scripty christy

same old
same old
and this is the last of the christy envelopes. starting tomorrow, there will be more variety. thank you for your patience :-)

christy quilt

finally. one that i like enough to post all by itself. i probably only like it because of the stamp.

multi-christy

you may be seeing some of these that look familiar. like that middle one. i think there is one to ellen that looks just like it. that is because, after christy told me how much she liked getting the envelopes at college, i started stockpiling a set to send to my daughter, ellen, who was going to be going away to college the following year.

multi christy

i guess i don't have much to say about these because they are all script and i don't really know how to teach script and pointed brush. i like to write with pointed brush and eventually, i think i got pretty good at it...but i sure do not know how to teach it or what to say about it.

multi christy

more...practice practice practice

multi-christy

when i scanned these, i put them in groups of similar styles of lettering. so they look a little redundant in this order. but, if i do not post them in numerical order, i 'll never figure out which ones are posted and which ones aren't. i am happy to report that my pointed pen lettering has improved a lot from that third example. yikes. and such a pretty stamp.

multi-christy

i'm going to post the rest of the christy collection in groups because they are not the best examples. the christy series was the very first series. i had no idea that i would become an envelope fanatic. when i look at these now, i just see creepy chicken scratching. but, i am willing to share it with the universe in the hopes that it will inspire others to send more mail. and it is worth repeating...the only way you get better at anything is by practicing. so...my really good envelopes did not happen at the beginning. these were the ones where i was muddling through and figuring out how to improve.

back to christy

christy's mom had to update the address because christy must have moved into a new place...so that's not my penmanship on the address. i would like to blame the rest of the lettering on someone else too. but, it has some fun flourishing and doodling. so, as i keep saying, not every envelope on this blog is a masterpiece. i'm letting you see the arfy ones, too. there are always little touches that i think are good ideas. for example, those two little red squares on the caps are a nice way to add a spot of color.

christy 36/60

this is a lot like one of the ellen ones. people often mention that this is a favorite style of lettering. it's just gel pens and my double stroke letters which are double because i'm on the verge of scribbling. i don't know how i get away with this. i really would like to be more disciplined, but, this is fun. maybe it's ok to have fun instead of take things seriously all the time. not that i do. or maybe, i do. i guess i put a lot of energy into getting the addresses perfect when i address envelopes for clients. it's one area where mistakes are not OK.

christy 34/60

i remember doing this one. something happened and i thought it was ruined, so i did something scribbly with a marker, using that tan color and i ended up liking it. one thing with these kinds of fixes, you aren't always able to replicate it. you may be happy with the outcome, but you might not ever be able to do it again. it's like a little gift. you get out of the jam, but it does not exactly carry over. like a get out of jail free card. you can use it. and then it is gone. back to the game.

don't get me wrong. these italics are still ugly. i never did learn how to do an italic that pleased my eye. but i like the colors.

christy 31 and 32

the top one has some little blueberries and the bottom one is bore-ing. i need to go find some better ones. i would not even be posting these, but, i want to have them all on the blog, because then they all go directly into one file on picasa...and that is my only chance of ever getting all the scans organized.

christy 29/60 and 30/60

these two are not spectacular. however, they illustrate a good point. if you learn the basic shapes of a style like uncial, you can have fun trying those shapes with a variety of tools. the top one is pointed brush marker and the bottom one is a broad edge marker. uncial is also a good beginner style because you only have to learn one letter, no caps way back then. have we talked about who invented caps? anybody out there who does not know and wants to know? there will be a prize for the person who posts the answer first after someone asks for more info. clearly, i am fishing for comments. :-)

and yes, i know, the r in the top one is not an uncial r. you really can make up your own styles if you want to.

christy 28/60

this is a particular font with a name that i do not recall. maybe chuck will post a comment and tell us. when you write it, you do the exact opposite of regular thick and thin, make all the horizontals as fat as possible and the verticals thin. lots of fun. also, take time to square off the ends with a fine pen.

christy 31/60

i really flubbed the h on christy.
but, i see from the postmark that it was 9 years ago when i did the envelope. that was pretty early in my *career.* the c is bad too. i did enjoy finding the detail in the stamp to use to decorate the envelope.

the usps has a list of the new stamps coming out in 2011. there will be a set of 20 flowers. really looking forward to those. also a set of 20 designers. that sounds interesting. in the mean time, waiting for the new forever stamps to come out. there are 4 different evergreen branches. three with pinecones and one with berries. you can see them at usps.com and if you did not know, you can order stamps online. i think they charge a dollar to deliver them.

christy 26/60

what do you think? too much of a good thing? you all know how much i love the scribbling and layering. in some ways this one is too much. but, in other ways, it is not enough. i think it would have been better if the scribbling went all over the whole envelope and bled off the edges. it's weak because the overall shape of the blob is an uninteresting shape. and that *fleming* is yucky. mostly the F is ugly. a good example of why caps should be done beautifully and if you are in a hurry, don't use them.

christy 27/60

christy's mom filled in the address. i like to use the left over portions of the self adhesive stamps.

christy 24/60

there is one in the ellen series just like this. again, i do not recall where i first saw this style. it might be something from lynn slevinsky. if anyone knows...please post a comment. i just love it. but, i will say it is not one to do when you are in a hurry. it is not difficult, but you need to pay attention to the geometry and keep it all very controlled, yet whimsical and bouncy.

christy 23/60

another one that could have benefited from some guide lines or preliminary sketching. the idea is just fine. it's rushed. hopefully, i have time to come back and post a bonus envelope today to make up for this one.

christy 25/60

soldiers and pearls. i imagine i did not have a good stamp to go with pearls, but the colors are fine, so, there they are. i could draw those string of pearl letters all day. i also did some that were little tubes on string that i found mesmerizing. it was fun to do them freehand and not draw a pencil line. it took discipline to make them come out right. on an envelope, i would pencil the line to make sure it fit. i'll try to dig out a sample of the one without the pencil line so you can see how much prettier it is. not that this one is ugly, but it could be better.

the one below is new, too. i added this one, because i am tempted to remove the other one. but, there may be value in looking at bad stuff, so you know what to avoid.

christy 22/60

oh dear. so many things wrong with this one, i don't know where to start. i think i'll just ignore it.