Digging through some older files last weekend I came upon these stationery folders. They are designed to hold a few pieces of stationery, stamps, and a tip sheet. I liked them when I created them, but wondered if they were right. I still needed to create the stationery and tip sheet, so I put the project aside . . . not ready for whatever reason, for lots of reasons, for no reason.
Putting them aside and finding them nearly two years later gives me a fresh perspective. The concept needs a tweak or two, but it's a good start. I want to incorporate these folders into a new project I've got going. The title of this post is "Sometimes I Surprise Myself." Why? Because I like what I created and the concept, the reason I made the folders, is still with me. So why did I stop working on it? Timing? Other priorities? Distraction? Uncertainty? No matter, it's time to move forward, and I'm taking them with me.
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It was a beautiful day for the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Portland today. And a good parade it was. Bagpipes, drummers, ceili dancing, and a lot of wearing of the green.
St. Patrick's Day is this coming Thursday, and that prompted a special Saturday dinner: corned beef with a mustard-brown sugar glaze, colcannon, soda bread, and roasted carrots, followed by chocolate Guinness cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream frosting. So good.
FROM THE MARKET: the handwriting on the fish wrapper surprised me when I pulled it from the bag and set it on the table alongside the flowers: a fresh bouquet for the weekend . . . ShiFt.
Are you a calligrapher or lettering artist? Consider entering the Graceful Envelope Contest (deadline March 28, 2016). There's no entry fee and the contest is open to adults and children, judged separately. The challenge is to use an envelope as your canvas, tie in this year's theme (communication), and incorporate stamps in your design. Entries must created on an envelope and mailed. Below are two examples . . . very clever. The contest is sponsored by the Washington Calligraphers Guild and the National Association of Letter Carriers. You can find more information and get your entry form here. Don't delay, entries are due March 28th. A note about this year's theme from the Washington Calligrapher Guild: Ever since Benjamin Franklin became America’s first Postmaster General, many of our most important messages arrived inside an envelope. Now your challenge is to design the outside of an envelope to highlight this—or any other—mode of communication. Your Graceful Envelope could honor the mail or the internet; the telegraph, telephone or television; person-to-person conversation or whatever kind of communication inspires your imagination. And here's a link to some of last year's winning entries. Special thanks to Lorraine Swerdloff, contest administrator, for the images!
This lovely gem came in the mail today! It's the first letter opener in my collection that has it own sleeve (and is brand new) from Izola. I've had my eye on it for a while, and mentioned it in the post for the L stamp in our ABCs of Letter Writing . . . a quick read and fun if you're an American history buff.
Walk About I HeARd the CaRDiNal siNGing before I saw it, PerCHeD in the BiRcH tree — a CAt LOOkiNG At mE, LOOkiNG at iT -- And, ONe mORe SAP BuCKet, that maKes ThreE. It turns out a collage was the best way to illustrate my morning walk. I was impatient, trying watercolor, drawing, and nearly let it go until I spotted some paper bits that resonated with the theme. Lucky papers.
Rather than label it with words, I chose one symbol, some shorthand (the line and dot in the lower right). One word, do you know what it is? I know two people who might . . . Monday is trash day and each week we set out two buckets. One with bagged trash, the other an open container of recycled goods (paper, glass, cans - a mixed lot). The trucks come early, beep, beep, beeping throughout the neighborhood with an underlying rumble, and the workers hop on and off the trucks, racing to empty the buckets and move on.
Because the recycling is in an open container, occasionally something flies free and escapes the claw arm of the truck. This morning it was a large sheet of white paper. When I went out to gather my buckets, I crossed the street to retrieve it. It was a large catalog envelope, face down, and I saw there was writing on the back flap . . . "Check out those stamps!!" I flipped it over and saw three stamps: a polar bear, a snowflake, and a brown bear. The spent, discarded envelope was sent to a little boy up the street, and the stamps were carefully selected to pique his interest. None had the customary cancellation marks. Only a bar code glued to the bottom right edge indicated it had, indeed, been carried through the postal system. Why does it matter, and why did I take these photographs? Because I just finished a mini-course by Lilla Rogers of Make Art That Sells, titled, Be More Woowoo. Now, I love the idea of serendipity -- and who knows how the universe works -- so I wanted to share this. In her videos Lilla talks about looking for signs as you move through your day. I've been working on some new ideas to promote and encourage people to write more letters and discover the unexpected joy and connection of postmarked mail. But this morning I started to wonder about my ideas. Should I, or shouldn't I move forward? Will people go for it? Will this work? Taking Lilla's idea of looking for signs one step further, I looked at the symbolism for bears: strength, leadership, taking action, and the idea of new ideas coming to life in spring after a winter hibernation. Well. Who knows? All I know is I found an envelope with bear stamps . . . and it all seems, I don't know, wonderfully woowoo. What do you think? When it comes to hobbies, passions, and pastimes, my love of letter writing touches all three. Would you like to get more mail? I would, and I've got some ideas: a workshop series, stationery, articles, and a letter of interest . . . come back and follow along.
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Always a Project In Progress #1 - something hand-made Stationery: a new line coming in May, just in time for National Card and Letter Writing Month Workshops: a new series Watch for details! |
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