my mail

thank you kathy. :-)
great choice of stamps and beginners, note the way she put the heart stamp on-end. it looks so much better to have the three stamps all in portrait format. and the way the postmark is contributing to the overall design is really charming.

jeri - eames

fun...
not sure why she plopped the letters in a puddle of water, but it is a great addition to the letters.

i know this is redundant....
but, once again, highly-steal-worthy.

oh...i think i figured it out, i think that is a lake. there i s a tiny name in the corner. i see so much more detail when i click on the image and view the large version

stacey's phone cord

stacey has such a fun name. the S and the y are full of opportunities. i wish i had put one more loop on the end of the y. the stamps are great, too. i wish the p.o. would do more celebrating of designers and artists. the artsy stamps are usually wonderful.

stacey's lamp

stacey sent me the sheet of industrial design stamps so i figured i would return all of them to her on envelopes. i might have posted some from this series earlier. i know i have posted some examples of this font already. i forgot all about it. so, it was a treat to find a stack of old stuff. it's my usual....write fast and then outline. stacey doesn't live in denver any more. i did a lot of whining when she moved to *pennsylvania avenue*  i am now lobbying her to consult with me before she decides on her new dwelling.

ornament - skip

i am pondering a big blue bow off the top of the name. can't decide if the name should be hanging from the S or the dot on the i. or maybe it just needs to be in the center.... i'm pretty sure i will mess it up if i add the bow now. as i did the set of 30 of these, i learned that it was best to do the name, then the bow and then figure out the address placement and size.

jeri - crossword

steal worthy.

jeri has asked me more than once how i come up with so many idea...
by stealing them from people like YOU, jeri. (or, in this case, your sister  :-)

sara

sara fanelli - a swipe worthy idea that i have used a few times and i can't for the life of me figure out why i do not use it more often.

a band across the top edge and the bottom edge.
also...lines for the address. why don't i do that?
i have loved the few where i do it...so, let's plan on doing more.

ornament - e&c

this is the second one to e&c where i forgot to put in their last name. i posted a halloween one a few days ago and that one was already mailed. this one, i will add the last name, in green in that white space. i think the bottom of the C would look better if it had the same curl as the bottom of the E. and i botched the bow on the C. and the wavy lines are clunky. i'm struggling to find anything at all that i like about this one. the address is too large. luckily, i have plenty of time to do a better one. i might even see if i can peel the stamp off. plus, it will take 3 stamps to get this to australia....

this was a very early experimant with Tombo markers. i am happy to report that i eventually figured out some styles that i liked. i am ok with showing the clunkers so that you can see the improvement.

jeri - clover

super stealworthy idea
cut letters out of magazines, using meaningful pictures

ornament - hunter

i come up with more ideas when i have actual jobs. luckily, someone asked me to address about 30 invitations using the ornament stamps. this was the most challenging stamp (of the 4 different designs) because it has 5 colors and none of them are black. i think it will look best to put the address, small, flush left, and dark blue.

jeri - gwen's style

jeri says this is gwen weaver's style. i had never seen it before. i love it.
and that stamp is perfect on a brown envelope.
i hope i have time to try out this style...even with out an exemplar, i think i can figure it out.

quick and easy

the quickest easiest go-to idea i have is to just mix everything you can possibly think of and then outline it and then use a stamp that is hodge-podgy too.

jeri - chemistry

i haven't talked about versals in a while. sherri keisal is frequently mentioned in connection with this style, but the first time i saw them, they were done by jean formo. i wonder if they both spun the idea off someone else. that's the fun of the alphabet. it is pretty hard for any one person to *own* a style. and once you start playing around with it, it will inevitably look like your very own. unless you are the very best copycat in the whole world.

as always, jeri is very good at choosing colors in the stamps to use in the lettering.

polly

polly simmons -  i wish i had done a better job of labeling the posts. there have been a few that have an envelope illustrated on the envelope. it would have been fun to click on a label to see all of them together. i guess it is not too late. i can just go back and do a thorough labeling of my 1000+ posts.
ha...ha...ha

jeri - caruso

a-dor-a-ble
love the ruffled collar turned into an e.
looks like colored pencils.
don't forget colored pencils when you want to find just the right color.

jeri - purple

another spectacular envelope from jeri. i found a stack of mail and i am pretty sure this one has not been on the blog. so nice
love the arrangement of stamps.
love filling in the *counters*
counters are the spaces inside loops of letters.

thank U

this was the thank you jeri sent after we went to iampeth. i'll give her a ride any old time if i am going to get a thank you like this. note to self, take more time on some of my envelopes.

nice shakespeare quote on the card inside :-)

the post office did not cancel the stamps. i don't know how that happens, but, i like to think they if the machine can't read it, and a postal worker has to look at it to make sure it is OK, they decide that it is just too pretty to add any cancellation...

late halloween

i started this in plenty of time to mail for halloween and then, it hid in the stacks. or maybe i already posted this? without the color?

and the other one (below) ?
i know i just colored them ten minutes ago.

i might have to rethink how i do these postings in the coming year
the level of chaos is starting to get to me.

for *color* i used highlighters
they come in sets of 8 colors from the office supply stores
inexpensive, but fun for envelopes

check this out

i just saw a comment from sandy in the post from two days ago and she put me in her list of favorite blogs

http://scribblesbysandy.blogspot.ca/2012/10/sunshine-award.html

i will try to figure out how to post the picture on her blog to this blog
i LOVE her title lettering
and
if she reads my blog, she must know that i will recommend her title as
stealworthy :-)

maybe she will comment again and tell us if that is her own original lettering or where she found it.

thanks, sandy, for including me in your list... :-)

peter

peter coplans envelope. adorable. my favorite part = the red dots in the sky. the bricks are nice, too. i like the very unexpected arrangement of colors in the brick work.

flu shot

i'm sorry, i lost the site where i found this one....it's the back of an envelope...but, i thought it was fun and worth posting. also, i had a flu shot and i seem to be very sleepy. but, i don't want to miss a day. (no, i did not wait until the end of october for the flu shot...i schedule these posts a couple weeks in advance..or a few weeks.)

this just in

the earlier post today, below, that is cringeworthy and just filling space because i am behind on new work was so disappointing when i checked my blog this morning. and then, i checked my email and master calligrapher nancy sent me this really beautiful envelope to share. thank you nancy, it is sooooo pretty. it looks to me like it started with brush lettering and then the details might have been done with a G-Tec. so...maybe I just need to take a G-Tec to those two below.

thanks again, nancy!!

jeri - cactus

fun :-)
jeri does mostly traditional scripts. so, this is a bit out of the box for her.
my only suggestion is this:
i am not a big fan of the short center cross stroke on the E. there are some fonts where it is called for, but on a sans-serif, the crossbars are usually all the same length.
you did a good job on your S -- which is not an easy letter.
thanks again for sharing your stash.

h.b. kristin

it is kristin's birthday today.
h.b.

i needed to mail this and did not have time to finish it and re-scan it, but, i am sure you can imagine a fun yellow stamp. that celebrate stamp with the neon lights would be fine with it.
even better, some of the cartoon stamps or disney stamps.

georgia o'keeffe

according to this article, georgia and alfred wrote more than 5,000 letters to each other over 30 years. i'll see if i can find the book at the library or a book store and flip through to see if either of them decorated any of their envelopes...
this one has nice stamp placement and i like the way the name fills up the space and the way the p.o. box is in the corner...

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/10/28/my-faraway-one-love-letters-georgia-okeeffe-alfred-stieglitz/

above is the link to the article where i found this envelope, if you would like to read more.

angela - smokey bear

i did not have this stamp in mind when i wrote angela's name. it might be too *cutsey* to put the tree on the top of the L. the curve of the letter doesn't go with the tree...
but, i like having all the letters angular except the *g*

and that is called a 2-story g.
i always wnated an official name for that type of g. luckily, i met world famouns stephen rapp at the penmanship convention this summer, and he told me what font designers call that g. they also call the a with the stem on top a 2-story *a*

fiona

fiona moodie -   so this is interesting. there was a whole series by david to klaus. now we have one that was mailed to david. i really hope i find the source of all of these so i can remember what the story is behind the collection. or, maybe we can just enjoy all the fun things we find on the internet and let them inspire us.
remember, no stealing, just inspiration, she said as she labeled this one [steal-worthy]. that means the idea of dots, with legs and wings. don't copy these exactly. make up your own.

angela - ben franklin

no guide lines. just a quick one to fill in while i work on the last weddings of the season. i'm also very uninspired by any of the current stamps.

i just went to the usps.com site to look for stamps. and found a cool print of a man delivering the mail on skis.




https://store.usps.com/store/browse/productDetailSingleSku.jsp?productId=P_841958.jsp?productId=P_841958

angela - $5 stamp

i like the arrangement of elements. the colors are fine. the formality of the stamp does not go with the playfulness of the lettering. maybe the letters need some little powdered wigs.

angela - native american doll

once again, i did not have a stamp in mind. i was just playing around with fitting her name into a box. i would be fun to do this a little larger and add beads. and maybe braids, too. and fringe.

jeri - artsy

it's too bad i feel the need to cover up addresses. this looks like marbling and it looks like linda was using other elements to fill in the spaces and that white square is really distracting. so, i guess our design lesson for the day is to take a class or workshop in marbling and bring some envelopes and then just have fun with them.....
some envelopes are experimental. you don't know where they are going....
wandering aimlessly, probably something that we don't do very often, but we would probably be re-charged if we did. i think that's what i like about the blog. it's pretty aimless, but, i enjoy the things that pop up along the way. and for the people who check in daily or frequently....you never know what to expect.  or do you?

angela - soldier doll

i made a few envelopes for angela. i think i spelled her last name wrong. but, i love working with the name angela. i did not have stamps in mind, so, this isn't the best combination. i know there are some bridge stamps out there...i just didn't have time to dig through my stash.

nan- bearden stamp

coulda/shoulda/woulda added some more detail. this was a demo envelope from the class where i found the peachy/pinky marker that i had so much fun with. i really do love kids markers.

i will be sending this one and will write the address, small, in green, in between the lines.

emme

emme chichester clark - a new artist who sent decorated envelopes to klaus. drawing a sheet of paper is a charming way to create a setting for a little story. i did so many envelopes with a rug or blanket or quilt stamps hanging on lines, but, i can't believe i never put the address in a rectangle and propped it up like this.
stealworthy.

madison - baby doll

 this is a new marker i found at the art center where i teach. it is a kids crayola marker. i taught an intro class in lettering and one of the things i always show is how to turn the envelope and make the letters from top to bottom. you can see how the strokes have a little curve. when i get to the second stroke on the D, i turn it to the right-reading orientation and make that stroke.

then flip it back to make the I
then flip to make the SO, in right reading position. then back to this position for the N 

jeri - quilt-ish

this is another one from jeri's sister. jeri makes quilts and it looks to me like her sister was thinking about quilts not following the design of the stamp too closely. it is fun how she has the e almost hidden, but with just enough of the detail to indicate which letter it is.
that is the steal-worthy idea i would take from this one....how tightly can you stack letters and still have them spell something?

to myself

i enjoy addressing to myself. sometimes i include a SASE when i send invoices to clients. there is probably nothing new with this example. but, i like it, so, i am going to mention once again...i love both mccaffery's and ziller's white ink. john neal,bookseller would be happy to send some to you.

i tried a nikko zebra nib. it's nice. but i am still happy with the nikko G. and this envelope is from paper source which means it is made of paper from the waste not company.

anyone wishing to try white ink and nibs on envelopes would probably find that these three work very well together.

the stamp is only available online
it is not forever
it is 45-cents
good for now
not enough after january 27th-ish
when the rate for 1 ounce goes up a penny.

jeri - pastel

i really like these colors. it is counter-intuitive that the dark green and pale pink would work so well behind the pale blue. but i think the shapes of the green and the way the first one hits the bottom, the second one hits the top and the third one is in the middle contributes to them working. if the pink and green were switched, i do not think it would work as well. but, i could be completely wrong about that.
you wouldn't know until you tried it.

i just saw that i have had 99, 500+ page views on this blog. thank you to everyone who is tuning in.

david??

same as last wednesday, this is labeled as one of david mckee's, but it is quite different. i LOVE it. how can you not love a round stamps. the furthest out of the box the USPS has gone is a triangle. i wonder what it would take to get them to do a round stamp. this is a nice arrangement with the circles on the left - cropped and emerging onto the picture plane, the one at the top is also dropping in.
and then the other edges, just touching.

jeri - bubbles

i am jumping around with these posts. so there is no continuity to the comments. this was a great series of stamps. i wish i could find a quick and easy way to blur addresses.

the bubbles look great because they increase in size, giving depth to the overall composition.

jeri - halloween

hmmmmmm...maybe jeri will post a comment and explain the choice of stamps to go with this fine spiderweb. she is usually very picky about choosing stamps to complement her designs...and i'm not tracking on the combo of a madonna, a christmas ornament and halloween.

but the lettering is very nice
i like the slightly larger s at the end to balance the l at the beginning.

and, while you are sending us comments, tell us if you have any rules for dot placement. i usually bounce them a lot or put them in a straight line.
yours are
up-down-up-down-down-down
and you and i have both heard our favorite teacher discuss the difference between drawing the eye up rather than down....

jeri - indian art

LOVE these stamps. love the colors. this is done by jeri, to her sister. i have already posted a couple that jeri's sister sent to jeri. i am pretty sure jeri said that it was her sister who first got her interested in lettering. jeri has had MULTIPLE entries accepted by the Graceful Envelope and also some winners. so, she is living proof that you can pick up calligraphy without having a big fat career or lengthy formal education in fine art and still become a very skilled and decorated calligrapher. she has been faithfully attending conferences and workshops, so she has had some very good teachers over the years.

jeri - cinco de mayo

great stamp. very fun lettering with a mexican flair. this was done by jeri's sister. i guess *hobie* is the nickname for the whole family. i'm wondering why she only put flowers on the first two letters. does that mean something. or did she just get tired of drawing flowers. or maybe the mailman was across the street and she needed to hurry and put it out in time for him to pick it up. a very stealworthy idea, the flowers on the outlined letters....

julie - clothesline

how perfect was this card for the clothesline stamp?
again..julie has great letters in her name. i love how i could include a pair of socks....plus, the card company was thoughtful to pair a yellow envelope with this card.

julie - crown

this was fun to have the white lettering on the stamp and have the stamps look good on the envelope... sometimes having a ridiculous number of stamps is such a good thing...

david

this one was marked david mckee and it looks like his style. it is not to klaus, so, i might have it mixed up. i am still trying to find the website or blog where i found this whole series. this all started when i was looking for international mail art...and of course, illustrators would have some pretty wonderful envelopes. i just could not resist sharing them.

julie -bee

this envelope was very textured, but the white ink and pointed nib worked out just fine. the colors on the stamps coordinated nicely, too. my big loopy casual script was a spin-off from the mixed fonts on the card. it would have been fun to do a mixed font on the name, but this series was done on a pretty tight schedule.

julie - new york

aaargh. many technical difficulties with getting the photo blogged. when i did this series of envelopes for julie's birthday, i did not have time to scan so i took photos with my phone. so, i am learning how to post with phone photos. also trying find some good ways to blur addresses...

design lesson on this one would be to add round dots and square dots....even if the stamp is sedate. if the envelope is for a celebration, the lettering and decoration can be fun, fast and whimsical.

forgot to crop the photo, and can't get the wording to go up higher on the page....