps.com/publications/pub100k.pdf

This is a style that I appropriated from Janet. As mentioned yesterday - I would have needed 3 of the stamps (or 4) if I wanted to use them - so these were inner envelopes. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out. I'll be even more pleased if I find the original one from Janet that provided the inspiration. 

I deeply regret that I did not do this version for Janet. Instead - I had a used Mouse Brain Stamp. She had sent me an envelope with a Mouse Brain Stamp - so I thought it would be fun to use the same one on something going to Janet - sadly - it is a bit blah. It might have been better if the letters were filled in with a lot more dark - maybe even solid black - but that was way too risky.

I guess I need to include names in the blurb - so that these will pop up if I am ever looking for a record of what I sent to Janet, Irene, Jessica, Lynne, Mary and Cathy -- and Rachael, whose address was done in  small red block letters.

 

To Carolyn and Chuck in Dec

Here is another link to statistics on the amount of mail that is delivered. I'm still looking for the a breakdown by month.

https://facts.usps.com/one-day/

These are the last two that are somewhat like the re-run to JeanR that was my inspiration. These are way too *tight* - but not in a bad way. Those are actual USPS postage stamps. I can't remember how much they are valued at. Last year or the year before, I used 3 of them which would have been enough - and the USPS returned the envelope to me because SOMEONE did not recognize them as actual US postage stamps. It wasn't worth my time trekking to the PO to have a discussion with a clerk who would not have been the person who did not recognize the stamp with no denomination.

This year I decided to just use them on envelopes that would be December-themed - and then put them inside the November envelopes. I did that last year - two months of exchanges in one mailing. That gave me all of December to take a break from envelopes - with the hope that I buckle down and get some other projects out of the way.

It was a tiny bit annoying after I did a bunch of holiday themed envelopes that were going to go inside outer envelopes - and I forgot to make the outer envelopes November-themed. I made a bunch of them December-themed. The only good thing about being chronically confused is that it hardly bothers me any more. I have not stopped trying to stay on top of things. I'm really good at shrugging it off when my solid planning blows itself to smithereens.

 

To Maggie in Dec

This is the same idea as I posted yesterday and I think it turned out pretty well. There is good balance with the ornament off to the left. I wish I had put a bow on it. I'm not sure this style has a name. It seems like cross-pollination with MishMash and DuBosch Jubilee.

***

Here is a real time add-on. A pen pal asked me why the mail takes so long in December and wondered if my postal worker son had any insight. I've been grilling him since he started in Oct of 2019 and keep getting the same answer. Peak season = too few people handling more than the usual amount of mail

I tried to find a graph that would show some actual numbers - twice as much as usual - or 3 times as much. I'll keep looking - but in the mean time - these are examples of what my son has seen:

1

At both stations and the main plant - during peak season - so much mail is brought into the facility that there is hardly room for the workers - it's like a gridlocked/bottleneck situation.

2

At the large plants - semis full of mail will have to wait much longer than usual to be unloaded - which delays them being loaded with outgoing mail - more gridlock/bottleneck

Here's an official report if you want to learn about what kinds of things they are trying to implement to cope with peak season.

https://www.uspsoig.gov/sites/default/files/reports/2023-01/22-163-R23.pdf

This is from the PDF - IMHO, it's going to be hard to find 28,000 temp workers.

But, at least they are trying to figure something out.

■ Hiring over 28,000 temporary employees 

■ Deploying and installing 50 package sorting machines. 

■ Leasing 17 temporary mail processing facilities and 71 delivery annexes.

To Christy in Dec

Time to start the outgoing December envelopes.

My envelope to JeanR from a couple years ago - or last year - jumped out at me when I was looking for ideas for my outgoing Dec mail. It had a nice balance of not-tedious and yet took some time to get right. I'm not sure I captured the same spontaneity this year. As usual - I compare the number of letters and Jean's 11 letters fit better than Christy's 14 letters - although Christy has 2 i's - so it should have worked. I think the problem is that I made the letters too tall.

I'm not happy with the stacking I had to do on Baldwin - and just so you know that I actually did a rough draft to make sure it would fit nicely - I'll post the rough draft. I ended up including the rough in the envelope with a note to Christy.

This was in an email from Ann B Miller - not a personal email - the kind you get if you sign up for  a weekly or monthly letter thru SubStack.

My guess is that it says Christmas Greetings.

 

The blog's tradition

 Over the years a tradition evolved - where I come up with a heartwarming story for Dec 24th. I do not go  overboard during the holiday season - but I do enjoy looking for a story with warm-fuzzies each year.

This year (as I write this on Nov 2nd) I do not have anything spectacular for my annual holiday story. Because I have such a steady stream of warm fuzzy mail - maybe that should be the basis of my Dec 24th post.

Hopefully I have not gone overboard with thanking my readers and pen pals. Is it even possible to go overboard with gratitude? 

This envelope arrived in October - from Clover.

She sent me a very fun article with beautiful inspirational images of Spencerian writing. I ended up using the paper to make some little boxes. It tickles me that someone sees an article and thinks - Oh, Jean would like this - and then she looks at her stamps - and sees the Lichtenstein fruit bowl - "Oh, Jean would like this stamp." And then she figures she might as well gussy up the envelope - and it would have taken some time to fussy cut that image. So thank you again, Clover. 

Two things if you have time to kill today: First, you can put *Clover* in the search feature, which I just did, and it was a fun trip down memory lane. Please note - there have been two Clovers featured in blog posts - this is not the Clover in Texas - it is our Clover who alerts us to important USPS matters.

And the second time-killer is an account on IG that is amusing. It was hard to choose which post to feature since they are all so funny. Actual ideas for food - from the olden times - which I remember. The account is called 70's Dinner Party -- but I think a lot of these are from the 50s and 60s. I stuck with banana *recipes.* 

https://www.instagram.com/70sdinnerparty/ 

.....and to all a good night.

Or if you are having your morning coffee - you have my permission

 to just crawl under a blanket and take the whole day off.

***

Wait - there's more. It is now Nov 17 and I was going through 100+ emails that had piled up in my blog-email. I opened a few of them to enjoy the warm fuzzies - lovely things that people have sent me. Sometimes they are writing to let me know how much they liked their envelope. 

When I got to June - there was an email from Clover - and I was so happy to see another banana related envelope. I especially LOVE what she had to say about her design:

When you have a glue stick and no calligraphic skill…

Thanks Clover for providing my yearly tradition of something fun for Dec 24th...

From Troy in Oct - Christoph No. 10

This is from Troy - and I really wish I could post all the fun stuff that Troy has sent and ideas he has tossed out. He had an idea for a slogan for the blog/exchange -- and his ideas were very clever. I'm sure the email is in my stack of emails - and maybe someday I will find it.  Realistically - there's maybe a 1% chance - because the hoard of emails is most likely more than I can manage in whatever time I have left. 

AND.... Troy is not the only one who sends fun stuff that I intend to share on the blog - but it gets lost in the stack. I appreciate hearing from each and every one of you. Once in a while - something from the stack finds its way out -- we will have an example tomorrow. 

 ***

Christoph No. 10

Sitting at my desk is always right.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to make good work. There are millions of tips and tricks and manifestos out there. But at the end there’s only one single truth for me: sit down and start drawing.

I agree with Christoph. This is a perfect way to sum up the other 9 tips. Put in the hours. 

The only thing he does not mention in his 10 tips is anything about where to get ideas. I suspect that he is on board with everyone else who likes to make things - we all know that we sponge up ideas from everywhere else - and then channel them into/onto our projects.

So - go forth and make envelopes (or whatever you feel like making).

If anyone wants the entire manifesto in one place - here it is:

A Manifesto by Christoph Niemann

1

The only relevant artistic talent is the ability to deal with frustration.

Most of what I produce is not good enough. It’s too complicated, too simple, or has been done before (by myself or others). This is and always will be frustrating. But I can only survive as an artist if I can constantly brush it off and start over again with childish enthusiasm. It is the most important superpower.

2

Be reckless. 

A piece won’t be great unless you risk it being terrible. By that I mean sometimes a drawing starts out nicely, but then I’m so afraid of ruining it that I become hesitant - which inevitably ruins it.

3

Deliberately ruin a drawing. 

This is a liberating (and incredibly difficult) exercise. Make a drawing using your usual tools, then step on the gas and drive it into a wall at full speed. Make it pompously, unapologetically, irrevocably ugly and wrong.

4

Be less precious about your art. 

The benefit of this exercise (no. 3): you remember that if you don’t like it, you can always do another one.

5

Draw like nobody’s watching. 

Nobody sees what you are doing in your studio. You can make 97 bad drawings and three great ones. As long as you only show the the three good ones, people will believe you’re a great artist.

6

Trust the drawing to have its own life. I start with an idea from my head. By default this is derivative and predictable. When I start putting it on paper, it starts having its own agenda. It is only when I manage to let go of my original intentions , that something interesting begins to happen

7

Accept that only a fraction of your work is *great.* (Whatever *great* means)

8

Walk away. Then come back.

Wait a few days before deciding whether a piece is *great* or not. Drawing is hard and requires all your attention. Thinking about the merits of a piece is a waste of energy. You’ll be a much better judge tomorrow.

9

Don’t count the hours.
Art is not efficient. Sometimes a good piece is born in minutes, but even then it’s usually surrounded by days of seemingly fruitless poking. Accept this and you’ll be much happier.

10

Sitting at my desk is always right.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to make good work. There are millions of tips and tricks and manifestos out there. But at the end there’s only one single truth for me: sit down and start drawing.

4 to the USPS - Christoph No. 9

Four more to the postal workers - which is why there are no last names. The neon gel pens are so much fun on the black envelopes. If I ever need to buy envelopes, I hope I remember to buy black ones. I should also invest in some more Day of the Dead stamps. They go perfectly with the neon.

***

Christoph No. 9

Don’t count the hours.
Art is not efficient. Sometimes a good piece is born in minutes, but even then it’s usually surrounded by days of seemingly fruitless poking. Accept this and you’ll be much happier.

 Jean's comment: This one is so perfectly written that I do not have anything to add - other than letter it beautifully and hang it where you will see it daily.

From Leslie in Oct - Christoph No. 8

It's too bad this one has been crumpled. At least it did not get eaten up entirely. I love the colors on both and the lettering is so nice. Leslie knows how to warm up so that she can get really good gestural lettering.

Then - because she's so nice to remember that MrWilson likes mail, too - she came up with a very clever idea. I'm having my deja vu that I already ran this one. But, I think there is only one more post to fill before I can declare that the new system is installed - and all the confusion and chaos is behind us.

Was MrWilson a little spooked when this arrived? Yes - just a tiny bit. He didn't bring it up on his own - but when I asked him if he had been a little spooked - he said "Yes." But, now that I reflect on what kinds of things scare him - I'm 99% sure that he only said "Yes" because I had asked him. I should have asked him, "What do you think of this?" I guarantee he would have had something to say and it would not have been, "I was a little spooked." 

He also thought it might be a reference to a large piece of graffiti in downtown Des Moines that is going to be removed. I'll see if I can find an image of it. <pause> Even better - here is a video clip from a local news station. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmVt99HzMgo

***

Christoph No. 8

Walk away. Then come back.

Jean's comment: Yup. There's no way of knowing if I have ever mentioned this - but it is a very basic lesson that once learned, is probably one of the ones that we remember and implement. Maybe everyone already knows how to set things aside and come back later with fresh eyes. 

Of course - it can always work the other way. You might be pleased with something and then the next day you see some weaknesses that need to be fixed - or maybe just let them go. Decisions decisions.

 

From Irene in Oct - Christoph No. 7

Reminder to look at Irene's Instagram. She has posted some of the envelopes that go with the cards she has been posting - and they are lovely. I keep forgetting to ask her if she keeps track of the time she spends on her envelopes - and does she do any assembly line work.

Click HERE for Irene's Instagram

This is an odd tip - to go with Irene - because she is turning out a ton of work that does not look like it has any clunkers. But, I think her process is on a different wavelength from Christoph and those of us who are on some kind of quest for something new and different. There are times when I flip into the mode that Irene is in - where motifs and techniques are used in a *tried-and-true* process. Note to self: go ahead and indulge in tried and true --- it's a nice place if you feel like keeping things low-key for a bit.

Christoph, by virtue of being a big name illustrator/designer - is obligated to come up with things that are original. For us - that is entirely optional.

***

Christoph No. 7

Accept that only a fraction of your work is *great.* (Whatever *great* means)

My interpretation of what he means by *great* is whether or not the person who made the work is pleased with how it turned out. If we had a way of pulling up every time I said I was unhappy with something and then a reader would leave a comment suggesting that I amend what I said - we would find several examples. We might also see that I responded by explaining that my nit-picking at details is just part of a larger process. It's not like any of us have time to work and rework each and every envelope until it gets to the level of *great* - or as I prefer to call it - *no need to fix anything.*

 

From Chuck in Oct-Nov-Dec - Christoph No. 6

A while back, I pondered posting all 12 of Chuck's gnomes in Dec. As I posted the October envelope, I figured I could add Nov and Dec. Chuck always works way ahead and as soon as he gets his list, he fills in the names and mails them. On Nov 28 Chuck posted on Instagram that he was scheduled for a double by-pass. He let me know that he would not be able to do the Dec exchange. I didn't expect to get an envelope - but somehow he managed to get one done while he was in the hospital. Way to go, Chuck. I'm happy to report he is on the mend and hopefully he'll be home pretty soon. I've only been able to visit him a couple times because I've had the Martian Death Cough - which is going around. It's miserable.

Chuck and I met (nearly 30 years ago) through the calligraphy guild, but after the guild folded up - we had only been in touch through email - so it was a bummer that he had to go through his ordeal just so we could catch up in person. 

 ***

Christoph No. 6:

Trust the drawing to have its own life. I start with an idea from my head. By default this is derivative and predictable. When I start putting it on paper, it starts having its own agenda. It is only when I manage to let go of my original intentions, that something interesting begins to happen.

This one is great. It's a hard one for me to add onto. The only thing I can think of is that I know I do better when I give up on trying to force a name into a specific mold - and rethink the size and shape of the name - and let it *speak to me.* Reminder - this is where pencil roughs are your friends.

Dec 18 From Grace in Oct - Christoph No. 5

Grace's envelope had some delicate shimmer flourishing that probably doesn't show up - nice stamps.

Three more after this and I get my breakfast. I made brownies for MrWilson and am wondering if I can be disciplined and not eat any of them.

***

Christoph No 5

Draw like nobody’s watching. Nobody sees what you are doing in your studio. You can make 97 bad drawings and three great ones. As long as you only show the three good ones, people will believe you’re a great artist.

Well, this doesn't relate to our situation at all. His work is his livelihood - ours is something entirely different. I just want to thank everyone who participates because I post your work on the internet - and the latest estimate for how many people are on the internet is:

As of October 2023, there were 5.3 billion internet users worldwide, which amounted to 65.7 percent of the global population.

I'm grateful that everyone is OK with putting your work out there for 5.3 billion people. I only get 300 hits a day.
 

From Maggie in Oct - Christoph No. 4

Both sides - from Maggie - are so cute. Forgive the short blurbs - I know - that's what I said yesterday. Today's blurb is brand new. I wrote it yesterday - and the only thing I have to say is that the prewritten blurb wasn't interesting - and neither is this one -- maybe that's OK - because December is a notoriously busy month - so we don't need excess jabbering.

***

Christoph 4:

Be less precious about your art. The benefit of this exercise: you remember that if you don’t like it, you can always do another one.

 This is a continuation of deliberately *ruining* something - to come up with something better. Once again - our world is a little different - because our envelopes are not our livelihood. I almost left this one out. I noticed that some students are entrenched at the end of the spectrum where they think that all of their efforts are dismal. Or worse. 

That is a whole different topic - and I sure hope I remember to look into it and offer tips for those people. Of course, I have no idea if any of you are like that -- I sure hope not. 

Dec 16 From Lynne in October - Christoph No. 3

I sure hope I remember to come back and steal this pumpkin next year. Or maybe I should start working on some valentine mail. Short and sweet comments will be coming with the rest of the October exchange envelopes because I have 5 to fill - and my new method of meeting deadlines is to tell myself I have to fill up the rest of the posts before I get my breakfast.

***

Christoph Niemann 3:

Deliberately ruin a drawing. This is a liberating (and incredibly difficult) exercise. Make a drawing using your usual tools, then step on the gas and drive it into a wall at full speed. Make it pompously, unapologetically, irrevocably ugly and wrong.

Jean's comment: OK, he is talking about drawings - and envelopes are a little different. I actually do this from time to time and I gotta say - sometimes it really, really, really works. For me - it's all about whether I want to waste an envelope. And for sure - I don't do this exercise if the stamp is on the envelope.

Remember - you can work out a lot of your ideas on plain paper before you do the envelope.

From Patty - Oct Skeleton - Christoph No. 2

 

Patty remembered how much I like Ed Emberley drawings. She was not happy with the spacing on the white label. I appreciate that she was following my advice to make the envelope USPS scanner friendly. I still think we should be doing that if at all possible. I assure you, Patty, it is very challenging to get the spacing right on a label. I have wasted more labels with my bad spacing that I simply can't allow to go through - so I redo it. I usually get it right the second time - which is why - if I (or anyone) wants to get a label spaced perfectly, they'll need to bite the bullet and write it once on scrap paper. I know - it's really hard to make yourself do a practice - but - it works. One thing that might make it more doable is to remember that the lettering on the practice can be really sloppy. You just need to scrawl it to get a rough idea.

Christoph Niemann's 2nd pithy statement:

Be reckless. A piece won’t be great unless you risk it being terrible. By that I mean sometimes a drawing starts out nicely, but then I’m so afraid of ruining it that I become hesitant - which inevitably ruins it.

Jean's comment: I know that many of you have opened an envelope and found a note from me saying that I know the envelope needs something else - but I was afraid to take the risk. Or sometimes I scrawl it on the back of the envelope right before I send it. Sometimes the stack of envelopes sit on my desk and I keep looking at them - pondering *one-more-thing* to make some aspect better. Will I start taking more risks? I don't know. 

From Christy - cupcake in Oct - Christoph No. 1

I'm pretty sure this was the first envelope from Christy - and I'm pretty sure she signed up for the Nov exchange, too. I like the way she layered the Jean-on-Jean. I've only layered first names on top of last names or vice versa. It's always fun when a first timer can send me an idea that I am wildly excited to steal. Thank you to the USPS for the wavy lines at the bottom - they really add to the composition.

***

I have 10 ideas from Christoph Niemann. Feel free to Google him - not only is he prolific with his work - he's one of those artists who can put things into words beautifully. He says the same things I say - but he says them with more finesse - so, I'll share them - and give him credit - for the next 10 days. Then we'll go back to random and wacky.

The only relevant artistic talent is the ability to deal with frustration.

Jean's comment: I talk about frustration all the time - but forget to point out that dealing with frustration is the whole point. If you just want to *have fun and be happy 100% of the time* - you are a dreamer - with respect to making things. Every.Single.Person who excels at something will tell you that there was a learning curve (often a difficult and frustrating one) and there is no end to the learning process - so accept the challenges and frustrations as an important part of the process.
 

From Leslie in Oct - biters

This is a handmade envelope from Leslie. She did something very smart - to accommodate the fragility of the paper which had some texture and loose fibers. She adhered it to a piece of card stock that is the size of the envelope. The 4 fold over parts are just the paper. It worked very well - and I hope I can remember to use the idea. She enclosed a note saying that she is not a *goth fan* but thought that style went with the paper. It does - nice and spooky - I can see myself riffing on this next year.

The card inside did not photograph well at all - there were sparkles and some tone on tone action.

***

Back in November I wrote some stuff about my family that struck me as a little odd when I was reviewing it right before it popped up. I edit posts a day or two before they appear and sometimes delete things that are too far *out there.* Talking about my kid that was a biter was something that I wasn't sure needed to be talked about. Then I decided to leave it in and come back to the topic of biters - because I knew that I had a dozen posts to fill up.

If you have a toddler, either your own or a grandchild, who starts biting - pay close attention to how they are doing with their efforts to talk. I observed that after he tried to say something 3 or 4 times, and I couldn't understand him, he would suddenly just bite. At the time, I didn't think about the problem being that he was frustrated because he could not get his words out in a way that people could understand. All I wanted to do was stop the biting. 

So, if you have a biter -- it might be something other than just the typical toddler orneriness. 

From Madison in October - mailbox costume

This came in October from a new exchanger, Madison. I see that she has either found this font on her own or maybe I linked to it. I looks very familiar and I think there are some envelopes with the same font. It's a great font because you can interchange the elements. The entire font would work beautifully with MishMash. I like how she tilted the name and address just a tiny bit. It seems like it would still be easy for the scanner to read.

I hope readers are OK with the October envelopes popping up now. Remember....I said that I would type *halloween* in every blurb that includes a halloween idea - so that you can search for them next year. 

And those are nice bats. Now this will pop up if anyone is looking for bats. And here on the back, Madison has a bat heading in the direction we prefer -- away from us.

If you put *wrought iron* into the search box on the blog - you will see the envelopes that I was thinking looked like these. They are different. They do not have the little triangles. But the two fonts are cousins.

How cute is this? I saw it at USPS.com - but it said *while supplies last.* 

The mail box for the North Pole is at the West Des Moines post office.  I wonder if they answer the letters that kids drop in their box. Seems like I had a post one year about a team of volunteers who respond to mail to Santa. Once again, the disciplined Jean will not let herself be distracted.