PTEX from Janet and Chuck

Continuing on our theme of what we will be blasting in our rooms at the nursing home -- Janet will be blasting John Lennon tunes.

Chuck is a Dead Head - even though he did not leave any clues on this envelope. I wonder if the USPS will ever give Jerry Garcia a stamp. And, Chuck, feel free to tell me if you have any music choices that rank way ahead of the Dead.

Janet's flip side always has a lovely detail.

May PTEX to Lynne and GraceE

I really liked these two even though they are pretty simple. I wish I could think of really clever things to write in the openings.

If it isn't obvious, these are the selvages off the sheets that had all those little stickers that I had to use up.

If you could see the addresses, you would see that it looked better to keep the address tiny and compact - rather than stretching it out.

PTEX Lauren - Walking on the Wild Side

Here's a nice stealworthy idea. A long strip of paper folded into a mailer and the stamp wrapped around just a tiny bit.

Stealworthy lettering.

And I love the footprint border.

Lauren could not have known that Take a Walk on the Wild Side by Lou Reed is one of my all time favorite songs.

Although I am taking measures to ensure I will never have to stay in a nursing home - I do picture people like me, blasting things like Lou Reed - and driving the help crazy. I guess we will all be hooked up with headphones. It's probably better that way.

May PTEX to Maggie

More love to my penpals.

I did not get Bruce (or maybe it is Brad) to do the cancels the way I wanted them. I forgot what happened - maybe he was not there.

It would have been fun to see what other people did with these stamps. Some of you are so clever.

But, they are gone --

PTEX from Smash and KateR - Birthday Mail

Some of the alert exchangers deduce that my birthday is in April. They notice that the 411 in my email is cryptic. Yes, I am a veritable font of information - as in: The 411. However, most of my information is just stuff that swirls in my head and should not be taken too seriously.

So, Smash sent that lovely skinny envelope. And KateR sent the regal gothic lettering in gold ink with the guy with the pointy crown.

I guess Smash didn't say anything about my birthday -- but I needed to put hers with another envelope to show the cool proportion.

Nice flipside, too.

May PTEX to Leslie and Carole (From Me to You)

The lists for the exchange went out yesterday. If you did not receive yours. let me know.

These stamps were super favorites, but I was never happy with any of the ideas I came up with for the little stickers. So, if any of the people who thought it was strange that I was sending hugs and kisses -- trust me - I thought it was strange, too. Maybe I enclosed notes. I don't even remember -- just enjoying the tidy, nearly empty drawers.

I should have more to say about the design process - but I am not much of a border person - so all I have to say is - borders go around the edge.

It would have been fun to get a postal employee to do the cancels all the way around the edge.

On Leslie's, the name looked wimpy, so I added some tiny blue lettering. Somehow, Carole's did not bother me, so I left it plain. The lettering on Leslie's says:
this lettering needs something else - but i am not sure what to do - maybe this tiny writing will be just the right amount of something else - or maybe it will be a big mistake - ya never know until you get to the end.

I always have fun starting a thought and forcing myself to choose words that come out perfectly - length-wise.

PTEX from CathyO - Black Winner

When this one arrived, I sent an email to CathyO that said, "You win." Cathy knows that it is not a contest - but it is nearly impossible to refrain from making comparisons.

When I encourage beginners to go ahead and do a wedding envelope job - even though they know their skills are modest -- I always say "Trust me. Whatever you do will be ten times better than the horrific penmanship of the people invited to the wedding. The chances of there being a skilled calligrapher on the guest list are slim to none." People know I am right. And if they heed my advice and address the envelopes, they always report back that they received tons of compliments. Then they have confidence to do the next set - and they are off and running.

On the blog, I try to emphasize that it is not a competition, we avoid judging and comparisons. However, this envelope is one that just jumped out at me as above and beyond anything I do.

Here is the punchline.

Inside is a note telling me that she *stole* the idea from John Stevens - off InstaGram. It is not stealing if you divulge your source. It is being inspired by the supreme, foremost, premier, predominant, preeminent, superior (and more) calligrapher in all the land. John would not put his ideas out there if he did not intend for us to use them. He sees all the wonky stuff that people post -- and he would be very happy to see that we are picking up really good stuff from him and spinning our own versions. Especially when we mention him. And if you think there is anyone better than John -- go ahead and nominate them. To me he gets top honors because of his range and consistency.

So -- go forth and learn from Johns work. Embrace his concepts and give him credit.

Or - not. It is entirely up to you.
Maybe you like to putter on your own.
That's perfectly fine with me.
I love all the envelopes I receive equally -- I really do -- because I sometimes hear the back stories that go with the envelopes and I know that exchangers truly enjoy the time they spend on the envelopes and that quality time is the value to both the sender and the receiver.

Here is the card that was inside -

Bonus Post from Smash

Today's regular post is right below this one.

Shout out to Sue and the other people who sent me an envelope for July - even though I was not on their list.

Part of me wants to thank you by name - but I don't want to imply to those who did not send me an envelope that I feel slighted. Some of us struggle to get 5 envelopes done - others have time to putter and do extras.

Trust me - there is nothing personal about who gets on which list. Authentic-Jean wants to exchange with everybody. But Day-to-Day-Jean has to focus on some things that have been on the back burner for far too long. With 30+ people signing up, doing 30 envelopes became too many. Maybe someday. But for now, just bear with me - and enjoy whichever kind of list you are on.

Thank you sooooo much to the people who sent mail - even though I was not on your list. I truly appreciate it.

May PTEX to Janet

The next one I did after Cathy's. Once again, I consider these letters to be mindless. Skinny, upper or lower case. Just pack them in and outline and dot and shade and done.

Another stretch on the stamps -- I really struggled with stamps that had messages - like I Love You (those are coming up) and Love You Dad.

I'm guessing people who exchange with me are well aware that I am getting rid of vintage stamps and will be thrilled to pieces when I stop talking about it, eh?

I grew up in a house with a mixmaster. That stamp asked to become a keepsake. Cold hearted Jean said, "Sorry. Buh-bye."

Mar PTEX from GraceH and Heidi

I keep forgetting to spend more time practicing GraceH's regular penmanship. It's so cool. Part of me thinks it would be really rude to start writing like her. Part of me says it would not be that big of a deal if I always gave her credit.

Note-to-self: collect all the regular penmanship styles that you love and put them in one place so you can refer to them when you are not liking the way things are going.

Inside GraceH's fun fish envelope was a very cool sailboat folded thingy. And inside the folded thingy was the note.

Heidi's water drop theme is ganged with the fish. The colors on the Scooby stamp are a perfect match. I can't figure out how the raindrops are done. There is a very faint outline that looks like clear bleeding, but the points are crisp. Maybe they were pre-printed on the envelope. If Heidi applied them, I wonder what she used? Her lettering on my name is a nice spin-off of the Scooby-lettering.

Shout out to Heidi - she saw this truck and sent me a picture. 

We agree, it would be the perfect vehicle for my Visit-All-My-Pen-Pals Tour.

May PTEX to Cathy and KateR

After I did Chuck's using Lynn's lettering, I tried Kate's (below) and it was too stiff - So I switched to something mindless for Cathy. By mindless, I mean a C that I do not have to struggle with. And all the other letters are just units - with no thought to proportions or harmony.

Ooops, I forgot to pull out stamps. There were none of the remaining vintage stamps that worked with this one - but the WPA stamp looked great and gave me the design element to add the white lines. So, I ended up loving it - and the only mistake is the age old problem I have of not drawing guidelines.

I might have done a better job on Kate's if I had had some guidelines. The way the TE has a perfect line across the top is cringeworthy. The E should have popped up a tiny bit. The stamp choice is not stellar - but not cringeworthy. Just ho-hum. I did a few gray leafy swoops inspired by the stamp. Ho-hum.

Happy Trails to the remaining orphans.

PTEX - July Exchange Sign-up

The envelope does not have a black border.
It is on a black poster - and on display at the PO.

Yes - I met someone named Lovie. She works at the main post office in Des Moines.

This is the first in my series using the Ellsworth Kelly stamps.

If you would like to participate in the July exchange, please send the following information and please type it in the format shown:

Your Name
1234 Oak Street
Ames, Iowa 500010
YourName@gmail.com

Send to:
jmwilson411 -at- yahoo -dot- com

I will confirm that I received your sign-up information.
If you do not get a confirmation email from me, resend it.

Sign-up is July 1st through July 4th. I'll send lists on the 5th or 6th.
If you have a birthday in July, let me know, and if you wish to exchange cards, let me know. I'll add that info to the list. If you would like the option to be on more than one list, let me know. I do not guarantee that you will be on two lists - people who offer to be on two lists are put on a second list as needed - to make all the lists come out with exactly 6 people.

Your Name (CARDS)
1234 Oak Street
Ames, Iowa 50010
YourName@gmail.com
July birthday
2 lists

You will get a list with yourself and 5 other people. You send to those 5 and they send to you. Envelopes need to be mailed by July 31. Any questions contact me at the email listed above.

Note: I've been getting 30-35 people signing up for the exchange which is too many for me to put myself on all the lists. So, you may find yourself on a list without me. There is nothing personal if you do not end up on a list with me. I try to scramble the lists so that you get different people each month.

There may be one non-USA exchanger on your list. Those envelopes require $1.15 in postage.

May PTEX to Chuck (Lynn's Style)

At some point, I need to write a post about tracking down Lynn - the person I was looking for. I found her through the Bow Valley calligraphy guild and this style is on their website.

I need to find the link and also the spelling of Lynn's last name.

This was a very rough try to see if I wanted to do more. The stamps are leftovers from way back to the time that custom stamps were first available. While they are not a nice color choice for the lettering - I used them on Chuck's because he had met the mom in the photo-stamp on the left at our guild meetings and we had a memorable guild meeting at the temple on the right. It is a couple blocks from my house and we had a presenter whose work was (is) fabulous. I wonder if I can find him on IG. If I do, I'll come back and insert a link.

*****
Here is a bit of the email from Lynn:

 I wrote the first of the four Marker Lettering books in 1997, and the “Fun Letters” are included in this volume. I  sold them through my mail order business and taught lots of classes for card makers and scrapbookers at that time.  John Neal did carry them for quite a few years.  Now they are carried by one local art store here in Calgary only, and I no longer have stock in my home.  I could certainly make them available again if there was sufficient interest.  They are self published.  

    The book explains that the first inspiration for these letters came from a lettering piece done by my friend Kirsten Horel, and I developed the alphabet from these few letters.  

    With the current renewed interest in hand lettering, and so many wonderful new lettering tools available, it might be fun to revisit some of these older ideas! 

    If you want any more information please feel free to contact me by email!  Cheers! Lynn Slevinsky

*****

So -- yes -- I think Lynn should make her exemplars available.
I think Etsy is the way to go.
Hopefully, I'll have time to brainstorm with her.

Bonus Post - Kate's Etegami

While organizing all the images on my computer, I found this in a folder labeled *not blogged* so there is a good chance it has not been posted. If it is a repeat, let me know and I will remove it.

I know I mentioned etegami on the blog - previously. Or maybe I didn't. Either way, I am mentioning it again.

It is a very cool way to hold a brush and make a very loose interpretation of something. You may Google it and find all kinds of examples.

In a perfect world, I would have time to do my own - but, the world is not perfect. Is there a good word for the opposite of perfect? Probably. And it would fit nicely in a little yin/yang thingy.

Daily post is right below this post.

Mar PTEX from SuzanneB and CarolynC

You really need to see the cactus envelope from SuzanneB in person to appreciate how delicate it is. It is an original drawing with watercolor. The card inside looks like gel pen and is cute as a button.

Below is CarolynC's envelope. I ganged these two to remind all of us that you can't go wrong with something-on-the-left + stamps in the corner + address to fit.

May PTEX to Faye

Buh-bye orphans.

It would be hard to ruin an envelope using these stamps.

The coffee pot does not add anything. It's just a necessary evil.

The red was done with  PITT - and I went over it about three times. It's a little ragged - hence the square dots.

Mar PTEX from MissCathy and Maggie

Cathy's border is printed although it looks like something she could have done. Her Spencerian is lovely. She included a nice brush-strokey-flowery-leafy item that could be used as a bookmark.

Maggie sent a birthday greeting but one of the stamps fell off. It might have had some rainbow colors to it since she used rainbow colors on the word *happy.* Inside was the sweetest little note card that she had printed using some of her original artwork.

May - End of Vintage - to Heidi, Carolyn, and Jessica

The May exchange envelopes are a hodge podge. The tail end of the vintage stamps were a mixed bag of feelings. Luckily, I pulled out the scroll tips and remembered how much I love them. They resolved my issues with saying goodbye.

I even ended up thinking these three were nice design ideas that would be worth remembering.

Carolyn's is fine. The stamps do not coordinate at all.
But I'm fine with the layout and I'm happy with the style of lettering.

I botched the spacing on Jessica's. The two stamps did not go together - colorwise - so I just drew a line through the middle and was going to address it twice.
After I did the address down the middle, I figured the original idea as probably better. It bugs me the way the stamps do not line up...actually, the tilting on Carolyn's bothers me, too. It cannot be said too many times -- lining things up is comforting. Maybe not to everyone. But, don't fall into the trap of thinking that you need to develop visual interest by tilting things. That snow man should be sitting just above the zip code and the LA stamp should be somewhere - not tilted. Just my opinion, but I am right.

Mar PTEX from Lauren, Cynthia, CaroleV and Patty -- WRITE MORE

Lauren's bird is so cool. The stamps and birds are also fun - in the tree. Very whimsical.

Additional envelopes with imagery include these from Cynthia, CaroleV, and Patty

Apologies if I did not make it back to this post to write more. I'm on a tight deadline in March as I get these posts lined up.

Bonus Post - May PTEX from Maggie

This one intrigues me - I have so many questions about where the ideas came from. I like the grid. I like the lettering. This one gets a stealworthy label so I remember to come back and do something along these lines. Technically -- all the mail is stealworthy - so don't feel slighted if I do not tag yours stealworthy.

I just finished all the May incoming mail - and discovered that this one was hiding - so I decided to just bump it forward.

Regular daily post is right below.

MarPTEX - First and Last - Fatima and Holly

Technically, I did try to restrain myself when I did the March envelopes, using the set of rainbow colored brush markers.

These were the first two.
I had chosen the stamps.
And then I thought they were just too blah.

So, the moral of the story is ???
I don't know that I ever learn anything from myself. It is the end of April. Maybe when I read this in June, I'll have a better perspective. Or maybe an update.

Apr PTEX from RachaelT and Jessica (edit?)

More flowers.

I hope I remember to come back and write more.

Later--
What's not to like about flowers?
I'm not wordy today. Too many things on the to-do list. I also read an article on procrastination which has me highly motivated to reform.

I'm introducing a feature where I put (edit?) in the subject line, so that I acknowledge it is a lame blurb so that if something blog worthy comes up in the future, I know which blurbs could use something more interesting.

Bonus Post - Two from Samantha in May

Today's regular post is below.

This one is getting posted promptly because it knocked my socks off. Other May exchange envelopes are scheduled to run in August.

Samantha-or-just-Sam (I'll stick with Sam) is a new exchanger. I asked her how she found the blog and will have to go back and find the answer. There were parts that intrigued me.

I love-love-love this kind of drawing. My memory is foggy - but I think she might have said that this was inspired by one of mine - and if it was, I might know which one - which might be why I was drawn to it.

Anyhow - I love-love-love it.

Her other envelope is below. It's super fun. And I love the tagline - the elevated envelope queen. I remember those stamps - all art done by kids. I loved those stamps. Kid art is always inspirational.

Sam has let me know that she is not opposed to my offering comments on her artwork.
One thing that I would have done differently -- have the two lines of the address relate to the two lines of the tagline to the right of Jean. I would have made them flush left and start right under the W. I would have matched the point size and spacing.

On second thought - if you picture the 2 address lines starting flush left with the Wilson  - that might have made the vertical *line* (line-up) too strong. The cancel is an added element over which we have no control.  The address lines might have been fine if they were flush left and lined up with the J.

She set the bar really high when she sent the blue people. Every envelope will be compared to that one. Sorry. We will try to refrain from doing that, but we will not succeed. And this probably explains why I am so critical of my own envelopes. It is because every once in a while I pop out with something I love --- and I wish I could do that every time. (and I could if I had time and unlimited art supplies - but I don't)

Sam: Feel free to correct me about any of the things I mentioned that I may or may not have remembered correctly. I don't have time to dig back through the emails at this time.

This is the one - of mine- that reminds me of Sam's blue people.