right/left brain - energy

elizabeth sent me a fun picture of a right brain / left brain. i told her it was a good inspiration for some envelopes. this was the first one. if i had more time, the right side would have been full. lots more layering. there will be 3 more in this series.

poor speller

this was going to go to morgan. the envelope is 5-in x 5-in, so i liked the idea of a grid. then i figured out that there are six letters in morgan. this was right after i had spent a lot of time writing morgen on an envelope. so, i switched to margot, then realized that she has a different last names, so, i have a whole hodge podge of things started. but, when i saw the post below this morning, i had to add something because those two pink and green numbers are pretty pitiful.

ccc margaret

i was trying to have fun with margaret's last name. neither of these do much for me...but, i have not missed a day since feb 17, 2010...so, there will be some dull days. i should go back and label all the dull days...
forcing myself to find something nice to say about these two. i guess i like the way the bowl on the R is not closed in the bottom example.

ccc marcia

i was trying out a gray marker. trying to make a row of parallel lines with just enough variation to turn into letters. guide lines would have helped.
very pretty stamp. this is just a picture of the stamp. i did not actually buy any of these. they make more stamps than i can use...so, i do not get to buy all of them. you'd think the p.o. would send me a complimentary sheet of every stamp they produce...just to encourage me to keep up the blog.

matisse -

wed = international day + history day. here is an envelope by matisse.
i found it on this page.
http://www.henri-matisse.net/biography.html

treat yourself to some free art history lessons and read all about matisse and click on every single link
and read all that, too. then go scribble some bright yellow flowers on an envelope and mail it to someone.
design lesson from matisse: fill up all the space. i was never a huge fan of matisse and it is probably because he did not leave a lot of white space. but, that is part of understanding design...
and then i look at the details of things like his stars and centers of the flowers
most of them are made with 4 lines, creating 8 spokes.
one has 3 lines and 6 spokes
and one has 5
is this important?
or random?
and checkout the number of petals on the flowers, 4, 5, and 6
planned?
random?
does it matter?
bueller? bueller?
anyone?

ccc lynn

playing with a calligraphy marker (broad edged) that is drying up. went over the top with glaze pen. they are so much fun. they dry rather raised and shiny.

not the best stamp to go with that lettering... that old geometric love stamp would have been better...but, this is one of my quick ones, so i'll let it go. again, wish i had all day to play. and wish i had a complete set of colors in both the dry broad edge and the glaze pens....

ccc geraldine

not a good stamp for that style of lettering. but, as always, i like dry markers. the dots were done with a glaze pen. i like breaking long names into smaller chunks. i wonder if people are bothered when they see it?

ccc helen

it is more interesting to overlap sometimes. but, some combinations of letters work better than others. this is a great combination of letters....too bad i do not actually know helen. if i did, i would be sending her a lot of mail.

ccc jane

i always like to stack 4 letters in a grid. and i like dry markers. and i like outlining and i like the contrast of a blocky letter with a script. and i like that stamp. so, you put it all together and it took about a minute...but, i like it a lot. it's just happy and not over-worked. i like the way the v in her last name hides in the space. guess it ties the two elements together.

elizabeth - heart health

i don't know how the envelope right after this one found its way onto the blog. i intended it to be on a wednesday, so this is one that was scheduled to appear later. (and there are two posts for today)

 the style of the lettering doesn't really go with the stamp. but, it doesn't exactly clash. i'd like to think of one more thing to do to this one. it needs a pop somewhere. maybe it just needs the yellow-gold lettering beefed up.

david chelsea

this is by an artist who has been a commercial illustrator and cartoonist for 30 years. he has been scanning and posting envelopes that he sent over the years on his blog. some of them are really wonderful. others need a warning: some of his images are rather graphic and he even commented on how surprised he was that they went through the mail without any problems.

http://dchelsea.com/wp/?p=2218


i think this will take you to a post where he lists 4 people and if you click on their names, you will go to some groupings. again... some images are fun, but others are adult, so you have been warned.

this one is actually hexagonal. he has written a book on perspective. and is working on another one.

envelope france

i tried to find a good envelope from luxemborg, but all i could find was this piece of art. above is an envelope from france. there are tons of good envelopes from france. i wonder why they are more into mail art than the other people in europe. anyhow...
this is the blog and there are lots of good envelopes. some so-so ones as well.

http://la.vigneture.pagesperso-orange.fr/fr/creations/mail_art/avec_les_sans_papiers.html

can anyone figure out the words in the picture on the right?

ccc grace

ribbon binge. not such a good color combination. but it is a pretty name. not much to say...

ccc lu anne

ok, i know you don't want another whiny rant about the scanner....but, it locked up about 6 times before it would scan this envelope. i think those dots were freaking it out. this style is based on a font. not one i am crazy about, but i suppose it could be useful for a cute little girl's birthday party or something.

below is a second post that popped up in the middle of sunday because i forgot to set the schedule button. so, scroll down if you didn't see two envelopes (and two postcards) yesterday.

my mail

i was scheduling mail for july and accidentally posted a second post today, so don't forget to scroll down to the one below.

on top is an envelope from 2003 from ann van tassell. i do not know what that style of lettering is called. i love how it is spooky. and audrey is looking a little nervous.

below are two of my favorite postcards. one from a person who has what she calls a *sifting room* where she sifts through things and decides what can be kept and what needs to go....i'm trying to decide how many things i can keep by scanning...

the other postcard is from a fellow gorey-afficianado.

ccc - tom sett

i have never tried one of those nibs that has a big flat circle on the end. it was way-fun. the ink was some leftover bottle of watery stuff that would only be good in a fountain pen, so it was a little bleedy. but it is sort of interesting. i did the name a couple times to try out the nib and would have redone this one if i had time. the way the Ts are crossed is a little clumsy. and that isn't the right shade of purple in the stamp... but, the lesson today is....if you have nibs in your stash that you have never tried...pull them out and see what they will do.

ccc faith

terrible choice of stamps. i was trying to get about 30 ccc envelopes done in one sitting and limited myself to what was on the desk...so....it's blue. i like the layering in faith's name. it starts with a zig calligraphy marker. then the white is galaxy gel marker and the bright green is sharpie. when i went to add the fake address, i picked up the wrong green marker, so then, i just used a different green for every part of the address. that's the tip of the day. if you make one mistake, just keep making it, over and over. not a good tip for life in general. in life, you want to learn from the mistakes and do not repeat them...but, in lettering....you can't avoid a few mistakes, so you embrace them.

belgium - envelope

international mail art day, wednesday.
this one from belgium has the swipe-worthy idea of putting the stamps on in a grid and then using those 4 spaces wisely. it helps that the stamps come to the edge of the envelope. you would need to construct a custom envelope if you did not have one that worked with the size of the stamps.

found on this blog
http://mailmania4.blogspot.com/2010/08/cassez-mail-art-project-wervik-belgium.html

ccc eunice & frances

ccc clunker day. of the 20-30 pink and green envelopes that i did at the end of the ccc list....these are among the worst...but, i just have to get this project finished and move on to something else....i hope that eunice and francis do not take this personally....you have lovely names and someday...i might do them justice.

this just in: my mom was reading the blog and she does not like it that i am so critical of some of the envelopes. i tried to explain that this is an educational blog and that part of making better envelopes is being truthful about the flaws. she did not agree or understand. but, i thought i should mention this in case there are others who do not understand why i point out the flaws. i guess i could balance the remarks by including what i do like. i love the way the R and A in frances overlap. i could have a lot of fun with that name if i did not have to eat, sleep, and do chores.

elizabeth - heart health runner

another one in the series of ideas to go with the heart health stamps. i wish i had time to do more with little runners and their blue banners. the name is the least interesting part of this envelope. although, i am OK with the way the two names fit together. it is OK to make your ascenders shorter when you are tucking a name underneath. i doubt they bothered anybody until i just mentioned that they were short.

ccc - debi

dry marker with glaze pen dots. debi deserves something better than this... i will be seeing debi in august at the IAMPETH convention in milwaukee. she is the president this year. it is the organization for pointy-pen-people. they do broad edge as well. but, their pointed pen work is awesome. the best part is how welcoming they are to beginners. as long as you know which end of the pen to hold, you are welcome to come hang with the master penmen for a whole week. it is full for this year, but join IAMPETH, and maybe next year you can attend the convention. their site has oooodles of wonderful examples of beautiful penmanship.

http://www.iampeth.com/

ccc - linda and jane

i like the idea of rocks.  but i do not do a very good job of drawing them. maybe i am trying to be too literal. and that is not a good stamp choice on jane's. i did manage to do all of the ccc names that were on their membership list. but, i have to be honest, towards the end, my creative juices were pretty used-up.

purple heart

a beginning of something. i do not find this stamp very inspirational. i like the colors...but, a good idea has not popped into my head. these letters do not really go with the stamp very well. maybe i need to get out some gold....yup..redo the whole thing on nice paper and do some real raised gilding. and find a ruler...

ccc - deb

for people who like neuland, it is fun to write neuland large and *slender* ...the cross bar on the e would be better if it was level and not drooping. i like the curvy e better with the curvy d and b. sometimes it is better to keep things in the same groove. other times it gets too repetitious and you need to put in some angular letters for relief.

that is glaze pen over the top (the last name)

finland envelope

wednesday = international day. this is from finland. brilliant idea. nice how they added the polka dots. the gray square in the middle is where the person blocked out the address. fun, swipe-worthy idea.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/koiart66/5889755049/

this person has over a thousand images on their flickr file. i did not look to see if any of them are envelopes.

oh...i love the idea of writing *mail art* in the corner to explain why the envelope is not a plain envelope. another swipe worthy idea. i might consider doing that when i don't put the stamp in the upper right corner.

ccc - nancy

i like the stamp and i like the idea of using those shapes. the retro design is fun. but, i must say, the colors bother me. i am pretty sure i should have done the name in gray or maybe pink. that big blop of green is ugh-mo with the gray. the *H* should have been a little rectangle with two tiny bits removed to make it into an H.

ARF ccc - connie

an idea that i had that needs to be buried in a hole in the back yard. so why did i put it on the blog? because i can't miss a day. if i ever get caught up with the necessary chores and jobs, i will remove this and replace it with something lovely. and if you think this is OK, then go sit in the corner for an hour. does anyone make their kids sit in the corner any more?

ccc - marcia and sandra

two today to compensate for both of them being a bit uninspired. the top one is cute enough. hearts are always happy. purple and red is a good color combination. the bottom one was playing around with a brush marker. if i had time, i would do a tiger striped name to go with the stamp.

ccc - carol

i really like this one. it is not what i intended. i can't remember what i wanted for the O. maybe a reinforcement (one of those little circular stickers). but, whatever i intended, i could not find. so, i started using the spare parts off the edge of the sheet of stamps. there was not enough white, so i added some with a white gel pen.
yesterday i was talking about liking to do three things. this is an example where two was enough and i never would have considered adding any more. unless i did not like the overlap of the green marker. i can see adding green tone-on-tone squares.

tried and true design rule:  return to a unit you already have.
repeat that square. (and it does not have to be obvious...when you are thinking...gee, does this need something else? look at what it already has and use that)

elizabeth - lavender

i like those little postcard stamps. they are out of date. the scan just decided to tip things. does anyone know why scanners do that? this envelope could have used some more work. but, i am clearing off my desk of all the experimental stuff. i tend to like three things so, some little dots of green might have been nice. but, it's not a complete clunker.

ccc - marcy

at first this was such a scribbled mess, i was going to toss it. then i added a bit. then, as i was finishing up all the ccc envelopes, i pulled some stamps and thought this one was an OK combo. if i knew that marcy had a big slobbering dog, i would have drawn little slobber drips flying off the letters just like the ones that are on the stamp. or maybe ears...

 garfield's eyes would have been fine, tucked in to the letters.

swedish envelope

it's wednesday, so we are looking at something i found on a blog. it is from sweden. there must be a story behind it. i probably do not have any of my own envelopes that feature a drawing or illustration. i do know how to draw, so maybe i will think of something to draw. the neutral colors are nice.

http://cherylpenn.com/wpb/?p=1184

this is the link to the blog of a south african mail artist where you can see more envelopes.

red -square

this looks strange. it should be square... i wonder why it is distorted.

we are close to the end of the plain red envelopes. i think i need to add something more interesting to this posting. tomorrow is international day. but, this one is so cute and it has red. it looks like they collaged a photo copy of the stamp (enlarged) very cute idea.

ccc - carol

this looks like something from the 70s. the o-l is starting to look like a d. it's pretty sketchy because it is just a layout. i do not advise stacking letters. although there was one name that looked nice stacked (mimi oxman on may 18th). i guess i should do more stacking. maybe i am missing some good combinations. is it better to stick with what you know will probably work or try things that you think won't work, just to see if you surprise yourself? i guess that would be called, taking a risk. is it a good idea to take a risk? is playing it safe bad?maybe try a little of both.

ccc - marcia

i have been writing like this a lot. i don't know where it comes from. i like fitting things together and filling up the space. i usually prefer white space. i guess the jobs i have for brides who want the space filled is making me more interested in space-filling.

no, the p.o. does not want you to put the stamp on the bottom right corner. but, if you do, i think they still have to deliver the letter.

ccc - anne

there are 3 or 4 (in the huge pile of pink & green envelopes) that have the dry marker and glaze pen dots. this is my favorite of the group. the shapes in the lettering do not go with the stamp very well. and i would have liked to put a bit of green in the lettering. but, i am in the middle of wedding season, so it is a miracle that i am still getting a new post every day.

don't forget to look for spaces that are created that give you a convenient place to park that last name. it would have been fine to hang an additional letter at the front end or back end or both.



answer to yesterday's question:
if i were stranded on a desert island, i would have to pick paper, because you can do so much with paper. if you only had pens, markers, pencils, etc, and nothing to write on, it would be frustrating. of course there would be self tattoo...and if you had sharpies, you could decorate that lonely palm tree. and, i wish sharpie would pay me for the idea of doing an ad of someone who was stranded with only a sharpie....it could be a really fun series....but,  that will never happen. the sharpie website/blog has quite a few good ideas for writing on everything...and you do not have to be stranded, you can just start at home.  google sharpie, and go look. are you more tempted if i put the link into my blog? see, i am trying to help you NOT waste time surfing.

ccc - jan

i could have fun with this style of lettering. it would be fun to teach this without giving students the whole exemplar and have them try to figure out the letters on their own. Starting with graph paper would be a good idea. while this is not pink and green, it is still in the hurry up and finish the ccc project that i started in jan or feb. the first layering of writing was actually done on the very first day i started. then, this one was in the pile of not-sure-this-can-be-fixed. then, at the end, when i just had to be done with all of them, i used my two go-to solutions for everything. outlining and happy faces. i believe there is a metaphor for my entire life in the previous sentence (or previous phrase - as my grammatically correct readers would point out)  :-) ----

so yesterday, i was creating a really beautiful sculpture out of the paper items on my plastic tray at my fine dining establishment. (fine dining is when they give you the paper place mat on your plastic tray so you have something to do after you inhale your lunch.)
my co-luncher asked me:
*which is your favorite, paper or pens?*
answer:
*that is like asking me which of my children I like best.*
that was the first response. but, on reflection, there is actually an answer. i will be interested in your guesses. either put them in the comment section or email them to me at
jmwilson411 (at) yahoo.com
i will post the answer tomorrow.

ccc - andrea

roses clash with bonsai. this gets a F.

the idea to use very thin lines to build the shapes that make the letters that spell the name is a worthwhile idea. the way the bowl on the d leaves an appendage on each end of the stem is a good idea. i still get an F on the envelope because i should have left those appendages on the Rs as well. and the Es.

this pink-green-done-too-fast series will probably be fun for me to watch over the days. i don't always get my good ideas when i need them. they come to me later.

and if i was not so lazy, i would have found a better stamp. i went to google and searched, love stamp pink rose, because i remembered this one. the very first hit was the PINTEREST pin board for the Smithsonian Postal Museum. well, this is pretty exciting. first, if you do not know pinterest, it is a new way to store and catalog all of the pictures and ideas you find on the internet. you *pin* the image on a board and then, if you ever want to go back, you can easily find the website and images. you create any category that you like. here is the pin board with all the love stamps (maybe not all)

http://pinterest.com/postalmuseum/wedding-and-romantic-stamps/

click on the big red PINTEREST at the top of the page and it will take you to the main page. if you want to participate, it is free, but you do have to give them your email address. if you click on the postal museum, i am guessing there are many other categories. yup, they have 14 different boards, so far.

so, the above envelope would have received a C if it had that stamp.

british envelope

http://tanglecrafts.wordpress.com/mailart/puzzled-postcards/

wednesdays are international mail art day. this is from a very well know mail artist. she has a book. i used to own the book, but must have given it away. it is a charming book and her envelopes are fabulous.

her name is harriett russell. the book is *envelopes: a puzzling journey through the royal mail.* it really is worth looking for the book and checking out her very clever envelopes...which have puzzles included in the address.

red

second to the last wedding sample and then we will be done with these....

ccc - mary ann

this style of writing is akim. it is fun to do. as i warned you a couple days ago...coming up...are a bunch of poor excuse postings. in the beginning of may, i  scheduled the rest of the ccc names to pop up every 3 or 4 days. first i put up the scans, they ran into june or july.  then i started writing the blurbs and went from july backwards. so there is no continuity. but, if you want continuity, go buy a book. the way blogs work, if you come across a new one, you tend to read them backwards anyways...
so, this one is a little ho-hum. because it is hard to read, i popped the info that the p.o. needs into a brighter color. that slights the receiver...so, i wouldn't recommend this idea...but i highly recommend akim. it is hard to find a good exemplar by the man who invented it. i wish there was some resource for accessing styles of writing and the original exemplars as they were done by the people who either invented them....or are master penman.

ccc - dorothy and beverly

these need help. i like those colors. i love the stamps. maybe i have run out of good ideas to go with these stamps. but, they have to fill some slots on the blog. i have a bunch of wedding jobs and the deadlines are tight, so blogging is a *squeeze-in* activity for the next few weeks (or months) if there are a lot of fall weddings. but, usually, if i am busy in the spring, the fall is slow. so...we'll see...