sunday guest artist

this is for sale at the goreystore.com
so it must be by edward gorey, one of my all time favorite artists. it says it is $250. sounds like a bargain to me.

guest artist smash

bonus post today because mine is just a beginning of an idea and smash sent some fun red-white-and-blue envelopes that i should post now rather than later.
this is fun and i wonder which white she used. i just tried some copic white this week. jan brought it. jan had to use a rolling cart this week to share all her goodies. the copic white comes in a jar. i will review it when i post the actual envelope...which is to finnbadger, but i spelled his name wrong, so now i don't know whether to redo it, or leave it as is....

susan script hillish beginning

morphing script, and hillarian and showing what the hillarian stuff looks like without the color. now i want to do this with gold ink on black.
it is not full blown hillarian, just hillish. or hillesque. fauxhill.

hillarian grafitti

i saw an exemplar for grafitti letters on pinterest and thought about doing a hillarian treatment. it was fun. but it needs refining.

and i need to finish the dots around the edge. i started on the N and was trying a variation where the dots go up and down in size. i think it has possibilities...

look below for a second post telling the outcome of the concert ticket lottery envelope.

lottery outcome

this was the envelope i posted several weeks ago. to get tickets to a Further concert in Colorado in Sept you have to mail in a request to be in a lottery. i thought the people who hand out the tickets might be persuaded to give tickets to a deadhead-dad who wants to take his son to the concert.

i am happy to report that they sent tickets
that deadhead-dad says are very good seats in the 26th row.
so....maybe someone appreciated the effort we put into the envelope

keith bday + line flowers

this one was  on the may15th blog post with an address in the sky that i did not like. nh suggested meandering the name through the stems, which i had been pondering and this is much better.

this one ended up being my favorite of the 4 i did for keith
i put them all in one envelope and actually mailed them.
i addressed the envelope to
mr. meendering, because i had spelled his name wrong on most of them.

i am still on a flower binge. there will be a series of these coming up.

guest artist - smash floral

if i had time, i would do something along these lines. it's fun to have other ideas from other artists. i put in a type-box with a fake address. the actual address matched the name. thanks for sending this :-)
my scribble flowers are getting redundant.

keith bday - scribbly flowers

i don't have these stamps yet, so i have to pull them off mail that comes to the house. i don't destroy the art mail that people send...just regular mail.

i love pink and orange together.
i like the scribbles.
the trick to making these flowers is to rotate the envelope as you add the petals. always make the strokes in the exact same direction.
i MUST make a video that shows how i do this.

and i finally spelled his name right.
the other day i was lettering on some dishes for a photo shoot and i can't tell you how many times i put an e on potato. yes, i could tell you...but i won't.

guest artist smash hot fuchsia pink

in my post below, written a month ago, i said that i imagined i would be getting some fun mail to add today and as predicted, there were three wonderful envelopes from smash-girl. i hope she tells us how she did this one and what is the ink or paint? it is so bright.

a wOnDeRfuL envelope from FinnBadger arrived in the mail - can't wait to scan and share it :-)

and then...a bunch more from smash-girl arrived via email...so, i have a ton of stuff coming up....

keith bday -blocky

a while back i had a similar design on an envelope to janet. i was going to show 50 different ways to finish it. then i lost it. then i did this series of experiments on cheap envelopes. so, this isn't a very exciting envelope today. i am writing this on may 16, so i imagine i will have something more fun to add to the blog today...something that will arrive in my mailbox.

keith bday - candles

more experimenting with the BIG brush markers from jan. they blend nicely. i didn't think there was a good one to blend with the purple, so i left that one without a second color.

sometimes we feel like we have to stick with a pattern and in this case, if i would have forced the purple to have a second color, it might have bothered me that there was no good combination and i settled for something i didn't like.
so the lesson is to allow inconsistencies when you have a good reason. sometimes having s couple items that don't quite fit is more interesting then everything being very regimented.

bad stamp choice. i have a very bad attachment to my stamps. i had some better ones...but i just couldn't part with them. now i hope that keith doesn't read my blog and wonder why i won't use my really good stamps on him. on the other hand, he has known me a while, so he probably understands why i don't put the primo stamps on some of his envelopes. i think it is because these were experiment envelopes and i was not making it for him from the beginning. he just happened to be the next person on my birthday list. so...who has a birthday coming up?

plus, it was a cheap envelope. i have trouble putting good stamps on cheap envelopes.

sunday guest artist

another one from
Jean-Michel Folon's Lettres a Giorgio, a collection of illustrated envelopes and postcards by the Belgian artist, all addressed to Giorgio Soavi in Milan, Italy, between 1967-1975.

don't ask me how this was painted...it might be watercolor. the really rich colors means he used good paint. i don't think you get something like this from that set of prang watercolors left over from your childhood.

liz flower week

one more flower envelope. i knew e and l would make nice stems. i didn't plan or pencil, i just figured it would work out as i winged it. so, i would not say it is the best envelope in the world. i made the flowers first and then tried to connect the name. obviously, it would be easier to do the name first. but, sometimes it is fun to paint yourself into a corner and then see how you are going to get out.

keith bday blue

oh...you didn't have to wait for next week. remember yesterday when i said i had a mental block on a name...i can't for the life of me remember how to spell keith. I before E except after C and K and in the word Weird.

but i like the letters
and i LOVE the stamp
and i wish they would let us add extra postage on the backs of envelopes.

guest artist susan

it looks like she recycled some envelopes that had problems by adhering pieces to a black envelope and *stitched* all the pieces together with little black lines.
highly stealworthy idea.

i will be adding envelopes from susan into the scheduled envelopes. my whole flower series is looking more like a rut. i never tire of making flowers, but i guess i am tired of seeing them every morning on the blog.

liz flower week

most of the time i add G-Tec to markers, but i liked these just fine the way they were. of course, elizabeth might have preferred her letters in the proper order, but i was talking to jan while i made this one and jan was nice enough to give me the markers, so, i don't really think that having the letters in the same order all the time is really essential. (brace yourselves for next week...i have a complete mental block on a name that is coming up)

from jackie - soft pencil

there are a bunch of soft pencil envelopes from jackie. pencil is a wonderful medium. and this is layered...
give it a try.
if you don't have colored pencils, treat yourself to some. they are very beginner friendly. don't buy cheap ones. if you have cheap ones, donate them to some place that needs them. but get them out of the house.

jans - profile w hair

i saw something i just loved with a tilted, cropped profile. the strands of hair were tightly coiled loopy strands. i'll never find it again...but, this reminds me of it.

i like it this way and i would like it with colors, too. i could do a ton of variations on this one.

the monday-tuesday flower envelopes are redundant, so i am bumping this forward for some variety.

liz flower week

these are variations on the ones i did with G-Tec letters repeated in a circle to make flowers. this envelope would be much prettier with different colors and a stamp that coordinated better, but, i like the idea. i like the idea of scribbling. if i find time, i will do a better version of this one...and start a little farther to the left so there is room for the h on the far right.

liz flower week

this week will have some more flower experiments with the faber castell BIG brush markers. these are the easiest ones. i flicked petals quickly, then went back and added a layer to make them a little more even. and then finished with the G-Tec outlines. i also added a bit of shade to the side of her name. the last name and address is just pencil. if i actually mail this...i will find a different stamp. the colors in the stamp will determine how i finish it.

sunday guest artist

this is from Jean-Michel Folon's Lettres a Giorgio, a collection of illustrated envelopes and postcards by the Belgian artist, all addressed to Giorgio Soavi in Milan, Italy, between 1967-1975.

really spectacular watercolor people...
such a nice layout....
if you like things uncomplicated.
not everyone does.
i might have to steal that guy on the far right.

big brush variation

this one is like the one a few days ago for carol.
i added more detail to the flowers and used my new white pen for dots. it is a Pilot CHOOSE from Jet Pens. i will let you know if John Neal starts carrying them. most white gel pens are very thick. this one is a bit finer. small enough to draw eyes on ants....can't wait to show you those.

robot butterfly

i used pencil, then a silver gel pen, then when i erased, it took all the sparkle off the gel. lesson learned. again.

if you google *robot butterfly* you will see one that looks a little bit like this. you will also see the envelope that was in the post when i was talking about robots and mentioned that i would make a robot butterfly. i guess everything that i mention is being recorded by google.

sadly, i have a new hobby:
trying to come up with things that are so obscure, they will cause my envelopes to pop up if anyone does a search.
for example....has anyone ever searched for a robot envelope?

now, google *robot envelope* and see if this one shows up.

and this one arrived a few days ago:
i love the eyeballs. we could probably start a whole blog devoted just to robots.
the peter max stamps are perfect robot attire.

birds for stella

i was jotting down ideas. the original looked nothing like this and did not have a banner. i used colored pencils to fill in the drawing which was made with a G-Tec and will fill in her last name in the box, her address on the line and zip in the boxes.

i like this naive style that is so popular right now. i wonder how long the trend will last and i really wonder what the next trend will be. 

jackie - jan's markers

since i have written jackie's name hundreds of times, i can usually do a decent envelope without any planning or guidelines. i was not thinking of any stamps in particular. jackie frequently splurges on extra stamps just to make the envelope pretty. this one made me want to design an envelope that used all 4 of the flower stamps in a pleasing design. i hope i have 4 stamps left. i need to come up with an offer where people send me stamps in return for an envelope but i get some leftovers.

elizabeth's directions

elizabeth kidly sent the instructions on how she made this card and envelope.

The technique used on this envelope is sponging straight Golden acrylics onto some inexpensive rice paper, which produces a lightweight envelope. I used the Golden Acrylics from the jar: Quinacridone/Nickel Azo Gold, Quinacridone Gold, and Iridescent Bright Gold (Fine) with a small piece of sponge, cut down from a large "QEP XL All Purpose Sponge" found in either the car wash, tile grout or paint section of Home Depot. They are yellow-orange in color, 2" thick and about 8" long.
It's just random dabbing, layering as you go, with a light touch, and very small amount of paint, until the paper is covered! Fun to do and nice WOW factor!

As for the chunky letters, I drew out some Neuland-esque letters, then made myself stencils, that can be used for embossing, as well as stamping into. The "positive" section that was cut out, can also be used to trace around, then cut out, which is what I did for the black letters and the decorative paper letters! I love the chunky letterforms!!

The rice paper, which is similar in weight to tissue paper, has been inspired by the collage technique developed by Eric Carle, illustrator or "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"  so go to his website: www.eric-carle.com/slideshow_paint.html for more inspiration!!

thank you elizabeth.
and this is a second post of the day, so don't miss the one below.

carol - jan's markers

i tried the faber castell BIG brush markers on a script. these are made very slow - more like drawing and carefully writing on the tip and then moving the marker into a flatter orientation. i suppose this would be hard for beginners, but those little hearts are very beginner friendly. turn the envelope, use the side of the marker nib and *tap-tap* two little petal shapes.

jan - up in the air

here is the experimental lettering i did when jan gave me the faber castell BIGbrush markers. my new work space has a white desk and i wanted the lettering to go off the edge, but i didn't want to get marker on my white desk. so... i actually wrote all of the teal letters while holding the envelope about 6 inches off the desk, in mid-air. it is a nice william arthur lined envelope, so it has enough body for this nutty technique. i kept turning the envelope so i was always making left-to-right strokes that were pretty level. i wish i had time to do more of these. the tiny letters are G-Tec. the address would be tucked into a space and the stamp would go top-right corner.
and yes, i am missing the last two letters in her name. i think i might put them on the back. and the address will be worked into the spaces. or maybe in the upper left corner. and then i should put extra postage on it to compensate for the extra work they will go through figuring out where to send it.

jan's plaid

i wanted to see all the colors of the markers that jan gave me together. so this seemed like a logical way to try them out. my mom walked by the screen when the photo was open and said, "did YOU do that?" as if it did not look like me. no it doesn't look like me at all. i wouldn't even post this except it caused me to do something else that was experimental that i really liked.

of course, it was all neat and tidy that there were 16 colors. but then, someone returned a marker, so i actually had 17 markers. that would have upset some people. not me. i love prime numbers and i have *the rule of 17* which is a splendid rule. i invented my own, then i googled to see if anyone else had a rule of 17...and of course, it was out there. but, i'm fine sharing it.

jan saw this and thought i had left the T off her last name. she didn't look in the line below. long ago, before grammarians were invented and people just ENJOYED themselves...they let lines and words break whenever it was necessary. the older i get, the less i enjoy rules. they say elderly people turn into children. i must be ahead of myself.

my rule of 17 is this....if you are trying to learn how to make something, make 17 of them before you decide if it is a successful project. you may not have to go all the way to 17 to work out all the kinks. but, if you get to 17 and have not worked out the kinks, then you may desert the project and know that you have given it a fair chance. (please note: this is ONLY about projects. do not apply this rule to people)

sunday guest artist - elizabeth - copper

i think there was a black L that fell off. the black letters are cut paper. this is from elizabeth walsh in the pacific northwest. the p.o. was mesmerized by the loveliness and did not run a cancel across it. i have no idea what the background is. it's cool. i know she told me how she made it, but i can't find the email....

thank you elizabeth :-)

Sonjia's graceful envelope

this is a past winner done by sonjia amensen, a friend of mine.

to see the current winners go to this link and click on the red words that say
*IMAGES of ETC...*

http://www.calligraphersguild.org/envwinners2013.html

the *winners' work is usually the type of lettering that is beyond the reach of most of us. so, i chose sonjia's envelope to show that you can be a non-artist who only started lettering in your 50's and you can still be a winner. you just have to choose a style that is not too complicated and think of a clever idea.

first post of the day is below...

chuck - tread

this would have been nice to show the layers as they built up because they were not looking very good until the end. there was some light blue. then i added little cross bars that made it look like a ladder. then i drew rectangles over the spaces with a g-tec. then i added water, because this was done that week i was all into the watering down the g-tecs.
then i found a stamp i liked.

the address will be to the right in a block.

john's hat

i see john at family gatherings and he says he checks my blog every day (we'll see if he sees this one). he is multi-talented and multi-occupational. i think he loves his firefighting *hat* so i thought i would find the u.s. postage stamp that commemorates firefighters and

SHOCKING NEWS

they did one to commemorate 9-11
and in 1949 (?) there was one to commemorate volunteer firefighters. but other than that, firefighters seem to be really neglected. and then i checked on policemen...and there are a couple. take a bite out of crime and law and order....neither focus on the people who do the work...
so...
i don't really have time to start another campaign. but i think someone needs to alert the panel that chooses themes for stamps that policemen and firemen and firewomen and policewomen need commemoration on stamps.

maybe there are some that i missed...so, if anyone has seem them, please let me know and i will edit my post.

thanks.

(second post for the day is below)

i used the big-brush faber-castell marker for the name and my little gray g-tec for the little lettering.

smash from london

smash-girl popped over to london. i don't post her envelopes in the order in which they arrive. she's back. this is so pretty and obviously took a lot of time.
i wonder if she actually took time to sit and draw in london or if she took pre-drawn envelopes.
maybe she will tell us...

carol - graceful envelope

we have another winner to announce, carol dubosch. she saw the post yesterday with geri's envelope and sent this scan. there are 4 other winning envelopes on her website - along with a lot of other beautiful work.

http://www.caroldubosch.com/artwork/envelopes/


and here is a link to jeri's website
where you may see some of her other entries

http://www.calligra4.com/envelopes.html

and this is the second post today, so be sure to check the post below. :-)

smash hen feather

how did smash-girl know that i love guinea hen feathers? i wish the p.o. would honor the guinea hen on a stamp. it must be the dots. love the dots. this is a window envelope.

jeri - graceful envelope 2013

this just in....jeri hobart, whose work has appeared many times on my blog has been named a winner for the 7th time.  i will post a link when they have all the winning envelopes posted on their website.

congratulations jeri. :-)

it's a 3 post day and it is only 5:30 a.m.
don't miss the two posts below this one.



her is a link to jeri's website where you can see some of her other envelopes

http://www.calligra4.com/envelopes.html

annie - step 2

the second step of annie's envelope. it wasn't too hard to correct the depth of the  -nnie part so that it was level. now the bold stroke of the A is too heavy for the rest of the A. so i need to add to the wimpy side.

and i have to decide about the two leaves on the A. should they be the same? is one better than the other? should the lightness to darkness be a gradation? it was a stroke of luck that i found a stamp that looked nice with the colors. its difficult having such limited colors with G-Tecs and i am still bummed that they have discontinued colors. that just seems like some kind of torture. why would they do that? get us addicted and then deny us. is it part of a larger plot? i have a sci-fi book or movie percolating here.

to smash from alyce

a while back, i invited readers to send envelopes to smash, c/o me and i would forward them. this one came from alyce and i was so happy to have a new idea to copy. i wanted to take my time and do a good job, so i penciled it in and then completely forgot what i was doing and inked the wavy lines. so i just did something different and forgot to scan it before it left.
if smash wants to send a photo of it, i will post her photo.

alyce's looks better with three lines.
thanks alyce !!!

landscape doodle lines

monday thru thursday of this week are all posts of mail received and it seems like cheating if i don't show you some of my own stuff, too. so here is an idea in progress. i saw some lines like this, but they had more detail. looked lacy.
i have no idea where this is going.

check below for the other post today.

from chuck

these are the ones i mentioned that chuck hand delivered. i love the borders and he told me where they came from and where the alphabets came from and my teflon colander brain does not recall...they look like art nouveau....one of my favorite styles.

i have alway liked chuck's use of dots. but then i never met a dot i didn't like.

annie w.c. pencil

here is one i started for annie using watercolor pencils instead of g-tec. i think i need to switch to g-tec. also, the nnie went uphill and really bothered me, so i put in some level lines and have to figure out how to make the letters level. i started this a while ago, but now i need to finish it and send it to annie so she can see why the really good envelopes make such a huge difference.

here is a good talk on embracing the *problems*
which is what i will need to do here.

http://www.ted.com/talks/phil_hansen_embrace_the_shake.html

bd kathy

this was my birthday envelope and greeting from kathy. when i met kathy (more than 10 years ago) i'd jabber about how i really needed a MacArthur genius grant and was disappointed that they weren't going door-to-door in des moines looking for me...now, i'm actually glad that they were lazy and didn't find me. it would have been too much pressure and i probably would have had to talk to people. blogging is so much better...impulsive. no strings. all the attention is from people whose company i am sure i would prefer over grant-hander-outers? so, if they show up, do you think i'd have the guts to say no-thank-you? i probably don't have to worry about having to make that decision.

and she did this way before i was on this flower kick
so, clearly, it was stealworthy.

second layer

i added some colors. then i added some silver gouache. i took a phone photo and can't get it to flip. but, you don't need to read it to see that it needs some darks. this is a really cheap envelope and i am not sure i want to spend more time on it. i might start over on a good envelope and sacrifice this to some extreme experimenting.

look below for the official post for today.

sunday guest artist

Tony Ross worked with Francesca Simon to create the art for the Horrid Henry books. His best-known character is the Little Princess, the star of I Want My Potty, I Want My Dinner, and I Don’t Want To Go To Bed.

from the klaus flugge collection 


if you are in the mood to read about another topic
i posted a robert genn article on my other blog http://notmyregularblog.blogspot.com/

it is about the purpose of critiquing our work. some readers tell me that i am too hard on myself. i think i do a good job of being balanced. i always mention the things that i love. when i see something i don't like, i am always looking for ways to change it so that i will like it better. some people like everything i do. but, if i asked you to pick your favorites, you would probably start to see that some are *better* than others.